Top of Mind with Julie Rose

A trial by jury is an important American right, enshrined in the 6th and 7th amendments of the constitution. But do jury trials work the way we want them to? Not all countries use citizen juries in their justice systems, and the ones that do generally don't give them quite as much power as America does. But juries are also becoming rare in the United States. Only 2% of criminal trials ever make it in front of a jury because prosecutors pressure defendants to take plea deals as a faster, cheaper alternative to trial. And most of us dread getting called to serve on a jury. Should America continue to lean away from juries, or press to make them more present in our system - and perhaps more just? In this podcast episode, we talk to someone who’s served on a jury, and someone who was wrongfully convicted by one. We'll also talk to experts about where juries fall short and what we can do about that.

Guests:

Kristen Cambell, CEO of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-jury-duty-yes-duty-changed-my-life-riyzc/)

Herman Lindsey, executive director of Witness to Innocence (https://www.witnesstoinnocence.org/single-post/herman-lindsey)

James Binnall, lawyer and professor at California State University Long Beach, author of "Twenty Million Angry Men: The Case for Including Convicted Felons in Our Juries" (https://doi.org/10.1111/lapo.12015)

Valerie Hans, law professor at Cornell University (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4168115)

Why is it so hard to draw the line between what’s funny or offensive? We love to laugh and we prize a good sense of humor in ourselves and others. But the ancient Greeks – Aristotle and Plato – said humor was bad for society: they thought of it mainly as mockery and laughing was a loss of self-control. When you consider how quickly humor can go wrong in the hands of a bully or an edgy standup routine, you have to wonder - were the Greek philosophers right? In this podcast episode we meet a biracial standup comic who jokes often about race and thinks comedians should be able to joke about anything, so long as it’s funny, original and authentic to their experiences. We also consider the difference between racist humor and humor that’s racially insensitive or “merely racial” with a leading expert on the ethics of racial humor. And then we ask what it would take to maximize the benefits of humor in every day interactions, where you could argue the goals and rules are different.

Podcast Guests:

Isak Allen, Los Angeles-based standup comedian (https://www.drybarcomedy.com/isaka)

Luvell Anderson, professor of philosophy at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Mike Cundall, a professor of philosophy at North Carolina A&T State University, author of The Humor Hack, and founder of Mirth Management consulting. (https://www.mirthmanagement.co/)

For a century, the ACT and SAT played a central role in filtering college applicants. Most colleges and universities stopped requiring standardized test scores during the pandemic; that change has turned into a permanent shift across higher education. A lot of people think that's for the better, particularly since the tests have long been shown to disadvantage students of color and those with fewer economic resources.

But now a growing number of elite schools - including Harvard, MIT and Dartmouth - are reinstating the test requirement. Why are they struggling to make up their minds?

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court outlawed another prominent filter elite schools have used to make admissions decisions - race. Now that test score requirements are in flux and affirmative action is illegal, how do we decide who gets into college?

Guests:

Emi Nietfeld, journalist and author of "Acceptance: A Memoir"

Nicholas Lemann, professor at the Columbia School of Journalism and author of "The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy" and "Higher Admissions: The Rise, Decline, and Return of Standardized Testing"

Alix Coupet, former admissions officer at Stanford and the University of Chicago, currently working in private admissions counseling

Patricia Gandara, professor at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and a co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA

Most Americans are anxious about when – or even if – they’ll be able to retire. And we’re not wrong. Social Security is on shaky footing. Half of Americans on the cusp of retirement have no money saved for it. This isn’t how retirement in America was supposed to work. But 40 years ago, Congress shifted the US away from employer pensions and toward a do-it-yourself system based on 401K retirement saving plans. It’s not going well. In this episode we get to the bottom of why so many Americans are unable to retire comfortably and end up, instead, living in poverty or working well past age 70. And we’ll learn what we can do on an individual and national level to improve retirement in America.

