Implications of Israel and UAE Normalizing Relations (0:29)

Guest: Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment, Former US State Department Middle East Advisor and Negotiator

The Associated Press confirmed on Sunday that direct phone calls between Israel and the United Arab Emirates are now ringing through for the first time in nearly 50 years. It’s concrete evidence of the agreement Israel and the Emirates made in the last week to establish full diplomatic relations.

Why Is The USDA So Worried About Mystery Seeds? (16:54)

Guest: Laura Meyerson, Professor of Invasion Biology, University of Rhode Island

Don’t plant the seeds! That’s the message from the US Department of Agriculture regarding thousands of mysterious packets of unmarked seeds people across the country have been receiving in the mail. The packages seem to come from China. In addition to not planting the seeds, the USDA doesn’t even want people to throw them away. Why?

Is Milk Healthy? (36:40)

Guest: Walter Willett, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health

Every five years the USDA updates its dietary guidelines for Americans and it’s about to do another one of those updates. The Scientific Advisory Committee for those guidelines suggests that the USDA encourage people to get three or more cups of dairy a day, which is on the higher end of the current recommendation. Harvard nutrition expert Walter Willett says the research does not support consuming that much milk, yogurt and cheese.

Racial Divide in Views on Police Growing in America (49:45)

Guest: Howard Henderson, Director of the Center for Justice Research, Texas Southern University

For nearly 30 years, Gallup polls have asked Americans how much confidence they have in the police. The latest figure is the lowest it’s ever been–just 48 percent of Americans say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in police. The disconnect between how whites and Blacks answer that question is the largest Gallup has ever seen–56 percent of white adults have confidence in the police. Only 19 percent of Blacks do.

Mind-Reading Technology is Nearly Here—The Ethical Boundaries Are Not (1:05:53)

Guest: R. Douglas Fields, PhD, Neuroscientist, Author of "Electric Brain: How the New Science of Brainwaves Reads Minds, Tells Us How We Learn, and Helps us Change for the Better"

In the not-too-distant-future, doctors will be able to do a diagnostic scan of our brains to detect the markers of neurological conditions or mental illness. Manipulating the brain through electrical stimulation may eventually become standard treatmentfor many of those conditions, too. 

Disasters and the Domino Effect (1:24:11)

Guest: Jeff Schlegelmilch, Researcher and Director, National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University’s Earth Institute, Author of "Rethinking Readiness: A Brief Guide to Twenty First Century Megadisasters"

The COVID-19 pandemic will teach many of us to add hand sanitizer, face masks and more toilet paper to our emergency kits. Every big disaster results in some new guidance to prepare for the next one. That approach is too reactionary, says Jeff Schlegelmilch.