Religious Freedom, Weight Stigma, Black History Month

Religious Freedom and Business Guest: Brian Grim, PhD, President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation The last few days have seen another wave of bomb threats to Jewish schools and community centers in the US and a second Jewish cemetery seriously vandalized. The Anti-Defamation League says there have been more than 90 such threats in at least a dozen cities since just the start of the year. There’s also been a spike in attacks on Muslim centers and mosques around the country. Religious freedom may be a core tenet of American democracy, but even isolated acts of hostility toward certain religions can undermine that freedom.  Why You Should Have (More) Children Guest: Jonathan Anomaly, Research Assistant Professor in the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program, Joint Appointment at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University There are 7.5 billion people on the Earth. But think about this for a second – at the turn of the century – on January 1, 1900 – there were only about one-and-a-half billion people living on Earth. In just over 100 years, the world’s population grew seven-times-over. It exploded – there’s really no other word for it. And that’s led to much doom-and-gloom concern about just how long we can keep this up before the Earth can no longer support all of us. How long until we run out of food, energy, clean water or clean air?  So would you be surprised to hear an academic that we really need people in some parts of the world to start having bigger families?  Women's Perspective on Weight Stigmas Guest: Rebecca Puhl, PhD, Deputy Director, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity In America these days, being discriminated against because of your weight is nearly as common as racial discrimination - particularly among women. But there haven't been many successful campaigns to eliminate this type of prejudice, and, surprisingly, few resarchers have asked obese women themselves which efforts to reduce the stigma have made the most difference to them. Should We Still Celebrate Black History Month? Guest: Dr. Eddie Chambers, Phd, Professor African Diaspora Art History, University of Texas, Austin We’ve come to the end of Black History Month. February was first designated as such in the 1970s, but the commemoration actually dates back to 1926 when an historian named Carter Woodson declared the second week of February “Negro History Week” – that was the language of the time – to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. There’s a perennial debate this time of year over whether or not Black History Month is still a good idea. Do we really need one month designated for mulling over the history of one race? And why confine it to just one month when African Americans are so central to US history? Plus, America elected a black president twice. So can we just call Black History “American history” at this point? Going to School Via Robot Guest: Veronica Newhart, Graduate Student, School of Education at the University of California, Irvine These days, school is much more than sitting in class, listening quietly and doing worksheets. There tends to be a lot of interaction: working in groups; moving to different centers; having classroom discussion. Which makes missing school that much harder for children with chronic illness or cancer who may sometimes be absent for many months. Teachers can send home reading material and workbooks; parents can hire tutors; but nothing can really compensate for not being in the classroom.  But have you seen these robots that are kind of like an iPad on wheels where you can Facetime or Skype through it using remote control? Some schools are beginning to experiment with them as a way to get homebound students into the classroom virtually, and researcher Veronica Newhart says they’re showing real promise. Tap Dancing Genius of John W. Bubbles Guest: Brian Harker, PhD, Professor in the School of Music, BYU Here’s an example of a figure you’ve probably never heard of, who was a major influence on iconic American performers including Fred Astaire. John W. Bubbles was his stage name. He was a singer and tap dancer of great renown in the early 20th Century. BYU’s Special Collections in the Harold B. Lee Library here on campus has a large stash of his personal belongings, including the top hat and cane he used in his dancing. For this month’s installment of “From the Vaults,” we’re going to look at the life work of John W. Bubbles with Professor Brian Harker of BYU’s School of Music.