Avoiding Stress

Guest: Zack Cooper, PhD, Professor of Health Policy and Economics at Yale University 

Guest: Leonard Greenspoon, PhD, Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Studies and of Theology at Creighton University and the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization  Just before leaving for Christmas vacation last week, President Obama attended a naturalization ceremony for 31 of the nation’s newest citizens, including people from Iraq and Uganda. He told the crowd that while most countries admit immigrants, America is different because it is a nation born of immigrants. And he offered a few stark historical comparisons for the skepticism facing current refugees.

Guest: Mary Beth Bruder, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service Center at the University of Connecticut 

Guest: Rod Gustafson, Reviews films at ParentPreviews.com  You may need a little of the force to offer any kind of critique on this new Star Wars movie. It is such a huge hit, making half a billion dollars in the opening weekend.

Guest: Thad Weiland, Resident of the Daybreak community in Utah  For the first time in history, nearly half of all Christmas shopping is being done online, according to the National Retail Federation. And so, mail delivery companies are working at full tilt and thieves are on the prowl for easy pickings off un-attended porches. One community near Salt Lake City called, “Daybreak” has been getting national attention for their grassroots approach to preventing package pilfering. No, it doesn’t entail spycams or lurking in the bushes for a bandit. They’re using decoy packages to foil thieves.

Guest: Nicholas Fischetti, Clinical Dietitian with Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical Center  Don’t look now, but the calories are piling up on the counter—all those treats from the neighbors and the indulgent stuff you are obligated by tradition to make for the holiday feast. Skimping on the cream or sugar feels a little bah-humbug this time of year.  If it’s even possible to make the holidays healthy, then Nicholas Fischetti is going to show us how.