2020 Election, Mount Everest, ERA

It’s Down to Just Two: Biden and Bernie (0:30) Guest: Chris Karpowitz, PhD, Professor of Political Science, Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, BYU; Grant Madsen, PhD, Professor of History, BYU The Democratic field for President has narrowed to Senator Bernie Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden. Elizabeth Warren has just dropped out, but hasn’t endorsed either of the frontrunners. Michael Bloomberg dropped out after a poor showing on Super Tuesday and endorsed Biden. Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg dropped out the night before Super Tuesday and also endorsed Biden. The dramatic reconfiguration feels rather sudden. Brazil’s President Aims to Open Indigenous Land in the Amazon to Mining and Farming (22:10) Guest: Robert T. Walker, Professor of Latin American Studies and Geography, University of Florida The Amazon rainforest is rich in gold, diamonds and rare earth minerals. It’s also a coveted resource for logging and land for farming – once you cut down the trees, that is. Getting access to those resources was a major campaign promise of Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and now he’s followed through with a measure in the country’s Congress. The catch is, the land he’d like to open for farming and mining in the Amazon is indigenous territory, and the tribes on that land are generally not interested in the development Bolsonaro proposes. The Mounting Risks of Summiting Mount Everest (35:52) Guest: Dr. Pasang Yangjee Sherpa, Nepalese Anthropologist, Expert on the Sherpa People and Mount Everest, Pacific Lutheran University  The peak season for climbing Mount Everest is about to start, and there’s a lot of concern about how safe it will be. Last year, was among the deadliest on record: 11 people died and shocking photos circulated of crowds backed up dangerously near the summit. The government of Nepal has proposed limiting the number of Everest climbing permits it offers and restricting them to people who can prove they have the skills and money to attempt the clim