Podcast Guests:

Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economics at the New School for Social Research, author of Work, Retire, Repeat: The Uncertainty of Retirement in the New Economy (https://teresaghilarducci.org/)

Aubrey Johnson, 24, recent college graduate

Heather Sheffer, 45, self-employed

Mike Cundall, 50, philosophy professor North Carolina A&T State University

Jaye Crist, 63, printing business employee, artist @jayecrist on Instagram

Penny Pennington Weeks, 58, retired from Oklahoma State University faculty at age 55, posts garden and retirement content @pennypenningtonweeks on Instagram

Cami (last name withheld), 38, full-time nurse, divorced mother of four kids

Maryann O’Connor, 67, owner of Kindred Woman Travelers (https://www.kindredwomentravelers.com/)

Elaine Jarvie, 68, retired, RV traveler

Compared to other wealthy nations, America has twice as many traffic deaths per capita. And in recent years, pedestrian and cyclist deaths have spiked. Experts say road design plays a big part in this. The most dangerous roads are “suburban arteries” that are often 5 or 6 lanes wide, with long distances between traffic lights where pedestrians can cross. On this episode of the podcast, we explore why American roads are designed almost exclusively for vehicles and what it would take to make them safer for people on foot and bicycle. Can streets allow good flow for vehicles, but still have bike lanes and safe crossing options for pedestrians? Cars these days are supercomputers on wheels – could technology solve this problem for us?

Podcast Guests:

Lizi Rahman, mother of Asif Rahman and member of Families for Safer Streets (https://www.familiesforsafestreets.org/)

Angie Schmitt, author of “Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America” (https://usa.streetsblog.org/author/angie)

Steve Morris, co-founder of the West Roxbury Safety Association (https://www.facebook.com/WestRoxburysafetyassociation/)

John McElroy, journalist and president of Autoline (https://www.autoline.tv/)

What does it mean to be a father in 2024? In most U.S. households today, the role of fathers is changing. The “primary breadwinner dad” is increasingly rare, while the "primary caregiver dad” is becoming more common. One-in-five stay at home parents in the US is a father. And dads are generally doing a lot more childcare and housework than their fathers and grandfathers did. But women still do twice as much housework as their husbands, so it’s not uncommon to see tempers flare online when fathers get praised for parenting while mothers don’t. How are American families navigating these changings?

In this podcast episode, we talk with a working father who wanted to be more involved than his own father – but still had to overcome some biased assumptions about household duties. We talk to a stay-at-home dad about the decision he and his wife made more than a decade ago to have him be the primary caregiver for their children. And then, a single father with full custody of his three young kids talks about what the experience and taught him about society’s assumptions about the needs of parents. Finally, a historian of American family life will explain how the division of duties we consider “traditional” is a relatively recent development.

Podcast Guests:

Clint Edwards, author of “No Idea What I’m Doing” dad blog and parenting books “Father-ish: Laugh-Out-Loud Tales From a Dad Trying Not to Ruin His Kids’ Lives” and “I’m Sorry... Love, Your Husband” (https://clintedwards.substack.com/)

Shannon Carpenter, father and comedy writer, author of “The Ultimate Stay-at-Home Dad” (https://www.shannoncarpenterauthor.com/)

Daniel Ortega, single dad with full custody of his three kids and founder of The Mindful Wolf (www.themindfulwolf.com)

Stephanie Coontz, Director of Research and Public Education at the Council on Contemporary Families, Professor Emerita at Evergreen State College, former Woodrow Wilson Fellow, author of “The Way We Never Were - American Families and the Nostalgia Trap” (https://www.stephaniecoontz.com)

Voices from the Council of Moms, hosted by The Lisa Show (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwfgWmzxxX046s1nNNo7HNa-LTIfguVnT)

More than two-thirds of children under the age of 6 in the U.S. live in a household where all available parents work. But in most communities, there’s a shortage of slots in childcare centers and home-based providers. Because of unreliable childcare, as many as 100,000 Americans are forced to stay home from work at least once a month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's not to mention the cost, which eats up about 13 percent of an American family's income on average, sometimes rivaling what they pay for food, utilities, or even rent.

If there's so much demand for childcare in America, why aren't entrepreneurs flocking to meet that demand? The bottom line is the numbers don't work. In this episode, we’re exploring why America’s childcare crisis is an equation we can’t seem to balance and what it means for families and communities, including those of us who don't need or want childcare. We’ll tackle the interesting history of childcare with a policy expert, get an inside look with a childcare provider owner in Virginia, and finally, we talk with a parent who pushed her community to do something different.

