SpaceX's Obstacles in the Pursuit of Life on Mars

Guest: David Axelrod, Director of the non-partisan Institute of Politics, University of Chicago, Former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama Republicans and Democrats are farther apart than they’ve been in decades. Compromise is a sign of weakness. Crossing the aisle is so risky that a champion of bipartisanship in the Senate – Arizona Republican Jeff Flake – saw the writing on the wall and decided not to run for re-election. In announcing his departure, he lamented “the destructiveness of our politics,” the “indecency of our discourse” and the “coarseness of our national dialogue.” Who's to blame for this and is there any turning back?

Guest: Joel Thornton, PhD, Professor of Chemistry and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington Here’s an electrifying correlation. In the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, lightning is twice as likely to strike over shipping lanes than it is to strike just outside the path where ships move. Researchers at the University of Washington believe the ships are attracting the lightning. But how?

Guest: Brett Herbst, Owner and Founder of The MAiZE, Founder of Cornbelly’s Corn Maze, Lehi, UT Every Halloween, tens of thousands of people across the country drive to a corn field and buy a ticket to get lost in a maze carved through the tall stalks. Corn mazes are relatively new as a cultural phenomenon, and in some cases, an important revenue source for farmers.  The New York Times dubbed Brett Herbst “King of the American corn maze industry.”  For 20 years, he’s been designing and building corn mazes. He now consults with farmers around the world on more than 200 corn mazes a year. His company is called The MAiZE (that’s M-A-I-Z-E, as in corn).  Click here to find a corn maze near you.

Guest: Douglas Thomas, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, Brigham Young University, Author of “Never Use Futura” What do IKEA, Vogue, and Louis Vuitton all have in common? Not fashion or style, but font.  That modernist, blocky but super-clean typeface that all these brands use is called "Futura," and BYU graphic design professor Douglas Thomas argues that when brands use Futura, they're drawing on political history to sell you a democratic ideal.

Guest: Rachel Wadham, Host of BYUradio’s Worlds Awaiting Today we talk ghost stories: spooky, inspiring and friendly ghosts. Rachel Wadham is the education and juvenile collections librarian here at BYU and host of Worlds Awaiting on BYUradio. It’s a show dedicated to encouraging a love of reading and discovery in children. It airs Saturdays at 1:30 p.m. Eastern and you can also hear it weekdays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on BYUradio.