Courtroom Sketches from Famous Trials (Originally aired June 7, 2017)

Guests: Chris Karpowitz, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science, Brigham Young University; Grant Madsen, PhD, Assistant Professor of History, Brigham Young University On the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s presidential election victory, Democrats picked up some important state-level seats. The outcome has been described as a worrisome sign for Republicans that President Trump’s polarizing ways could make it hard for the part to keep its grip on Congress in next year’s mid-term elections.

Guest: Mark Hyman, Author, Assistant Teaching Professor of Management and Tourism Studies, George Washington University The way kids play sports across the country these days looks a lot more like professional sports than it does the recreational Little League or soccer you or your parents might have played. Today kids pay high fees to play on club teams that travel extensively, play and practice year round and vie for the most talented players. Often the most skilled youngsters end up in development academies affiliated with the pro sports teams their youth leagues now emulate. And all this professionalization has made stars out of young prodigies. But it’s also leading to high schoolers with the kinds of injuries we used to see only in pro athletes.

Guest: James Nifong, PhD, Division of Biology, Kansas State University Ecologist James Nifong has uncovered proof of something that happens more often in the wild than scientists previously thought. In a battle between two top predators – the gator and the shark, who will win? Most wildlife biologists would put odds on the shark winning that match, but that isn’t the case.

Guest: Marc Agronin, Geriatric Psychiatrist, Vice President, Behavioral Health and Clinical Research, Miami Jewish Health Systems, author of “How We Age: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Growing Old” The prospect of growing old is terrifying. Once we're solidly in middle age, we look to the post-retirement years down the road and worry about losing body function – or worse, brain function. One in seven people over the age of 70 has dementia in the US. When you look at Americans 85 and older, a third have Alzheimer’s. But aging isn't all that bad, according to Dr. Agronin, and few people have seen the realities of aging as fully as he has.