"Fame Junkies:" Jake Halpern Explores America's Obsession With Celebrity Fame

Everywhere you look in American culture it seems there are images of fame and celebrity. When Jake Halpern set out to write his book "Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America's Favorite Addiction," he wanted to answer a few questions. Why do countless Americans yearn so desperately to have entertainment-celebrity type fame? Why do others, like celebrity personal assistants, devote their entire lives to servicing these people? And why do millions of others fall into the mindless habit of watching them from afar?

In order to get the answers he sought, Halpern talked with academics, psychologists, magazine editors and teenagers about why more Americans would rather be famous, than not. The CBC's Sook Yin Lee talked with Halpern about what he discovered.

Other Stories On KUOW Presents:

• Foreclosed Homeowners Getting Back In The Market
• Gold Bugs Find The Shine In Precious Metal
• Tricky Lizards
• Jollibee: A Taste Of Home For Filipinos
• At Life's End, A Final Home On The (Shooting) Range
• Poet Alice Derry On "Fooling Around" With The Artistic Life
• Papier-Mache
• History Isn't Set In Stone
• Tim Burgess
• How's Your Commute?