i am not sure i agree with this. the only thing i am doing to prepare for interviews is to read over my application and think of answers to common questions about me and my experiences and my strengths/weaknesses.
i figure, i am not going to become an expert on the many many current events/bioethical issues. and i think it is really ok to say you don't know that much about something if an interviewer asks. in fact, i think it might even be preferrable than trying to be an expert on a lot of subjects. from doing a couple secondaries (mostly the duke one) i got myself a little familiar with some recent topics, but i am by no means totally well informed on anything. i think that a cursory knowledge of some stuff coupled with a complete honesty is totally fine (maybe even preferrable). i figure intreviewers have interviewed many many people, and your knowledge of ethica dilemmas in cloning isn't going to really impress them. but being a nice, personable, relaxed person is. so i am working more on that end.
ok, so sorry for the really long post, but basically i read over a lot of sdn feedback before my first interview, and got a little scared that i would have to know the details about every current event and topic. but my first interview went really really well, and believe me, ALL i knew was myself. i practiced some answers to common questions, and made a list of things/events/experiences in my life that i would like to talk about. i was able to work like 75% of these into the conversation and never felt myself stumped on questions about myself.
if you think about it, the probability that any one current event/ethical topic is going to come up in an interview is slim to none. but the chance that you are going to be asked why you want to be a doctor, what you learned from ___ extracurricular, what your greatest challenges have been etc. are basically 100%. i'd say concentrate on these questions.
well that is definitely just my two cents!