Trump’s First Test with Congress Guest: Chris Karpowitz, Professor of Political Science, co-director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, BYU The Republican party’s initial efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare failed last week in dramatic fashion. President Donald Trump says he’s moving on to other priorities, including tax reform, and he shrugged off the healthcare failure as other people’s failures – certainly not his own. But just how much blame does he bear for the inability of Republicans to deliver on seven years of promises to end Obamacare?  Holy Smokes: Batteries in Flames Guest: Dean Wheeler, PhD, Professor of Chemical Engineering, BYU  Holy smokes! Did you see the story earlier this month about the woman whose noise-cancelling headphones caught fire and burned her face on a flight to Australia? And last year there were massive recalls of battery-powered hoverboards and Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones because they were catching fire.  We don’t think much about the rechargeable batteries that power so much of what we use every day: we just want them to last as long as possible between charge. But are we actually carrying little bombs around in our pockets and purses?  Particle Accelerators Guest: Mark Transtrum, Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, BYU The first time many of us ever paid much attention to the scientific device known as a particle accelerator was probably five years ago when physicists in Switzerland used one to discover something called Higgs Boson, which is apparently important to understanding the nature of the universe. Scientists caught a glimpse of it by engineering a massive high-speed collision of larger particles around a 17-mile circular track called the Hadron Collider. It’s the world’s largest particle accelerator.   Here’s what you may not realize, though. Particle accelerators are not just for physicists trying to answer big questions. They’re also used, on a smaller scale, to sterilize medical equipment and kill pathogens on produce. They’re used for hardening plastic and setting glue on milk cartons and potato chip bags. They help make computer chips, too, and can kill cancer cells.  Illegal Ivory Trade Guest: Thure Cerling, Professor of Biology, Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah And estimated 30,000 African elephants are killed each year, to satisfy demand for ivory – particularly in Asia. The poaching is pushing African elephants toward extinction, despite bans on the international trade of ivory. Smugglers usually try to pass off the ivory as antique—and thus exempt from trade restrictions—but the bootleggers may have met their match in our next guest.  Power Rangers Guest: Rod Gustafson, parentpreviews.com The Power Rangers morphed from the TV to the big screen over the weekend. An origin story of how the teens got their powers and took it upon themselves to save the world. Private Companies Innovating for Global Health Guest: Gary Cohen, Executive Vice President of Global Health and Development, Becton, Dickinson and Company Up until the mid-1990s, the World Health Organization and other global health leaders were more likely to be cracking down on private drug and medical device companies than partnering with them.  In the last few decades since that mindset at the WHO shifted, private companies have emerged as a leading source of money and leadership in the global fight against disease and in the development of life-saving devices.  The BD Odon Device