Speed Limits, Balding, Oil Trains, Body Language, Soda

Guest: John Bowman, vice president of the National Motorists Association, which is a member-supported advocacy group for drivers The psychology of driving, and particularly how speed limits influence our behavior on the road, has been in the news here in Utah recently. Back in January, the state boosted the speed limit on I-15 through the most populated part of Utah from 65 miles per hour to 70.  How do you suppose drivers have behaved on I-15 since then? Data just released by the Utah Department of Transportation shows average speeds increased up to 2 miles per hour in some spots compared to how fast drivers were going before the speed limit went up. And in some places, drivers are actually going slower than they used to.

Guest: Cheng Ming Chuong, pathology professor at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine Our next subject is a sensitive one. It’s central to individual identity for so many Americans. We unabashedly spend enormous amounts of money to maintain and improve it. Even more money goes into trying to get it back, once it’s lost. We’re talking about hair. New research coming out of the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine poses some interesting promise for people with hair loss conditions such as alopecia and male-pattern baldness.

Guest: Kurt Repanshek, founder and editor of NationalParksTraveler.com -- the leading online resource for National Parks-related news At least 7 people are dead and several hundred injured after an Amtrak passenger train en route from Washington to New York hurtled off the tracks last night while rounding a curve. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the crash. It’s against this backdrop that NationalParksTraveler.com today published a special report on train safety and America’s National Parks. The report focuses specifically on trains that transport oil near, or even through, some of the country’s most pristine landscapes. In just the last few months trains carrying crude oil have crashed in Illinois, West Virginia, North Dakota and twice in Ontario, Canada, forcing residents to evacuate and contaminating the environment.

Guest: Grant Madsen, BYU History professor We follow along as BYU history professor Grant Madsen, shares his curriculum for his introductory American History course with us. Each week features a new topic and a deeper understanding of significant milestones American history. This week Grant Madsen sat down with Marcus Smith to discuss the Gilded Age.

Guest: Jack Brown, physician and body language expert.  He blogs at Body Language Success. Stop for a moment and take stock of your body language. Are you slouching? Is your head tilted? How aware are of you your posture, movements and facial expressions when interacting with people? We’re generally not aware, according to body language expert and physician, Jack Brown. But he says you can improve your non-verbal communication skills with a few small tips and some extra attention paid to a few areas of the body.

Guest: Kimber Stanhope, research scientist on the effects of diet on metabolic disease at the University of California, Davis A report soon to appear in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that even if you’re young and health, your risk of cardiovascular disease goes up when you consume lots of sugar—even if only for two short weeks.