Why is it so controversial when a recently-retired military general gets nominated as Secretary of Defense? Also, why the pandemic could lead to a golden era in TV and film. A family of tinkerers in California missed going to Disneyland so much this year, they built their own Matterhorn rollercoaster. Also today, we discuss off-shore wind farms and their potential to weaken hurricanes, pinecones and Christmas tree farmers, and Christmas music classics.

Trump Administration’s Federal Execution Spree in 2020

Why Don’t More People Know that Alcohol Causes Cancer?

Conducting Ethical Research in the Digital Age

More Visibility for Women in Elite Chess, Thanks to Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit

How a 2000-year-old Tradition Could Make Hawaii More Self-sustainable

Potential Landslide and Tsunami in Alaska

DNA Helps Identify Service Members Missing In Action from WWII to Today

Sobriety in a Society Filled With Booze

Do Our Dogs Love Us?

Why Jews Are So Funny, and When It’s Okay for Non-Jews to Laugh

Teaching Diplomacy to Kids Through Model UN

How Humans Ate Their Favorite Foods to Extinction

America is Having Record Infections and COVID-19 Deaths Right Now. What About the Rest of the World?

Historical Landmarks Threatened by Climate Change

Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells

A Father’s Story of Premature Birth and Child Loss

Children Reading Over Winter Break

America is Having Record Infections and COVID-19 Deaths Right Now. What About the Rest of the World? (0:32)

Guest: Elizabeth J. King, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, co-author of “Coronavirus Politics” (forthcoming in 2021)

On Wednesday in the United States, more than 3,000 people died of COVID-19. That’s a record high for us, but compared to other countries–and if you take America’s size into account –is the pandemic really worse here?

 

Historical Landmarks Threatened by Climate Change (18:08)

Guest: Erin Seekamp, Professor of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University

All across the US, major tourist attractions and historic sites are at risk from changing climate patterns: California’s great sequoias are burning in wildfires; the East Coast’s famous lighthouses are threatened by rising sea levels and intensifying hurricanes. Even the Statue of Liberty is in danger.  The US is not alone. Famous and important heritage sites all around the world are in danger from flooding, drought, and wildfires. How should we deal with that? Let the chips fall and repair as much damage as possible? Move historic structures to higher ground? Build barriers to keep the elements at bay?

 

Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells (28:45)

Guest: Harold McGee, Author of “Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells” 

Inhale through your nose with me for a moment. What do you smell? Deodorant? Dust? The leather seats in your car? The air freshener plugged into a wall nearby? Maybe there’s a whiff of dog or sweaty feet, or the toasty scent of fresh bread from a nearby bakery? On a subconscious level, we navigate the world as much through smell as through sight or sound. Our noses help us decide where to go, where not to go, when to wash, what to eat.

 

A Father’s Story of Premature Birth and Child Loss (52:18)

Guest: Ted Yang, Entrepreneur, Father of Prematurely-Born Triplets, Author of “Table for Five: A Father’s Story of Life, Love and Loss”

Premature births are extremely common in the United States–one baby out of ten is born early enough to face serious troubles with breathing, feeding and basic organ function. It’s far less common is to hear a father’s perspective on the trauma of premature birth and the death of a child.

 

Reading Over Winter Break (1:31:27)

Guest: Rachel Wadham, Host, Worlds Awaiting, BYUradio, Education and Juvenile Collections Librarian, Brigham Young University

In what’s been an exhausting year for parents of school-aged children, the coming holiday break offers a bit of relief from keeping on your kids to get their homework done, log into Zoom school sessions and complete their daily reading assignments. It’s okay to just let the 20-minutes-a-day thing slide when you’re on holiday, right?

