Israeli Elections, Iceland, Poverty Barriers, Superstition

Guest: Steven Lobell, political science professor at the University of Utah  In an upset end to a close election, incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won a fourth term this week, solidifying conservative control of Israel’s parliament.

Guest: Ben Marcus, founder of NoFlyZone  The Federal Aviation Administration has established new rules for how high such small drones can go – and even says they have to stay within eyesight of the person controlling them. But there’s nothing in there yet to address the privacy question about a drone flying in your yard or over your house. Well, a new company called NoFlyZone has a plan to create something like a “Do Not Call List” for drones.

Guest: Kathleen Compton, geosciences doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona  The whole country of Iceland has been slowly—but steadily—rising. Researchers at the University of Arizona discovered this phenomenon last year, with their findings published in the Geophysical Research Letters. Researchers have speculated Iceland’s rise – as much as 1.4 inches a year in some places —may have to do with its melting icecaps. This study is the first to confirm this theory.

Guest: Scott Miller, CEO of Circles USA, an organization helping people who live below the poverty line through community networking and support work  You know the saying about how you can give a man a fish and feed him for a day, or you can teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime? Well, suppose after you teach the man to fish, you take the pole away from him. Suddenly he’s hungry again and probably a little demoralized and confused at how the system he’d gotten used to changed so suddenly.  Scott Miller says that’s what happens with public assistance programs in the U.S. – such as food stamps and rental support.

Guest: Eric Hamerman, assistant professor of marketing at Tulane University  Four leaf clovers. Horseshoes. Rabbit’s feet. Found pennies. Do you have a good luck charm? How about a superstitious routine like not washing your socks or getting a haircut before a big game? I’ve heard of both. But here’s one I’ve never heard of. One of our producers at Top of Mind says she would spray paint her armpits before every soccer game. I’m not sure how that would help score goals, but that’s the point right. Superstitions are not rational. That doesn’t mean they can’t be studied scientifically, though!