Catalan Independence, Genetics of Divorce, Voyager Spacecraft

Catalan Independence, Russian Interference on Social Media, Bowe Bergdahl Pleads Guilty Guest: Eric Jensen, JD, Professor of International Law, Brigham Young University DECLARING INDEPENDENCE Spain’s top court has declared the Catalan referendum for independence invalid and two prominent activists for Catalonia’s secession have been jailed. The Prime Minister of Spain has threatened to take over some or all of Catalonia’s regional powers if its separatist leaders don’t get back in line with national unity by Thursday morning.  Meanwhile, tensions have flared between Iraq’s government and leaders of that country’s Kurdish state, which is also agitating for independence. Iraqi forces said Monday they seized a military base, an oil field and other key infrastructure from Kurdish soldiers near the northern city of Kirkuk. Just what does it take for a region to succeed in declaring independence? RUSSIAN MEDDLING IN THE 2106 ELECTION Next month, executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter have been asked to appear before the House intelligence committee investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.   BOWE BERGDAHL Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl pleaded guilty yesterday to desertion and to endangering the American troops sent to search for him.  Divorce May Be Genetic Guest: Jessica Salvatore, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Developmental Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University If your parents divorced, you are more likely to divorce as well. Social scientists have long thought that this was because children didn’t learn healthy skills from their parents and they later repeated problematic behaviors in their own marriages. But a new study out of Virginia Commonwealth University shows that the risk for divorce could be genetic, instead of environmental. In other words, it’s not that children of divorce learn behavior that could lead to divorce, it’s that they’re born with genetic tendencies that put them at greater risk of divorce. Nature trumps nurture in this case, according to the researchers. What 40 Years in Space Can Teach Us Guest: Fran Bagenal, PhD, Professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder The man-made object that has travelled farthest into space launched from Cape Canaveral on September 5, 1977. Voyager 1 and its companion craft Voyager 2 had a pretty straight forward initial mission – explore Jupiter and Saturn. They accomplished that within five years. And since then, it’s been a giant bonus bag of space insight. Remarkably, these two spacecraft are still communicating with Earth. Even though they’re 10 billion miles away and were built back when computers filled an entire room and phones were connected to actual wires.  Creating a Championship Culinary Program Guests: Todd Leonard, Department Chair of the Culinary Arts Program at Utah Valley University; Madeline Black, Winner of the American Culinary Federation’s Student-Chef Competition Today we have a delicious truffle-scented duck roulade finished in duck fat, with Utah honey lacquered duck thigh-riblet, pan seared foie gras with port and morel mushroom sauce, accompanied by potatoes gratin, celery root and pea puree, with rhubarb chutney and a summer vegetable medley. It’s the plate that won a national cooking competition. Catalonia’s Culture and Identity Guest: John Rosenberg, PhD, Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Brigham Young University With the Spanish region of Catalonia so top of mind in the news, we wanted to take a closer look at the place – its history, culture and how it’s developed a regional identity strong enough to make many Catalans want to break from Spain to form their own nation.   Worlds Awaiting: Detecting Bias in Children’s Literature Guest: Rachel Wadham, Host of BYUradio’s Worlds Awaiting What should we do about racism in older children's books? History is history, says Wadham. Use examples of bias to teach children to think critically.