Trump Trade, Bad Behavior, Ex-Prisoners and Health Care

Trump Trade Policies Guest: Charles Hankla, Professor of Political Science, Expert on the Economics of Trade, Georgia State University The man President-elect Trump chose this week to be his chief trade negotiator – Robert Lighthizer - is yet another signal that Trump intends to follow through on his promises to put America first in trade negotiations and get tough with trading partners such as China and Mexico. Also this week, Ford Motor Company scrapped a plan to build a factory in Mexico – for which Trump took credit. The President-elect has been very critical of American manufacturers building stuff in other countries and then shipping it back to the US for sale.   Kids Who Struggle to Behave in Preschool Fall Behind Guest: Janelle Montroy, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Children’s Learning Institute, University of Texas, Houston If you had to choose between having your pre-schooler graduate to kindergarten with either the ability to say their ABCs and count to 20, OR the ability to pay attention, follow directions and participate without distracting other children in class, which would you choose? Since pre-school is typically geared toward helping children succeed academically, the ABCS and 123s get a lot of focus. But an increasing body of research finds that a child’s ability to pay attention, sit still and minimize disruptive behaviors in pre-school is a good predictor of how well that child will do academically throughout school.  Ex-Prisoners Lack Health Care Guest: Tyler Winkelman, MD, Robert Wood Johnson Fellow and Clinical Lecturer for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, University of Michigan Prisoners have access to health care when they’re in jail. If they have a mental illness or chronic disease like diabetes – which so many do – they can see a prison doctor and get medicine to manage the condition. But once they’re released, a third of them end up entirely uninsured – and since they’re often unemployed coming out of prison, they have no way to pay for medical treatment or a prescription refill. The Affordable Care Act had a provision intended to plug this gap. But not all states have successfully implemented the changes, so uninsured rates for people who’ve been in jail or prison are still much higher than for the general public.  Child Soldiers in Terror Attacks Guest: Mia Bloom, PhD, Professor of Communication, Georgia State University, author of upcoming book “Small Arms: Children and Terrorism” One of the horrors of terrorist attacks is the use of child soldiers as suicide bombers. Boko Haram and ISIS have lately taken this approach. ISIS even has a program called “Cubs of the Caliphate,” which actively recruits child soldiers online. They’re featured in ISIS propaganda, they carry out attacks and even do some of the recruiting.  FDA Bans Antibacterial Soaps Guest: Allison Aiello, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill When you’re in the grocery aisle buying soap, it seems like a no-brainer to go for the one that promises to kill 99.9% of bacteria. The antibacterial soap just naturally seems better than the regular kind, doesn’t it? Well, later this year, you won’t be facing that dilemma. In the fall, a new FDA rule will take effect banning common ingredients in soaps and body washes marketed as “antibacterial.” More than 2,000 products will have to be changed or discontinued because the FDA says they don’t work and may actually do more harm than good.  The Healthiest Kind of Happy Guest: Steve Cole, Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry and Bio behavioral Sciences, UCLA  Happy people are often healthy people, too. Researchers have long noticed a relationship between psychological well-being and long-term physical health. But only with the advent of genomic testing have scientists begun to understand just how deeply emotions affect physical health.