Debt Ceiling, Obesity Link to Violence, Superpower of Intuition

Debt Ceiling Showdown Looming Guest: Tim Shaw, Senior Policy Analyst, Bipartisan Policy Center Congress and President Trump have one month to pass a spending measure and raise the debt limit in order to keep the government open and able to pay its bills. But so far getting anything passed has been a challenge for the divided Republican Congress. And President Trump only fueled the fire with a recent threat to veto a spending bill and force a shutdown if it doesn’t include money for his border wall.  This is all a little déjà vu. Congress is in the habit of passing stopgap spending bills every six months or so, because getting a long-term spending bill passed in a partisan political era has proven impossible. The debt limit debate comes around about every year or so. Traffic Jams Are Data Heaven for Transit Company Guest: Mark Pittman, CEO, Blyncsy For many people who travelled to the path of totality for last week’s solar eclipse, the sun’s spectacular show was followed by many hours of sitting in traffic with hordes of other eclipse tourists heading home. That kind of mass people movement is a goldmine for the data company Blyncsy in Salt Lake City. Through a contract with the Idaho Department of Transportation, Blyncsy was able to monitor, in extreme detail, how well the state’s roadways bore up under the unusual crowds. Any community that deals with a periodic influx of cars – say for sporting events, concerts or holidays – could be better prepared with the kind of data Blyncsy collects. Obesity Linked to Teen Exposure to Violence Guest: Joy Piontak, PhD, Affiliated Scholar, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Research Public Health Analyst, Research Triange Institute We know that kids exposed to violence can suffer mental illness, and increasingly we’re learning about how exposure to violence effects kids’ physical health as well. Obesity researcher Joy Piontak wanted to know how violence and obesity were connected. Southern Suggestions Guest: Sam Payne, Host of The Apple Seed, BYUradio Find out some of Michael Reno Harrell's "suggestions" (they don't believe in rules) for life in the South. The Keeper of the Evening News Guest: Melissa Gibbs, Broadcast Lab Manager, News Media Program, Brigham Young University Of all the ways people can get the news today, TV remains the most popular. Nearly half of US adults tune in to their local TV news. To pull off a local news program requires an army of people behind-the-scenes. Since Top of Mind student producer Reed Wolfley aspires to a career in TV journalism, we asked him to pull back the curtain for us on one of the most important jobs in the industry that you’ve probably never heard of. So Reed sat down with Melissa Gibbs, who spent years producing newscasts at TV stations in Utah. The New Superpower for Women Guest: Steve Kardian, Author, “The New Superpower for Women: Trust Your Intuition, Predict Dangerous Situations, Defend Yourself from the Unthinkable” In the event of an assault, pepper spray, a flashlight and some self-defense moves will all come in handy. But law enforcement expert Steve Kardian says a woman’s greatest tool to avoid becoming a victim of an assault is her intuition. Kardian is spent more than 30 years as a police officer, including time as an FBI defense tactics instructor. He’s just published a how-to guide called “The New Super Power for Women: Trust Your Intuition, Predict Dangerous Situations, Defend Yourself from the Unthinkable.”