2016 Events, Self-Driving Cars, Scandinavian Holiday

2016 World Events in Review Guest: Quinn Mecham, Professor of Political Science, BYU Back in January, regular Top of Mind contributor Quinn Mecham made some predictions for the year and he’s back now to see how clear his crystal ball was.  Syria’s Medical Crisis Guest: Dr. Zaher Sahloul, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago, Senior Advisor and past President of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and Founder of the American Relief Coalition for Syria Thousands of people who’ve been stuck in Aleppo, Syria amid intense fighting for months now, are being evacuated to safety under the supervision of UN monitors. But “safety” is a relative term in a country wracked by civil war and terrorism. The suffering in Syria is a humanitarian crisis of enormous scale. People lack shelter, food, clean water and medical care.  For those looking to help, Dr. Sahloul says money and volunteers are desperately needed. He recommends the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and the American Relief Coalition for Syria. Non-Traditional College Students are the Norm Guest: Julie Johnson, Vice President of Strategy at Complete College America Technically speaking, “traditional college students” are 18 to 20 years old and live on campus at a four-year institution. But in the US, that “traditional” student is becoming atypical. The majority of college students are pursuing something other than a four-year degree. Or they’re older than 25. Or they work full-time or have kids. These so-called “nontraditional students” make up as much as 70-percent of the college population, but universities have been slow to focus on their needs. In myriad ways, what works for a 20-year-old living on campus attending school full-time is completely wrong for a non-traditional student and might explain why graduation rates for non-traditional students are much lower.  Tap the Brakes on Self-Driving Cars Guest: Aaron Renn, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Contributing Editor of City J