TSA is Watching You, Painting Refugee Stories, Hunting Ancient Life in Amber

TSA is Watching You, Painting Refugee Stories, Hunting Ancient Life in Amber

Top of Mind with Julie Rose

  • Aug 1, 2018 11:00 pm
  • 1:44:10 mins

TSA is Watching You – Isn’t That What We Pay Them To Do? Guest: Jeff Price, Author of “Practical Aviation Security”, Professor of Aviation and Aerospace Science at the Metropolitan State University of Denver We learned this week from a Boston Globe investigation that federal air marshals have been taking detailed notes on how certain travelers behave in airports and on flights. They monitor if the passenger uses a computer, fidgets, sweats, uses the bathroom frequently. Since these passengers are not on any terror watch list, news of the program, called Operation Quiet Skies, has unnerved and alarmed people. It also raises questions about just what is the best way to flights safe. If forcing everyone to take off their shoes and empty their pockets at a screening checkpoint seems inefficient, but we’re also uncomfortable with the idea of certain people being monitored because they’re acting in a way that might be suspicious, is there some middle ground here? Extreme Sensitivity to Stimuli - Is it Autism? Guest: Elysa Marco, MD, Neurologist, Benioff Children’s Hospital, Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco Crowded spaces, loud noises, an itchy sweater or scratchy clothing tag – these would be mild annoyances for most people. But to some, they can be extremely distressing, or even painful. It’s called Sensory Processing Disorder. It often appears in children who also have autism or ADHD. But Elysa Marco has worked with enough patients suffering from sensory processing disorder to be convinced it is a separate condition, not just a subset of autism. Painting the Refugee Experience Guest: Elizabeth Thayer, Portrait Artist affiliated with Their Story is Our Story The number of people living on earth who have been forced from home is higher than it’s ever been, according to the UN Refugee Agency. More than half of the world’s 25-million refugees are children. A number like that is impossible to wrap your head around. But each of them is an individual with a face and a story. Elizabeth Thayer has spent the last several years painting their portraits as a volunteer with the nonprofit collaboration of artists and writers called, “Their Story is Our Story.” See some of Elizabeth Thayer’s portraits of refugees here and here.  Apple Seed Guest: Sam Payne, Host, The Apple Seed, BYUradio Hunting Ancient Life Frozen in Burmese Amber Guest: Paul Selden, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Invertebrate Paleontology, Director of the Paleontological Institute, University of Kansas In a remote corner of Myanmar – also known as Burma - gem collectors and paleontologists sift through golden dollops of fossilized tree sap. Some of the amber is rough, uncut lumps. Some is polished and set into pendants or bracelets. The most prized pieces have bits of the ancient world trapped inside: insects, plants, even birds and reptiles dating back to the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Make Your Yard Climate-Friendly Guests: Botanist Sue Reed and landscape architect Ginny Stibolt, Authors, “Climate-Wise Landscaping” Gardening seems like one of the most environmentally-friendly things you can do. You’re planting and growing stuff! But what you plant and how you grow determines whether you’re helping or hurting the environment. Are you using chemicals? Watering too much? Trying to meet an unrealistic ideal of what a yard should look like? Landscape architect Sue Reed and botanist Ginny Stibolt have written a handy guide for gardening in a way that’s good for the earth.

Episode Segments