International Events, PTSD, Smartphone Use, Heart Conditions

Three World Events that Matter (0:53) Guest: Quinn Mecham, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at BYU We welcome BYU political science professor Quinn Mecham back for his monthly analysis of three international events that deserve our attention. Mindfulness Meditation and PTSD (24:47) Guest: Melissa Polusny, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota Nearly one in four veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD, which can involve hyper-arousal where the patient is moved to sudden action by stimulation from his or her environment. New research shows that instead of avoiding disturbing thoughts and experiences, accepting them and embracing the present actually helps veterans to cope with PTSD. The Apple Seed (39:35) Guest: Sam Payne, Host of BYUradio’s The Apple Seed Sam Payne joins us in studio and captivates us with a new story. Smartphone Use (51:16) Guest: James Roberts, Ph.D., Marketing Professor at Baylor University Do you know the feeling of trying to put down your smart phone only to be lured back in with rings, beeps, buzzes, and dings? It’s not impossible to turn off your smart phone screen, but for many of us, it can be difficult. If you think you might be addicted to your smartphone, Professor James Roberts can help you supplement your willpower with some strategies to curb the use of your phone. Demanding Bad News (1:10:21) Guest: Jill McCluskey, Ph.D., Economics Professor at Washington State University Economists from Washington State and Belgium have recently created a model that shows that consumers actually can handle bad news, possibly receiving more value from negative news than from positive news. Their findings have been published in the journal Information Economics and Policy. Heart Conditions (1:26:56) Guest: Martin Tristani-Firouzi, M.D., Clinician-Scientist at the University of Utah's School of Medicine According to the National Institutes of Health, every year more than 35,000 babies are born with congenital heart defects in the United States. Modern medicine allows these children to grow up and live long lives, but as more children with heart complications have survived, researchers have noticed that these kids are more likely to have developmental disabilities.