Shame, Polarized Presidency, Trade Deals

Is Shame Necessary? (1:04) Guest: Jennifer Jacquet, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Studies at New York University, Author of “Is Shame Necessary?”  Shame and accountability are Top of Mind today. Sepp Blatter - the embattled and newly-re-elected president of soccer’s international governing body FIFA – made a surprise announcement today that he will step down. Even though he’s spent the last week refusing to do just that and denying that he had anything knowledge of the corruption and bribery that have led to indictments of more than a dozen officials tied to FIFA.  Blatter now says he’ll step down to help FIFA put the scandal behind it. But you could also make the argument that he’s resigning because he’s been shamed into it by public outcry in the press and on social media. We here in the West don’t tend to like the idea of shaming people into things and but there’s no denying its power.  New York University environmental studies professor Jennifer Jacquet thinks we should give shame a chance to solve society’s biggest problems. “Is Shame Necessary?” is the title of her new book.  Polarized Presidency (22:47) Guest: Robert Smith, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at San Francisco State University, Author of “Polarization and the Presidency: From FDR to Barack Obama”  In America today, people who identify as Republicans are more reliably conservative than they’ve been in 20 years. And Democrats are more reliably liberal. In other words, we’re an increasingly polarized nation where politics are concerned. A new book co-authored by San Francisco State University political scientist Robert Smith looks at the role presidents have played in driving the parties apart. His conclusions may surprise you: Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Barack Obama are among the most polarizing by his measures. But JFK, LBJ and George H.W. Bush and were not.  The book is titled, “Polarization and the Presidency - from FDR to Barack Obama.”  The Apple Seed (43:22) Sam Payne is the host of BYU Radio's storytelling show, The Apple Seed. Sam visits Top of Mind to share an excerpt from a story told by Judith Black titled “Retiring the Champ”  Publication Bias (56:26) Guest: Craig Williams, Pharm.D., Clinical Professor and Pharmacotherapy Specialist at Oregon State University  Antidepressants are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in America, even though the scientific literature suggests they’re not as effective in treating depression as we tend to think. The reason for that disconnect has to do with something called “publication bias” and new analysis in the American Medical Association’s Psychiatry Journal shows it’s also leading doctors and patients to overestimate the effectiveness of anti-depressants for treating anxiety disorders.  Trade Deals (1:18:15) Guest: Wade Jacoby, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at BYU  Before he leaves office, President Obama would like to finish up a trade deal that would be the largest in a generation. It would link 12 nations, including Canada, Chile, Japan and Australia, lowering tariffs on goods they trade and strengthening America’s economic power in Asia as a counterbalance to China’s growth.  Congress is far from convinced that the deal is a good thing and they’re deeply divided on whether or not to give the president fast track authority to make such trade deals without out getting line-by-line approval or amendments from legislators.  “Trade deals” don’t sound awfully exciting to most Americans, but they can have a major impact on local economies. They are also almost always controversial in Congress. As one Democratic Representative told the New York Times this week, “Outside of an authorization of military force, votes probably don’t get tougher than trade.”