What the 2020 Election Tells Us About the State of America (0:33)

Guests: Chris Karpowitz, Professor of Political Science, Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, Brigham Young University; Grant Madsen, Professor of History, Brigham Young University

The outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election remains contested in several key states where vote counting continues and the Trump Campaign is filing legal challenges.

 

Training Robots Like You Train Dogs (23:42)

Guest: Andrew Hundt, PhD Candidate, Computational Interaction and Robotics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University

Can techniques used to train dogs work for teaching robots new skills? Robotics engineer Andrew Hundt has had some success. Hundt calls the robot he’s training “SPOT.”

 

Fishing Conflict in Nova Scotia (34:39)

Guest: Douglas Sanderson, Professor of Aborigional Law, University of Toronto

There’s a lobster war going on in Nova Scotia. Tensions between commercial and Indigenous fishers have risen to the point of sabotage. Commercial fishers recently ransacked two lobster pounds, barricading some indigenous fishers inside and dumping their lobster into the ocean. One of the pounds was burned down shortly after–it’s being investigated as arson. Commercial fishers argue that indigenous people are threatening their livelihoods with fishing practices outside of federal regulation, while the indigenous fishers say they’re only operating within their centuries-old rights.

 

Let’s Talk: How English Conversation Works (52:50)

Guest: David Crystal, Writer, Editor, Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, University of Bangor, Author of “Let’s Talk: How English Conversation Works”

Sometimes a conversation is so easy and engaging, you wish it didn’t have to end. Sometimes it’s so awkward or difficult that you’re desperately looking for an out after just a few minutes. What’s the difference between good conversation and bad? Also, are you good at conversation or not?

 

New Way to Stop Cow Predators: Paint Eyes on Cow Rumps (1:33:10)

Guest: Cameron Radford, PhD Candidate, Conservation Biologist, University of New South Wales Sydney

Around the world, when predators like lions and leopards attack livestock, some farmers will hunt down the big cat and kill it. And that’s a major factor in what’s driving these animals to extinction in certain places. So a couple conservation biologists came up with an idea: what if they painted eyes on the rear ends of cows in Botswana?