American Families, Disaster Trafficking, Empowering Women

Checking in on America’s Families During Turbulent Times Guest: Chris Karpowitz, PhD, Professor of Political Science, Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, BYU The last five years have brought big changes to American culture –from the rise of #FakeNews and the election of President Trump, to the #MeToo movement and national legalization of gay marriage. We’ve also seen growing income inequality and national protests about racial inequality. In the midst of all of this, how are American families faring? Answering that question is the aim of the American Family Survey from BYU’s Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy. Fighting Human Trafficking After Natural Disasters Guest: Roshan Khatri, Chief Medical Director, Headwaters Relief Organization More than a thousand people are still missing in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian. Amid the scramble to find them is also the pressing need to get survivors food, water, and shelter. The US has pledged millions to help, but natural disasters also carry a hidden cost: affected areas are a prime target for human traffickers to lure people into prostitution and slavery. The Headwaters Relief Organization is a non-profit focused on natural disasters, and they’re fighting human trafficking. Empowering Women in South Sudan Guest: Karak Miakol, Founder, Diar Foundation South Sudan became an independent nation in 2011, ending Africa’s longest running civil war. But almost immediately, a new civil war broke out within South Sudan fueled by political and ethnic divisions. Karak Miakol fled South Sudan in 2014 when her life was threatened because of the outreach work she was doing with women in refugee camps. Hundreds of thousands of women and children have been displaced by the civil war. They are targeted by both sides, says Miakol. Which is different from the civil war prior to South Sudan’s independence. Karak Miakol now lives in Colorado and from afar, manages a program she started in South Sudan to empower women. It’s called Diar Fo