More than a few politicians have won elections by stoking the fears of the American people. In the analysis of historian Elaine Tyler May, it has become increasingly easy to do. From the middle of the 20th century and onward, May tracks a rising obsession with security--one she says has actually made us LESS safe. May lays out the case in her book Fortress America: How We Embraced Fear and Abandoned Democracy . Look at prison populations, gun laws, and gated communities; the book references all

Richard Haass thinks a lot about the state of international relations in his role as president of the Council on Foreign Relations. He wrote A World in Disarray before Donald Trump took office, and added some thoughts on the last year in a new paperback version of the book. In short, the structures that guided the world out of World War II and away from World War III are now out of date, in Haass's estimation.

When you think about it, radio is a good place to discuss issues with our cars and trucks. Because half the battle in getting a mechanic to understand the problem with a car is describing the noise it makes. Zach Edwards has heard a few noises, both original and recreated, in his years fixing cars and owning Ashland Automotive . He joins us for a monthly chat about car problems, and we welcome your input.

Being a parent can induce moments of panic. It can get far more complicated with an adopted child... especially one from another country and another culture. That was Claude Knobler's experience, when he and his wife brought an Ethiopian child into their home. Nati was five years old when he got new parents and a whole new life. Claude Knobler tells the story in his book More Love, Less Panic: 7 Lessons I Learned About Life, Love, and Parenting After We Adopted Our Son from Ethiopia .

Jackson and Josephine Counties are regarded as two of the most productive counties in Oregon for growing marijuana. But the productivity could change in Josephine County this year, now that a new ordinance is in place. It bans commercial cannabis farming on rural residential lots five acres or smaller and creates other new regulations. They are not yet in effect (that happens March 5), but it will be Julie Schmelzer's job to implement them, as Community and Economic Development Director for the

First Friday Art Walk is an event in several communities in the region. We honor them and jump on the bandwagon with our monthly First Friday Arts segment. It's deceptively simple... we open the phone lines at 800-838-3760 and invite people to call with news of arts events going on in the coming weeks. Nothing but listener content here. Grab a seat by the radio and hear about arts offerings for January.

The Christmas carols may be behind us, but the music never stops. Certainly not for Josh Gross, the music editor at the Rogue Valley Messenger . Once a month, the day BEFORE First Friday, Josh visits with news of bands coming to play at venues in the region, with a particular emphasis on the Rogue Valley. We call it "Rogue Sounds."

Congress passed it, the president signed it, everybody argued about it. How WILL the new federal tax bill affect you? It certainly depends on how much money you make. There are other wrinkles in there, too, especially for states like Oregon with high local and state taxes. The Oregon Center for Public Policy has been watching the development of the tax legislation and parsing the wording. Daniel Hauser is a policy analyst for OCPP and our guest.

It has become nearly impossible to avoid noticing homeless people in just about any community of any size in our region. High rents, low vacancy rates, low wages... they are among a long list of contributing factors to homelessness in all corners of the "state of Jefferson." We explore the situation in many of the counties we serve, with a series of interviews under the banner "Out in the Cold." We begin with Mendocino County, very rural but also very close to the San Francisco metropolitan area

There's an old line directed to gullible people: "if you believe that, I have some swamp land I'd like to sell you." Is it better if the swamp is just given away? The McArthur Swamp in Shasta County is under new ownership as of a few months ago, when Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) finished conveying the nearly 7,700 acres of land to several entities in several ways. It's part of larger effort by the utility to protect some of its land.