Podcast Guests:

Juanterria Pope-Browne, creator and owner of Kidz with Goals Unlimited, a daycare in Hopewell, Virginia (https://www.kidzwithgoals.com/)

Elliot Haspel, senior fellow at Capita, author of Crawling Behind: America’s Childcare Crisis and How to Fix It (https://elliothaspel.com/)

Lindsey Buegler, parent and accountant in Warren, Minnesota and former daycare board member (https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/a-minnesota-town-may-be-a-blueprint-for-how-to-fix-the-nations-childcare-crisis/)

Americans have a perplexing perception of crime. One in three Americans report watching, listening, or reading true crime on a weekly basis. But our fixation on crime goes deeper than entertainment. Both Republicans and Democrats consider violent crime an increasing problem. But most of us are safer today than we’ve ever been. Violent crime in America is down 50% since the 1990s. What’s driving the disconnect in our perception of crime? And what consequences does it have for our communities? Where might be a better place to direct our attention?

On this podcast episode, we talk to a devoted fan of true crime who has also studied the effect it has on people. A leading research on crime and public perception in America explains how the 9/11 terror attacks fueled the disconnect in how safe Americans are and how safe they feel they are. We also speak with a survivor of intimate partner violence who created an organization to educate people about domestic and intimate partner violence, which pose a far greater threat to Americans than the crime we most fear.

Podcast Guests:

Amanda Vicary, Chair of the Psychology Department and professor at Illinois Wesleyan University (https://amandavicary.com/)

John Roman, senior fellow in economics, justice, and society at NORC at the University of Chicago, director of the Center on Public Safety and Justice (https://substack.com/@johnkroman)

Twahna P. Harris, domestic violence survivor and founder and executive director of The Butterfly Society (https://www.thebutterflysociety.org/)

These days anything that's widespread might be called an "epidemic." Violence, obesity, opioids, even loneliness. But in the public health space, the label "epidemic" carries special significance beyond that - it's a disease that's widespread - and usually contagious, too. How does thinking about social issues as epidemics change the way we approach them? We'll explore the pros and cons with first responders on the front line of each of those epidemics:

What changes if we think of opioid addiction as a disease rather than a crime or character flaw? In what ways is loneliness like a disease - and what's the prescription? Obesity got official epidemic status in America in the '90s. And yet, obesity rates have only increased, so what's to gain by viewing violence as a disease epidemic?

In this podcast episode, an ER doctor explains the cyclical, contagious nature of violence. A dietician considers the unintended consequences of making weight loss the focus of the obesity epidemic. A paramedic with 30 years of experience traces the evolution of the opioid overdose crisis in America and argues for empathy and harm reduction to save more lives. Finally, we consider America’s newest epidemic – loneliness – with the nation’s leading scientist on the harm caused by social isolation. In what ways does framing these issues as epidemics enable us to cure them?

Podcast Guests:

Rob Gore, MD, founder of the Kings Against Violence Initiative (KAVI), and author of “Treating Violence: An Emergency Room Doctor Takes on a Deadly American Epidemic” (https://kavibrooklyn.org/)

Kirsten Morrisson, registered dietitian and certified Intuitive Eating counselor, host of Intuitive Bites podcast (https://theintuitiverd.com/podcast/)

Peter Canning, paramedic, EMS coordinator at UCONN John Dempsey Hospital, and author of “Killing Season: A Paramedic's Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Opioid Epidemic” (https://www.petercanning.org/)

Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, director of the Social Connection & Health Lab, and lead scientist on the Surgeon General's 2023 report on Loneliness and Social Isolation (https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf)

Since 2020 — when George Floyd's murder was seen around the world and protests for racial justice swept the country — many Americans with white skin have begun to think explicitly about race and its consequences. What does it mean to be white in America? What’s it like to be not-white-enough? Or to not have your racial identity reflected on official government forms? How did white become the default against which all other skin colors are measured?

In this podcast episode, we explore the nuance of what it means to be white in America with guests who fall along the spectrum of whiteness. We’ll hear one woman’s story of waking up to her whiteness and understanding how skin color matters in America. A leading historian of race in America explains how – and why – whiteness was invented. We’ll consider the complicated relationship people who identify as Hispanic or Latin American have long had with whiteness. And a multiracial mother will share insights on how to help children be thoughtful, informed and brave about race.

Podcast Guests:

Debby Irving, racial justice educator, author of “Waking Up White (and finding myself in the story of race)” (https://www.debbyirving.com/)

Nell Irvin Painter, professor emerita of American History at Princeton, author of “The History of White People” and “I Just Keep Talking” (http://www.nellpainter.com/)

Julie Dowling, professor of Sociology and Latin American/Latino Studies, University of Illinois, Chicago, author of “Mexican Americans and the Question of Race”

Melissa Giraud, founder and co-director of Embrace Race (https://www.embracerace.org/)