Refugees in Greece, Bad Naps, Organ Thieves

09/24/20 • 104 min

Moria Refugee Camp Fire in Greece Prompts Renewed Efforts to Resolve Migration in Europe (0:32) Guest: Franziska Grillmeier, Freelance Reporter, Based in Lesbos, Greece Europe’s largest refugee camp burned to the ground two weeks ago, leaving more than 10,000 migrants without even the most basic shelter or access to clean water. The camp was called Moria–it was on the island of Lesbos in Greece. The fire prompted leaders of the European Union this week to propose a mandatory system of migrant resettlement. For years, European countries have been unable to agree on how to deal with migrants, which has meant that large numbers of asylum seekers are stuck in camps in Greece, Italy and Turkey. UConn Graduate Student Gets Her Crossword Puzzle Published in the New York Times (21:19) Guest: Anne Marie Crinnion, Doctoral Student, University of Connecticut There’s a whole industry out there of people making crossword puzzles and selling them to newspapers and magazines. It’s very competitive and getting one published in the New York Times is like winning the gold medal for amateur puzzlemakers, and University of Connecticut grad student Anne Marie Crinnion just pulled it off. Can Naps Hurt Your Brain? (36:06) Guest: Lauren Hablitz, Research Assistant and Professor of Neurosurgery, Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Rochester More than a third of American adults are not getting enough sleep. So maybe that means the occasional daytime nap to make up for it? You may wake up feeling refreshed, but sleeping during the day doesn’t give your brain the same benefits as nighttime sleep. In fact, if you’re doing a lot of day sleeping you may be at higher risk for developing neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s. The Tragedy of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South (52:48) Guest: Chip Jones, Author of “The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South” 25,000 organ transplants have been happened in the United States so far this year. The fact that they’ve happened despite the pandemic speaks to how urgent transplants are–the person in need of a new heart, or kidney or lung has no time to spare. Once a donor dies, there’s only so much time before his or her organs start to degrade. So the process has to happen quickly. In the early days of transplant science, the need for speed could have tragic results. The Effect of Disney Princesses on Girls (1:30:38) Guest: Tom Robinson, Professor and Associate Director for Graduate Studies, Brigham Young University A lot of girls grow up on a steady diet of Disney princesses. A lot of research says these movies aren’t healthy for young girls since many of these princesses have perfect bodies and unrealistic romantic relationships, and often get rescued to then live in luxury. But a new study out of BYU asked little girls themselves what they thought, and there may be some positive things that come from watching princess movies.

Previous Episode

RBG's Legacy, Fire Management, Prop Master

From Consensus Builder to Famous Dissenter, a Look at RBG’s Legacy (0:31)
Guest: Kimberly Robinson, Supreme Court Reporter, Bloomberg Law
The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is lying in repose at the Supreme Court. On Friday, she will be the first woman in history to lie in state at the US Capitol. During the final years of her life, Justice Ginsburg became a pop culture icon, a liberal justice famous for her powerful dissents. How did Justice Ginsburg become the “Notorious RBG” of her final years?

The Ranger of the Lost National Park Posters (17:37)
Guest: Doug Leen, "Ranger of the Lost Art", Founder of Ranger Doug Enterprises
You know those vintage National Park posters you find at park visitor centers? They’ve got old-timey block print and drawings of iconic vistas in retro color combinations. These posters date back to the 1930s and if you’ve got one hanging on a wall, it’s probably thanks to Doug Leen.

Historic Housing Practices Have a Warming Effect on Modern Neighborhoods (34:33)
Guest: Jeremy Hoffman, Chief Scientist at the Science Museum of Virginia, Affiliate Faculty in Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University
More than floods, fires, hurricanes or earthquakes, extreme heat is the weather disaster that’s caused the most deaths in the US in the last few decades. Within cities, heat can vary by several degrees. The hottest areas also often match up to areas that were once targeted by racially-discriminatory housing policies.

