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Lithium May Protect Aging Brains From Alzheimer's; Flight Turbulence Becoming More Frequent and Severe; Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters" Become a Cultural Phenomenon. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 07, 2025 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, a major new discovery in the battle against Alzheimer's. Harvard researchers say the key to protecting aging brains might be lithium, a metal long used to treat mood disorders. The scientists found that depleting lithium levels in the diets of normal mice led to Alzheimer's-like brain damage, while replenishing it restored memory function, even in older mice with advanced disease.

It's early, and human trials are still ahead. But for the first time, researchers have shown that lithium is naturally present in the body in tiny amounts, and that cells require it to function normally, much like vitamin C or iron.

Joining me right now is Dr. Leah Croll, Assistant Professor of Neurology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. Great to see you. So tell us what you find most significant about this study.

DR. LEAH CROLL, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NEUROLOGY, SUNY DOWNSTATE: You know, there's so much significance here. I would say the big kind of headline finding for me is that this is really a new territory for dementia research. Lithium is a mechanism that we haven't really seriously considered in the past as a target for possible therapies for Alzheimer's.

It seems to be a unifying mechanism, meaning not only does it pertain to the abnormal amyloid beta plaques that you hear us talk about in dementia all the time, but it also seems to have a hand in inflammation within the brain, in degenerative changes in the brain. So it seems like lithium has a lot of promise, and I'm really looking forward to the years to come to see what this really does in humans.

WHITFIELD: So how would it potentially be administered to humans? And, you know, how has lithium been used historically in medicine?

CROLL: So lithium has been used for over 100 years as a mood stabilizer, often treating people with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder. I want to be clear that the form of lithium they're using in this study is different than the form that's used in psychiatry, and it's also in this study a much, much lesser quantity. So the quantities of lithium that we use in psychiatry can actually approach toxic levels. It is not safe for people to just buy lithium and take it. What's being used in this study is a brain-safe form of lithium in a

safe amount, and essentially it's used as a supplement in the diet of these mice, which is really interesting. We already get lithium in our diet as humans from leafy greens, nuts, legumes.

So it seems like perhaps it doesn't even take an actual supplement, but maybe diet could be an avenue to capitalize on this research as well.

WHITFIELD: So you also see it potentially as like an oral medicine, though?

CROLL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: OK. What are the potential risks?

CROLL: And I think it could also be used in diagnostics.

WHITFIELD: OK.

CROLL: Well, you know, I think it's really too early to say because we've only been looking at this form of lithium in mice. We haven't looked at it in humans yet. So we really have no data to kind of inform what the risks are.

So what I would say is no one at home should be running to the store to try and buy lithium to prevent their dementia, but they should be watching the headlines, waiting to see what we learn as time goes on, because the more time we have to study this in humans, the better informed we can be about safety and efficacy of this drug.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Leah Croll, thank you so much.

CROLL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, midair turbulence. It's becoming more common, especially on some of the busiest commercial routes. What's causing it and where is it the worst? Next.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Turbulence has long been part of the flying experience, but experts say it is becoming more frequent and more severe. Just last week, severe turbulence struck a Delta Airlines flight going from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam and forcing it to make an emergency landing, sending 25 people to the hospital.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is taking a closer look at what causes turbulence and where you're most likely to encounter it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Turbulence is caused by disturbances in the atmosphere and can be one of the most unpredictable weather phenomenon for pilots. But turbulence does have patterns. And we can look at these patterns to know where some of the most turbulent routes in the world are located.

[15:40:00]

The number one spot is actually in South America, right along the Andes Mountains. You can see on the map here where that orange red color indicates right over the Andes Mountains, where those turbulent flights are located.

Another spot, also a mountainous region, but this time in Asia. The area around the Himalayas is also known for being a very turbulent airspace.

But again, these aren't the only areas. We can also look to the United States where we have the Rocky Mountains, portions of Europe, also where the Alps are located, can provide some patterns of very turbulent air.

But it's not just mountains that provide turbulence. You can also have what's called clear air turbulence. Now, clear air turbulence is caused by wind shear, a rapid change of wind speed and direction with respect to the altitude. The concern here is climate change could end up leading to more of this type of turbulence specifically because as the planet warms, clear air turbulence is also intensifying.

