On this episode we planned to discuss the AP (Associated Press) top stories of 2017. Going off script, we discussed the impact of the Trump Presidency - and how it revealed what had been building underneath.

Dr. Mike Sistrom, Professor of History, Greensboro College and Dr. Thom Little, Professor of Political Science analyzed how our collective narrative has become fragmented - and this fragmentation has played out in our political experience and continued to divide us.  We discussed ways to bring Americans back together through the Millennial generation's energy to get involved politically and to just come together to begin respectful dialogues about issues of conflict.

Mike pointed toward other years historically that our country has been divided:  1863 - during the civil war; 1935 - after the Depression; and 1968 - following the civil rights struggles & Vietnam War- continuing through the following decade,  leading up to the Nixon Presidency.

Them highlighted the differences between how Congressional leaders handled both the Nixon & Clinton Presidencies as compared to our current experience of shattered norms today.

We touched on many other serious changes in issues from 2017 from the North Korean conflict; terrorist attacks; weather extremities; and the #MeToo.  Mike & Thom discussed that 2018 would likely reveal a continued evolution of the #MeToo & a resolution of the Mueller investigation. Both discussed that we all should "hang on" because it is likely to be "a bumpy ride."