China and Oil, Vocal Fry, Reading to Children

Chinese Economy & Price of Oil (12:15) Dr. Christian vom Lehn is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Brigham Young University. He received a BS in Mathematics and a BA in Economics from Brigham Young University ('09), and then received a MA ('11) and PhD ('14) in Economics from Princeton University. His primary research interests are in macroeconomics and labor economics. Today he talks with Dr. Townsend about China devaluing their currency and the dropping price of oil.  Vocal Fry (56:50) Dr. Mark Liberman is an American linguist. He has a dual appointment at the University of Pennsylvania, as Trustee Professor of Phonetics in the Department of Linguistics, and as a professor in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences. He is Faculty Master at Ware College House, Director of Linguistic Data Consortium and Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Linguistics. His recent publications include: “Development of Pitch Contrast in Korean Prosody: A Corpus Study” and “Vocal Fry: ‘Creeping in’ or ‘still here’?” Dr. Liberman talks about the phenomenon of "Vocal Fry" and why it is used.  Reading to Children (1:40:07) Julie Nelson (the child whisperer) has a master's degree in Marriage, Family, and Human Development. She teaches classes such as Applied Parenting and Marriage and Relationship Skills at Utah Valley University. Julie talk is the author of "Keep It Real and Grab a Plunger" providing parenting tips and ideas. She shares her thoughts on the importance of reading to children for future school success.