US-Japan Relations, Campus Art, Basque Culture

US and Japan Relations in a Trump World Guest: Toshihiro Nakayama, Professor of American Politics, Foreign Policy in the Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University; Adjunct Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs Over the weekend, leaders of China, Russia, Mexico, Japan and several Asian countries met in Peru for a trade summit that was to be a victory lap for President Barack Obama and his Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. But that deal appears dead now, given President-elect Trump’s strong opposition to it.  On his way to that meeting, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a stop in New York to be the first world leader to have a face-to-face with Donald Trump since the election. Abe said he wanted to “build trust” with the incoming US president. His eagerness to be the first from the region to sit down with Trump carries some important symbolism, too. College Art Museums Expanding Their Role Guest: Jacoba Urist, contributing writer for The Atlantic This time of year, the arms race going on among university athletic departments is on full display: Non-stop television coverage of college football and basketball games gives a close-up look at the latest-and-greatest in stadium and arena construction, lighting and digital signs universities are installing to attract talented athletes, sell tickets and keep boosters happy.  There’s similar rush to upgrade and outshine going on across campus at the college museum. You could call it an “arts race,” as Jacoba Urist does in her recent article for The Atlantic titled, “Why Do Colleges Have so Much Art?” Benefits of Thanksgiving Rituals Guest: Barbara Fiese, PhD, Director of the Family Resiliency Center, Professor of Human Development & Family Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign I think it’s fair to say a lot of us are anticipating Thanksgiving with a mix of excitement and dread, which Saturday Night Live captured perfectly in this spoof of a Target commercial over the weekend.  Given how stressful these holiday gatherings can be, are they really worth it?  “Flowers” and Basque Culture Guest: David Laraway, PhD, Department Chair for the Spanish and Portuguese, BYU Films in the Basque language are relatively rare. However, one made history this year as Spain’s entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars.  Never before had Spain submitted a film in Basque for that honor. For much of the 1900s, under the regime of Francisco Franco, people weren’t supposed to speak Basque in public.  So this film – called “Flowers,” in English – is an important marker in Basque history, both for the language spoken and the story it tells.  Fantastic Beasts  Guest: Rod Gustafson, ParentPreviews.com People who were 11 when the first Harry Potter book came out are now 30 years old. It’s these aging Potter fans who were swept up in the first wave of JK Rowling’s wizard tale that are still turning out for her latest installment – “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”  Solar-Powered Public Spaces Guest: John Salmon, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, BYU; Mike Alder, Director of the Tech Transfer Office, BYU  If every house in the country were to have rooftop solar panels, they’d be enough to supply 40-percent of the power we use in the U.S. That’s according to analysis published earlier this year by the US Energy Department. Now imagine how that number might grow if bus stops, street benches, garbage cans and picnic tables were outfitted to capture solar energy.