Nell London

Contributor

What Happens When Medical Care & Religion Are At Odds?

Today, we’ll hear from a doctor who was fired for help she gave a terminally ill patient. We’ll also hear from the health system that fired her. Here’s how this unfolded: a patient came to Dr. Barbara Morris, asking about Colorado’s End-of-Life Options Act. The doctor knew it wouldn’t be easy to proceed because her employer, Centura Health, considers aid-in-dying morally unacceptable. The Catholic and Adventist system laid that out in her employment agreement. She and her patient sued to challenge that position. And then, last month, she was fired. We’ll hear from the CEO of Centura, which has 15 hospitals in Colorado, but we begin the discussion with Dr. Barbara Morris.

Inventor Talks About Her ‘Lightbulb Moment’ And The Challenges Of Getting A Patent

Patented inventions are everywhere, from the post-it notes on your desk to the windshield wipers on your car. This year, Denver businesswoman Sirena Rolfe snagged one of the more than 10 million patents issued in the United States. Her invention is a hood to protect your hairdo when it’s raining. Rolfe is proof that even in this high-tech world, a person with a good idea can still get a patent. But it’s not always easy. We talk to Rolfe about her journey and with University of Denver law school professor Bernard Chao about the challenges of getting a patent. It’s part of our series, Disruptors, which explores entrepreneurship in Colorado.
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How A Large Solar Flare Could Disrupt The Digital Age

It was 1859. And the largest solar flare ever seen lit up the Northern Lights so bright that campers in Colorado said they could read the newspaper at midnight. Now, new research shows we could face a much bigger flare in the future, and it’s a cause for concern in the digital age. Doug Duncan is an astronomer at CU-Boulder. He joins us regularly to talk about space science.