Money/Business

Salt, sugar and fat are the most prevalent ingredients in the processed foods that now dominate American appetites. According to investigative reporter Michael Moss, food manufacturers cram as much of those three ingredients as possible into their products in order to make them irresistible. But high levels of salt, sugar and fat have also made us obese and unhealthy. Moss has written a new book investigating the food science and corporate scheming that have distorted the American diet and put our health at risk, and he joins us on Wednesday to talk about it.

The increasing cost of a college education concerns people regardless of their income level or politics. It’s the subject of congressional hearings, protests and everyday conversation. But why does higher education cost so much? Are our universities simply dysfunctional and inefficient? Or is it more complicated than that? Wednesday, we’ll explore those questions in front of a live audience at the Hinckley Institute of Politics. The scholars Robert Archibald and Nicholas Hillman are our guests. And we hope you’ll join us, too.

Tuesday on RadioWest, we continue our discussion about innovation at colleges and universities with Dr. John Warnock. Warnock was a student at the University of Utah in the 1960s. After graduating, he and colleague Charles Geschke founded one of the most successful software companies in the world: Adobe. Warnock’s education at the U laid the groundwork for the ideas he helped pioneer at Adobe. So here’s the question: how can today’s universities stimulate and encourage a new generation of innovators?

Monday, we begin a weeklong series of shows, in partnership with the Hinckley Institute of Politics, about the future of higher education. Pressures from all sides are forcing traditional universities to drastically reform. Henry J. Eyring, an administrator at BYU-Idaho, says reform should include changes people wouldn't expect, such as reducing costs, allowing students to customize their degrees and taking classes online. It's called “disruptive innovation,” and Eyring will join us to talk about it.