The Media’s Mueller Obsession

Guest: Matthew Jordan, Professor of Media Studies, Penn State University

The Mueller Report is out. Have you heard? Yeah, of course you have. It’s all over the news. Has been for nearly two years. And there are enough juicy tidbits in the 448-page redacted version to keep the story in the news for quite a bit longer. By way of summary, Special Counsel Robert Mueller found Russia wanted to help President Trump get elected and the Trump Campaign was willing to accept that help. The investigation did “not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” So, no collusion. On the question of whether President Trump tried to obstruct the investigation, Mueller and his team say they couldn’t say one way or the other and left it to the Attorney General to decide.

Wild Bill: The True Story of the American Frontier’s First Gunfighter

Guest: Tom Clavin, Best-Selling Author, Author of “Wild Bill: The True Story of the American Frontier’s First Gunfighter”

Even if you only know a few names of Wild West legends, you know Bill Hickok –better known as Wild Bill. Not to be confused with Buffalo Bill Cody, though they were good friends. Wild Bill Hickock was an American legend by the age of thirty, but was he really as Wild as the stories tell? Best-selling author Tom Clavin’s new book sorts truth from tall tale. It’s called, “Wild Bill: The True Story of the American Frontier’s First Gunfighter.”

The Death and Resurrection of Notre Dame de Paris

Guest: Daryl Lee, PhD, Professor of French Languages and Culture, Brigham Young University

Why does the world care so much about Notre Dame in Paris? Why, since the cathedral’s roof and spire collapsed in a fire on Monday, have people the world over expressed such grief? Notre Dame is clearly more than an historic building or a place of religious worship. 

Some Americans Can’t Worship Without Fear (Originally aired December 3, 2018)

Guest: Christopher Scheitle, Assistant Professor of Sociology, West Virginia University

French police believe the fire that destroyed the roof of Notre Dame in Paris was accidental. But police in Louisiana say fires that burned three historically black churches there were set intentionally. It’s not unusual, unfortunately, for places of worship to be the target of vandalism and violence. Just a month ago, a shooter killed 50 worshipers in two New Zealand mosques. How safe are we in our places of worship?

The Sobering Truth about the Effects of Pediatric Trauma (Originally aired January 24, 2019)

Guest: Charles Nelson, Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School

Scoring an ace in tennis, or “acing” a test, are both good things. But to neuroscientists who study the effect of trauma on the developing brain, ACE has an entirely different meaning. It stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences, and in recent years, researchers have found that these adverse events, or ACEs, increase the risk of developmental delays and health problems as the child grows.