Olympics and Nationalism, Ordinarily Well, Nanomagnetism

Nationalism and the Olympics Guest: Peter Rutland, PhD, Professor of Government at Wesleyan University, Blogger at NationalismWatch.com Isn’t it a little strange how we root so intensely for American athletes at the Olympics, for no reason other than our shared citizenship? Most of us don’t follow most of these sports closely, but the Olympics come along and we’re suddenly bursting with pride to see athletes we’ve never heard of before standing atop the medals podium, beneath the stars and stripes, as our national anthem plays. The Olympics are practically built for indulging in what you might call “good nationalism” – as opposed to the xenophobic kind that leads to discrimination, war and even genocide. But the 2016 Summer Games arrive at a time of fervent support political messages of American superiority, while terrorism and the refugee crisis fuel fear of outsiders and a desire to close ranks in Europe. Why the US Wins Big at the Olympics Guest: Camila Gonzales, Member of Dartmouth research team to predict the Rio Olympic games medal count Since we’re talking about national pride at the Olympics, let’s look at the medals count: America is currently in the lead in Rio with 20 medals, total. Five of those are gold medals – and on that score, America is currently tied with China, which also have five golds. When it’s all over in Rio, the US is predicted to top out over 100 medals, with China coming in at 89 and the United Kingdom with 67. There’s a very precise formula behind those predictions, developed by researchers at Dartmouth who have predicted previous Summer Olympic results with stunning accuracy. Peter Kramer: “Ordinarily Well” Guest: Peter Kramer, PhD, Psychologist and Author of “Listening to Prozac,” “Against Depression” and “Ordinarily Well” When Peter Kramer published his landmark book “Listening to Prozac” in 1993, it changed the way that people thought about anti-depressants, but it also caused some backlash as critics clamored that placebos were just as effective or that psychotherapy works just as well. Anti-depressants came under fire and in his latest book, “Ordinarily Well: The Case for Antidepressants,” Kramer defends the use of the drugs that he says are essential to the good health of millions of people. Secrets of Magnetism Guest: Karine Chesnel, PhD, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at BYU Have you ever put a credit card or a hotel key card too close to a magnet and had the memory wiped out? Magnetism is really amazing because it can be used both in storing data and erasing it. The trick is getting the magnetic field at just the right amount of intensity. The Piano Teacher with 30,000 Students Guest: Joseph and Kelly Hoffman, Founders of HoffmanAcademy.com Kids can learn math, geography, and even foreign language online. But some skills - like playing a musical instrument – have traditionally been taught face-to-face and often one-on-one because they require a lot of feedback and demonstration. That hasn’t stopped Joseph Hoffman from trying to teach piano with YouTube videos. His free piano lesson videos now have more than 30,000 subscribers on YouTube and are causing music instruction experts to take note. Worlds Awaiting Guest: Rachel Wadham, Host of Worlds Awaiting on BYUradio It’s time now to peek into another show here on BYUradio called Worlds Awaiting, a show about fostering reading and discovery in children. It’s a show for grownups who want to help the kids in our lives discover great literature and to learn to think critically about the world around them. Worlds Awaiting airs weekly on Saturdays at 1:30 pm ET here on BYUradio, Sirius XM Radio channel 143.