British Politics, Afghan Peace and the Risk of Miscommunication Leading to War with Iran

Guest: Quinn Mecham, Professor of Political Science, Brigham Young University

Britain’s ambassador to the US has resigned after several days of criticism from President Trump. The Ambassador, Kim Darroch, came under fire from the Trump administration when secret diplomatic cables leaked to a British tabloid over the weekend. In the memos, Ambassador Darroch describes President Trump as “insecure” and his administration as “inept.” President Trump shot back on Twitter, calling the ambassador a “pompous fool” and saying the White House would no longer work with him. This comes at a particularly tricky time for the British government where Prime Minister Theresa May is on her way out and Brexit remains stalled.

 

Travel Guru Rick Steves on Climate-Responsible Vacationing

Guest: Rick Steves, Travel Guide, TV/Radio host, Owner of Rick Steves’ Europe

That epic trip to Europe that you’ve been dreaming of –or maybe already booked (lucky you!) –has a financial cost, obviously. What about the environmental cost? One round-trip flight to Europe emits roughly as much carbon dioxide, per passenger, as six months of driving your car. If we’re concerned about our carbon emissions fueling climate change, maybe we ought to stick to staycations?

 

Why Transitioning from Elementary to Middle School is so Difficult for Students

Guest: Heidi Gazelle, PhD, Associate Professor of Family and Child Science, Florida State University

Don’t look now, but the new school year is coming fast. It’ll be time to shop for supplies and clothes before you know it. Remember how exciting it was anticipating a new teacher and grade in elementary school? And how terrifying it was to transition out of that safety into the chaos and hormones of middle school? 

 

Permafrost Releasing Greenhouse Gases as it Thaws

Guest: Jordan Wilkerson, PhD Student in Atmospheric Chemistry, Harvard

We’ve got a feedback loop going on in the Arctic where, as the atmosphere warms, the permanently frozen ground there is thawing. As it thaws, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide (AKA laughing gas) escape into the atmosphere, where they cause further warming, which thaws more permafrost, which releases more greenhouse gas and round and round. Only now are researchers getting a grasp on how fast that cycle is going. An atmospheric chemistry lab at Harvard just published some data showing there’s a lot more nitrous oxide escaping the permafrost than previously thought.

 

Anger Can Actually Be a Good Thing

Guest: Ryan Martin, Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

We often think of anger as a bad thing – it can make us mean and reckless and lead us to believe that the idiot cutting us off in traffic is a monster. And it’s even worse on the internet. But anger expert Ryan Martin says we’re overlooking the emotion's power for good.

 

Sudden Infant Death Claims the Lives of 3,500 Babies Each Year, But New Research May Be the Answer to Ending It

Guest: John Kahan, President of the Aaron Matthews SIDS Research Guild at Seattle Children’s Hospital, Chief Data Analytics Officer at Microsoft

Thousands of infants in the US every year die suddenly, for no apparent medical reason. There’s no warning. No way to know if an infant is at risk. The rate of these Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths has remained steady since the mid-1990s. Efforts to prevent SIDS by putting babies to sleep on their backs and eliminating smoking in the household have reduced, but not eliminated these deaths. Why, with our advanced medical technology and economic wealth, haven’t we solved SIDS yet?