Ebola Outbreak in DRC is Relatively Small, But Potentially Harder to Stop than West African Outbreak in 2015

Guest: Steven Hatch, Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, University of Massachusetts Medical School

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has sickened 2,400 people –more than half of them have died. And now the disease has spread to neighboring Uganda. But the World Health Organization has so far declined to declare the outbreak a global health emergency. 2,400 cases is much smaller than the 28,000 cases of Ebola we saw several years ago in West Africa. But infectious disease experts say the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is still worrisome and will likely be much harder to stop. 

 

The Unsung Hero of the Battle of Midway

Guest: David Rigby, Author, “Wade McClusky and the Battle of Midway”

Six months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the US dealt a devastating blow to Japan’s naval fleet in what’s know as the Battle of Midway. Historians consider it a turning point of World War II in the Pacific. But it almost wasn’t. The bombers sent to sneak-attack Japan’s aircraft carriers got bad information: the ships weren’t where they were supposed to be and the American planes were running low on fuel. So one man named Wade McClusky followed his gut and made history. 

 

iPhone Shortcut Allows your Phone to Automatically Start Recording when Pulled Over by Police

Guest: Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project

There are smart phone apps – and even an iPhone shortcut – that make it easy to record a police encounter. The ACLU’s Mobile Justice app automatically sends the video to your local ACLU branch when you stop recording, just in case a police officer tries to confiscate your phone. The iPhone shortcut will start video recording when you say, “Siri, I’m being pulled over.” Should you install one of these apps? Are they even legal? 

 

Diversity in State Courts

Guest: Robert Christensen, Professor of Public Service and Ethics, Romney Institute of Public Management in the Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University

States have Supreme Courts that interpret state laws and constitutions in the same way the US Supreme Court does for federal laws and the US Constitution. And just like the US Supreme Court, state supreme courts are the court of last resort for someone hoping to get a ruling in their favor.

 

Dust Is Deadlier Than You Might Think

Guest: Gabriel Filippelli, Professor of Earth Sciences and Founding Director of the Center for Urban Health, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Director of the 360 Dust Analysis Project for the U.S. and Canada

My vacuum has one of those clear canisters so I can see exactly how much stuff it’s removing. And even though this is the time of year when dust really piles up because I have my windows open a lot, I’m still shocked every time I empty the vacuum. Where is all that stuff coming from? An international collaboration of scientists is looking for the answers. We know surprisingly little about dust and what it’s made of, apparently. 

 

What’s Going on in YA Literature?

Guest: Jessica Day George, Young Adult Author, "Princess of the Midnight Ball" and "Dragon Slippers"

The best-selling novel “The Hunger Games” is getting a prequel. It doesn’t even have a name yet, but its already going to be made into a movie. Dystopian stories like that have been big in young adult in fiction for the last decade. But before that it was paranormal romance like Twilight, and before that, fantasy like Harry Potter. What’s next?