Hong Kong, Jon the Robot, Race and Film

China Tightens Grip on Hong Kong (0:30) Guest: Robert Daly, Director, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, Wilson Center China officially tightened its grip on Hong Kong. The country’s legislature just approved a plan that will give it the power to suppress any act that Chinese authorities deem a threat to national security. Throngs of Hong Kong citizens are taking to the streets – more than 360 protestors were arrested on Wednesday. This plan is a major shift from what Hong Kong was promised when China took it over from Britain in 1997. Is this the end of “one country, two systems”? Symbiotic Relationship That Could Help Black Rhinos (19:16) Guest: Roan Plotzm, Lecturer of Environmental Science, Victoria University in Melbourne Black rhinos are critically endangered, largely due to poaching. Problem is, these rhinos have terrible eyesight, so they have a hard time seeing human predators before it’s too late. But there may be a surprising solution: the red-billed oxpecker. Pair this bird up with a rhino, and everybody wins. Well, except the poachers. Jon the Robot Comedian (36:06) Guest: Naomi Fitter, Assistant Professor of Robotics at Oregon State University There’s a new and noteworthy stand-up comedian on the West Coast. His name is Jon the Robot. Yes, he’s a real robot. And he just finished a 32-show tour. But it’s not just for laughs – the robot comedian is part of an official Oregon State University study on human/computer interaction. Using Film to Start the Conversations We Need to Have About Race (50:40) Guest: Greg Garrett, PhD, Theologian, Professor of English, Baylor University, Author of “A Long, Long Way: Hollywood’s Unfinished Journey From Racism to Reconciliation” Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. Both unarmed black men killed by white men. Both incidents came under scrutiny only after cellphone video was made public. Ahmaud Arbery was jogging in a Georgia neighborhood when he was shot dead by a retired law enforcement officer and his son, who have now been charged with mur