http://uconnruddcenter.org/faculty-and-staff-jennifer-harris Black and Hispanic children see TV ads for sugary drinks, unhealthy snacks, and fast foods far more than anything else and it’s no accident. They are targeted by the food companies that know the addictive qualities of their ‘food products’. According to the latest study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity …
http://www.aei.org/press/birth-rates-are-declining-in-america-and-a-major-recovery-seems-unlikely/ Americans are having fewer and fewer babies. In fact, we are not having enough babies simply to replace ourselves. The total fertility rate has been declining for seven years and last year represented the biggest drop in recent history. There are so many factors involved–cultural and economic–and we explore them in this podcast. Perhaps, …
https://www.amazon.com/Crashed-Decade-Financial-Crises-Changed/dp/0670024937 While this podcast has done a number of episodes on the financial crisis over a decade ago, because its effects are still felt on our politics today, none of our previous episodes explained the crisis in such global terms as the one you will hear today. Adam Tooze, author of ‘Crashed: How a Decade …
https://ryanhampton.org/american-fix/ The impact of the opioid epidemic in America has twin tentacles in the legal dispensing of prescription painkillers and the the cheap and illegal flow of heroin, as well as synthetics, like fentanyl, into this country. Underlying the use of these drugs is a country awash in emotional pain, often many years in the …
https://www.aei.org/scholar/james-c-capretta/ America, the country, has amassed more debt than any nation in history. How that reality isn’t cause for screaming front pages headlines daily is something of a mystery, except for the ‘full faith and confidence’ the world has in the creativity of the American economy to grow over time and correct its imbalance. How …
https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/ Vaccines have literally erased some diseases from the face of the earth, but in most cases they can reoccur if populations ignore the concept of ‘herd immunity’ and begin to doubt their value. It turns out that the very success of these immunizations makes it harder to see their value to some–‘what me worry’? …
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-01/ltu-cas012419.php As our society has gotten angrier and more frustrated, our music has reflected that as the soundtrack of our discontent. Researchers have analyzed lyrics in best selling songs from the 1950’s to 2016 and found that expressions of anger and sadness have increased, while words about joy have dropped. The study analyzed the lyrics …
https://www.thejurycrisis.com/ The concept of a jury of our peers is one of the most sacrosanct in our American system of justice. Yet, it’s astonishing how few trials ever get to a jury in the first place. And when they do, you may be rocked by what you learn about the process of deliberation in the …
https://www.amazon.com/Retail-Therapy-Industry-Broken-What/dp/1472965108 The decline in brick and mortar retail stores is a real trend that threatens a lot in the way of jobs which are dependent upon this sector, but also the great memories of what a joy we experienced getting to know shopkeepers in our downtown’s, for example,who influenced our thinking about fashion, books, music …
https://www.amazon.com/Grand-Canyon-Sale-Private-Interests/dp/0520291476 One third of all the land in America is public. Protected? Well, that’s another question altogether. In his book, ‘Grand Canyon For Sale’, Stephen Nash makes a compelling case that it is less so than we might suspect or want. As his fulsome description of the beauty, majesty and awe inspiring sweep of this …