Purdue Pharma, Beard History, The Last Supper

Purdue Pharma Reaches Opioid Settlement with Oklahoma Guest: Abbe Gluck, Professor of Law, Faculty Director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy, Yale University Companies that make prescription painkillers are facing more than a thousand lawsuits from cities, counties, states and Native American tribes over their role in the worst drug epidemic in US history. The suits allege these companies misled doctors and patients about the addictiveness of their drugs in order to make more money. This week, Purdue Pharma, which makes OxyContin, settled one of those lawsuits with the state of Oklahoma for $270 million dollars.  What Do Beards Tell us about Politics, Culture and Religion? Guest: Christopher Oldstone-Moore, Senior Lecturer Assistant to the Chair for Graduate Studies, Wright State University, Ohio Anytime a celebrity or politician comes back from a break sporting facial hair, people kinda freak out. Senator Ted Cruz’ new salt-and-pepper beard was an obsession for weeks online. And have you seen David Letterman since he left the Late Show? He’s giving Santa Claus a run for his money. What’s the big deal with facial hair? Whether a man shaves –or doesn’t –is his business. Real Secrets of DaVinci’s The Last Supper Guest: Ross King, Author of “Leonardo and the Last Supper” This year marks the 500thanniversary of the death of Leonardo DaVinci. One of his most famous painting is his depiction of The Last Supper. It figures prominently in conspiracy theories about the Holy Grail and the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. That’s the whole basis for Dan Brown’s the DaVinci Code and the movie it was made into. There is a more feminine looking person next to Jesus, but art historian Ross King says people during DaVinci’s time would have recognized it as the apostle John, not a surprise appearance by Mary Magdalene at the Last Supper. There may not be Holy Grail secrets embedded in the masterpiece, but Ross King says it was revolutionary in other ways. Tech Addiction Myths Debunked (originally aired June 6, 2018) Guest: Christopher Ferguson, Professor of Psychology, Stetson University In 2018 the World Health Organization officially declared that digital games can be addictive. That means everything from the Xbox in your family room to the phone in your kid’s pocket could lead to dependency. But not everyone agrees. Just before the WHO’s declaration, psychologist Christopher Ferguson from Stetson University in Florida came on Top of Mind to separate myth from fact on tech addiction. Rethinking How to Teach the Holocaust (Originally aired May 31, 2018) Guest: Alan Marcus, Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Connecticut A group of teenagers in California recently found shame on the internet for posing in photos doing a Nazi salute around a bunch of drink cups formed in the shape of a swastika. As a result, they got a visit from Eva Schloss, the 89-year old stepsister of Anne Frank. She told the young people about her time in the Auschwitz death camp and says the kids apologized profusely. “They didn’t realize what it really meant,” Schloss told USA Today, adding she hopes there will be more education about the Holocaust. Sticks Become Majestic Art (Originally aired November 26, 2018) Guest: Patrick Dougherty, Contemporary Artist, www.stickwork.net The BYU Museum of Art has a large, light-filled gallery with a panoramic view of Mount Timpanogos. It’s hard for any kind of art to hang in that space and compete with the natural masterpiece on display. So contemporary artist Patrick Dougherty spent a month creating something enormous and dramatic in the gallery to complement the mountain view. He calls it Windswept, and you can see the exhibit through October.