Why is Ukraine Caught Up in So Much Trump Administration Controversy?

Guest: Celeste Beesley, PhD, Political Science Professor, BYU

Ukraine has a population just a little smaller than the state of California. It’s not a global political or economic leader. Sowhy does it keep popping up in scandals related to President Trump? Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is in prison for fraud related to his work with a Ukrainian president. The President’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has visited Ukraine numerous times in the last few years–and has apparently also consulted with Manafort in prison about Ukraine. And of course, there’s the call President Trump had with Ukraine’s president over the summer in which he asked for help investigating political rival Joe Biden. That call is at the center of the impeachment inquiry Democrats have begun.

Mysterious Undersea World and the People Exploring It

Guest: Joel Llopiz, Associate Scientist and Member of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

There is a vast, virtually unexplored ecosystem lurking beneath the surface of the ocean. Scientists call it the Twilight Zone because it gets hardly any light. The fish down there are squishy and transparent and have big fangs and can glow on demand. The Twilight Zone is deep enough that it hasn’t really been affected by humans yet. But commercial fishing companies are eyeing it now, so scientists who study the Twilight Zone are urging the UN to establish some rules for it soon.

Watch the Camera. How TV Debates Shape Opinions

Guest: Patrick Stewart, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Arkansas

The next Democratic presidential debate will be on October 15 and it will be the biggest in history. Twelve candidates will stand on the same stage. That’s the most political historians can ever recall. And it’ll likely make the debate pretty chaotic for viewers –not to mention the moderators and camera operators trying to keep track of who’s saying what, who’s interrupting and who’s got a great facial reaction worth capturing. University of Arkansas political scientist Patrick Stewart’s research suggests camera angles are way more important than you might think when it comes to shaping how you perceive the winners and losers in a debate.

The Private Company That Conquered India and Paved the Way for Today’s Corporate Giants

Guest: William Dalrymple, Scottish historian of India, author of “The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire”

Corporations run the world. They own our data and control our consumption and shape how we think. Google, Amazon, Apple, Walmart, AT&T, Chevron, Exxon Mobil are all among the top 30 largest public companies in the world. But most of the names that list are banks so big and powerful that, when crisis strikes, countries must bail them out or risk having their economies go under. Powerful international companies like this can trace their roots directly back to the rise of the East India Company in the 1700s. It was the first of their kind, though, today’s corporate giants are “tame beasts” by comparison, says Scottish historian William Dalrymple. In his new book, “The Anarchy,” Dalrymple explores how the East India Company–a private company -conquered all of India with its own military twice the size of the British army.

Something’s Toxic at Work and Companies Are Paying the Price

Guest: Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President & CEO, SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management

A quarter of Americans dread going to work each day. That’s different from wishing you could be off doing something else. Dread implies something’s rotten at work. The Society for Human Resource Management –SHRM–is just out with a new survey of American workers that suggests lots of businesses are struggling with how to deal with a “toxic culture” that alienates employees.