Dr. Aarron Atkinson-Toal explores the psychology and neuroscience behind consumer behavior, revealing how marketing, emotions, personality and social influence shape our spending habits. He discusses his book "Influenced: The Science of Why We Buy" and the hidden factors that guide everyday purchasing decisions.Then, Dr. Shannon Boomgarden, Natural History Museum of Utah archaeologist and University of Utah instructor, previews ScienceFest, a new two-day festival featuring hands-on activities, live science demonstrations, research talks and opportunities to meet scientists at the NHMU.

Mathematician Arthur Benjamin explores how math can reveal winning strategies for games and puzzles, from Wordle and Sudoku to casino games. He discusses his book "How to Win" and how mathematical thinking can help people make smarter decisions beyond the game board.Then, Powder Watts co-founders Thomas Clardy and Kai Kuck discuss how smart heat tape technology is helping reduce energy use and support power grids. They share the company's progress, its work with Utah utilities and how incentives can help homeowners and businesses save energy.

Former CIA senior executive Steve Hirsch discusses how intelligence professionals assess emerging threats, from biological risks and food security to cyberattacks and artificial intelligence. He explores how leaders can make sound decisions amid uncertainty and prepare for crises that could affect national security.Then, University of Utah astrophysicist Grace Telford discusses new Hubble Space Telescope findings that reveal unexpectedly weak stellar winds in some of the universe's most metal-poor stars. The research could help explain how the earliest galaxies formed and evolved.

Mark Shelhamer, former chief scientist of NASA's Human Research Program, explores the physical, psychological and engineering challenges of sending humans to Mars. He discusses what we still need to learn about long-duration spaceflight and how preparing for the journey could improve healthcare on Earth. Then, Orthopedic spine surgeon Dr. Stefano Sinicropi explores how physicians weigh new evidence, medical imaging and emerging technologies when making decisions about patient care. He discusses chronic pain, AI, regenerative medicine and the challenge of separating promising innovations from technologies that are ready for clinical use.

Marc Abrahams, founder and editor of the Annals of Improbable Research, discusses the 2026 Ig Nobel Prizes, celebrating scientific research that first makes people laugh and then makes them think. Then, RC Mowers co-founder and CEO Michael Brandt discusses how remote-operated and autonomous mowing technology is helping workers tackle dangerous terrain.

Jeffrey Cole, founding director of the Center for the Digital Future at USC Annenberg, explores how technological change reshapes society, why established institutions can be caught off guard and what decades of internet research reveal about America's changing relationship with technology.Then, Carleton University biologists Jennifer Bruin and Myriam Hoyeck discuss new research finding persistent environmental pollutants in the human pancreas and explore how these chemicals may affect insulin secretion and metabolic health.

Caltech physicist and engineer Gabriele Vajente explains how LIGO detects gravitational waves, what we've learned from black hole collisions and neutron stars, and what future observations could reveal.Then, Dr. Alexander Mossbrucker discusses how bioacoustics, artificial intelligence and digital monitoring tools are helping conservationists track endangered wildlife.

Colin Domnauer, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Utah, discusses his research into a newly identified species of psychoactive mushroom rumored to trigger vivid hallucinations of little people, referred to as “Lilliputian Hallucinations.”Then, MIT engineer Amos Winter discusses how to design affordable, high-performance products that can succeed in different global markets.

Bloomberg investigative journalist Kit Chellel explores the surprising history of gamblers who used mathematics, early computers, and engineering to beat casinos and sportsbooks, while helping pioneer technologies that would influence the modern computing and AI landscape.Then, gene-editing researcher Raj Chari discusses how CRISPR technology is being used to study cancer, develop potential new treatments, and explore the challenges of bringing gene-editing therapies from the laboratory into clinical care.

Kalpana Pot, a self-proclaimed Space Nerd, mixes her unique brand of storytelling and humor to make complicated astrophysics topics entertaining and understandable in her new book, "Spaced Out: A Casual Approach To The Cosmos."Then, Carleton University neuroscientist Michael Hildebrand discusses new research revealing important differences in how mice, rats and humans process pain — findings that could help explain failed treatments and point to better therapies for chronic pain.