Saving Lives with New Suicide Hotline Number (0:33)

Guest: Dan Reidenberg, PsyD, Executive Director, Suicide Awareness Voices of Education

We’ve all been trained from childhood to dial 9-1-1 in an emergency.  But what if it’s a mental health emergency? A lot of people still call 9-1-1 when the better number would be the National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255. But who’s going to remember that number in a crisis? Soon you may only have to remember 9-8-8. The Federal Communications Commission is in the process of creating that national phone shortcut. The ultimate goal is saving lives. 

 

Teaching About Slavery in the Classroom (14:50)

Guest: Anthony Brown, Professor of Curriculum & Instruction in Social Studies Education at the University of Texas at Austin, Project Lead “Teaching Texas Slavery”

Well-meaning teachers around the country organize role-playing activities to teach about slavery to kids – mock slave auctions, slave ship re-enactments, Monopoly-like games where winning means escaping slavery. But these simulations can be traumatic for students and are shown to be ineffective in helping children learn about slavery. 

 

Carbon Taxes Appeal to Economists, but Do They Work? (34:06)

Guest: Yoram Bauman, PhD, environmental economist, co-founder of Clean the Darn Air, Standup Comedian

The latest climate change report from the UN is bleak. Without drastic, immediate – and frankly unprecedented - cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures will rise as much as 6 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. Six degrees doesn’t sound like much when you’re thinking about your thermostat at home. But for the planet, it means the oceans become too acidic for coral to survive. Fish die off. Coastal cities flood constantly. Heatwaves become unbearable. Storms become more intense. And Yoram Bauman thinks economics is the answer.

 

Bulletproof Clothing for the Rest of Us (50:27)

Guest: Vy Tran, Founder, Wonder Hoodie 

There were more mass killings in America last year than any other year dating back to at least the 1970s. That’s according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. They counted only mass killings where more than four people died, not including the perpetrator. There were 41 such mass killings in 2019 in which more than 210 people died. Most of those were mass shootings. 

And so, today it’s common for schools and churches to have armed guards and do “mass shooter drills.” Vy Tran is taking personal preparation a step further with bullet-proof hoodies and denim jackets meant to be worn by everyday people on the street.

 

Don’t Light a Fire on the International Space Station…Unless it’s for Science (1:03:06)

Guest: Richard Axelbaum, Professor of Environmental Engineering Science, Washington University in St. Louis

To make a fire, you need fuel, heat and oxygen. Since all three are easy to find on Earth, fire is common. But in space, there’s no oxygen, so no fire. Except on the International Space Station where astronauts are deliberately setting fires. Why? For science, of course. 

 

Companies Have Never Spent So Much on Hiring and They are Doing it All Wrong (1:23:33)

Guest: Peter Cappelli, Professor of Management, The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania

With the US unemployment rate as low as it’s been in decades, companies have to work harder than ever to hire the best talent. On average, the Society for Human Resource Management says the hiring process for each new employee costs around $4,000. And human resources expert Peter Cappelli says a lot of that is money down the train, because companies are doing hiring all wrong.