VW Scandal, Lady Liberty, Cold War, Dyslexia, Peace Officer

Science Behind VW Scandal (1:05) Guest: Dale Tree, Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering Professor at BYU Volkswagon is poised to announce a plan this week for recalling some 11 million cars fitted with software rigged to cheat on emissions tests in the US and the Europe. The scandal cost Volkswagen’s CEO his job and a drop of $25 billion in market value for the company. Why did Europe’s biggest car maker attempt to fool customers and regulators into believing its cars were cleaner and more efficient than they really were? Why go so far as to have sneaky software that limits emissions only when the car is being inspected? Is it really that hard to make a diesel engine that gets great mileage and has low emissions without cheating? Dyslexia (20:50) Guest: Nancy Mather, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies at the University of Arizona It’s estimated that around 10 and 15 percent of US schoolchildren suffer from dyslexia, a neurobiological disorder that makes it difficult to read and write. Despite the high number of students with the disorder, most states lag in creating laws and policies to make sure dyslexic students get the help they need in school. New Lady Liberty Coin Design (36:37) Guest: Justin Kunz, M.F.A., Designer of U.S. Coinage and Assistant Professor of Illustration at BYU, When the US Mint decided to redesign Lady Liberty for the 2015 American Liberty High Relief Coin, they chose the design submitted by one of our BYU professors, Justin Kunz. To see the design, visit the BYU News Webpage. Our American Heritage: Early Cold War (52:21) Guest: Grant Madsen, Ph.D., History Professor at BYU  BYU history professor Grant Madsen shares insights from the US history courses he teaches on campus here. This week he sat down with BYU Radio’s Marcus Smith to discuss the early years of the Cold War. Peace Officer (1:19:44) Guests: Dub Lawrence, Retired Sheriff; Brad Barber, Co-Director and Co-Producer of Documentary “Peace Officer”; Scott Christopherson, Co-Director and Co-Producer of Documentary “Peace Officer." “Dub” Lawrence had been retired for several decades when, on September 22, 2008, he found himself watching helplessly from across the street as a SWAT team swarmed the home and driveway of his son-in-law, Brian Wood, in Farmington, Utah. Wood was distraught and threatening to kill himself. Dub Lawrence assured his family that the police were professional and knew what they were doing. But things went badly and Brian was killed by a gunshot wound which the police initially claimed was self-inflicted, but later was admitted to have been fired by one of the officers.  Since then, the man who started the SWAT team in Davis County in 1975 has been on a crusade to bring it to justice in his son-in-law's death. The documentary about him - called “Peace Officer,” - won both the Grand Jury and the Audience Award at this year’s South-by-Southwest Film Festival and is opening around the country this month. You can visit the film's website here.