Roller Skating and American Culture

Guest: Adam Dynes, PhD, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Brigham Young University The results are in: Democrats have taken control of the House and Republicans have gained a stronger majority in the Senate. President Trump claims it as a huge success for the GOP, and many Democrats are disappointed that the “blue wave” wasn’t the tsunami they hoped for. Enthusiasm was strong this election with an estimate of more than 110 million voters, a very high ballot number for a midterm election.

Guest: Kate DiCamillo, Author, "Lousiana's Way Home" Children’s author Kate DiCamillo does not shy away from the hard stuff. Her tales weave themes of abandonment, loss, and fear, while also highlighting hope and resilience. You may have heard of her two Newberry Medal winning books, The Tale of Despereaux and Flora & Ulysses. Her latest novel is called “Louisiana’s Way Home.” The book centers on 12-year-old Louisiana who lives an unstable life with her Granny. In fact, the book begins when her Granny forces them to leave their home in the middle of the night, without warning.

Guest: Jasmine Harris, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Ursinus College Division I college athletics - especially men's basketball and footbal - are a huge business, generating enormous TV revenues and high salaries for coach. But are the student athletes who fuel the public's obsession players - or are they pawns? Is anyone really looking out for their interests as they try to balance school and sports?

Guest: Sam Payne Same Payne shares a story.

Guest: Heather Morris, Author, “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” More than 60 years after Lale Sokolov was freed from the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz, he finally got up the nerve to tell his story. He was forced to do horrible things there, but Auschwitz is also the place where he met the love of his life. Lale died in 2006, but author Heather Morris has turned his story into a historical novel published this year called “The Tattooist of Auschwitz.”