Financial Fraud, Black Friday, Fake News, Human Library

Falling for Financial Fraud  Guest: Amy Oliver, Trial Attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Salt Lake Regional Office All the festive gatherings that reconnect us with family and friends can also open the door to you or a loved one being taken for a ride. The savviest of fraudsters trade in affinity – they tap into you through someone you know and trust.  For more information on the SEC Financial Fraud Whistleblower program, click here.  Empathy Across Cultures Guest: William Chopik, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Michigan State University The election has many people wondering if we, as Americans, can understand and relate to people who believe different things or have different life experiences. Have we lost the ability to walk a bit in another’s shoes? New research aims to compare empathy levels between citizens of different countries. Black Friday Economics Guest: Jay Walker, PhD, Assistant Professor of Economics, Niagara University Last year 35 million Americans ventured out on Thanksgiving Day to shop for deals. Black Friday sales are no longer just on Friday, though there’s been some public backlash to the way Christmas is creeping up on Thanksgiving. Stores are responding.  This time of year is great for retailers. But is it great for shoppers?   Facebook, Fake News and Democracy  Guest: Kelly Garrett, PhD, Associate Professor in the School of Communication, Ohio State University Almost half of Americans get their news from Facebook on a regular basis. But on Facebook, as numerous investigative reports have made clear in recent days, not all news is actual news. Opportunists took unprecedented advantage of social media during the election creating bogus stories that went viral and earned their creators boatloads of cash off all the clicks. A BuzzFeed News analysis found the fake news and conspiracy theories from one particular hyper partisan right-wing site got more shares, reactions and comments on Facebook than stories from the Washington Post or the New York Tim