When looking at 2020 versus 1979, there's been a 55 percent increase over the northern Atlantic and a 41 percent increase over the continental U.S. So as the planet warms, we may or may not be looking at potentially more of this clear air turbulence in areas that we wouldn't necessarily have seen it in years past.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Allison Chinchar, thank you -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Brianna. So now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. The U.S. Energy Secretary says the Trump administration will be updating previously published climate reports, which were recently pulled from federal Web sites. Secretary Chris Wright telling CNN the reports were not, quote, fair in broad based assessments of climate change, end quote.

The assessments are mandated by Congress, with hundreds of scientists and climate experts weighing in before an independent panel signs off on their content.

Also, ChatGPT is getting smarter. Its parent company, Open AI, just announced a new upgrade that it claims will make its artificial intelligence significantly faster and more capable than its predecessor. The company says this update will also help prevent the chat bot from deceiving users by what it describes as hallucinating when it can't answer a question. The launch comes as ChatGPT faces increased competition and growing concerns about AI's impact on mental health and future jobs. And finally, actor Dean Cain is trading in his cape for an ICE badge.

Cain, who played Superman in the 1990s television show "Lois and Clark, The New Adventures of Superman," says he is joining ICE to show support for President Trump's immigration crackdown. In an interview with Fox News this week, Cain revealed that he decided to join the agency after sharing an ICE recruitment video on social media, saying he believes this country's immigration system is, quote, broken.

All right, coming up, if you have kids, they are probably obsessed with Netflix's latest movie, "KPop Demon Hunters".

Next, we talk with one of the producers responsible for the hit songs that they are now listening and they're going on repeat over and over and over again.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: If you have kids, you may already know about the new cultural phenomenon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(VIDEO OF KPOP DEMON HUNTERS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's been trashed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: It is the Netflix smash hit KPop Demon Hunters about a superstar girl group battling a demon boy group and an army of angry demons out to eat humanity's souls.

Six of the movie's songs have stormed the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with two of them breaking into the top ten. And it's Netflix's most watched original animated film of all time. And even grownups are getting in on the action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KPOP, GOLDEN: We dreamin' hard, we came so far Now I believe We're goin' up, up, up It's our moment You know together we're glowing Going to be, going to be golden Oh, up, up, up With our voices Going to be, going to be golden

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I spoke to Ian Eisendrath. He is the executive music producer on Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And full disclosure, Ian, this music is, I mean, this is what's playing in the car for me, for my friends who have kids.

Have you been surprised by what a giant success this has been?

IAN EISENDRATH, EXECUTIVE MUSIC PRODUCER, NETFLIX'S KPOP DEMON HUNTERS: Yes. I think you always hope, you know, in a film musical that maybe one song pops and it's soundtrack number one in the film, you know, television space. But it's been so gratifying to see these songs really hit with the public at large and globally and live as songs that are, you know, people are loving inside the film, but also just listening to on the radio, listening to on Spotify in their cars.

That's the dream, for sure.

KEILAR: Yes, and it's spawning. People are making all these videos. They're on social media. They're connecting with their kids on it.

[15:50:00]

And like I mentioned, just the stats on this, the soundtrack number two on the Billboard 200, I looked, you were the number one song on Spotify, one of the songs from the movie. Number one movie on Netflix, and it's been on there for weeks now.

What does this mean to the musicians?

EISENDRATH: I think what it means, I think that we've sort of experienced something where the songs can transcend the film and really become hit songs in their own right. And for every songwriter, music producer, filmmaker, creator on this film, I think it just, I think it really is the thing we were after. We really wanted to create songs that were great songs, great K-pop songs in their own right, made by the K-pop hit makers of today that would land with that audience, but also really do tell story and forward the action and sound right in the mouths of each character.

So I think it just, I think what we're experiencing is this incredible synchronicity between film, story, people experiencing the film on Netflix, and then people experiencing the songs as songs outside of the film and this sort of energy that they feed each other. And I do, I've always felt like story and narrative songs can hit super deep with people if the music is great.

