America Warms to Religion, Sleep and Memory, Enjoying P.E.

America Warms to Religion Guest: Jessica Martinez, Senior Researcher, Pew Research Center America is sharply divided politically and racially. But a new Pew Research Center survey says that we’re becoming less divided religiously: Americans express more positive feelings toward various religious groups today than they did just a few years ago. Even public perception of Muslims has improved. Which is surprising, considering the angry talk from politicians of banning Muslims from this country. And generally speaking, it’s surprising that feelings toward religion would be improving at all given other Pew Research data that finds Americans are less and less religious. The fastest growing religious group in the country is the “nones” – as in, they identify with “no religion.” Presidential Conflicts of Interest Guest: Kathleen Clark, Professor of Law, Washington University, St. Louis, Attorney in Pirvate Practice, Washington, DC Americans may be feeling warmer about religion in the US, but they’re not very hot on how President Trump is handling the conflicts of interest that could arise from his vast web of business dealings. A Quinnipiac University poll taken in late January found only half of Americans are satisfied with Trump keeping ownership of his business but having his sons run it while he’s president. More than half of Americans are concerned that “Trump would veto a law that would be good for the country because it would hurt his business interests.”  We are in uncharted territory. Trump’s business entanglements around the globe are unprecedented for a US President. And he’s so far made less of an effort than his recent predecessors to establish the kind of separation between himself and his business that would eliminate suspicion his sons are getting special treatment while they’re out making deals for the Trump company because their father is leader of the free world. Less Sleep Leads to Fewer Memories Guest: Rick Huganir, PhD, Director of the Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Medical School  When you’re cramming on a deadline late at night, or frustrated by a problem you can’t seem to fix, maybe you’ve been given the advice to “just sleep on it. A recent John Hopkins University study shows that that’s probably a good idea. The study was done in mice and found that while they were sleeping, their brains were hard at work reconfiguring lessons learned during the day into memories that changed the mice’s behavior the next day. The researchers believe a similar thing happens when humans sleep.  Modern Slavery Guest: Kevin Bales, Co-Founder of Free the Slaves, Professor of Contemporary Slavery, University of Nottingham, UK Worldwide, there are more than 40-million people in slavery - and it's happening right here in the US and just about every other country on the planet. It's hard to believe. But research into the problem has uncovered evidence that we all might be contributing to the problem when we buy certain kinds of frozen fish or shrimp at the supermarket, for example. And furthermore, the slavery involved in the production of those items is also contributing to massive degradation of natural resources. Helping Kids Enjoy P.E. Guest: David Barney, Associate Professor of Teacher Education, Mckay School of Education, BYU Think back to the kids lining up in your elementary school P.E. class. While some of them were thrilled to be there, ready to get up and moving, a lot of them faced the hour with dread, rolling their eyes in anticipation of one-too-many laps around the track. Or more jumping jack. Team sports often weren’t any more fun, as the same kids were picked first, and the same kids waited and waited to be claimed, finally, by a team they knew would rather not have them.  Project FeederWatch Needs You and Your Backyard Birdfeeder Guest: Emma Greig, PhD, Project Leader of Project FeederWatch, Cornell University Lab of Ornithology If you or your kids can spend hours watching the visitors to your backyard birdfeeder, our next guest needs your help. She runs Project FeederWatch at the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, which collects data from citizen bird watchers all over the country for science. Bird lovers of any age - even school classes and scouting groups – can help. For more information about participating in FeederWatch click here.