Deporting American Dream, Mid-East Panel, Star of Bethlehem

Deporting the American Dream Guest: Jacob Rugh, PhD, Professor of Sociology, BYU Foreclosures and Immigration. The link may not be obvious, but new research, out today in the journal “Sociological Science,” paints a clear picture of how a spike in deportations over the last decade made the housing and foreclosure crisis much, much worse for Latinos in the United States.  Award-Winning Civil-Rights Graphic Novel Guest: Congressman John Lewis; Andrew Aydin; Nate Powell, Co-Authors Last month, for the first time ever, a graphic novel won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. It was the third installment of the graphic novel trilogy “March,” which tells the story of the civil rights movement through the eyes of Georgia Congressman John Lewis, who was a central figure in the lunch counter sit-ins, the freedom rides and the March on Washington in 1963 – this was long before he was elected to Congress. “March” is history in comic-form, but it feels very current amid today’s simmering tension between police and communities of color, and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.  Moral Opinions vs. Fact-Based Opinions Guest: Andy Luttrell, PhD, Student in Social Psychology, Ohio State University Most of us have opinions that are pretty set-in-stone and some that are a little more flexible. Some prefer chocolate ice cream over vanilla, but depending on the quality of the ice cream that opinion can change. On the other hand, most view murder as wrong and are not likely to be convinced otherwise. It’s an opinion based on fundamental moral beliefs about right and wrong. Social science research has shown that we tend to stick more firmly to attitudes and opinions when they’re tied to moral beliefs.  Middle East Panel Guest: Steven Lobell, Professor of Political Science, U of U: John Macfarlane, Adjunct Professor of Political Science, UVU; Josh Gubler, Professor of Political Science, BYU Let’s look at the latest developments in Syria’s civil war and how Israelis and Palestinians are reacting to the election of Donald Trump, among other things.  Star of Bethlehem Guest: Grant Mathews, PhD, Professor of Astrophysics and Cosmology, Notre Dame University Historians, astronomers and religious scholars have puzzled for millennia over the Star of Bethlehem. Was it a new star? A comet? A supernova?  A theoretical astrophysicist at the University of Notre Dame has concluded – after a decade of study – that the star was actually a very rare planetary alignment. And knowing that, he’s pinpointed the exact birthdate of the Christ child. Spoiler alert – it’s not December 25th.