Top of Mind with Julie Rose

Our “Stick With It” conversation series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with historian Greg Jackson’s story of committing to get the regional accents right on his podcast “History That Doesn’t Suck.” A few years ago, his audience had grown so large that he was immune to most listener criticism. But a message from “Lucy in Tennessee” about the Southern accent Jackson affected in his storyteller cut through the noise. Jackson chose to stick with the discomfort of that criticism and step up his accent game. His podcast is better for it. Podcast Guest: Greg Jackson, host of “History That Doesn’t Suck” podcast, professor at Utah Valley University Top of Mind would love to hear your Stick With It story. Can you think of a time when you felt your perspective or worldview challenged and, instead of getting defensive, you chose to stick with the discomfort – and you’re glad you did? Email your story to [email protected].

The right to free speech is considered a cornerstone of American democracy, but it can also be used to inflict harm. In this era of social media and polarized politics, we are constantly weighing the pros and cons of free expression. Is being offended by a statement the same as being harmed by it? Where should we draw the line between protecting one’s right to speak freely and ensuring the well-being of others? In this podcast episode, a reformed white supremacist explains why he turned to hate speech and how he's trying to make amends for the harm he caused. A legal expert debunks common myths about the First Amendment right to free speech and explains why universities and K-12 schools struggle to balance that right with the need to keep students safe. A newspaper opinion editor shares insights on learning to disagree respectfully and an advocate for civility in public discourse explains how to foster productive free expression in our communities. Podcast guests: Tony McAleer, reformed white supremacist, co-founder of Life After Hate, and author of “A Cure for Hate: A Former White Supremacist’s Journey from Violent Extremism to Radical Compassion” Danielle Weatherby, free speech scholar and professor of law, University of Arkansas Amelia Robinson, Opinion and Engagement Editor for the Columbus Dispatch David Plazas, Opinion and Engagement Director for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee, director of Civility Tennessee for The Tennessean **This episode is part of Season 3 on Top of Mind: Finding Fairness. From health and immigration to prisons and pot, how can we get more peace and prosperity for all?

Children in America face economic, emotional and educational challenges that only worsened during the pandemic. They are the poorest age group in the country. America has the highest rate of children living in single parent households anywhere in the world. U.S. teens are in the midst of a mental health crisis marked by depression, anxiety and suicide. And the COVID-19 pandemic caused big learning gaps. How can we help more kids thrive in America? In this podcast episode, we’ll hear how a school in Iowa is training teenagers to be first responders for peers in emotional crisis. An MIT researcher urges us to focus less on what kids lost during the pandemic and lean into lessons that can make schools even better than before pandemic. Then, a leading researcher on child well-being explains why we need to give absent fathers more attention. We want all children in America to thrive and we know kids are amazingly resilient. How can we do better by them? Podcast Guests: Jen Schnormeier, Instructional coach at Gilbert High School, lead trainer for Teen Mental Health First Aid Justin Reich, professor of digital media at MIT, Director of the Teaching Systems Lab, host of the Teach Lab podcast, author of “Failure to Disrupt.” Ronald Mincy, professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice, Columbia University, co-founder of the Future Families and Child Wellbeing Study **This episode is part of Season 3 on Top of Mind: Finding Fairness. From health and immigration to prisons and pot, how can we get more peace and prosperity for all?

We all like to think we’d help someone in danger, but too often people stand by because they’re afraid to intervene or assume someone else will do it. Should it be a crime to be a bystander? What if you don’t witness the harm, but you suspect it’s happening, and you’re in a position to intervene? Does failing to stop the abuse make you an enabler? In this week’s podcast episode, we explore the impact of people choosing to stand by or enable abuse. We learn about an effort to pass laws that would put people in jail if they fail to help. We also hear from a young man whose heroic intervention on a subway platform went viral, and we discover how to resist the urge to be a bystander and become a helper instead. Podcast Guests: Aya Hibben, undergradute student in political science and pre-law, University of Utah, Research Assistant for The Bystander Initiative Amos Guiora, professor of law, Founder of The Bystander Initiative, S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah Bryce Demopoulos, pre-med student at Cornell University, viral helper Elizabeth Svoboda, Author of “What Makes a Hero: The Surprising Science of Selflessness” and “The Life Heroic: How to Unleash Your Most Amazing Self” **This episode is part of Season 3 on Top of Mind: Finding Fairness. From health and immigration to prisons and pot, how can we get more peace and prosperity for all?

Our “Stick With It” conversation series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with diversity advocate Susan Madsen’s story about being invited to attend an event and realizing she was the only white person in a room of several hundred people. Sticking with the discomfort she felt at the event gave her a window into how people of color must feel often in Madsen’s majority white community. That new measure of empathy served as an important motivation for Madsen in her research and advocacy with the Utah Women and Leadership Project. Podcast Guest: Susan Madsen, founding director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, professor in the Huntsman School of Business, Utah State University. Top of Mind would love to hear your Stick With It story. Can you think of a time when you felt your perspective or worldview challenged and, instead of getting defensive, you chose to stick with the discomfort – and you’re glad you did? Email your story to [email protected].

