Researchers now believe they can predict bad behavior later in life, just from a child's behavior and life circumstances as a toddler. This is the last of a four-part series looking at early childhood.

Guest: Daniel Shaw of the Center for Parents and Children and the Pitt Parents and Children Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh.

There's an intriguing new study that shows a connected between when low-income families receive supplemental nutrition, or SNAP assistance, and student test scores. The study is believed to be the first to show a connection between benefits of this sort and academic performance.

The authors of the study are Anna Gassman-Pines and Laura Bellows. Gassman-Pines is an Associate Professor of Public Policy, Psychology, and Neuroscience at Duke University. Laura Bellows is a doctoral student at the Sanford School of Public Policy.

It's becoming more and more apparent that the first thousand days of a child's life are crucial. In particular, the nutrition a child receives early in life dictates the kind of life that child will go on to have. But around the world, many women face huge obstacles when it comes to securing proper nutrition for their families.

Journalist Roger Thurow traveled the world to see firsthand the challenges many mothers face as a part of an exploration of a worldwide initiative to end early childhood malnutrition. He met new mothers and babies in Uganda, India, Guatemala, and Chicago, and tells their stories in the book The First Thousand Days: A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children - And the World.

Most experts recommend mothers breastfeed for six months exclusively after birth – but most women don’t do so. In the U.S.. only 27 percent of mothers reach the 6-month mark. In the U.K., it’s less than one percent. Professor Rafael Pérez-Escamilla of the Yale School of Public Health has been working on a way to boost and sustain breastfeeding rates – and he’s doing it on a country-by-country basis.

“The tragic Parkland, Fla., shooting on February 14th is yet another dreadful reminder that schools are no sanctuary against mass violence. Americans are surely united in wanting reforms … But the reform that is getting the most attention in this bizarro era we live in — arming teachers with concealed handguns — would likely make things worse.” – excerpt from an op-ed by one of this country’s preeminent researchers on gun violence in America, Philip J. Cook.

Cook talks with Kelly Brownell about other, more promising strategies for dealing with gun violence in classrooms than arming teachers.

It's March Madness, but instead of basketball, we’re pitting U.S. presidents from throughout the ages against each other. Who will be crowned the best president?  Will it be Washington or Honest Abe?  Maybe FDR?  What criteria should we be using to determine what makes a great president? Guests include Frederick "Fritz" Mayer and BJ Rudell from POLIS, the Duke Center for Political Leadership, Innovation & Service. Music: Blue Dot Sessions

James Clapper served as director of national intelligence and Obama’s top security adviser from 2010-2017. He oversaw 200,000 intelligence employees, a $52 billion budget and top security organizations including the CIA, NSA and FBI. In this episode of Policy 360, he discusses threats to the U.S., his decision to speak out against the country's current leadership and his hopes for future leaders.

Music: Blue Dot Sessions/Creative Commons

It’s estimated that 1.2 billion people around the world live without electricity. Another billion have only limited access to electricity. And billions more lack access to clean fuel and technology for cooking. There's an exciting new project designed to address the energy needs of the world’s poor. The Energy Access Project aims to bring an interdisciplinary approach to one of the world's most vexing issues.

In recent years, oil and gas production in the U.S. has increased dramatically, in part because of new technology like hydraulic fracturing or “fracking." Proponents say fracking is helping the country be energy independent. Opponents cite environmental concerns. Daniel Raimi traveled to every major U.S. oil and gas- producing region in the U.S. His book is called The Fracking Debate.

Recently, Jonathan Mattingly has been a detective of sorts, delving into partisan gerrymandering in North Carolina. (Gerrymandering is when one party manipulates voting districts for their own gain.) Mattingly is chair of the math department at Duke and his mathematical analysis of the state’s 13 Congressional districts was used in a court ruling that declared the state's maps unconstitutional. He says what he uncovered in his research could be used to address gerrymandering in other states.