Oscars Review

Guest: Ryan Vogel, JD, Director, Center for the National Security Studies, Utah Valley University President Trump’s agenda for the week includes a meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an escalating conflict with Canada and Mexico over trade. At the center of both issues is Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who last week had his top-secret security clearance revoked. That’s raised questions about how Kushner will continue to manage his wide-ranging portfolio in the administration, which includes negotiating foreign trade deals and overseeing the Middle East peace process.

Guest: Cristal Glangchai, PhD, Founder and CEO, VentureLab, Author, “Venture Girls: Raising Girls to Be Tomorrow's Leaders” Women hold only a quarter of jobs in science, technology, engineering, or math (or STEM) fields, according to the US Department of Commerce. There have been all sorts of initiatives across the country to boost that number, but Cristal Glangchai says we haven’t gotten to the root of the problem. She says the key is teaching young girls entrepreneurship skills, so she founded the non-profit “VentureLab” to do just that. She’s got a new book out, “Venture Girls: Raising Girls to Be Tomorrow’s Leaders.” Check it out here.

Guest: Kal Raustiala, PhD, JD, Professor of Law, University of California, Los Angeles, Director, International Relations, UCLA, Author, “The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation” The Oscars were a very sparkly affair last night – from the Swarovski-crystal-bedecked stage to the glittery, sequined dresses custom-made for Hollywood’s hottest stars by designers including Dior, Versace and Louis Vuitton. Those websites that sell Oscar-dress knock-offs will have their hands full copying all that sparkle. But they won’t need to worry about hiring extra lawyers because, believe it or not, it’s perfectly legal to rip off another designer’s dress. Unlike books or music, fashion is one of the few creative industries without copyright protection. UCLA law professor Kal Raustiala says that’s actually good for fashion.

Guest: Jiamin Huang, Light of China Award, Professor of Dance, Beijing Dance Academy  Jiamin Huang is a retiring BYU dance professor who spent decades building friendship and cultural awareness between the United States and China. She was recently awarded China’s highest honor for a civilian living abroad - NBA player Yao Ming is a former recipient, so that tells you how big time this is. It’s called the Light of China Award.

Guest: Kimball Parker, JD, Attorney, Parsons Behle & Latimer; Dave Brown, JD, MBA, Associate Director, BYU Tech Transfer Office Over the last decade, landlords, payday lenders and credit card companies have increasingly turned to the courts to collect consumer debts. The people who owe those debts rarely have an attorney to help them navigate the lawsuit, which means they often miss key deadlines and end up automatically losing their cases.  A class of BYU law students last semester set out to even the playing field a bit in these debt-collection lawsuits. The result is a free website called “SoloSuit” which walks people through the first important steps when they’ve been sued over a debt.