NASA Practicing Techniques for Countering Deadly Asteroids (0:40)

Guest: Richard Binzel, PhD, Professor of Planetary Science, MIT

In early August, NASA put out a startling press release announcing that an asteroid the size of a football field had just barely missed colliding with Earth. All of NASA’s monitoring systems had failed to notice the asteroid was coming. If it had hit us, it would have obliterated everything within 50 miles of the impact, says NASA. Coincidentally, NASA held a Planetary Defense Conference a few months earlier to plan for just that kind of scenario. They ran a simulation in which scientists launched six imaginary spacecraft at the imaginary asteroid, hoping to knock it off course. But instead, a chunk split off the asteroid and ended up destroying half of Manhattan. MIT planetary scientist Richard Binzel participated in the practice run of NASA’s plan to protect us from an asteroid strike. (Originally aired June 18, 2019)

Dealing with Dementia (16:19)

Guest: Anne Kenny, MD, Professor Emerita, University of Connecticut Health Center. Author of “Making Tough Decisions about End-of-Life Care in Dementia”

Dementia diagnoses hit 500,000 Americans a year –but that number is only the beginning. There are usually several family members who suffer alongside the dementia patient, and it is no easy task for them to get through the experience with their sanity and relationships intact. Anyone embarking on that journey could use a guide. (Originally aired November 21, 2018)

Training Robots Just Like We Train (39:29)

Guest: Matthew E. Taylor, assistant professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Washington State University

In the not-too-distant future, when robots are cooking our meals and cleaning our houses, how do you suppose we’ll train them to do things the way we like them? To add that extra dash of spices right at the end? Or tuck the bed sheet corners in the way we like them? Goodness knows I’ve struggled to get my smart phone set up just the way I like it. . . I can only imagine what challenge a robot maid might present. This is the riddle Matthew Taylor is tackling at Washington State University’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, where he’s a professor. He thinks maybe training a robot will be similar to training a dog. (Originally aired June 21, 2016)

Are 16-year-olds Mature Enough to Vote? (51:10)

Guest: Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart & Former Takoma Park Youth Council Chairperson Kiran Kochar McCabe

Many of the young activists who’ve been joining immigration and climate protests over the last few years will still be too young to vote come the 2020 election. The national voting age is 18. But states can let younger people vote in statewide elections. City governments can do the same thing for citywide elections. Takoma Park, Maryland, which is a suburb of Washington, DC, six years ago became the first city to lower its local election voting age to 16, despite concerns that kids that young aren’t mature enough to cast an informed vote. (Originally aired August 13, 2018)

New DNA Sequencing Technique Diagnoses Diseases Better (1:10:59)

Guest: Charles Chiu, MD, Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of California at San Francisco

There’s a fair amount of guesswork and trial-and-error in treating a patient with a mysterious infectious disease. Even when you’ve got what looks like a common cold or flu virus, a test can take days to come back with enough specifics to guide your doctor on which medicine to prescribe. In critically ill patients, where the infection is moving fast and time is short, doctors need better options. (Originally aired July 8, 2019)

The Forgotten Homeless (1:25:31)

Guest: Graham Pruss, Researcher, University of Washington's Interdisciplinary Critical Narratives Team and Homeless Research Initiative

Big cities with expensive housing across the country are seeing a rise in the number of people living in their cars. Oakland, California this week announced its car and RV dwelling population has doubled over the past two years. This is a tough population for cities to help because, technically car campers are homeless, but they don't usually consider themselves homeless and they’re not interested in staying at a homeless shelter or accessing homeless services. So they fall through the cracks –and become a nuisance for neighborhoods who don’t want overstuffed cars parked perpetually on their streets. (Originally aired July 25, 2019)