International Law, Short-Term Debt and Depression, Farming

International Law (1:04) Eric Jensen teaches The Law of Armed Conflict, International Criminal Law, and National Security Law at BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. He is a regular guest on Top of Mind.  The US Supreme Court just issued a ruling in the case of a 13-year-old boy who was born in Jerusalem and wants to have his passport read “Israel” as his place of birth. The Supreme Court turned him down.  Congress is considering a bill about the Guantanamo Bay detention center. President Obama would like to close the prison before he leaves office. What will it take to close GITMO, and what effects will it have on a newly elected president if it is still open?  Congress was facing a deadline to reauthorize a few provisions of the Patriot Act that would have allowed the National Security Agency to continue with its bulk collection of US phone records. Congress did NOT reauthorize those provisions.  Members of Parliament voted overwhelmingly yesterday to hold a nationwide vote in the next year or two allowing the public to decide if the UK remains part of the European Union.  Short-term Debt and Depression (34:26) Michael Collins is faculty director of the Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and author of a new study in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues that may link short-term debt and depression.  Fundamentally, all debt is the same: You owe money to somebody. But new research out of the Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin, Madison shows that some kinds of debt are worse for our mental health than others.  American Heritage (50:09) Grant Madsen visits our studio weekly to provide perspective on 20th Century economic, political and intellectual history in America – all subjects he teaches in his American Heritage history class here at BYU. You get to listen in from wherever you happen to be!  This week Marcus Smith talks with Madsen about what was likely the most important economic event of the last century—the Great Depression.  Profitability of Organic Farming (1:14:52) John Reganold is the Regents Professor of Soil Science & Agroecology at Washington State University. His paper on the financial competitiveness of organic agriculture appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences earlier this month. It was co-written by Professor David Cowder, also at Washington State University.  Only 1% of the cropland in the world is being farmed “organically” – meaning without traditional pesticides. Organic products remain a luxury enjoyed disproportionately by those living in Europe and North America with enough income to afford the higher prices such product generally carry. Could organic farming ever grow beyond a niche industry?  Why People Don't Like Learning Math (1:23:28) Learning math doesn't have to be boring. Former comedien and current math enthusiast, Edward Burger, talks about how learning math can be fun.