Measuring Pain, Blind Navigation, Political Moms

EEG Test Provides More Effective Way to Measure Pain -- (Originally aired December 10, 2018) Guest: Carl Saab, Professor of Neurosurgery at Brown University and the director of the Pain & Neural Circuits Center research lab at Rhode Island Hospital Pain is notoriously difficult to gauge and treat because it’s so subjective. That’s one of the reasons opioids became so popular in the US. All doctors can really do is ask a patient to rate their pain on a scale form 1-10. But now researchers at Brown University are using brain scans to make pain objectively measurable -more like taking your temperature. Augmented Reality for the Blind -- (Originally aired February 4, 2019) Guest: Markus Meister is a Professor of Biological Sciences and Executive Officer for Neurobiology at the California Institute of Technology Blind people have two options for navigation: a cane or a guide dog. Augmented reality may soon be a third choice. At CalTech, they’ve developed software guides a blind person by layering sound on the space around them. The evolution of motherhood in political campaigns -- (Originally aired June 4, 2019) Guest: Kelly Dittmaris an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University–Camden and Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics, author of Navigating Gendered Terrain: Stereotypes and Strategy in Political Campaigns In the last presidential democratic debate, Senator Elizabeth Warren talked about how losing her job as a teacher after having a baby taught her resilience. Senator Amy Klobuchar told a story about how her daughter got really sick after birth inspired her to advocate for hospital reforms and go into public service. Motherhood used to be considered a liability in politics, but more women are highlighting the ways that being a mother qualifies them to lead. Why Storming Area 51 Is Unlikely to Yield Alien Secrets -- (Originally aired August 6, 2019) Guest: Peter W. Merlin, Aerospace Historian, Founding Member of the X-Hunters Aerospace Archeology Team, Author of “Images of Aviation: Area 51” So apparently it was a college kid’s joke, but the Facebook page calling for a mass invasion of the secretive government site Area 51 went viral. Before the owner took it down recently, more than a million people signed on to “Storm Area 51” on September 20th. “They can’t stop all of us!” “Let’s see them aliens” the page quipped. And while it’s been taken down, others have popped up in its place. Just in case people are serious, the military has warned that “Area 51 is an opening training range . . . and the US Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets.” Your Body Hosts Trillions of Viruses, and That’s OK -- (Originally aired December 20, 2018) Guest: David Pride, MD, Director of Molecular Microbiology, University of California San Diego It’s the time of year when we start thinking of viruses and bacteria as particularly nefarious –flu and cold season. But our bodies, are in fact, teeming with viruses we wouldn’t want to be without. Just like there are “good bacteria,” we’re also learning there are “good viruses.” And you’ve got a lot. Pokémon: Childhood Fad or Enduring Adult Franchise? -- (Originally aired June 4, 2019) Guest: Nicholas Bowman, Professor of Communication Studies, Texas Tech University Ash Ketchum finally became a Pokémon master this week after 22 years. I admit that means nothing to me, but fans of the Pokemon anime cartoon series have watch the show’s hero –Ash –come up short in every major competition for 22 years. Then he wins and fans are ecstatic –all over social media calling the victory historic and inspirational. Not being a Pokemon fan, I honestly don’t get how it’s still so popular after all these years.