Egypt, Epic Solitude, Leap Second

Hosni Mubarak’s Legacy in Modern Egypt (0:30) Guest: Quinn Mecham, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science, Brigham Young University Modern Egypt’s longest-serving leader Hosni Mubarak died last week at age 91. For 30 years he ran Egypt, growing the economy, establishing strong ties with the US and keeping peace with Israel. But his people came to see him as a dictator and ousted him during the Arab Uprising in 2011. Mubarak’s complicated legacy is important in understanding Egypt’s role in the Middle East and US foreign policy.  Archaeologists and Native Americans Collaborate to Understand and Protect Historic Sites (19:09) Guest: Matthew Liebmann, Professor of Archaeology, Harvard University Archaeologists have developed a reputation over the centuries of being pretty disrespectful of indigenous cultures, doing things like excavating sacred Native American burial grounds and taking bones and artifacts away to be studied and displayed in museums without any input from the tribe. Harvard University archaeologist Matthew Liebmann has spent his career trying to not do that. Epic Solitude (33:50) Guest: Katherine Keith, Author, “Epic Solitude: A Story of Survival and a Quest for Meaning in the Far North” Katherine Keith had the dream life – she lived in a log cabin in the Alaskan backcountry, miles from any road, with her husband and infant daughter. That may not sound idyllic for most people, but it was to her. But then her husband died suddenly, and she was left alone with her infant daughter. That’s when Keith turned to the Iditarod trail for solace and healing – that’s dog sled race that travels across 1,000 miles of Alaskan wilderness. Desperate for More International Help, Colombia Struggles to Meet Needs of Venezuelan Refugees (50:38) Guest: Patrick Ammerman, Master’s Student in Social Work, University of Pennsylvania, Grant Recipient, Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting Venezuela is on the verge of outpacing Syria as the largest refugee crisis in the world. More than four million Venezuelans fled their collapsed economy in search of food, medicine and other basic needs. Neighboring Colombia has received the largest group of Venezuelan refugees and continues to keep its borders open, while other countries in the region have not. Colombia’s president is pleading for more support from the international community to provide for the displaced Venezuelans. So far international aid amounts to $125 per Venezuelan refugee, while countries have sent $1,500 per refugee from Syria, according to the Brookings Institution. That disparity is contributing to a worsening humanitarian crisis at the Venezuela/Colombia border. Leap Second (1:09:13) Guest: Ken Seidelmann, Research Professor of Astronomy, University of Virginia Well leap day has come and gone, but we’re not done leaping in leap year yet. We’re most likely going to have another one later this year, but this time, it will be a leap second instead of a whole day.  Puerto Rico Chafes Against New Cockfighting Ban Imposed by Congress (1:23:24) Guest: Yolanda Álvarez, Founder of Álvarez Legal, Former Director of the Humane Society of Puerto Rico Cockfighting has been illegal in the US for a while, but was only banned in US territories, including Puerto Rico, at the start of this year. Puerto Rican government officials and people involved in the cockfighting industry on the island are challenging the ban in court. They say cockfighting is an important part of their culture and employs some 20,000 people on the island – jobs the struggling Puerto Rican economy can’t afford to lose.