War Authorization, Volcanoes and the Nile, Gerrymandering

Guest: Ryan Vogel, JD, PhD, Professor of International Law, Director of Center for National Security Studies, Utah Valley University US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are currently testifying on Capitol Hill about something called an AUMF. It stands for Authorization for Use of Military Force, and, in 2001, Congress passed one allowing the President to go after Al Qaeda for carrying out the 9-11 terror attack. Sixteen years later, the US is battling terror across the Middle East and in Africa under that same authorization. But the foes have changed: ISIS, Al-Shabbab, Boko Haram—and with the recent death of four US soldiers in Niger, there are questions about whether that original authorization to go to war still applies.

Guest: Joseph Manning, PhD, Professor of Ancient History, Yale University A volcano erupts on the other side of the planet and, two years later, an ancient Egyptian community erupts in violence. Could the two possibly be related? A collaboration of historians and climate scientists has concluded the answer is yes.

Guest: François Busnel, Editor of “America: Like You’ve Never Read It,” Host of “La Grande Librairie” A new literary magazine in France called “America: Like You’ve Never Read It” was founded in response to the election of Donald Trump, and it’s slated to run only through 2020. It uses American fiction and pop culture hits like The Simpons to explain America during the Trump presidency. The idea of explaining a politician through literature might seem odd to Americans, but it’s exactly the approach you’d expect from the magazine’s editor, François Busnel, who also hosts “La Grande Librairie,” a show that celebrates French literature and culture.

Guest: Jeff Edwards, PhD, Associate Professor in Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology, Associate Director of the Brigham Young University Neuroscience Center, BYU According to the National Institutes of Health, 70 percent of high school seniors don’t believe that smoking marijuana is dangerous. But researchers suspect that marijuana might permanently alter brain function in adolescents, essentially hard-wiring a teenage brain for addiction later in life. On a cellular level, the high from marijuana is more complicated than we used to think, according to new research out of BYU.

Guest: Rod Gustafson, Reviewer at Parent Previews “Same Kind of Different as Me” is based on a book by the same name that tells the story of a wealthy white couple struggling with their marriage who befriend a homeless African American man. “Only the Brave” is based on a true story about the elite wildfire fighting unit called the Granite Mountain Hotshots.

Guest: Jonathan Entin, JD, Professor Emeritus of Law and Political Science, Case Western Reserve University School of Law When the Supreme Court heard arguments about gerrymandering earlier this month, protesters gathered outside holding signs that read, “Voters choose their Representatives, not the other way around.” Can’t argue with that, right? But voting districts are redrawn every ten years by whichever party is in control of a state’s legislature at that moment. And there are lots of ways to tweak the boundaries of a district to improve your party’s chances of winning in the next election. Politicians have been doing this for centuries. But suddenly the Supreme Court is weighing in on whether it’s legal. Why? And why now?