Our “Stick With It” conversation series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with Corey Nathan, host of “Talkin’ Politics and Religion Without Killin’ Each Other.” He tackles tough topics on his podcast all the time, but talking with his Jewish father about his decision to become a Christian seemed doomed to failure. It would have been easier to not talk about it, says Corey. But he and his dad made a different choice. Their relationship will never be the same. Podcast Guest: Corey Nathan, host of “Talkin’ Politics and Religion Without Killin’ Each Other” – part of the Democracy Group podcast network. Top of Mind would love to hear your Stick With It story. Can you think of a time when you felt your perspective or worldview challenged and, instead of getting defensive, you chose to stick with the discomfort – and you’re glad you did? Email your story to [email protected].

A decade ago, there was not a single state where it was legal to use recreational marijuana. Today, nearly half of Americans live in states where pot is now legal. And many more are in states where medical marijuana has been legalized. But the federal government maintains that the drug has no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. How do we make sense of that? Our nation’s laws about marijuana are remarkably inconsistent. What are the effects of marijuana criminalization? And who gets caught in the middle? On this podcast episode, we talk to a man wrongly imprisoned for marijuana charges, a cannabis criminal justice reform advocate, a primary care doctor who’s been prescribing medical cannabis for years, and a drug historian to explains why the origin of our nation’s patchwork of marijuana laws. Podcast Guests: Donte West, Legacy Fellow at Last Prisoner Project Natalie Papillion, COO at Last Prisoner Project Peter Grinspoon, primary care doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital, instructor at Harvard Medical School, author of “Seeing Through the Smoke: A Cannabis Specialist Untangles the Truth about Marijuana” Emily Dufton, author of “Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America” **This episode is part of Season 3 on Top of Mind: Finding Fairness. From health and immigration to prisons and pot, how can we get more peace and prosperity for all?

People all around the world look to the United States as a land of opportunity and safety. Every month, tens of thousands of people arrive at US border checkpoints and ask to be granted asylum. Over the last decade, the number of people showing up at the southern U.S. border seeking protection has increased five-fold to more than 200,000 every month. That huge increase has so overwhelmed the system that getting a final answer often takes years. There is bipartisan agreement that the asylum system is broken. How we fix the backlog, though, depends a lot on how we answer the question at the heart of today's podcast episode: what is our obligation to asylum seekers? Are we responsible for taking these individuals in? We’ll be hearing from two previous asylum seekers about the challenges of seeking asylum in the United States, a writer who had an eye-opening experience learning how America’s asylum process differs from other countries, and two former immigration judges with differing perspectives on how we should implement asylum law in the United States. As we hear each of these perspectives, we’ll consider this question: what do we owe people who are no longer safe or able to prosper in the countries where they happen to have been born? Podcast Guests: Razak Iyal, sought asylum in the U.S. in 2013, granted asylum in Canada in 2017 Joe Meno, Author of “Between Everything and Nothing: The Journey of Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal and the Quest for Asylum” Makaya Revell, CEO of Peace Promise Consulting, granted U.S. asylum in 2022 Andrew Arthur, resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, former immigration judge 2006-2014 (York, Pennsylvania) Paul Wickham Schmidt, adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, former immigration judge 2003-2016 (Arlington, Virginia) **This episode is part of Season 3 on Top of Mind: Finding Fairness. From health and immigration to prisons and pot, how can we get more peace and prosperity for all?

When we drink the water, breathe the air and dig in the soil in our communities, we expect it to be safe. In the United States, we have regulatory agencies meant to protect us, but they sometimes fall short. Places populated by people of color or those in poverty are more likely to suffer the consequences. Who is responsible for combating pollution? How can we, as individuals, contribute to a cleaner environment? In this podcast episode, we explore various ways that Americans are combating pollution when our current systems fail. A concerned mother-turned-community-activist battles bureaucratic barriers to protect her family from PFAS pollution found in the Haw River, NC. A lifelong resident of Southwest Detroit fights pollution that is killing her majority Black community. An environmental policy maker advocates for corporations to take ownership of the pollution they create. A San Diego family offers an inside look at their zero waste lifestyle. Podcast Guests: Katie Bryant, co-founder of Clean Haw River Theresa Landrum, environmental justice activist in southwest Detroit Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, former regional administrator for the EPA Fredrika Syren and James Harker, The Zero Waste Family, author of Zero Waste for Families **This episode is part of Season 3 on Top of Mind: Finding Fairness. From health and immigration to prisons and pot, how can we get more peace and prosperity for all?

Our “Stick With It” conversation series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with sex therapist Tammy Hill’s story of feeling inspired to write a book that featured her own sexual experiences. She was so terrified at the thought – what would her parents think?! – that she put it off for seven years. Podcast Guest: Tammy Hill, LMFT, author of “Replenish: Creating Sexual Fulfillment in Marriage” (A Guide for LDS Couples), host of the “Live Your Why” podcast. Top of Mind would love to hear your Stick With It story. Can you think of a time when you felt your perspective or worldview challenged and, instead of getting defensive, you chose to stick with the discomfort – and you’re glad you did? Email your story to [email protected].