SCOTUS Nominee, Diverse Homeschooling, Deep Kindness

The Race to Confirm President Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee (0:30) Guest: James Curry, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Utah President Trump has nominated federal judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the seat of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Four years ago, Senate Republicans refused to consider President Obama’s nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia because the vacancy happened in a Presidential Election year. And here we’re less than two months from the election, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised that Republicans will confirm President Trump’s nominee anyway. Confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin in two weeks. Exploring Sensory History (19:38) Guest: Mark Smith, Professor of History, University of South Carolina In ten or twenty years, when you talk about the year 2020, will there be certain smells or tastes or sounds that come flooding back? Maybe the smell of hand sanitizer. Or the way the streets were so eerily quiet in the early days of pandemic quarantine. History books will cover the who, what and when of 2020. Sensory historians like Mark Smith want to make sure the smells, tastes and sounds are remembered, too. A Look at President Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett (36:59) Guest: Stephanie Barclay, Associate Professor of Law, Notre DameUniversity President Trump’s pick to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the US Supreme Court is Amy Coney Barrett. She’s a judge on the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago with a conservative track record who clerked for conservative Supreme Court icon Justice Antonin Scalia. Judge Barrett’s addition to the Supreme Court will give conservatives a solid 6-3 majority and Judge Barrett is 48 years old, so she’s likely to serve a very long time in this lifetime appointment. Breaking The Homeschooling Stereotype (52:48) Guest: Amber O’Neal Johnston, Homeschool Parent, Consultant, Heritage Mom blog and Instagram Two big movements have been front and center in America these last few months–race relations and homeschooling. Amber O’Neal Johnston has found herself as a sought-after voice on both. She’s a homeschool mom in Georgia with a big following on her Heritage Mom blog and Instagram feed. She’s also black and has become a leading organizer of homeschool groups and resources for families of color. Lately, she’s also been asked to help homeschool families of all backgrounds find the best resources to teach children about racism. It’s Not Enough to Be Nice. Let’s Work on Being Deeply Kind. (1:10:11) Guest: Houston Kraft, Co-Founder of CharacterStrong, Author of "Deep Kindness: A Revolutionary Guide for the Way We Think, Talk, and Act in Kindness" Are you a nice person? When was the last time that you did something intentionally kind, something that required you to step outside of your comfort zone or summon an uncomfortable amount of forgiveness and compassion? It’s not enough to be nice, says Houston Kraft. The world needs Deep Kindness. First Community of British Wild Beavers in Centuries Allowed to Stay (1:29:28) Guest: Mark Elliott, Wetland Ecologist, Devon Wildlife Trust in England Beavers were driven to extinction more than four centuries ago in England. But then one day, a family of wild beavers just showed up in a river. That was seven years ago, and scientists have been studying their progression and effects on the ecosystem the whole time. There are now 15 families of beavers there, and the British government recently ruled they can stay permanently.