EP 184 FACT: LIFE GETS BETTER AT 50
There are many myths about aging. And there are new scientific developments exploding them one by one. We have now learned that the mid-life crisis is more like a mid-life slump and when you get past the pressures often associated with this stage awaiting you is a great time of renewal, re-connection and gratitude. Some of the competitive juices have been replaced with a desire to enjoy our days as they begin to pass more quickly. In Jonathan Rauch’s new book, ‘The Happiness Curve’, we examine a worldwide trend and its implications for America’s aging population.
Another great book to check out
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Alfredo Corchado has been reporting on all things ‘the border’ for many years. Much included in his reporting has changed just since Donald Trump came down the escalator at Trump Tower and gave his take on the border situation and disparaged an entire culture. Mr. Corchado joins us to correct the stereotypes that many Americans have about Mexico and the Southwest and the vibrant interplay between two cultures that will never be broken. Geography and history cannot be erased, even if it can be used for political advantage at times like these. His book ‘Homelands’ is the basis for this conversation.
When President Trump bristles at losing American troops in Montenegro, because of a defense pact, does he have a point? Aside from the fact that America must honor such commitments, it does raise the legitimate question as to whether the eastward expansion of NATO since the end of the Cold War is really in our best interest. Michael O’Hanlon is a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution whose body of work is quite substantial and compelling in the field of U.S. defense policy. So when he writes a concise tome suggesting that we might want to consider a different construct to defend the sovereignty of eastern European countries, you should read it and listen to him and this podcast. The book, ‘Beyond NATO’, offers a new security architecture for the region, which might make for less tension between the West and Russia and provide for more lasting peace than exists today in region.
If America creates most of the innovative drug therapies in the world, why can’t America consumers catch a break when it comes to the pricing of these drugs? It’s a questions that has alluded policymakers in this country for years. And to blame it on any one thing–advertising, cost of research or the insurance companies poking in for a piece of the pie–is too simplistic. So we walk you through the process of a drug coming to market, patent protections and the like, all the way through to marketing and distribution, to help unpack the mystery of high drug prices and what we can do about it. Our guest is James Capretta, a co-author of the American Enterprise Institute’s fine report on the issue.
While that is not a headline you often read, the fact of the matter is there is good news to report. The authors of a new report from the American Enterprise Institute tell us that there are several signs of improving conditions, including a decline in self-reported racial prejudice, economic gains which find black men entering the middle class in greater numbers and a decrease in the number of African-American men in prison. Let’s find out what’s changing and why in this episode, featuring one of the authors of this study, W. Bradford Wilcox.
If you’ve seen the ‘Terminator’ movies, you have an idea of what may be in store for wars of the future. And it’s clear that a growing part of America’s arsenal of war involves technologies that would be considered autonomous. The essential question is after you’ve programmed these autonomous killers, where does human interaction come in to play? This remote control warfare creates a host of philosophical and ethical questions that we explore in this episode with Paul Scharre, author of ‘Army of None’. His own battlefield experience as a former Army Ranger informs much of his thinking. From the first question about a man he didn’t kill in war to the last will humanize the debate just as we automate warfare at a breakneck pace.
In this podcast, we call upon one of the nation’s leading scholars and authors(‘After Roe’ and ‘Beyond Abortion’) of human reproduction and public policy, Professor Mary Ziegler, to provide perspective on the issue as it once again takes center stage in America. You will be surprised to go back to 1973 and the Roe v. Wade decision to find that the divides were different then and, perhaps, less pronounced than they are today. You will find in the politics of the issue that at times it’s been fought over women’s health and, at other times, more focused on the rights of the unborn. Never settled and always unsettling, we approach this issue once again as the U.S. Supreme Court turns more conservative. Will they ever tackle the question of ‘when life begins’ and would they ever relegate abortions to back alleys in America. We pose the question as to whether contraceptive technology might end this issue once and for all. Stay tuned for the answer.
We like to think of ourselves as the hardest working people on the planet and, yet, that image is changing, according to the latest data from the U.S. Labor Department’s annual American Time Use Survey. Much of this trend reflects baby boomers retiring and still working, but fewer hours. There are other factors at play, as well, so we turn to Dr. Geoffrey Godbey who has been studying this issue for decades now. He, and John Robinson, wrote to seminal book on the topic, years back entitled ‘Time for Life: The Surprising Ways Americans Use Their Time’. The next half hour podcast will be worth your time.