Going Independent, Breast Cancer, Asian American Paradox

Guest: Larry Pressler, Former Senator from South Dakota and Member of The Centrist Project  Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan spoke to about 200 Congressional interns yesterday. He called for a return to civility in political discourse, without naming anyone specifically. But we all know what he was getting at. And then he urged that room full of fresh, young, idealistic citizens not to lose hope in the system. Voter turnout in the US is lower than most other developed countries. A growing number of us identify as “independent” – which generally translates to being disenchanted with Republicans and Democrats and a lot less likely to vote at all.

Guest: Michael Passarelli, PhD, Cancer Epidemiologist at the University of California San Francisco School  In the days after a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, there’s one lifestyle change that could lower her risk of death by 33 percent. It’s to stop smoking.  A study of more than 20,000 women with breast cancer found smoking can increase your chances of getting breast cancer, but also that it’s never too late to quit and improve your chances of survival – even if it’s after you’ve been diagnosed.

Guest: Kim Rossmo, Chair of Criminology and Director of the Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation in the School of Criminal Justice at Texas State University  It’s well known to criminologists that serial offenders don’t stray far to do their deeds. They operate effectively in a donut, committing crimes not-too-close, but also not too far away from home or their operations base.  Plotting a suspect’s activity on a map, in a process called “geographic profiling,” has helped catch notorious rapists, murderers and even confirmed the identity of famously-secretive graffiti artist Banksy.

Guest: Jennifer Lee, PhD, Professor of Sociology at the University of California Irvine and Co-author of “The Asian American Achievement Paradox”  Of all ethnic groups in the US – including native-born whites – Asian Americans have the highest household median income and education level. That probably doesn’t surprise you. Asian Americans are the country’s “model minority” group. Their culture places high value on educational achievement. Their hard-driving “Tiger Mothers” see to it Asian American children get good grades, develop stunning musical abilities and end up at Ivy League schools.

Guest: Stephen Porter, PhD, Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Psychological Science and Law  According to the Innocence Project, more than 1 out of 4 people who were wrongfully convicted, and who were later exonerated by DNA evidence, had made a false confession or incriminating statement. Why do so many people confess to crimes they did not commit?