The Secret Life of Movie Props (52:51)
Guest: Scott Reeder, Prop Master for Film and Television
There’s a guy on TikTok who’s got all these viral videos of him smashing stuff on his head, like a beer bottle. But the catch is that Scott Reeder makes props for movies. And all the stuff he’s smashing on his head only looks real. You’ll start seeing movies and TV shows differently, once you’ve seen Scott Reeder’s behind-the-scenes TikTok videos.

A Century of Putting Out Fires Helped Create Today’s Wildfire Problem in America (1:13:12)
Guest: Tom Harbour, Former Fire Chief at the US Forest Service, Owner of Wildfire Consulting Firm HarbourFire
When it comes to wildfires in America, what we’re doing is not working. Federal agencies responsible for fighting fire–like the US Forest Service–have known that for decades, but changing course requires turning away from the ideas about fire that the Forest Service was basically founded on.

Can Technology Solve India’s Toilet Problem? (1:29:38)
Guest: Ben Fox Rubin, Senior Reporter, CNET News
In India, having access to a toilet is not a given: one in four Indians lack regular access to a toilet. As a result, public defecation is a major public health concern for the government of India–and for a host of nonprofits and startups trying to come up with solutions.

Next Episode

Law and Forgiveness, Asperger's, Caregiving

How the Legal System Relies on Justice and Forgiveness (0:34) Guest: Martha Minow, Professor of Law, Harvard University, Author "When Should Law Forgive?" The right to remain silent. The right to an attorney. The right to... forgiveness? Harvard Law professor Martha Minow says the US legal system needs to take a hard look at where forgiveness fits. A more merciful, forgiving system would also be a more just system, she argues. (Originally aired April 28, 2020). Bringing Stories of Women to Life (17:50) Guest: Alison Booth, Professor of English, University of Virginia Women are underrepresented in biographies and other historical works. Part of the problem is that thousands of accounts of women have simply been forgotten. Alison Booth has been tracking them down to bring these stories to light and make them accessible. It’s called the Collective Biographies of Women Project. (Originally aired October 28, 2019). Dr. Asperger and the Nazi Origins of Autism (34:07) Guest: Edith Sheffer, Senior Fellow, Institute of European Studies, University of California, Berkeley, Author of “Asperger’s Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna” More awareness of autism has led to much higher rates of diagnosis over the last 30 years. As many as one in 68 children in the US has autism, according to the CDC. There’s also a lot more awareness of the range of symptoms that might come with an autism disorder. For many years, children with a milder form of autism were referred to as having “Asperger’s Syndrome.” It’s named after an Austrian pediatrician whose dark history we’re only now learning. In fact, his story is so dark, historian Edith Sheffer would like to see us stop using the term Asperger’s. (Originally aired December 16, 2019). Navigating the Unexpected Journey From Loved One to Caregiver (52:56) Guest: Donna Thomson, Caregiver, Activist, Author of “The Four Walls of My Freedom: Lessons I’ve Learned From a Life of Caregiving”; Zachary White, Assistant Professor of Communication, Queens University of Charlotte. Co-authors of “The Unexpected Journey of Caring: The Transformation from Loved One to Caregiver” Some forty-million Americans have been the caregiver for an adult in the last year. Many of them are sandwiched between caring for their own children and an aging parent. And anyone who’s done it–even temporarily–knows how jarring caregiving is, how unprepared most of us feel for the physical and emotional toll of it. (Originally aired January 23, 2020). New Discovery Shows That Neanderthals Used Rope (1:31:05) Guest: Bruce Hardy, Professor of Anthropology, Kenyon College From Barney Rubble to the dimwitted cavemen of The Far Side cartoons, Neanderthals have a reputation for being not-so-smart. But that may simply be because the best evidence of their smarts hasn’t survived for us to inspect and appreciate. For example, an excavation of a famous Neanderthal encampment in France has turned up a tiny shred of rope. Making and using rope is pretty advanced. If cavemen could actually do that, we’ll have to rethink the stereotype of stupidity. (Originally aired April 20, 2020).