Why It’s a Problem That the World Is Running Low on Helium

The world is running out of helium, but the concern is not that we won’t be able to blow up balloons, the shortage could impact the usage of MRI machines.  Helium is a non-renewable element that comes form the Earth’s crust and in its liquid form, it’s used to cool the magnets that make the MRI work.  Caroline Hopkins, freelance reporter for NBC News, joins us for why it is so scarce and how manufacturers are developing newer machines that use less liquid helium.

Next, U.S. mortgage rates have shot up over 7%, the highest it has been in 20 years.  A year ago, the rate was just over 3% but this week, the rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 7.08%.  The housing market continues to cool as some sellers refuse to lower prices and buyers are ever-more constrained by their budgets.  Ben Eisen, banking and finance reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what to know.

Finally, just in time for Halloween, why do so many people take delight in disgusting things?  Disgust itself is an emotion of avoidance originally concerned with possibly harmful foods but has evolved to include other things such as violations of morals or cultural rules.  But why do disgusting things hold our attention so much?  It could be because of something call “benign masochism.”  Bradley Irish, associate professor of English at ASU, joins us for the allure of disgust.

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