STEM Roots in Childhood Play

Guest: Jennifer Doleac, PhD, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia, Founding Director, Justice Tech Lab Opioids now account for two-thirds of all drug overdose deaths in the United States. One tool states are using to prevent those deaths is naloxone. It’s a medication that can reverse the effects of an overdose – literally save that person’s life - if administered quickly.  So EMTs now carry it with them in ambulances. But all states now have laws making naloxone accessible to everyday people – some would like to see it in everyone’s medicine cabinet, given how common opioid overdose has become.  But what if knowing you’ve got a safety net sitting in your medicine cabinet actually makes someone more likely to overdose on opioids?

Guest: Paul Reville, Francis Keppel Professor, Harvard University Graduate School of Education After teachers in West Virginia went on strike for nine consecutive days, they succeeded in getting a five percent pay increase signed into law last week. Now teachers in Oklahoma, Arizona and Kentucky appear eager to catch the same wave. Union leaders in Oklahoma have even set a date to walk out in early April, if a pay increase isn’t approved by then.

Guest: Urvashi Pitre, Author, “Indian Instant Pot Cookbook” Programmable pressure cookers, like the Instant Pot©, are popping up in home kitchens around the country. The cookers promise one-pot cooking that takes just minutes, instead of hours. Which is a big deal if you love Indian food that requires marinating meat soaking lentils overnight. Food blogger Urvashi Pitre saw her recipe for Indian Butter Chicken go viral, which lead to a cookbook called “Indian Instant Pot Cooking.”

Guest: Andrew Bacevich, PhD, Retired Army Colonel, Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History, Boston University

Guest: Rod Gustafson, Host, Parent Previews Based on the classic children's novel, Meg, her brother and her friend are sent on an intergalactic mission to find her father who mysteriously disappeared while doing scientific research about time and space travel.