Mixed Verdict on the United Nations as it Turns 75 (0:30)

Guest: Eric Jensen, Professor of International Law, Brigham Young University

The United Nations is celebrating its 75th anniversary. What’s there to celebrate?

 

Hawaii’s Beaches are Disappearing. Here’s Why. (22:44)

Guest: Kammie-Dominique Tavares, Graduate Researcher, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Doesn't a vacation to a beach somewhere just to relax sound nice? Hawaii’s always a good choice–when there’s not a pandemic restricting travel, of course. But Hawaii’s beaches are disappearing at an alarming rate because of rising sea levels and something called “shoreline hardening.” If both continue as they are right now, O’ahu could lose 40 percent of its beaches over the next thirty years.

 

Ticket Resales Business (34:18)

Guest: Barry Rudin, Owner of Barry’s Ticket Service, Southern California

This would have been a lucrative 24 hours for ticket re-seller Barry Rudin. He's based in Los Angeles where the Dodgers are playing at home and the Lakers are in the NBA finals. But alas, no fans are allowed inside, so there's no business for Rudin.

 

Meet the (Quite Possibly) Only Female Coppersmith in the US (52:49)

Guest: Sara Dahmen, Coppersmith at House Copper & Cookware, Author of "Copper, Iron, and Clay: A Smith's Journey."

Sara Dahmen was a wedding planner when one day she decided to give it up and become a coppersmith. She now makes cookware out of her garage with techniques from hundreds of years ago, and she’s probably the only female coppersmith in the entire country. But then, there just aren’t very many coppersmiths anymore, male or female. Metal crafting is a dwindling art, and as the experts die, their knowledge is dying with them. Could women save metal crafts?

 

The Mystery of Mass Whale Strandings (1:12:23)

Guest: Scott Baker, Professor of Fisheries and Wildlife, Associate Director of the Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University

Wildlife officials in Australia have just completed a week-long effort to rescue 470 whales that got stranded on a sandbank off the coast of Tasmania. They were able to save about 100 of them. Whales periodically get stranded on beaches around the world. This was the largest mass whale beaching in Australia’s history. What marine scientists aren’t sure of, is why this happens.

 

How Afterschool Programs Can Better Help Parents (1:27:37)

Guest: Carolyn Barnes, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Author of "State of Empowerment: Low-Income Families and the New Welfare State"

Nearly one out of four low-income schoolchildren in the country participate in an after-school program funded by the federal government. The kids get tutoring, homework help and basic supervision. Their parents get some peace of mind knowing their kids are in good hands during that window between the end of school and the end of the work day.