On today’s program, we look at the first installment of a series featuring artists and engineers from across the nation. Gabriel Hugh Elkaim, an associate professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, joins us to discuss robotics. He developed one of the first robotic lawn mowers and in college, designed a winged, robotic catamaran. This design is used as a model for other robotic boats.
In the second half, we revisit a discussion with author Patrick Radden Keefe who has investigated the business side of the booming illegal trade of the drug cartel. He tries to understand the drug industries in hopes of combating it. In June 2012 his report, “Cocaine Incorporated.” was published in the New York Times Magazine.