Drone Warfare, Evolution of Happiness, Connectography

America Enters New Era of Drone Warfare Guest: Eric Jensen, JD, Professor in BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School We've reached a new milestone in drone warfare. The US military just announced that 2015 was the first year we fired more weapons over Afghanistan by drone than by traditional warplane. New ethical and legal questions come with this shift. Savanna Theory of Happiness Guest: Norman Li, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology at Singapore Management University Some people are city folk. Some are rural folk. But we’re really all, deep down, rural folk, according the Savanna Theory of Happiness. It’s a concept that says, we’re essentially happiest when our environment most resembles the sparsely populated African savanna where our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived. And if this sounds pretty far-out, know that surveys of Americans across the country find the happiest among us are in rural areas, the unhappiest live in crowded cities.  And research also shows a good way to boost your happiness, no matter where you live, is to socialize with close friends.  Okay, so here’s the wrinkle, recently documented by evolutionary psychologists Satoshi Kanazawa and Norman Li: Smarter people are less bothered by crowded environments and they get less of a boost from hanging out with friends.  Apple Seed: The Story-telling Power of Stuff Guest: Sam Payne, Host of BYU Radio’s “The Apple Seed” Sam Payne joins us in studio each week with insights on tellers and stories.  Iraq in Crisis, Saudi Oil in Transition Guests: Fred Axelgard, PhD, Senior Fellow at BYU’s Wheatly Institution; Steven Lobell, PhD, Professor of Political Science at the University of Utah; Shadman Bashir, Visiting Professor of Law and International Relations at Dixie State University Islamic State terrorists set off bombs in Baghdad today killing more than 90 people. The violence appears to mark an escalation by the Islamic State in targeting civilians–despite having lost significant territory to Iraqi government troops of late. We also talk about the Taliban's "Spring Offensive" in Afghanistan and a shake-up at the state-run oil company in Saudi Arabia. The World is More Connected Than Divided Guest: Parag Khanna, PhD, Global Strategist, CNN Global Contributor, Author of “Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization” Read the headlines and you could make a pretty strong case that we live in a divided world. The Middle East is in chaos, the open borders of the EU are closing and countries the world over are in political turmoil.  But global strategist and author Parag Khanna says we’re more connected than we are divided. In a couple of his popular TED talks and his new book called, “Connectography,” Khanna redraws world maps–basically erasing the political borders we’re familiar with and emphasizing how economic ties, trading relationships, internet and phone connections matter more.  He says, looking at the world that way can bring us closer to peace, prosperity and environmental sustainability.