And I think that's been one of the fun things about this film is we brought people in from outside of the normal film songwriting world. We brought K-pop hit makers into the film space and worked with them to develop songs that worked narratively as well.

KEILAR: Yes, these are anthems, and they're being appreciated as such. And I wonder, Ian, because I think, you know, a lot of people, they've heard of BTS, right? They know about Blackpink, they know that K-pop is ascendant, but maybe it's not on their playlist.

And this is changing that.

EISENDRATH: Yes.

KEILAR: What do you think this is doing for pushing K-pop like so thoroughly into the mainstream?

EISENDRATH: I'm hoping it does just that. Like we are working with some of the most talented songwriters, singers, music producers who have always had great songs and have always had incredible talent and have definitely been within the K-pop genre. And I think it's really exciting for music and K-pop in general that there is a transcendence happening where people who are like, I wouldn't listen to K-pop are suddenly listening to these songs, and then they start checking out other groups.

And I've just talked to so many people that said, I didn't know I loved K-pop. And I've always sort of put it in a box, but it's Korean pop music, so there's a wide variety of music sensibilities out there that falls under K-pop. And yes, I think it's just exciting to see this embraced globally by people who love all genres of music.

KEILAR: Yes, well, the story is great too, like you said, the narrative. It's about being true to yourself, being accepted. There's sort of these ideas of shame and what people do with that and how you can embrace a person for their whole person.

I don't want to spoil too much. I want people to see it themselves.

EISENDRATH: Yes.

KEILAR: But I do want to know, Ian, you know, what else is in store here? Because I've been seeing stuff everywhere. Is there going to be a K-pop Demon Hunters 2, 3? Is this going to get the live action treatment?

What can you tell us?

EISENDRATH: I think what I can tell you is there's such interest, and you know, I'm certainly not in the running of film studios, but I think the hunger for it and the amount of buzz about there being more I think is going to definitely feed, hopefully, a K-pop Demon Hunters universe and that we'll experience it in many, many different mediums going forward.

KEILAR: Well, I'll tell you, Ian, I need it because I need another movie to watch. I've seriously watched this movie 20 times, and I'm not too mad about it, but my kids have been watching it over and over, and they just love it. So I know that's the case for so many families.

Thanks for chatting with us about it. Yes, it's super, super fun.

EISENDRATH: Thank you.

KEILAR: Ian Eisendrath, thank you so much.

EISENDRATH: I'm so thrilled to do this. Thank you. Take care. (END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR (on camera): Ahead, do you need some dancing tips? These birds may have all the moves you need. Next.

[15:55:28]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: If you think that you've got some smooth moves on the dance floor, just wait and see what a cockatoo can do. New research shows these elegant and clever birds have at least 30 different dance moves. There's one.

Scientists were able to identify more than a dozen previously unknown moves thanks to pet owners posting videos of their talented cockatoos on social media.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's fun because birds in the wild, well, they're known to show off dance moves, you know, during mating season and all. But scientists say the motivation behind cockatoos dancing to music in captivity remains a mystery.

KEILAR: Maybe it's to have fun. It looks like they're enjoying themselves.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and hopefully there's music going on as it's doing that, right?

KEILAR: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I mean, that's my best dance move, period. It's just, you know, let's move the head. Let's do some snapping.

[16:00:00]

But you're not going to see me doing anything else.

KEILAR: I'm Elaine from Seinfeld.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no, please.

KEILAR: Like you pay me not to dance.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, now I have to see it.

KEILAR: I have something.

WHITFIELD: OK.

KEILAR: But I'm not going to bust a move.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, maybe, all right, maybe as we go into THE ARENA, maybe you'll show me those Elaine moves, because that's funny.

KEILAR: I don't think so. WHITFIELD: OK.

KEILAR: But I really like you, Fred, but I'm not going to show you.

WHITFIELD: Well, I'll give you the hint. That's it, you know. That with some music.

KEILAR: I can do that. I can do the bird.

WHITFIELD: That's safe. You can do that in the car, you know, driving.

KEILAR: "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts now.

END