Ban the Box, Responsibility Culture, Text Message Thrillers

Obama to Veto 9/11 Victim Bill Guest: Ryan Vogel, JD, Professor of National Security, Foreign Policy and the Law of Armed Conflict, Founding Director of the Center for National Security Studies at Utah Valley University On the eve of the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, Congress passed a bill to let families of the victims sue the country of Saudi Arabia for financial compensation, since 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. But President Obama says he’ll veto the measure, saying it would threaten US foreign policy and diplomatic relations.  Leaving Out Criminal Status on Applications Actually Hurts Minorities Guest: Jennifer Doleac, PhD, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Virginia It’s common for a job application to ask if you’ve ever been convicted of a felony. Check the box for “yes” and you can bet your chances of getting the job just went down. So a national movement has swept the country to “ban the box” from job applications and delay the criminal background check until later in the hiring process. More than 100 cities and counties have adopted the policy, as have more than half of state governments. A handful of states even prohibit private companies from including the criminal conviction question in their initial screening of job candidates. The idea is that employers should look first at a candidate’s qualifications, and not discount someone just because of past behavior.  Fostering A Culture of Responsibility Guest: Ned Smith, PhD, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at Northwestern University When something goes wrong at work, and you have the choice to fall on your sword or blame someone else, it’s not hard to go with blaming. Because, let’s face it, no one wants to be responsible for the mistakes of the entire group. But what if there was a method of management that actually rewarded people for taking responsibility when things go south?  The Apple Seed Guest: Sam Payne, Host of BYUradio’s “The Apple Seed” Sam Payne joins us