Fears of Recession in 2020 Ease Thanks to China Trade Deal (0:31)

Guest: Randy Charles Epping, International Financial Consultant, Author of “The New World Economy: A Beginner’s Guide”

Right now, the United States is enjoying the longest economic expansion in our history. It’s lasted 11 years, so, many experts warned we were bound for a recession in 2020. Now that risk appears to have faded. On Monday the International Monetary Fund predicted growth for the US and global economies in 2020, thanks in large part to a deal President Trump signed last week easing his trade war with China. 

Who Decided That Chocolate, Yogurt and Salad Are Women’s Food? (20:12)

Guest: Paul Freedman, PhD, Chester D. Tripp Professor of History, Yale University, Author of “American Cuisine: And How It Got This Way”

Yogurt, chocolate, salad. All are women’s food. Which sounds silly, I know. But when was the last time you saw a yogurt commercial targeting men? And everybody knows women can’t resist chocolate, right? Or how about this -  a man and woman go out to dinner, which of them is more likely to order a salad as an entrée? It’s weird how some foods are considered manly in America and some feminine. But it wasn’t always so.

The James Bond Effect (34:48)

Guest: Calder Walton, PhD, Assistant Director of the Applied History Project, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

“No Time to Die” is the latest James Bond film, with Daniel Craig in the role that has shaped how the world thinks about espionage. Those films have given us entirely the wrong impression, says Calder Walton, of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Walton studies the history of spycraft and is editor of the forthcoming “Cambridge History of Espionage and Intelligence.” 

Why People Are Turning to a Black Market for Prescription Drugs (50:39)

Guest: Michelle Litchman, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, University of Utah

When you think of the black market, you probably imagine shady deals for stuff that’s counterfeit or illegal. But right now in America, there are a significant number of people with diabetes trading and donating their insulin and other medical supplies.

Fake News Isn’t Just Misleading – It Can Create False Memories (1:02:01)

Guest: Elizabeth Loftus, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine

It’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not anymore. Anything online can be faked to look legit. Facebook and Twitter are still struggling to find a way to prevent outright falsehoods from going viral and influencing voters in the 2020 election. Fake news stories aren’t just misleading, they also have the potential to rewire your memory.

Just Mercy and Other Movies About Capital Punishment (1:15:20)

Guest: Kristen Hawkes, ParentPreviews.com

More than 2,500 people are currently on death row in prisons across the country. 22 of them were executed in the last year. Also last year, New Hampshire became the 21st state to abolish the death penalty. We are, right now, locked in a debate over whether it’s right for a civilized society to execute people for crimes, especially when we can’t be sure that the person on death row is actually guilty. That’s the problem a new film called Just Mercy illustrates. It’s based on the true story of attorney Bryan Stevenson and his client Walter McMillian who was wrongfully convicted of murder.