Foreign Diplomacy, Electoral College, Detecting Dyslexia

Guest: Ryan Vogel, Ryan Vogel, JD, Director of the Center for National Security Studies, Utah Valley University President Trump has been accused of dealing with Ukraine in a way that’s unusual and illegal. The Trump administration allegedly withheld millions of dollars in security aid from the country in exchange for information on Joe Biden, with the President’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, as point person. How does this compare to how the US traditionally deals with foreign countries? Is this actually all that unusual?

Guest: Dr. Robert Speel, Professor of Political Science at Penn State University Ever since President Trump lost the popular vote but still won the 2016 election, there’s been a push from Democrats to abolish the electoral college. Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has even made it an action point of her campaign. But didn’t the founding fathers set it up for a reason? Penn State University Political Science professor Robert Speel believes the electoral college isn’t doing what it was originally intended for and that we need to make some sort of change.

Guest: Cande V. Ananth, Chief of The Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in The Obstetrics, Gynecology, And Reproductive Sciences Department at Rutgers University High blood pressure in pregnancy is big risk factor when it comes to the health of the mother and baby. A new study shows that it’s now13 times higher in pregnant women than it was in 1970. The culprit? Women’s age during pregnancy.

Guest: Michael Richardson, PhD, Author of the Study: “Playing Bilingual: Interweaving Deaf and Hearing Cultural Practices to Achieve Equality of Participation in Theatrical Performance Processes” COMPLETE TRANSCIPT FOR THIS INTERVIEW IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE Attendance at live theater performances by deaf people is low. And for good reason. The costumes, makeup, set, and lights, are all part of the full sensory experience of theater. But that’s lost on those who have to watch an interpreter off to the side the entire time. Is it possible for a deaf person to have an equal theater experience as someone who isn’t deaf?

Guest: Devin Kearns, PhD, Associate Professor of Special Education at University of Connecticut and one of the Lead Scientists for the Apprise Project It gets harder and harder to treat dyslexia in children with every year that passes after preschool. Problem is, most kids don’t get diagnosed until they’re around 8 years old. Dyslexia particularly hard to detect in English-speakers, and teachers usually only recognize it once a child fails. That’s why researchers from three universities got together to make an app that will help teachers detect dyslexia in kids at an earlier age.

Guest: Alison Booth, Professor of English at the University of Virginia