Weapons of Math Destruction (Originally aired: Sept. 20, 2017)

Guests: Chris Karpowitz, PhD, Associate Professor, Political Science, BYU; Grant Madsen, PhD, Assistant Professor, History BYU Two weeks from today we’ll be back in government shutdown watch mode, unless Republicans and Democrats have come to an agreement on spending and immigration by then. The three-day shutdown that happened over the past weekend was the first to occur with a single party controlling the White House and Congress. But it’s not as if U.S. leaders all the way back to George Washington have managed to pass a budget on time every year. It’s just that until fairly recently, the whole government did not shut down when Congress missed a budget deadline. So why does it happen now? And are we better off for it as a nation?

Guest: Brandon Sanderson, New York Times Bestselling Author Fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson’s latest book, Oathbringer, sold 300,000 copies in its first week. At more than 1200 pages, it’s a complicated tale of humanity hanging in the balance, while vengeful races, both human and non, battle for dominance through the use of magical powers. While he’s writing such long – and successful books – Sanderson also makes a point of mentoring aspiring writers. He even teaches a semester-long class here at BYU. Brandon Sanderson's Lectures on Writing

Guest: Murad Alam, MD, Vice Chair and Professor, Department of Dermatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine If you search for “face yoga” on YouTube, you’ll end up with so many videos of people contorting their faces in crazy ways while promising that you’ll look years younger if you follow suit. “Get the benefits of plastic surgery without going under the knife!” You’re right to be skeptical. Dermatologist Murad Alam sure was. And then he decided to do a scientific experiment testing the effectiveness of these exercises. Now he’s singing a different tune.

Guest: Brooks Keeshin, MD, Clinician Researcher, Division of Child Protection and Family Health, University of Utah, Child Psychiatrist at the Center for Safe and Health Families at Primary Children’s Hospital, Salt Lake City On Tuesday, two 15-year-olds were killed, allegedly by another 15-year-old, in a school shooting in Kentucky. Over a dozen more students were wounded. It’s a scene that’s becoming almost routine in America. As parents, how do we explain these acts of violence to our children when they are becoming more common? How young is too young for a conversation about an event as unpredictable and terrifying as a mass shooting?

Guest: Lea Salonga, Tony Award-Winning Broadway Performer The Broadway revival of “Once On This Island” features the Lea Salonga as Erzulie, the goddess of love. Salonga is one of musical theater’s biggest stars and the voice of Disney princesses Jasmine and Mulan. But when we met up with her during a visit to BYU last spring, she was sitting on the edge of a folding chair in a room of aspiring performers. A few had been chosen to sing for her.