Christmas Tree Farms are Slowly Going Away, but Demand is Consistent (0:45)

Guest: James Farmer, Professor, O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University

Are you a cut-your-own Christmas tree at the farm kind of family? Or do you run to the Home Depot on Christmas Eve just hoping to find something decent you can decorate before Santa arrives? Unless something changes, we may all soon be stuck buying trees from a tree lot or big box store. Christmas tree farms are in decline, for a variety of reasons that James Farmer has studied. (Originally aired December 9, 2019). 

 

For the First Time Ever, You’ll Be Able to Fill Out the U.S. Census Online (15:20)

Guest: Victoria Glasier, Chief of the Statistics in Schools Program, U.S. 2020 Census Bureau; Erika Becker-Medina, Chief of the Decennial Communications Coordination Office, U.S. Census Bureau

2020 is nearly here, can you believe it? And since it’s the start of a decade, 2020 also means another U.S. Census, where the government tries to count every person in the country. With more than 300 million of us, it’s a mammoth task. And for the first time ever, we’ll be able to fill out the Census questionnaire online. Welcome to the 21st Century, eh? (Originally aired December 9, 2019). 

 

Understanding Immigration’s Impact on Support for Trump in 2016 (29:37)

Guest: Gregory A. Huber, PhD, Professor of Political Science, Yale University

From the first speech of his Presidential campaign, Donald Trump invoked the threat of immigration as a key message. Candidate Trump kept up with that rhetoric right through the campaign –and into his first term as President. How much did hostility toward immigrants drive President Trump’s support among voters? Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, UC-San Diego and Yale University wondered if the clearest evidence of this might be found in neighborhoods that have had the largest influxes of migrants in the last decade. Were those voters more likely to respond to the Trump campaign’s immigration rhetoric? (Originally aired December 9, 2019). 

 

Why We Give and How to Give the Best Gifts (49:58)

Guests: Lara Aknin, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, Director of the Helping and Happiness Lab, Simon Fraser University; Cindy Chan, PhD, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Toronto Scarborough

It’s the season of giving, which can also make it the season of stress – all that time and money and that nagging suspicion that most of what you give will be eventually forgotten anyway.  But some gifts we do remember forever. We put a call out for gift-related stories and heard some really memorable ones we’ll share with you this hour. Plus, we’ve got expert insight on how to give presents that will be cherished and strengthen your relationships. But first, a look at why we do it in the first place. Is there some evolutionary reason for gift giving? Do we mainly do it because that’s what’s expected? (Originally aired December 14, 2018).