Why Being Broke is a Medical Condition

Just Because It Looks Good, Doesn’t Mean it’s Good for You

Protests Over the Dutch Christmas Tradition of Black Pete

How Not to Diet–The Cookbook

CDC Allows Shorter Quarantine for COVID-19 Exposure

How Sculptors Use Clay and Computers to Create the Cars of the Future

Why Being Broke is a Medical Condition (0:30)

Guest: Michael Stein, Professor of Health Law, Policy and Management, Boston University, Author of “Broke: Patients Talk About Money with Their Doctor”

Dozens of federal stimulus programs that are helping millions of Americans cover basic expenses and avoid eviction during the pandemic are set to expire in the coming weeks. People living in poverty have experienced higher rates of COVID-19 in the United states. The pandemic has laid bare what public health experts have long known–being poor is bad for a person’s health. But typically, the doctors caring for patients with money trouble don’t go there. It’s their job to care for bodies, not budgets.

 

Just Because it Looks Good, it Doesn’t Mean it’s Good for You (21:29)

Guest: Linda Hagen, Professor of Marketing, University of Southern California

If you’ve ever tried to take a good-looking picture of your dinner plate to post on Instagram, you know it’s not easy. There’s an art to styling food so it looks good. But here’s astrange thing–when we see food that looks pretty, we automatically think it’s healthier.

 

Protests Over the Dutch Christmas Tradition of Black Pete (34:15)

Guests: Ayanna Thompson, Regents Professor of English, Arizona State University; Coen Heijes, Professor of Culture and Communition,University of Groningen, Netherlands

The Netherlands has a St. Nicholas and a Santa Claus. St. Nick already came and delivered gifts this past weekend to the Dutch. And instead of elves, St. Nicholas has a helper named Black Pete. Every December 5th, people dress up as Black Pete with black face paint and an afro wig. But as the Black Lives Matter movement’s influence has spread across the globe, this tradition is increasingly coming under scrutiny–protests have even broken out over it. However, many Dutch say it isn’t racist and just part of their cultural heritage.

 

How Not to Diet–The Cookbook (52:23)

Guest: Michael Greger, Founder, NutritionFacts.org, Author of “How Not to Diet” and the “How Not to Diet Cookbook”

This time of year for cycles of indulging and restricting with holiday treats. Now might not seem like the right time to start a new diet–that’s what New Year’s Resolutions are for. But now is maybe a good time to think about some of our food habits and how we might adapt them for a healthier 2021.

 

CDC Allows Shorter Quarantine for COVID-19 Exposure (1:12:46)

Guest: Saskia Popescu, Assistant Professor, Biodefense Program, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University

Last week, the CDC revised its guideline for how long you have to quarantine if you’re exposed to COVID-19. There’s now an option for less time, which is nice. But did they change it because the science has changed? Or just because they knew that two weeks was longer than many people were willing to isolate when they aren’t sick?

 

How Sculptors Use Clay and Computers to Create the Cars of the Future (1:25:47)

Guest: Matt Mantz, Senior Design Modeler, General Motors

In a world of 3D printing and computer-generated everything, it seems unbelievable that the automotive industry would depend on sculptors to design their cars–but they do. As major car manufacturers around the world prepare to unveil their new car models for the next year, the truth is that every one of those new cars at one point was sculpted in warm clay by an "automotive clay modeler."

America’s Months-Long Transition to a New President

The Bipartisan Plan to Subvert the Electoral College

Demand for Non-Profit Work is Up in the Pandemic, But Funding is Down

How Fences Dynamically Change the Natural World Around Them

Michael Gardner Uses Sewing and Fashion to Bond with Daughter

2020 Was Something, Eh?

How Malala’s Father Planted the Seeds of Her Activism for Girls’ Education

Misclassifying Employees as Independent Contractors Hurts Workers

Wikipedia After Twenty Years

Increasing the Number of Black Doctors Could Save The Lives of Black Babies

How Much Is A Penny Really Worth?

How A Child’s Screen Time Might Be Causing Parents Stress

The Case for Making Washington, DC a State

Symbiotic Relationship That Could Help Black Rhinos

Music Festivals are Moving to Minecraft

Acclaimed Book About Race in America “Remixed” for Young People

Plant Hunter Looking to Patent a Newly-Discovered Wildflower