Where Does Mitt Romney’s Revolt Leave Him With the Republican Party? (0:30)

Guest: McKay Coppins, Staff Writer, The Atlantic, Author of “The Wilderness”

It’s a Mitt moment. Again. The former Republican Presidential candidate is now the first senator in US history to vote to remove a president of his own party from office. Before Utah Senator Mitt Romney cast his vote to convict President Trump of abusing his power, he arranged a series of interviews with reporters to explain why.

 

For Some, Meditation Has Negative Side Effects (18:50)

Guest: Willoughby Britton, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Director of the Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Brown University

It’s become so easy to dabble in meditation that the percentage of American adults who’ve given it a try has more than tripled in recent years. All you need is a smartphone app or a YouTube video. It’s a cheap way to improve your state of mind, and scientific experiments show it can actually rewire your brain in helpful ways. Which begs the question, is it safe? If it’s changing your body and mind, is this the kind of thing people ought to be doing unsupervised? 

 

Does Racial Bias Drive Prosecutors to Punish Blacks More Harshly? (35:56)

Guest: Christopher Robertson, Professor of Law, University of Arizona

In America’s justice system, blacks are imprisoned at almost four times the rate of whites and receive longer prison sentences. How much of that disparity is a result of biased prosecutors deciding to more harshly punish people of color?

 

Is Caffeine Bad for Your Kids? (50:34)

Guest: Jennifer L. Temple, Director of the Nutrition and Health Research Laboratory, University at Buffalo

What’s the story with kids and caffeine? Does it really stunt growth? Should you worry if your teen likes energy drinks? How guilty should you feel when you occasionally cave to your 10-year old’s pleas and let him have a Dr. Pepper?

 

Now Introducing…the Allosaurus Jimmadseni (1:05:16)

Guest: Mark Loewen, Paleontologist, University of Utah

More than 150 million years ago, the Allosaurus walked the earth. It’s one of the biggest predatory dinosaurs that existed, and also one of the most plentiful fossils out there, making it uniquely useful for study. All these specimens have helped paleontologists from the Utah Museum of Natural History identify a new species of allosaur, called the Allosaurus Jimmadseni.

 

When Complaining Is Good for You (1:25:39)

Guest: Robin Kowalski, Professor of Psychology, Clemson University

“No complaining.” That was the one hard-and-fast rule for all outings in Julie's family. Nobody likes a complainer. But we all do it - maybe not in the high-pitched whine of a toddler, but think about the venting you do with someone you’re close to, or the dissatisfaction you lodge with a business that disappoints you. If complaining is so common, it can’t be all bad, can it?