Mars 2020 Mission

Guest: Eric Jensen, Ph.D, Law Professor at BYU  President Obama has apologized to the head of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders for the airstrike on a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan that killed at least 22 patients and staff. Over the weekend, the Pentagon said the US will make condolence payments to the injured civilians and families of those killed in the strike. The head of Doctors Without Borders is calling for an independent investigation into the strike as a possible war crime.

Guest: Adina Sterling, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University  It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. That old adage is true, according to some new research by Adina Sterling in Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. But there are certain conditions that make it true. And often the more important thing is not just what you know, but whether or not your new colleagues know that you know it.

Guest: Robert Casper, Head of the Poetry and Literature Center of the Library of Congress  The Poetry 180 Project was started by Billy Collins during his time as Poet Laureate from 2001-2003. It’s designed to get high school students interested in poetry.

Guest: Rod Gustafson, Film Reviewer at ParentPreviews.com  Peter Pan’s origin story hit theaters over the weekend, featuring Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund and Levi Miller.  “He Named Me Malala” is a documentary about Nobel Peace Prize winner and activist Malala.

Guests: Anton Bowden, Ph.D., Professor of Mechanical Engineering at BYU; Aubrie Taylor, Graduate Student in Mechanical Engineering at BYU; Mike Alder of BYU’s Technology Transfer Office  Back pain is the most disabling condition in the world and costs billions of dollars to treat every year. An increasing number of people are opting to undergo surgery fusing some of the bones in the spine – even though spinal fusion offers mixed results. In the lab of BYU mechanical engineering professor Anton Bowden, the focus is developing technology to support the spine in less-invasive ways that don’t require removing or fusing bones.