An Eye-Witness Account of Conditions at the Southern Border

Guest: Michael Breen, President and CEO, Human Rights First

A new immigration policy in effect at the southern US border this week, requires people seeking asylum to first apply –and be rejected –for asylum in one of the other countries they’ve passed through on their way to the United States. Trump Administration says the policy is necessary to ease the strain on US immigration system and give priority to people with the most pressing needs for protection. The ACLU is challenging the rule. 

 

Cellular Communication Methods Provide Same Therapy as Stem Cells

Guest: Kshitiz, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut Dental School

The cells in your body are constantly talking to each other, but the precise language they’re using is unclear. A team at the University of Connecticut has made an important step toward deciphering cell communication. 

 

Why the Big Earthquakes in California Recently Were Not “The Big One”

Guest: Rick Aster, Professor and Department Head of the Geosciences Department, Colorado State University

The last two weeks have been very shaky for California. Those two big earthquakes of the Fourth of July holiday emanated from the desert about three hours northeast of Los Angeles were the biggest the state’s seen in decades. They clocked in at 6.4 and 7.1on the Richter scale and have been followed by hundreds of smaller quakes in the region. 

 

How to Be More Lucky

Guest: Tina Seelig, Professor of Practice in Management Science & Engineering, Stanford University, Faculty Co-director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), Author of “What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20”

When Tina Seelig’s son turned 20, she published a book for him. “What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20” became a bestseller. Getting the book published was a stroke of luck. But not the kind of “lightning strike” luck you might think. Seelig used the strategies she teaches her entrepreneurship students at Stanford to increase her chances of lucking into a publisher who would make her a best-selling author. Ten year's later, she's got an updated version of "What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20." It's a "crash course on making your place in the world," and whether you're worried about your kid who's off to college or feeling stuck in a rut yourself, Seelig's ideas may help. 

 

Data from Self-Tracking Technology Has Serious Limitations

Guest: Joseph Reagle, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Northeastern University, Author of “Hacking Life: Systematized Living and Its Discontents”

How much better could your life be if your every movement was optimized for peak performance? With health trackers and spreadsheets, it’s possible to crunch the data on everything from the precise number of minutes you sleep, to the most efficient way to empty the dishwasher. Life optimizing is a thing. On the basic level it’s everyday “life hacks.” But there’s also the “Quantified Self” movement whose motto is “self-knowledge through numbers.” Joseph Reagle has written a book about it, “Hacking Life: Systematized Living and Its Discontents.”