Electoral College, Reopening Schools, Olympic Women
US Supreme Court on “Faithless Electors” and The Electoral College (0:31) Guest: Jessica Levinson, Clinical Professor of Law, Loyola Law School, Host of “Passing Judgment” Podcast When Americans vote in the Presidential Election four months from now, our votes will not directly elect the winner. Instead, votes get tallied on a state-by-state basis, then states appoint presidential electors based on those tallies and send those electors to cast a vote in the electoral college, which ultimately elects the President. The US Supreme Court this week ruled that states can punish presidential electors who fail to vote for the candidate they have pledged to support. States Collaborating to Side-Step Power of Electoral College (15:27) Guest: John Koza, Founder, National Popular Vote There’s a long-running movement in the country to just get rid of the electoral college all together. That would require a Constitutional Amendment. But there’s another way, says John Koza. Bright Idea: Bathe Public Spaces in UV Light to Prevent Spread of COVID-19 (24:58) Guest: David Brenner, Director, Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Medical Center The coronavirus spreads through respiratory droplets: an infected person coughs or sneezes – or just speaks – and the virus goes airborne, where it can be inhaled by others – especially indoors. That’s why we’re all encouraged to wear facemasks. Researchers are working on a way to continuously disinfect the air in public places like hospitals or elevators using ultraviolet light. Can Schools Safely Reopen This Fall? (38:22) Guest: Elliot Haspel, Program Officer, Robins Foundation "SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!" Tweeted President Trump this week. Many parents, students and teachers agree. The question is how to do so safely while COVID-19 spreads in our communities. Fast Girls: The 1936 Women's Olympic Track Team (52:15) Guest: Elise Hooper, Author “Fast Girls: A Novel of the 1936 Women’s Olympic Team” If not for the pandemic, the world’s fastest runners would be converging on Tokyo this month for the Summer Olympic Games. Tokyo would have been the fifth Olympics for American sprinter Allyson Felix, who was poised to become the most-decorated US Track and Field Olympian in history. She’ll have to wait until next year to add to her stash of nine medals, include six golds. So let’s take a look at some of the women who paved the way for Allyson Felix. Elise Hooper's new historical novel tracks the true-life stories of pioneering track stars Betty Robinson, Helen Stephens and Louise Stokes. Mosque or Monument: The Fate of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia (1:31:27) Guest: Tugba Tanyeri Erdemir, Research Associate in Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh The most-visited tourist attraction in Istanbul, Turkey is the Hagia Sophia. It’s a truly stunning Greek Orthodox cathedral – one of the oldest in the world, with immense domes and glittering mosaics. During Ottoman rule, it was converted into a Mosque and the mosaics were plastered over. For the last 80 years, the Hagia Sophia has been a museum – the mosaics depicting Christ, the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist are now visible alongside ornate Islamic inscriptions. It’s a powerful symbol of Christianity and Islam co-existing in peace. That may change. Turkey’s President wants to convert the Hagia Sophia back into a working mosque. Greece and several other European countries have objected.