Puerto Rico, Co-Sleeping, Origami Diapers

Guest: Charles R. Venator-Santiago, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and El Instituto: Institute for Latino/a, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies, University of Connecticut The governor of Puerto Rico is orchestrating a major push to demand that Congress honor the wishes of his people, who voted a week ago to become a full-fledged state. Puerto Rico’s governor Ricardo Rossello says statehood would be better for the island’s economy – and frankly that its current status is unfair and undemocratic.

Guest: Susan Stewart, PhD, Professor of Sociology, Iowa State University, Author of “Co-Sleeping: Parents, Children and Musical Beds” In the middle of the night, tired parents will cave to nearly any demand, if it means a few more minutes of precious sleep. So kids sneaking into bed with mom and dad might be tolerated if everyone gets more shut-eye out of the deal. And if it becomes a habit? Well, American parents aren’t that likely to admit it publicly, with fear of SIDS and raised eyebrows. So, we really don’t know how many American families are co-sleeping, as this arrangement is called. Susan Stewart wanted to find out more.

Guest: Shahzeen Attari, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Bloomington Do you know where the water from your tap actually comes from? The steps it went through to become clean, drinkable H2O? How about where it goes when it leaves the drains in your sink, shower, or toilet? You don’t really need to know the answers to enjoy the benefits of our water system, but if we’re going to deal with drought effectively or prevent future contamination disasters like the one in Flint, Michigan, we all need to know how the water system works.  And new research suggest we really don’t get it. Indiana University Bloomington professor Shahzeen Attari surveyed 500 college students about their water system knowledge.

Guest: Rod Gustafson and Donna Gustafson, Film Reviewers at ParentPreviews.com (link) Pixar’s Cars are back in theaters, but a lot has changed since we first met cocky young racer Lightning McQueen.

Guest: Spencer Magleby, PhD, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, BYU; Mike Alder, Director of BYU Technology Transfer Office There’s a big market opportunity on the horizon for makers of a product area that’s a little sensitive to discuss. Adult diaper sales are expected to increase 48 percent in the next few years. Compare that to baby diaper sales which are only expected to grow by 2.5 percent, according to Bloomberg News. In a decade, diaper companies Kimberly Clark and Procter & Gamble expect to be selling more diapers for adults than for babies. The reason is pretty simple – the baby boomers are aging, and they’re going to want some better options than exist right now.  A team led by BYU mechanical engineering professor Spencer Magleby took some cues from origami to design a better adult diaper.