Stories with The Apple Seed

Guest: Quinn Mecham, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science, Brigham Young University Every month, Quinn Mecham brings us three world events that might not be on our radar screens but are worth digging into.

Guest: Andrew Hoffman, PhD, Professor of Environment and Sustainability, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan We talk to a lot of really smart scientists and researchers on this show, and we’ve learned that it’s a special skill for someone in a very technical field to be able to translate that work into language the rest of us can understand. Academics aren’t trained to be good storytellers. They’re busy trying to cure cancer or solve the mysteries of the universe. Who’s got time to Tweet or blog about their work for the general public?  But that needs to change if the academic world wants to save itself from losing relevance in this digital age, according to Andrew Hoffman.

Guest: Lisa Bitel, PhD, Professor of History and Religion, University of Southern California St. Valentine, St. Nicolas, St. Patrick—all historical figures whose lives have become the stuff of legends. But as with all legends, the story we pass down usually outgrows the facts. When it comes to St. Patrick, well, he wasn’t even Irish.

Guest: Jonathan Claussen, PhD, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Associate, US Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory Fitbits are just the beginning. Biosensors someday may be embedded in your workout clothes to alert you if you’re getting dehydrated – and by the way, you could send that sweaty shirt through the washing machine without damaging the sensor. Sensors embedded in food packaging could tell you if the egg-salad sandwich you’re about to eat for lunch has been contaminated.  Biosensors implanted in your body could regulate your heart beat or tell a damaged organ to regenerate. What could make this incredible future possible? Graphite. Yep, that stuff in pencils. Iowa State University nanoengineer Jonathan Claussen has figured out how to print microscopic flecks of it onto just about anything to make flexible, waterproof circuits.

Guest: David Greenberg, PhD, Professor of History, Journalism and Media Studies, Rutgers University, Author, “Republic of Spin: An Inside History of the American Presidency”