Supreme Court Changes, Infant Co-Sleeping, Religion In An Age of Intolerance

Guest: RonNell Andersen Jones, JD, Professor of Law, SJ Quinney College of Law, University of Utah Long-time swing voting Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring, which gives President Trump an opportunity to name his second justice to the nation’s highest court.

Guest: James McKenna, PhD, Professor of Anthropology, Director of Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab, University of Notre Dame, Author, "Sleeping with Baby: A Parent’s Guide to Co-Sleeping" American parents have long been warned not to sleep with their baby in the same bed for fear of SIDS – sudden infant death syndrome. But across the globe parents, mothers in particular, sleep with their infants regularly.

Guest: Donna Butts, Executive Director, Generations United Starting this fall, a nonprofit called Generations United will be matching up college students with older citizens who have a spare room in their house. The students will get cheap – or even free – rent, depending on how much they want to help out around the house. The program is meant to tackle two problems at once – the social isolation many seniors experience and the mounting debt students struggle with.

Guest: Rosalyn LaPier, PhD, Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Montana In Native American cultures, food isn’t just tradition, it’s often also religion. The corn or rice or prairie turnip that grew wild on the tribe’s homeland is sacred. So what happens when climate change or pollution or government policies threaten those sacred foods? Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest recently won a court case against the state of Washington aimed at preserving their connection to wild salmon, which they revere.

Guest: Linda K. Wertheimer, Journalist, Author of “Faith Ed, Teaching About Religion In An Age of Intolerance” Kids need early exposure to other religions, says journalist Linda K. Wertheimer. In fact, she says this education should happen in schools – though any time religion comes up in a public school, controversy is sure follow.

Guest: Kate Sears-Webb, Behavioral Research Technician, APOPO If I told you there was one tool that could clear landmines, detect tuberculosis, and catch poachers... would you believe that versatile tool was rats?  APOPO is a global non-profit organization based in Tanzania that has pioneered the training-rats-to-save-lives thing. Their African pouched rats have cleared more than 100,000 landmines from former war zones and can screen mucus samples for tuberculosis way, way faster than traditional methods. Now the rats are being grained to find illegally trafficked African hardwoods and pangolins, which are scaly anteaters. Find more about APOPO's work by clicking here.