Wave of Abortion Restrictions Sweeping States May Signal New Strategy to Overturn Roe v. Wade

Guest: Mary Ziegler, Professor of Law, Florida State University College of Law, Author of the forthcoming book “Abortion in America: A Legal History, Roe v. Wade to the Present”

At least eight states have passed new restrictions on abortion this year and many more state legislatures are debating them. Alabama’s has received a lot of attention for banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy –that’s the earliest in the country and there’s no exception for a victim of rape or incest. What’s driving this wave of state laws and how likely are they to result in another Supreme Court ruling on abortion?

Meme Creators are Unionizing. Why?

Guest: Aiden Arata, Meme Union Member

Okay so, memes. That’s what they call those weird, viral images that pop up on your social media feed –maybe it’s a screenshot of a TV show and someone’s put some funny captions on it. And then someone else goes in and writes their own captions for it and shares that. There are whole Instagram accounts devoted to sharing memes and gets tons of traffic –which is brilliant for Instagram because it’s making money off all this viral content people are making for free. But now the makers of memes are organizing to demand more control over how their work is used and who benefits from it. 

Why Veterans Experience Culture Shock When Transitioning to College

Guest: William Howe Jr, Doctoral Candidate Studying Communications, University of Oklahoma

When someone enters the US military, they spend two to three months in bootcamp, where the civilian culture they’ve known gets replaced by military culture –the physical and mental changes are major. But when someone leaves the military, there’s no transition. It’s just –“Thank you for your service. Good luck with civilian life!” US Army Veteran William Howe Jr says that’s irresponsible. He’s studying the culture shock veterans experience –particularly when they jump from combat to college. 

The Chinese Workers Who Built America’s Railroad

Guest: Gordon H. Chang, Professor of American History, Stanford University, Author of “Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad”

The Transcontinental railroad was a triumph of American grit and ingenuity when it was completed 150 years ago. But the work was done largely by immigrant workers –and the most technically difficult stretches of rail through the Sierra Nevada mountains were laid by workers from China. Those workers, however, were almost invisible at the grand Golden Spike ceremony commemorating the railroad’s completion in 1869. 

Adventures of a Theme Park Journalist

Guest: Robert Niles, Editor of ThemeParkInsider.com and Contributing Columnist for the Orange County Register

Theme parks can be magical with that thrill of anticipation when you’re about to drop on a rollercoaster, spending time with family, and, of course, the nostalgia. But theme parks can also be a nightmare with the hordes of people, crying children, and overpriced food.

New Research May Allow Diagnosis of CTE in Living People

Guest: Robert Stern, Co-Founder and Director of Clinical Research, Boston University CTE Center

Repeated head trauma ranging from full-blown concussions to the constant rattling of the brain inside the skull that can happen during impact sports, is believed to be the culprit in a disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy–or CTE. It was first diagnosed in a former NFL player 17 years ago and over 100 athletes, military veterans and victims of abuse have been diagnosed with it since. But the problem is, doctors can only diagnose CTE by cutting open a person’s brain after they’ve died.