Kashimiri Perspective on Disputed Region

Guest: Ather Zia, Assistant Professor, Anthropology and Gender Studies, University of Northern Colorado Greeley, Author of “Resisting Disappearance: Military Occupation and Women’s Activism in Kashmir”

Phone lines and internet connection are mostly down in Kashmir – which is a disputed region between Pakistan and India. The population is majority Muslim and a few weeks ago, India stripped Kashmir of its autonomy and statehood. The clampdown is unprecedented and has drawn condemnation from Pakistan and other countries. But India maintains this is a domestic issue and the rest of the world should butt out.

 

Mars Buildings Made Out of Mushrooms

Guest: Lynn Rothschild, Research Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley

We'll soon be able to land humans on Mars, but what about all the things earthlings will need once we're up there? Mars is a wasteland with no Home Depot, so the planet isn't going to provide us building materials. And we can't take everything with us in the spaceship. A team at NASA has come up with a potential solution: buildings made out of mushrooms. Listen to her TEDx talk here.

 

We Really Do Look Like Our Names

Guest: Yonat Zwebner, Professor of Marketing, IDC Herzliya, Israel

You can learn a lot about a person just from their name. Emmas are cute and sweet and Gregs are smart. Jakes are bros and Roxys are sassy. At least, those are the stereotypes. But research shows that we really do look like our names.

 

Environmental Crimes Are a Leading Cause of Conflict

Guest: Meredith Gore, Associate Professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University

Wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, dumping hazardous waste–they’re all bad for the environment, obviously. But they’re also terrible for the global economy. They stunt development in vulnerable places. They pad the pockets of organized crime. They fuel violent conflict. 

 

Why Prison Inmates Fight Wildfires

Guest: Lindsey Feldman, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Memphis

There are currently 45 large wildfires scorching millions of acres from Alaska to Texas. In several Western states, prison inmates are helping fight these fires. Arizona and California use inmate labor because it saves money –prisoners make about a dollar an hour, while professional wildfire fighters get closer to $30.

 

Parent Previews: Music Movies

Guest: Kirsten Hawkes, ParentPreviews.com

During the Golden Age of Hollywood, the box-office smashes every studio wanted to release were not Marvel superhero movies –they were musicals. Singing in the Rain, Top Hat, Meet Me in St. Louis. Over the years, stage musicals have done well on the screen too –West Side Story, South Pacific, Cabaret.