The Hobbit Turns 80

Guest: Misty D. Smith, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah US Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah introduced a bill last week to expand access to marijuana for research. He said, “While I certainly do not support the use of marijuana for recreational purposes, the evidence shows that cannabis possesses medicinal properties that can truly change people’s lives for the better.” Senator Hatch’s bill aims to make it easier for researchers to study the medical properties of compounds derived from marijuana. Misty D. Smith knows what it takes to get government approval to do medical research on compounds derived from marijuana. She studies a non-psychoactive component of marijuana called CBD and her research is funded by the Epilepsy Foundation.

Guest: Linda Spilker, PhD, Cassini Project Head Scientist at NASA After 20 years of watching its every move, Linda Spilker watched last week as the project she’d spent half her career on carried out a carefully-orchestrated suicide mission. Cassini is the probe that’s been sending back astounding pictures of Saturn and its moons until it completed its mission in spectacular style last Friday.

Guest: Jonathan Wisco, PhD, Assistant Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Translational Anatomy of Degenerative Disease and Developmental Disorders, BYU When you tell a 10-year-old to pick a healthy snack or put down the tablet and go play outside, the inevitable response is “But why?” In response, you could launch into statistics about childhood obesity in America and the lifelong consequences of inactivity, but chances are it wouldn’t sink in. What kids need, according to BYU physiology professor Jonathan Wisco, is some hands-on laboratory experience. Several years ago, he created a program called Anatomy Academy that’s operating now in elementary schools around the country.

Guest: Douglas Hedger, JD, Chief Municipal Judge, Henderson Municipal Court Courtrooms in cities and counties across the country are full of offenders who have problems with addiction or mental illness that drive a cycle of crime. Over and over again, judges will see the same faces standing before them, the penalties and jail time getting tougher with each offense. The cost to taxpayers only goes up, with little hope the offender will manage to get clean and stay out of trouble. At a certain point, Henderson Municipal Court Judge Douglas Hedger had seen enough. In 2008, he created a special program designed to help certain repeat offenders who are mired in addiction, mental illness and joblessness. It’s called the Assistance in Breaking the Cycle—or ABC Court.

Guest: Samuel West, PhD, Curator at the Museum of Failure We all know Thomas Edison invented the light-bulb. But do you know he got it wrong over and over and over before it finally worked? In the face of so much failure, Edison famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” When it comes to innovation, failure comes with the territory.  Hence the new “Museum of Failure” in Sweden and a traveling display touring the globe. Coca-Cola Blak and a Bic Pen for women are part of the collection. Samuel West believes we should celebrate flops, not bury them.