Why You Might Need a Pillow with an Ant Print

Guest: Clint Penick, Assistant Research Professor, The Biomimicry Center, Arizona State University

You’ve heard of animal prints: leopard, zebra, giraffe, but have you heard of ANT prints? Learn more about the surprisingly fashion-forward insects living in your front yard.

 

The Magnetic North Pole is Shifting

Guest: Arnaud Chulliat, Research Scientist at University of Colorado Boulder and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information)

Santa and his elves better be on the move. The magnetic North Pole has been shifting east for years, and a few months ago it jumped very suddenly. What does that mean for our whole planet?

 

Happiness and our Physical Environment 

Guest: Gretchen Rubin, author, “The Happiness Project”

Your personality type is a clue to how you deal with your stuff: what you buy, how you treat it, when you get rid of it. How can we de-clutter and still be true to who we are? 

 

Is There an Insect Apocalypse?

Guest: Brian Lovett, PhD Candidate in Entomology, University of Maryland

You’ve heard of the fire and brimstone prophesied to rain down when the end of times is upon us, but have you heard about the controversy over the “insect apocalypse?” Or how about engineering fungi that can wipe out malaria? We're getting down and dirty with things that creep and crawl.

 

Why the Days Seem Shorter as We Get Older

Guest:  Adrian Bejan, J.A. Jones Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Duke University and author of “The Physics of Life”

Why does it feel like time passes faster as we age? There is physics behind our perceptions of time, and it changes with age.  

 

How Can Computers Change The Way We Read?

Guest: Brian Croxall, Assistant Research Professor of Digital Humanities, Brigham Young University

Computer scientists crunch numbers to reveal new insight about your favorite authors.