TJC’s Up Close

http://newsdesk.tjctv.com/2015/08/up-close-jeanne-bishop-and-amy-milligan/ This week on Up Close, sometimes, the faithful among us do things that are exceptional and rarely understood.

How did one woman come to forgive the man who murdered her sister? Jeanne Bishop talks about that in "Change of Heart: Justice, Mercy and Making Peace with My Sister's Killer."

And then, exploring why and how some women take on a Jewish practice of covering their hair is Elizabethtown College Professor Amy Milligan in "Hair, Headwear and Orthodox Jewish Women: Kallah's Choice."

http://newsdesk.tjctv.com/2015/08/up-close-william-arkin-and-nancy-moses/ This week on "Up Close," we're looking at things that end up in unexpected places.

Twenty years ago, no one thought we'd be able to place a flying weapon across the globe from its pilot and engage in warfare. William Arkin discusses his book, "Unmanned: Drones, Data, and the Illusion of Perfect Warfare."

And then, when a young German Jewish woman sat for a famous portrait, no one thought it would end up the subject of one of the greatest art disputes in history. Nancy Moses discusses that and more in "Stolen, Smuggled, Sold: on the Hunt for Cultural Treasures."

http://newsdesk.tjctv.com This week on "Up Close," when it comes to raising the next generation, what tools will we give them?

Many would argue that one tool that's worked well in the past is now broken. Chronicle of Higher Education Senior Writer Goldie Blumenstyk is the author of "American Higher Education in Crisis? What Everyone Needs to Know," now out in paperback.

And then, if you go to a special part of Tokyo, you'll see children literally playing with tools -- hammers, nails, even fire. It's an approach we don't see much in the United States. Amy Fusselman explores this fascinating playground in "Savage Park: A Meditation on Play, Space and Risk for Americans Who Are Nervous, Distracted, and Afraid to Die."

http://newsdesk.tjctv.com/2015/07/up-close-tracy-dahlby-and-blaine-harden/ This week on Up Close, as Asian economies rise in prominence and productivity, two journalists offer varying looks at some of the more prominent countries in the region.

Tracy Dahlby spent decades going in and out of Japan, China, Vietnam, and more. Reflecting on his reporting for National Geographic and other publications, he discusses his book "Into the Field: a Foreign Correspondent's Notebook."

And then, one country that stands as a major outlier in the region for seeing no rise in prosperity at all is North Korea. Former Washington Post correspondent Blaine Harden examines the country as a study in contrast, in "The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Tyrant Who Created North Korea and the Young Lieutenant Who Stole His Way to Freedom."

This week on "Up Close," what does it mean to be set free from the strictures of one's childhood, and find a calling somewhere else?

In the 1980s, many youths across America found meaning in music that was loud, hard and fast -- and a sense of community, as well. Inc. Magazine Executive Editor Jon Fine discusses his path in "Your Band Sucks: What I Saw at Indie Rock's Failed Revolution (But Can No Longer Hear)."

And then, we've heard many individual stories of people who grew up in the Ultra-Orthodox community and eventually left, but what's the larger story that they tell us, when combined together? Kansas University Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies Lynn Davidman researches that in "Becoming Un-Orthodox: Stories of Ex-Hasidic Jews."

When new ideas come forward, we can have a hard time accepting them for the value they represent. In the case of bitcoin, value is precisely the question. New York Times Business Reporter Nathaniel Popper digs under the surface to find out more in "Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying To Reinvent Money." And, in a world increasingly driven by popular discussion, the possibility of popular outrage at scientific discovery has the ability to shut down discussions and ruin careers. Northwestern University Professor Alice Dreger shares her findings in "Galileo's Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science."

This week on "Up Close," religions and beliefs don't exist in a vacuum, and they change over time as influences go back and forth.

The yoga tradition is presented popularly as ancient wisdom in classes around America today, but most of what's being taught is less than a hundred years old. The woman largely responsible for making your yoga class what it is, and as popular as it is, is the subject of "The Nation" Senior Contributing Writer Michelle Goldberg's "The Goddess Pose: The Audacious Life of Indra Devi, the Woman Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West."

And with the mix of religions here in the United States, it can sometimes feel like we're building a distinctly American religion. One way that manifests is with those who belong to multiple religions at once. Susan Katz Miller discusses that journey in "Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith Family."

This week on TJC's "Up Close," laying a path for the future is one of our most basic social obligations. But are we doing a good job?

When it comes to giving young people a chance with their money, we could be doing a lot better, according to CNN Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans, author of "Smart is the New Rich: Money Guide for Millenials."

And, from an educational perspective, we might be doing quite a lot to damage this generation by burdening them with high-stakes standardized tests. NPR Lead Digital Education Reporter Anya Kamenetz discussed that and more in, "The Test: Why Our Schools are Obsessed With Standardized Testing -- But You Don't Have To Be."

http://newdesk.tjctv.com What are the ways that holes can get poked in a tradition, and how can a tradition be recovered or reclaimed? In the Jewish tradition, key texts have been changed, with items removed, added or altered -- and in the cases we know about, it's largely the ultra-Orthodox determining what stays and what goes. University of Scranton Professor Marc Shapiro reveals it all in "Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites its History." And if there's any narrative most obviously missing from traditional Jewish texts, it's the stories of women's lives. Using short stories to fill in some gaps is American Jewish University Professor Michal Lemberger, in "After Abel and Other Stories."

This week on "Up Close," when children are subjected to violence and more, what are we to do about it?

One of the most horrible single events in recent memory was the killing of 77 people -- including dozens of children -- in a bombing and attack in Norway in 2011. Why did Anders Breivik decide to kill all those people, and what lessons is Norway trying to learn from it? Asne Seierstad finds out in "One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway."

Of course, most of the violence and difficulty children face is on a much smaller scale, but this kind of activity is also far more widespread, and adults are often a large part of the problem. New York Times Magazine Staff Writer Emily Bazelon discusses that in "Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy."