The Exchange

The 2020 Presidential primary has a massive field of Democratic candidates, and as even more voters shift away from using landlines, election polling has evolved as well. We talk about how we measure public opinion on political candidates, the reliability of polls, and how polling impacts both candidates and voters.

NHPR reports on the New Hampshire Presidential Primary every four years, but this time around we're trying something a little different. We're inviting you to weigh in on how we should cover this campaign.

As vacation season approaches, schools are offering ways to try to keep students from losing academic ground during the summer -- through reading, practicing math, and engaging in other activities that stimulate learning. We talk with the state's Deputy Commissioner of Education and two N.H. professors about how kids can best use their free time -- and keep learning -- during summer vacation.

The four-part podcast Supervision follows one New Hampshire man's life on parole. We talk about this series with reporter Emily Corwin, and discuss parole in N.H., including finding access to resources like housing, transportation, and mental health services, to finding a job and integrating back into life outside of prison.

A recent report from the United Nations says the global situation is dire - that the planet will lose as many as one million species, unless we make what the study calls "transformative" change soon. We focus on Granite State bio-diversity, what it looks like now, and what the path forward might be.

We hear about the latest development in the Bear Brook cold case; genetic genealogy helped to identify the likely killer but the victims remain unknown. In a ruling that could have far reaching impacts, a judge has called the state's current method for funding public schools is unconstitutional. And The Mount Washington Observatory and the Cog Railway are going to court over property rights on the summit of Mt. Washington. GUESTS: Sarah Gibson - NHPR Reporter. Charlie Jordan - Editor, Colebrook

With the warm weather here, Granite Staters are out on the rail-trails. Years ago, railroads criss-crossed New Hampshire. Now, some of those old rail corridors are making way for bikers and walkers, as well as equestrians and inline skaters, and, in winter, cross-country skiers. We discover the etiquette for the popular multi-use trails, and hear about connecting communities from Salem to Lebanon and beyond into the White Mountains.

To some extent nonprofit organizations address the affordable housing shortage differently from the private sector, from financing construction to the relationships they maintain with residents. We examine the role of nonprofits in addressing the scarcity of affordable housing that affects individuals, families, and the state's economy, as businesses seek workers who need affordable homes.

The 2020 Census' citizenship question is but one of the problems for the once-a-decade nationwide count. Amid a labor shortage in the Granite State, the census here will partially rely on a volunter workforce. Funding for the count hasn't grown adequately since 2010 and a decision on a proposed question about citizenship is expected from the Supreme Court this month. We get an update on the Census on the state level and hear arguments on how the citizenship question could impact the count.

The number of refugees being resettled in New Hampshire has dropped significantly under the Trump administration. There were 162 refugees resettled in the Granite State in FY 2018; that's compared to 518 two years prior. We'll explore what that means, and also talk with former refugees living in New Hampshire's largest city about their experiences. We'll also look at the city's school system, and how it works with refugee families arriving in the city. GUESTS: Jeff Thielman - president and CEO