Two bi-partisan studies done in 2004 and 2008, by Congress, of the threat of an Electro Magnetic Pulse attack indicate that as few as three weapons detonated over different parts of the country could cripple the nation. Yet, we barely know what the term means. It may mean that the North Korean threat could affect us in ways unimagined. We talk to William R. Forstchen, Ph.D, author of books including ‘One Second After’, ‘One Year After’ and ‘The Final Day’ twhich all deal with the subject. He is also a recognized expert on infrastructure security. If it may be part of a dark future for the world, we should have some understanding of it. So, please listen in

https://www.amazon.com/William-R.-Forstchen/e/B000APZ9N8

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Holly Fretwell

Aside from significant financial constraints, America’s public lands have many challenges. Wildfires burn millions of acres every year, costing billions of dollars. We see armed standoffs over grazing rights and conflict over national-monument designations. Given that the federal government owns nearly one-third of the expanse of our country, our political differences are spilling over into these pristine preserves. In Ken Burns’ series on the national parks, he considered them to be America’s best idea. But in these times of turmoil, will the Interior Department be bringing different ideas to their care and management? Is it likely the government will sell them off or work with private interests to maintain them? We’ll discuss the future of these national treasures with Holly Fretwell of the Property and Environment Research organization. They write extensively on these issues at perc.org

https://www.perc.org/

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That’s a concise one word explanation for the presidential campaign of 2016. It’s also the name of the new book by Dr. Gary Rose, a professor and Chair of the Department of Government, Politics and Global Studies at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. He provides a chronology of events leading up to the astonishing victory by Donald Trump. We will discuss the campaign and its aftermath and consequences going forward on this podcast.

http://www.sacredheart.edu/academics/collegeofartssciences/academicdepartments/governmentpoliticsglobalstudies/facultystaff/garylrosephd/

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Steve Almond details why, after forty years as a fan, he can no longer watch the game he loves. And he’s not alone. Many recent columns and stories attest to the concern that many fans are having with the brutal residual effects of the game which leaves so many players with brain damage in addition to severe ambulatory problems. Will the love and profitability of the sport succumb to its ravages? Or will the forces involved–team owners, media, advertisers–aggressively defend a sport which daily becomes more untenable to many former fans.

http://againstfootball.org/

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During the 2016 campaign and in the early days of his presidency, President Donald Trump made ‘defeating radical Islamic terrorism’ a key part of his counterterrorism strategy. He also said that he would step up efforts to blunt other terrorist groups. At the same time, he vowed to be successful without deploying large numbers of United States soldiers. Dr. Anne Speckhard, director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, joins us to discuss how this strategy is working out.

Learn more about The International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism at http://www.icsve.org/

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In America, we’ve experienced four decades of progress against preventable deaths.  We’ve cut death rates for motor vehicle accidents, homicides and smoking.  That was before the opioid epidemic, which has driven the national death rate from overdoses to 9.3 per 100,000 in 2015, up from 0.4 in 1975.  What once was rarely seen is now commonplace. Money is being spent, commissions formed, media attention growing, but have we tackled the issue in a meaningful way?  Dr. Jon Zibbell, a senior public health analyst at RTI International, who formerly worked at the CDC, will detail the nature of the problem and how difficult it will be to combat.

https://www.rti.org/expert/jon-e-zibbell

THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC AND THE SOUTHERN BORDER

Sam Quinones, author of ‘Dreamland’, tackles a number of topics pertinent to our nation.

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Did you ever look around your cities and towns and wonder why so many folks look alike?  In cities, often we see a preponderance of people of color and in suburbs and rural communities just the opposite.  An accident, you wonder?  Just the way things happened…birds of a feather?  Not quite.  In fact, finally, thanks to Richard Rothstein, author of ‘The Color of Law’, we can lay out definitively the fact that our government, liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, consciously, relentlessly and with intent, used government policy to segregate America.  Housing discrimination has led to many of the social ills we bemoan today.  We’ll lay out the case today with Mr. Rothstein

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