Worlds Awaiting: Classic Children's Science Fiction

Guest: Henry Farber, PhD, Professor of Economics, Princeton University It’s been ten years since it started. Hard to believe it’s been a decade - the drama still feels fresh. It started when the housing bubble burst and the banks faltered under the weight of foreclosures and bad debt. American companies and everyday people lost wealth and started spending less, which led to massive job losses. The national unemployment rate hit 10 percent. Today, it’s down to four percent. That’s pre-recession level. So is the economy good as new? Or did those years of turmoil in the labor market leave a lasting mark?

Guest: Dana Bourgerie, PhD, Professor and Department Chair of Asian and Near Eastern Languages, BYU Many Cambodians who were alive during the years between 1975-1979 prefer not to talk about them. That was Pol Pot’s brutal reign, when his Khmer Rouge regime tortured and executed millions of Cambodians. Families were split up and sent to work in separate labor camps under the watch of violent guards. Many people simply disappeared. The reluctance of Khmer Rouge survivors to talk about that awful period has led to a generation of young people today who have little understanding of their own family history.

Guest: Katja Poveda, PhD, Assistant Professor of Entomology, Cornell University The world’s farmers face pressure to keep up with a growing population while cutting back on pesticides that hurt the environment. Potatoes in Columbia may yield a natural solution: researchers found that some of the tubers kick into overdrive and produce more potatoes when pests come around.

Guest: Katelyn Strobel, Founder, AllyWatch There are 74 million baby boomers in America who are now approaching the age when a fall or sudden health crisis could make living alone a problem. Technology could be the solution that helps them maintain their independence longer. BYU student Katelyn Strobel has developed a smartwatch application that can detect if mom or grandpa has a fall while wearing the watch and then notify a relative.

Guest: Rae Katherine Eighmey, Author, “Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin: A Founding Father's Culinary Adventures” You may know Founding Father Benjamin Franklin as the American ambassador who wore a fur cap to the French court, or as the inventor who played around with kites in lightning storms. But he also took his curiosity into the kitchen. Cookbook author and food historian Rae Katherine Eighmey has just published a cookbook and biography of Benjamin Franklin’s life that opens up a window into his world.