Behind the walls of America’s prisons (16:02)

Heather Ann Thompson, Ph.D., is a native Detroiter and historian on the faculty of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the departments of Afro-American and African Studies, History, and the Residential College. She is the author of the book, Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy. The severe heat in Texas prisons is linked to several deaths and lawsuits.  A new court order is forcing authorities to move over 1 thousand Texas prisoners to cooler cells, saying the inmates need air conditioning.  In fact, the judge ruled that temperatures in some of the prisons are unconstitutional.   Do prisoners deserve the same human and constitutional rights as those of us that are outside of prison? Heather Ann Thompson explains some issues surrounding the US prison system and why we should know more about what is going on behind the prison wall.

 

Why Won't You Apologize? (1:05:54)

Harriet Lerner is a psychologist who focuses on the psychology of women and family relationships. Harriet is the author of several books including The Dance of Anger and Why Won't You Apologize?. Harriet Lerner did her undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she majored in psychology and East Indian studies and spent her junior year doing independent research in Delhi, India. She received an M.A. in educational psychology from Teachers' College of Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the City University of New York. Lerner is best known for her scholarly work on the psychology of women and family relationships, and for her many best-selling books. Feminism and family systems theory continue to inform her writing. Lerner lectures and consults nationally, while her psychotherapy practice remains at the heart of her work. Harriet Lerner shares her book Why Won't You Apologize? and explains why it is so tough for some people to say "I'm sorry."

 

Dirt Is Good (1:52:20)

Dr. Jack Gilbert is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago and the Director of The Microbiome Center. He is also the author of the book “Dirt Is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child's Developing Immune System.”We often hear of ways to protect children from germs and exposure to bacteria, but maybe it’s possible that the constant pacifier washing isn’t necessary. A little bit of dirt and mild exposure to germs at a young age could increase their immune system as they grow older. Jack Gilbert discuss his book Dirt Is Good and help us understand how the germs around us can be for our benefit.