Iraq after ISIS, Seattle's Minimum Wage, Overcoming Rejection

Guest: John Macfarlane, Adjunct Political Science Professor, Utah Valley University The Iraqi military has recaptured the city of Mosul from ISIS. The US had been offering support to Iraqi forces in the fight, which started back in October. So now what for ISIS? And for Iraq, which is increasingly under the influence of Iran as the US pulls back?

Guest: Jacob Vigdor, PhD, Professor of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington No matter where you live in the country, surviving on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 is tough. Acknowledging that fact, one of the nation’s more expensive cities – Seattle – is slowly ramping up its city-wide minimum wage toward an eventual goal of $15 an hour. But a new study out of the University of Washington claims Seattle’s minimum wage hike is backfiring: instead of putting more money in the pockets of low-wage workers, it’s led companies to cut the hours employees work.  This study has generated a lot of criticism from researchers who’ve come to different conclusions about the effects of raising minimum wage. So we talk it out with the study's lead author.

Guest: Bruce Pedersen, President and CEO of BookCrossing  If you love books, and you love sharing a book you love with a friend, how about “setting that book free” for strangers to find in a kind of worldwide book treasure hunt? There’s a website called BookCrossing.com where people register their books and then secretly drop them in the most unlikely places – a bin of fruit at the market, the crook of a tree at the park, a bench in the subway. A book hunter snags it, checks it in on the site, reads it and drops it somewhere. Books can travel around town or around the country or around the world.  More than a million people are registered with the site, believe it or not.

(originally aired Nov. 21, 2016) Guest: Jacoba Urist, Journalist, "The Atlantic" As we prepare for the school year to start, the arms race going on among university athletics departments is on full display: Non-stop preparations for college football and basketball games gives viewers a close-up look at the latest-and-greatest in stadium and arena construction, lighting and digital signs universities are installing to attract talented athletes, sell tickets and keep boosters happy.  There’s a similar rush to upgrade and outshine going on across college museums. You could call it an “arts race,” as Jacoba Urist did in her article for "The Atlantic" titled “Why Do Colleges Have So Much Art?”

(originally aired March 13, 2017) Guest: Peter Bamberger, PhD, Professor of Organizational Behavior, Associate Dean for Research, Coller School of Management, Tel Aviv University In a moment of frustration or fear, we all know that it’s like to say something we regret. If that moment happens to come in a medical setting and it’s a doctor you’re snapping at, you just might pay a little more dearly for it.  A study published a few months ago in the journal "Pediatrics" found rude comments, even mild ones, affected a doctor’s ability on the job.

(originally aired Jan 4, 2017) Guest: Jia Jiang, Owner of Rejection Therapy, Author of “Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection” As we reach the middle of the calendar year, is there anything from your dusty list of New Year’s resolutions that you’d still like to accomplish but maybe just can’t find the nerve to really go for? Asking for a pay raise, perhaps. Or reaching out to that stranger you’re intrigued by? Fear of rejection keeps us from doing all sorts of things.  When Jia Jiang decided he was done letting that fear limit his life, he spent 100 days doing things virtually guaranteed to bring rejection. Like asking to play soccer in a stranger’s backyard or to sit in the driver seat of a police car. The result of those 100 days was a lot of rejection—and also a book called “Rejection Proof.”