Leap Day Babies (0:32)

Guest: Raenell Dawn, Cofounder of the Honor Society of Leap Year Babies, Editor and Producer of leapyearday.com

This weekend is that once-every-four-years quirk of the calendar when February gets an extra day. Leap Day accounts for the fact Earth’s complete trip around the sun takes 365 days … and 6 hours. We’ve had a Leap Day on the calendar every four years since Julius Caesar decreed it back in 46 B.C. So, you’d think we’d be used to it by now. But it still feels rare enough that people born on Leap Day are a novelty and some organizations won’t even recognize it as a valid birthday. (Originally aired 2/29/16)

Easter Island Statues Degrading From Weather and Tourists (11:16)

Guest: Jo Anne Van Tilburg, Director, Easter Island Statue Project, Cotsen Rock Art Archive at UCLA

The Night at the Museum movie is what first exposed many people to the large stone-faced statues of Easter Island. The American Museum of Natural History in New York has a plaster cast of one with a deeply-furrowed brow that comes to life in the movie. That movie made the American Museum of Natural History’s Easter Island plaster cast a popular exhibit. The statues themselves – on Easter Island – have also become so popular with tourists over the last few decades they’re in danger. (Originally aired 7/1/2019)

Art Restoration Vital for Paintings and Murals Worldwide (29:20)

Guest: Scott Haskins, Director and Chief Conservator, Fine Art Conservation Laboratories

Famous street graffiti artist Banksy’s latest piece of street art is a little girl firing a slingshot on a wall in Bristol, England. Banksy is so famous that his art is really valuable, but that doesn’t stop other graffiti artists from adding their own twist. His latest slingshot girl was vandalized within just two days. And that reminded us of a conversation we had with Scott Haskins over the summer – he’s the guy cities call when graffiti, pollution or weather damage an street mural they want restored. Recently Haskins has been working on a series of murals along Los Angeles freeways that all but disappeared beneath graffiti. (Originally aired 7/31/19)

A College Acceptance Letter Is Not a Guarantee (50:31)

Guest: Anna Ivey, Founder of Ivey Consulting, Former Dean of Admissions at the University of Chicago’s Law School, Co-Author of "How to Prepare a Standout College Application."

Your kid gets accepted to the college of his choice. But then some bad behavior surfaces from his past. The college gets wind and rescinds the acceptance. By all accounts this kind of thing is rare, but a high-profile case last year involving Parkland Shooting survivor and conservative activist, Kyle Kashuv, got us thinking about how colleges make these decisions – and how they decide who is a good fit in the first place. In Kashuv's case, he was accepted to Harvard, but then it became public that he'd made racist comments in text messages and a private online document shared with some classmates when he was 16. Kashuv apologized, but that didn’t change Harvard’s decision to rescind his acceptance. (Originally aired 7/17/2019)

Making Brass Cool (1:05:49)

Guest: Chuck Daellenbach (Tuba) Founder of Canadian Brass; Jeff Nelsen (French Horn) Canadian Brass

Five brass instruments together on stage is already kind of a surprising experience for concert goers – a tuba, French horn, two trumpets and a trombone make a lot of noise. And honestly, we expect to hear these instruments blending into a symphony – not acting like an a cappella group doing renditions of pop songs from the likes of Lady Gaga. The group has been redefining what brass instruments can do for more than 40 years. (Originally aired 3/19/2019)

World Chase Tag Is Your Favorite Childhood Game, Taken to the Next Level (1:25:38)

Guest: Damien Devaux, Co-Creator of World Chase Tag

The last time I played a really serious game of tag I was 14. All the kids in the neighborhood, inside and outside of the house, were dodging furniture, leaping off the porch. A babysitter was in charge and we were really into it – until my brother ran through the glass part of the screen door and nearly cut his arm off. 911, an ambulance and so many stitches that he’s still got a gnarly scar all the way up his arm.  A couple of brothers from England have turned tag into a serious sport they’re hoping to make professional. It’s called “World Chase Tag” and they host tournaments all over the world. (Originally aired 9/30/2019)