Michael J. Cody (PhD, Michigan State University) is Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. He is the author of six books, more than twenty book chapters, and over forty articles published in journals such as Communication Quarterly, Communication Education, and the Journal of Health Communication. Cody is interested in axonomies of messages in either compliance gaining (seeking one’s goals) or in accounts (offering explanations for one’s actions) when individuals pursue goals in real life contexts such as flirting, relational dissolution, sales encounters, traffic court, child custody mediations, and in health maintenance contexts. Cody is currently involved in a number of projects using entertainment as a means to educate viewers, including educating viewers about breast cancer and infectious diseases.