Bernie Mac's Death Spotlights Immune System Disorder

When asked about the unexpected death of his friend- Bernie Mac, George Clooney responded " The world just got a little less funny." Clooney - who starred alongside Mac in 2001 movie Ocean's Eleven and the film's two sequels - revealed he would miss Mac, who died aged 50 of complications arising from pneumonia, in a Chicago hospital. Mac also suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease, but he had said the condition went into remission in 2005. His publicist, Danica Smith, has said the pneumonia was unrelated to the sarcoidosis. His death has brought attention to sarcoidosis and other immune system disorders affecting millions of people and growing. In most cases there is no known cause and there is no cure. In this week's hot topics, we talk with award-winning journalist Richard Cohen, author of Strong at the Broken Places, about the people coping with devastating conditions who fight hard every day to overcome. You can listen to the podcast here.