Middle East Panel

Guest: Ronald Rael, Associate Professor and the Chair of the Graduate Committee, Department of Architecture, UC Berkeley, author of “Borderwall as Architecture”

Guest: Peter Tidwell, two-time winner of Food Network’s “Cake Wars,” owner of The Mighty Baker Twice, baker Peter Tidwell has won Cake Wars on the Food Network. Most recently he beat out a bunch of other champions on the show, and he did it with a couple Power Rangers themed cakes—one having Ketchup in it. He’s been known to put blue cheese in frosting, too. Crazy combos are his thing, and so are colorful, playful cake sculptures that look too amazing to eat.

Guest: Marc Meyers, PhD, Profess of NanoEngineering, University of California San Diego Think of all the ways we abuse our hair: we brush it, dye it, shave it, twist it, curl it, and more. It’s flexible, resilient and, actually, as strong as steel. In fact, researchers at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering are wondering if the structure of a human hair can inspire scientists to build stronger synthetic fabrics.

(originally aired Jan. 18, 2017) Guest: Quint Randle, PhD, Professor of Communications, BYU U2’s iconic album, “The Joshua Tree” turns 30 this year and the band is headed out on a commemorative tour.  “The Joshua Tree” wasn’t U2’s first album, but it was its first US chart-topper and made the group into a global phenomenon, capable of filling football stadiums. So, why is U2 – one of the biggest bands of the 1980s – still such a big deal? Why have their fans never quit them? Why do songs like “With or Without You” still have the power to make entire stadiums sway rapturously?