US and UN At Odds, Senior Phone Scams, The Art of #MeToo Offenders

Guest: Darren Hawkins, PhD, Professor of Political Science Professor, Brigham Young University While the US is host to the UN, today the UN and the US are at odds, more often than not. In the last week, a UN report condemned the Trump Administration for exacerbating extreme poverty in America. The Trump Administration says it’s ridiculous and hypocritical of the UN to be examining poverty in America when so many other countries who are part of the UN “knowingly abuse human rights and cause pain and suffering.”

Guests: Duke Han, PhD, Associate Professor (Clinical Scholar), Family Medicine, Director of Neuropsychology in the Department of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, USC; Julie Schoen, Attorney, Deputy Director of the National Center on Elder Abuse, Keck School of Medicine, USC Scams that target older adults are incredibly common – and unfortunately, senior citizens seem to be more susceptible to them. So much so that there’s a common con called the “grandparent scam” where someone calls claiming to be a grandchild in legal trouble needing bail-out money.

Guest: Sheila Winborne, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor, Philosophy and Religion, Northeastern University As the list of celebrities, politicians, CEOs and power people accused of sexual misconduct in the #MeToo era grows, what should we do with the work they created or participated in? Should we boycott? Or can we still enjoy it, while disapproving of their behavior?

(Originally Aired: 3/6/2018) Guest: Karen Lloyd, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology, University of Tennessee Knoxville The average depth of the ocean is more than two miles deep, and in the thick mud at the bottom, scientists have discovered a whole universe of microbes. Somehow, without sunlight, without oxygen, without obvious sources of food, these microscopic life forms manage to exist. If we could crack their secrets, we might have new solutions for improving life up here on land. Watch the TED Talk here.

(Originally Aired: 12/12/2017) Guests: Bryant Jensen, PhD, Assistant Professor, Teacher Education, Brigham Young University; Eric Bybee, PhD, Assistant Professor, Teacher Education, Brigham Young University Since 2008, more Mexicans have been leaving the US than arriving here. That flow to Mexico has included tens of thousands of children, many of them born in America. They’re US citizens that have attended US public schools, who often speak English better than they speak Spanish. What is life like for these kids when their parents go back to Mexico?

(Originally Aired: 3/28/2018) Guest: Christofer Skurka, PhD Candidate, Communication, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University Comedians like Trevor Noah, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver and Seth Meyers are more and more a source of information. Their satire and sarcasm provoke viewers to question what’s going on in the world.  How effective is humor in changing people’s minds and behaviors?