Parent Previews: Christmas Classics

Ryan Vogel, JD, PhD, Professor of International Law, Director, Center for National Security Studies, Utah Valley University Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the headquarters of the European Union today – the first time an Israeli Prime Minister has done so in 22 years. Netanyahu was hoping the EU would join President Trump in endorsing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The EU said no. And Arab League nations at an emergency meeting over the weekend said they will ask the UN Security Council to condemn Trump’s decision.

Guest: Richard Patterson, PhD, Assistant Professor of Economics, U.S. Military Academy at West Point These days, the sound of pencil scratching on paper is rare on college campuses. Instead, professors hear clacking keys and look out on a sea of faces illuminated by laptop screens. But despite how convenient and useful laptops are, a new study finds they actually hurt academic performance when used in the classroom.

Guest: Serge Wich, PhD, Professor of Primate Biology, Liverpool John Moores University and Honorary Professor for the Conservation of the Great Apes, University of Amsterdam Scientists recently discovered a new species of great ape, which is a big deal since there were only six known species before this one was discovered on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Maybe it’s no surprise to learn, though, that this previously unknown species, called the Tapanuli orangutan is the world’s rarest great ape. Fewer than 800 survive today.

Guest: Corinne Field, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, University of Virginia Here’s a question – when is a birthday party more than just a reason to eat cake and toast another year of someone’s life? Could a birthday celebration actually be a political act? Historian Corinne Field joins us with a look at how a birthday celebration for a woman at the turn of the 20th Century had important political and social implications.

Guest: Andrew Wappett, Founder and President, Junior Dog Mushers of Interior Alaska Imagine being pulled far away onto the icy tundra by several large and powerful animals who also happen to be your only hope at ever getting back home. Sounds dramatic, but every winter children ages four to seventeen in Fairbanks Alaska do that for fun. It’s called “dog mushing,” and Andrew Wappett teaches kids to do it.