Presidential Pardons, Drug Courts, Cinema Therapy

Top of Mind with Julie Rose

President’s Pardon Power is Extensive (0:31) President Trump has given pardons to many of his political allies. But what about pre-emptive pardons for himself and others? We get the answer from David Schultz who is a professor of political science and law at Hamline University. The Lab That Raises Fruit Flies for Science (16:32) The Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center is responsible for cultivating fruit flies with specific gene variations that scientists the world over will use for their research. But Cale Whitworth says farming flies is not that easy. Whitworth is a Research Scientist at the Stock Center at Indiana University. Mandatory Rehab and Biden’s “Kinder, Gentler” War on Drugs (37:41) It may sound compassionate to send people with an addiction to drugs to treatment rather than jail. But Leo Beletsky says it's not a helpful approach to dealing with drug problems in America. Beletsky is a Professor of Law and Health Sciences and Director of the Health in Justice Action Lab at Northeastern University. Love Movies? Need Therapy? Cinema Therapy on YouTube is for You (52:21) In 2020, there were documented increases in both movie watching and therapy–which perhaps explains why a free YouTube channel called Cinema Therapy took off this year. Licensed family therapist Jonathan Decker and his filmmaker friend Alan Seawright work together to produce the YouTube hit. TIME’s First-Ever Kid of the Year (1:11:21) TIME Magazine has named a person of the year for nearly a century, but in 2020, we also got the first-ever Time Kid of the Year. Gitanjali Rao has accomplished a lot for a 15-year-old. Not only is she TIME's 2020 Kid of the Year, but also the author of "A Young Innovator's Guide to STEM: 5 Steps to Problem Solving for Students, Educators, and Parents." A Step Above Traditional Preschools for Low-income Students (1:27:55) A program that teaches low-income preschoolers social and emotional coping skills still pays off for those kids years later when they’re in high school. Karen Bierman is the lead researcher on this project, and she’s a professor of Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University.