Migrant Caravan, Interpol's President Missing, Rise of ESports, Back Pain

Guest: Brenden W. Rensink, Assistant Professor of History, BYU, Author, “Native but Foreign: Indigenous Immigrants and Refugees in the North American Borderlands” The United Nations estimates more than 7,000 have now joined the group making its way north through Mexico from Honduras, where the caravan started. If they continue to travel on foot, it will take two months for them to reach the US border. The Trump Administration is expected to deploy additional troops to the US-Mexico border to assist in security operations.

Guest: Andres Resendez, Professor of History, University of California, Davis The story of African slavery in America is well known. Less told in the history books – and often not at all in school classrooms – is the story of Native American enslavement. In fact, diseases brought to continent by European explorers and colonists are often blamed for nearly wiping out indigenous communities. But the enslavement of Native Americans played an equal role in that, according to historian Andres Resendez. His book, “The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America” won the Bancroft Prize for History in 2017.

Guest: Julian Ku, Professor of Constitutional Law, Hofstra University One month ago, the president of the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, vanished. His name is Meng Hongwei. The Chinese government says they have Meng in custody “on suspicion of violating the law” and he has resigned his post at Interpol. He has not been seen publicly since. Why would China so secretively disappear a man who is arguably the highest-profile Chinese leader of an international organization?

(Originally aired July 12, 2018) Guest: A.J. Dimick, Director of eSports, University of Utah NBA basketball legend Michael Jordan joined a team of investors this week that put $26 million into a pro sports organization called "Team Liquid." But this team doesn't play basketball. It plays Esports, as in, computer games.  Professional Esports is now a huge worldwide viewing fanbase: last year’s League of Legends tournament broadcast drew 300 million viewers. Universities have e-Sports teams too, complete with athletic scholarships for top players. Last year, the University of Utah was the first Power 5 school to offer a varsity eSports team. A.J. Dimick heads up the e-Sports program at the University of Utah. We spoke with him this past summer.

(Originally aired April 27, 2018) Guest: Greg Smith, Associate Director of Research, Pew Research Center The fastest growing religious group in America is the “nones” – people who believe “nothing in particular.” But most of those folks still believe in God. In fact, nine out of ten Americans believe in some sort of higher power.  There’s a lot of difference in the details, though, according to the Pew Research Center. Even Christians have a lot of variety in just what they mean when they say they believe in God.

(Originally aired April 12, 2018) Guest:   Judith Turner, Clinical Psychologist, University of Washington Medical Center Low back pain is always bad news – and it’s increasingly common in the US and everywhere else in the world. But the really bad news is that the typical treatment for it – painkillers, “taking it easy,” and even shots or surgery – are not scientifically proven to be that helpful. In fact, they’re not even the first line of treatment recommended by expert groups such as the American Pain Society.