Worlds Awaiting: Awards Season

Guests: Grant Madsen, Professor of History, BYU; Chris Karpowitz, Professor of Political Science, BYU The shutdown has now lasted a full month. The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to vote this week on a proposal President Trump announced over the weekend to offer temporary protection to undocumented immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. That would be in exchange for funding Trump’s $5.7 billion request for a border wall. But the bill is unlikely to pass because Democrats in both the Senate and House say they will not negotiate until the government is reopened.

Guest: Christopher France, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Ohio University  Up until quite recently, I refused to donate blood. I did it once or twice in college and nearly fainted both times. So I spent the next 20 years convinced I just couldn’t donate. But it turns out I can give blood, if I master the panic that rises in my gut when the needle goes into my arm and I see my own blood start flowing out. I’ve donated successfully a few times recently – so I know it’s possible. Fainting – or feeling faint – is the most common negative side effect of donating blood, but it’s actually very very rare. Yet, many of us think it’s common, and it’s a reason people steer clear of donating.

Joshua Creek performing "Honey Do List" in studio at BYUradio's Highway 89.

(Originally aired:1/25/2018) Guest: Murad Alam, MD, Vice Chair and Professor, Department of Dermatology, NorthwesternUniversityFeinberg School of Medicine If you search for “face yoga” on YouTube, you’ll end up with so many videos of people contorting their faces in crazy wayswhile promising that you’ll look years younger if you follow suit. “Get the benefits of plastic surgery without going under the knife!” You’re right to be skeptical. Dermatologist Murad Alamsure was. And then he decided to do a scientific experiment testing the effectiveness of these exercises. Now he’s singing a different tune.

Guest: Amanda Cavanagh, Don Ort Nature has a problem, according to plant scientists at the University of Illinois. The problem is that photosynthesis is just too inefficient –wasting tons of plant energy that could be used to grow bigger plants. So those researchers are trying to hack the system and help plants grow more efficiently.

Guest: Harley Feldman DNA solves serious crimes on TV all the time. In real life, it’s less common, but a couple of big serial killer cases have been solved using a technique that’s gaining traction in police departments. It’s called familial DNA –and it’s where police track down a suspect not in the database by finding a close relative who is. Only about dozens states currently allow police to do this kind of DNA search. Critics say it’s a potential violation of privacy a new tool for racial profiling.