Survival of Malls, Russian Political Rebel, Olive the Lionheart

Desperate Measures to Save America’s Shopping Malls (0:31) Guest: Scott Crowe, Chief Investment Strategist, CenterSquare Investment Management Have you been inside a mall lately? The pandemic has been devastating for them. But, let’s be honest, malls were hurting before that. It’s gotten so bad that Simon Property Group–which is the largest mall owner in America-has been buying stores out of bankruptcy, so it’ll still have something to draw shoppers to the mall. Brooks Brothers, Forever 21, Lucky Brand are three stores Simon Property Group has bailed out. It’s trying to buy JC Penney, too. And, in another strange development, the Wall Street Journal reported last month that Simon was in talks with Amazon to turn some of its empty Sears and JC Penney stores into Amazon distribution hubs. Isn’t that a little like letting your conqueror move into your house?  How One Political Rebel Changed the Face of Russian Politics (20:01) Guest: Regina Smyth, Professor of Political Science, Indiana University Bloomington One of Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics–a man named Alexei Navalny–is in critical condition in a hospital in Berlin, and German officials have determined he was poisoned by a nerve agent that’s been used before to assassinate Putin’s opponents. The Russian government denies this. Navalny has been jailed for his activism before–and he’s been instrumental in mobilizing large protests against the Russian government. Cow Attacks in the Alps (31:58) Guest: Denise Hruby, Freelance Journalist, Environmental and Social Issues, Austria Listening to the Sound of Music brings to mind a picture Julie Andrews frolicking in a green meadow full of yellow wildflowers with white-capped mountains in the background. Well she wouldn’t have had that Alpine meadow to sing in without Austrian cows. They help create those beautiful pastures. But problem is, more and more hikers in the Alps are being attacked and some killed–by these cows. From Heartsick Socialite to Intrepid Explorer: Olive MacLeod Goes to Africa (52:47) Gu