Seeking a Way Forward on Gun Violence

Guest: Peter Ambler, Executive Director, Giffords

“Mentally-ill monsters” is how President Donald Trump described mass shooters in his address to the nation Monday. In comments to the reporters before boarding Air Force One to visit El Paso and Dayton on Wednesday, he reiterated that this is a problem of mental illness and that he supports background checks to prevent “mentally unstable people or people with rage or hate” from getting guns. The President also said he thinks there’s “very strong appetite” to get a background check law passed. That’s one of the measures backed by Giffords, a non-profit focused on preventing gun violence.

 

Why Heat Waves Are Even Worse in Big Cities

Guest: Nicholas Rajkovich, Assistant Professor of Architecture, University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning

When the weather app on your phone says it’s 96 degrees, that may not be exactly true where you’re standing. If you’re under a tree in a park it’ll quite a bit cooler than standing in the middle of a parking lot at a strip mall. And cities, in general, tend to be several degrees hotter than outlying rural areas. As temperatures get hotter, some cities are rethinking how they deal with heat, including better design. 

 

The Complicated Relationship Between City Parks and Crime Rates

Guest: Lincoln Larson, Assistant Professor of Human Dimensions in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, North Carolina State University

If you have the choice between a park and an empty lot in your neighborhood, you’d choose a park, wouldn’t you? And if the choice was between a park or a business of some sort –you’d probably also choose the park. But somewhere in the back of your mind, would you be just a tiny bit worried that the park would become a magnet for drugs or homeless camping? A park can be a blessing or a curse for a neighborhood –depending on how well it’s designed and maintained.

 

Apple Seed

Guest: Sam Payne

Sam brings his guitar and tells a summertime story from his family's past.

 

Is Climate Change Causing Fires? The Answer Is Complicated

Guest: Marc Abrams, Professor of Forest Ecology and Physiology, Penn State University

Wildfires have already burned three and a half million acres in the US so far this year. That’s better than where we were at this time last year, but that’s still a lot of destroyed land. And the severity of the rest of the fire season depends on Autumn winds and rains.

 

Scientists Create a Thread to Detect Harmful Gases

Guest: Sameer Sonkusale, Professor of Engineering and director of the NanoLab, Tufts University

Dangerous gases –like carbon monoxide –are sneaky threats. They’re invisible, for one. Often odorless, too. I forget about my carbon monoxide monitor for months and then I’ll suddenly have a moment of panic –wait, is it still working? Are the batteries dead? How would I even know before it’s too late? Imagine if you had woven blanket or a wall-hanging that would change color when it sensed carbon monoxide. You’d have a quick visual warning that something’s wrong. That’d be cool. 

 

States Turn to Rent Control to Address Affordable Housing Concerns

Guest: Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, Professor of Real Estate and Finance, Columbia University's Graduate School of Business

In most states, property owners can raise the rent as often as they like, so long as there are people willing to pay that rent. But a handful of places–most recently Oregon and New York –are moving in the opposite direction: they’re passing laws to limit how much landlords can raise the rent each year. “Rent control” was popular in some big cities during the 1970s, but largely fell out of favor. Why is it making a comeback?