Impeachment Trial Moves Toward Key Votes (0:34)

Guest: James Curry, PhD, Professor of Political Science, University of Utah; Robert Adler, JD, Distinguished Professor, SJ Quinney College of Law, University of Utah

The process of impeaching President Donald J. Trump is winding down. Last week, House Democrats voted to impeach, the US Senate convened a trial and that’s what’s been playing out this last week. First House Democrats got 24 hours to make the case that President Trump abused his power and obstructed justice –two counts the Democrats say warrant impeaching and removing the president from office. Then the President’s legal team had 24 hours to present their defense. And now the trial is in question and answer phase. 

Our Obsession With Natural Products (21:23)

Guest: Alan Levinovitz, Associate Professor of Religion, James Madison University, Author of "Natural: How Faith in Nature's Goodness Leads to Harmful Fads, Unjust Laws, and Flawed Science"

We’re told–and a lot of us agree–that natural is always better, whether it’s food, flavors and fibers or skin care and supplements. But did you know that the FDA doesn’t even define what “natural” means on a food label? It’s basically just a marketing ploy to catch your attention –and it works. Lifestyle brands like Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop have made obsessing about all things natural into a lucrative business. Setting aside the often dubious health and wellness claims attached to anything “natural,” why do we place so much value in the idea of it? 

Auditioning to Become Indiana Jones’ Sidekick (35:29)

Guest: Nobu Adilman, Documentary Filmmaker of "Short Round Up," Musician and Artist

Short Round is maybe the most memorable character in an Indiana Jones movie next to Indy himself. Jonathan Ke Quan played the spunky sidekick in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. But thousands of other kids auditioned for the role, including Nobu Adilman. He made a short documentary called Short Round Up in which he tracks down some of the other aspiring actors who also auditioned for the role. 

"I’m Not Normal and Neither Are You."  Life With Treacher Collins Syndrome (50:10)

Guest: Magdalena and Nathaniel Newman, Authors of "Normal: A Mother and Her Beautiful Son"

The book for young readers called Wonder by RJ Palacio–and the movie based on it –gave people a better understanding of Treacher Collins syndrome. It’s a genetic condition that causes severe facial deformities like Auggie has in Wonder. Nathaniel Newman is sometimes called “the real life Auggie,” because he has Treacher Collins, too, but that’s pretty much where the similarities stop. Nathaniel and his mother Magda are now telling their story in a memoir called Normal: A Mother and Her Beautiful Son. It’s just been published in two versions–one for young readers and one for adults.

Using A.I. to Improve Breast Cancer Detection (1:29:50)

Guest: Mozziyar Etemadi, MD, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at Northwestern University, Physician at Northwestern Medicine

Tens of millions of women in the US get a mammogram each year, because it remains the best way we have to catch breast cancer early. But it’s far from fool-proof. The American Cancer Society says mammograms miss one out of every five breast cancers. And on the flip side, half of women getting a yearly mammogram will end up with a false alarm diagnosis over a 10-year period. Could artificially intelligent software do a better job than human doctors analyzing mammograms?