Candidates on Defeating Terrorism, Baha'i, Olympic Economics

Comparing Trump/Clinton Foreign Policy Plans Guest: Quinn Mecham, PhD, Professor of Political Science at BYU Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton laid out some of their plans in a live TV town hall Wednesday night. Secretary Clinton said defeating ISIS is her highest counterterrorism goal. We need to provide more support for the Arabs and the Kurds fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria. In previous statements, Donald Trump has not ruled out sending ground troops to defeat ISIS. He’s also promised he has a plan to defeat ISIS very quickly, but he’s not talking about it other than to say he’ll consult with military generals. Baha’i Struggle to Get Education in Iran Guest: Farhad Sabetan, PhD, Economics Lecturer at Cal State East Bay, Online Teacher for the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education in Iran, Spokesperson for the Baha’i International Community Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, there has been only one officially accepted religion in Iran – Islam. Over the decades, other religions have been marginalized in the country, to the point that, today members of the Baha’i faith are banned from many aspects of life in Iran. Most notably, Baha’i youth are prohibited from attending college. If they do manage to get into a university those students are usually quickly expelled. Rio’s Economy Post-Olympic Games Guest: Steve Salaga, PhD, Assistant Professor at Texas A&M specializing in Sports Economics and Sports Management The Paralympics are now underway in Rio. It’s the second act of the biggest sporting event in the world. Countries vie for the chance to host the Olympics because of the international attention they bring and the hope of an economic boost from all those tens of thousands of tourists who will visit. If history is a guide, the Olympics will not bring Rio’s economy out of its current recession, and may be more likely to leave the city’s budget in the red.  Middle East Panel Guests: Steven Lobell, PhD, Professor of Political Science at the University of Utah; John Macfarlane, Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Utah Valley University; Fred Axelgard, PhD, Senior Fellow at BYU’s Wheatley Institution A renewed effort is under way to broker peace in Syria. US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Geneva hoping to deal could be finalized by Friday, but Defense Secretary Ash Carter also says “there’s a long way to go” before Russia and the US can come to an agreement on a ceasefire in Syria. Meanwhile, the Syrian city of Aleppo remains under siege and civilians there have little access to food, water or medical care. Earlier this week an apparent chlorine gas attack injured 100 people in Aleppo. Activists blame the forces of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad for using the chemical weapon. The Pitfalls of Too Much Homework Guest: Denise Pope, PhD, Senior Lecturer at the Stanford University School of Education and Co-author of “Overloaded and Underprepared: Strategies for Stronger Schools and Healthy, Successful Kids” Just as the school year got underway a letter to parents from a second grade teacher in Texas went viral. “There will be no formally assigned homework this year,” the letter said. “Rather, I ask that you spend your evenings doing things that are proven to correlate with student success. Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside, and get your child to bed early.” Back in 2014, we spoke with a leading expert on the subject of homework. Stanford researcher and education scholar Denise Pope knows that a lot of teachers and parents think homework is essential to learning. It’s the “no pain, no gain” idea and it certainly was in play when I was in school. But Pope’s research shows that’s not always the case. In fact, homework can have negative effects on student well-being and behavioral engagement.