Why Can't Airlines and Customers Get Along?

Guest: Jason Whiting, PhD, Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy, Texas Tech University It might be uncomfortable to admit, but when we hear a news story about someone who was attacked, we might notice ourselves scanning the details to see how the victim was different from us. If we find that they were in a location where we never go, out alone after dark, drinking or doing drugs, we tend to feel safer, like it’s something that could never happen to us—but what we’re really doing is blaming the victim. Therapist Jason Whiting says that even though we do it as a way of protecting ourselves, that’s not to say we should be doing it. Understanding that it happens is important to changing how we think about abuse and violence.

Guest: John Rogers, PhD, Professor of Material Science and Engineering, Northwestern University Wearable trackers like the Fitbit and implanted devices such as pacemakers would seem pretty incredible to a time traveler, but they’re no big deal in modern medicine. The next frontier of wearable technology involves making devices much smaller and more flexible. One idea that John Rogers’ team at Northwestern University is working on is a tiny temporary tattoo with all the sensors and circuits necessary to monitor basically anything they want to about bodily function.

Guest: Ben Novak, Lead Researcher at Revive & Restore Movies like Jurassic Park come to mind when we think about bringing lost species back to life, and they perfectly encapsulate all that could go wrong. But a lot of serious scientists believe de-extinction actually has great positive potential for the earth.   Visit the website for Revive and Restore here.

Guest: Jonathan Phillips, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology, Harvard Abraham Lincoln famously urged a divided nation to unite and listen to the “better angels of our nature.” There’s evidence out of Harvard that one naturally does listen to those angels. When faced with a split-second decision, the bad choice isn’t even considered as a possibility. It’s only after further consideration that the not-so-angelic side will lean toward stealing the candy bar or running the red light or sneaking onto the bus without paying the fare.

Guest: Rachel Wadham, Host of BYUradio’s Worlds Awaiting Wadham is the education and juvenile collections librarian at BYU and host of Worlds Awaiting on BYUradio. It’s a show dedicated to encouraging a love of reading and discovery in children. It airs Saturdays at 1:30 p.m. Eastern and can be heard weekdays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on BYUradio.