Science, Health and Technology

Pick up your favorite packaged food and read the ingredient list.

If you stumbled over any of the words or a color jumped out at you, you might be looking at what’s known as a food additive.  

The film How to Die in Oregon, follows several terminally ill patients as they undertake the difficult decision to end their lives under the state’s controversial Death with Dignity Act.

 Former University of Missouri running back Derrick Washington has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of domestic assault against an ex-girlfriend.

Boone County and the City of Columbia are using a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to study storm-water runoff into Bear Creek, north of I-70. A task force will focus on reducing pollutants, which flow directly into the creek, untreated.  

On February 2, the non-profit organization Missouri River Relief will host the Wild and Scenic film festival at the Blue Note in Columbia. Festival-goers can expect to see a variety of environmental and adventure films. One of those films, Big Muddy Clean Sweep, documents the organization’s trek across the state, cleaning the Missouri River aboard a barge.

Steve Schnarr is the program manager for Missouri River relief. We spoke to him about what it was like traveling across the state, his own connection to the Missouri River and what people could expect at the festival.

On the show this week, we’ll revisit a report that tests the iPhone 4s’s ability to recognize accents, and hear from author Michael Pollan.