The Jefferson Exchange

The Jefferson Exchange: January 7, 2014 Hour 2:Fighting Off A Case Of "Affluenza"When do we cross the line between striving and accumulating? In a consumer society, it can be hard indeed to resist the tidal forces driving us to buy bigger, better, and more.  Of ANYthing. John De Graaf and his co-authors noted the trend in their books on "affluenza." The latest of them is Affluenza: How Overconsumption Is Killing Us—and How to Fight Back. John De Graaf joins us.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 6, 2014, Hour 1A:Time for a few more words on the shooting of barred owls. The process recently began, in an effort to help spotted owls survive in areas where the owls compete for territory. The move is controversial for obvious reasons. We heard recently from a group that opposes the barred owl killings.  Today we visit with Paul Henson of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 6, 2014, Hour 1B:How best to teach budding journalists the uses of public records laws? Request public records.  That's what student media advisor Kate Willson did at Oregon State University. But OSU bristled at the records requests--on compensation and campus crime--and Willson began to fear for her job. We take up the issue of public records and who is entitled to what with Steven Wilker, a media law attorney practicing in Portland.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 6, 2014, Hour 2:Do you know your own IQ? Better question: do you think your IQ number indicates a ceiling of sorts, a boundary beyond which your brain cannot go? This very subject is debated briskly at the moment. Science journalist Dan Hurley got in between the people who insist you CAN expand your brain power and the skeptics--and put himself through a number of paces--for his book Smarter: The New Science of Building Brain Power.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 6, 2014, Hour 1A:Time for a few more words on the shooting of barred owls. The process recently began, in an effort to help spotted owls survive in areas where the owls compete for territory. The move is controversial for obvious reasons. We heard recently from a group that opposes the barred owl killings.  Today we visit with Paul Henson of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The Jefferson Exchange: Janaury 3, 2014, Hour 1A:The first Friday of any month has become a day to celebrate the arts around our region. Several communities hold First Friday art walks, and some hold similar observances on other weekend days. The Exchange syncs up with the art world on First Friday, by visiting with listeners about arts events in the coming month. Join the free-for-all by calling with details about arts events in your town... 800-838-3760 around the region, 541-552-6782 in the Rogue Valley, or by email at JX@jeffnet.org. AND since it's the first month of the year and a little slow in the arts world, we encourage calls and emails with more general information about arts organizations around the region.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 3, 2014, Hour 1B:hings are looking up, at least a little, for the Josephine County Fairgrounds. Commissioners decided months ago that the fairgrounds had to be self-sustaining, because the cash-strapped county could not afford to support them. Since then, a drive to bring in donations to preserve the fairgrounds and the 2014 County Fair worked well enough to convince commissioners to keep everything as-is for now. That includes allowing the fair to be held. Commissioner Simon Hare explains what has happened so far, and what happens from here.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 3, 2014, Hour 2:It is not a very Happy New Year for unemployed people, but it's even less happy for the long-term unemployed. Because Congress recessed for the holiday season without extending unemployment payments, as it had in previous years. That (non-) move cuts off money to more than a million people immediately, and many more in the months ahead.  We visit with the National Employment Law Project about the payments and the prospects for getting them restored.

The Jefferson Exchange: Janaury 3, 2014, Hour 1A:The first Friday of any month has become a day to celebrate the arts around our region. Several communities hold First Friday art walks, and some hold similar observances on other weekend days. The Exchange syncs up with the art world on First Friday, by visiting with listeners about arts events in the coming month. Join the free-for-all by calling with details about arts events in your town... 800-838-3760 around the region, 541-552-6782 in the Rogue Valley, or by email at JX@jeffnet.org. AND since it's the first month of the year and a little slow in the arts world, we encourage calls and emails with more general information about arts organizations around the region.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 3, 2014, Hour 2:It is not a very Happy New Year for unemployed people, but it's even less happy for the long-term unemployed. Because Congress recessed for the holiday season without extending unemployment payments, as it had in previous years. That (non-) move cuts off money to more than a million people immediately, and many more in the months ahead.  We visit with the National Employment Law Project about the payments and the prospects for getting them restored.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 2, 2014, Hour 1A:The work long rumored recently got underway: gunfire killed barred owls in Northern California.  And it was completely intentional, meant to give spotted owls some breathing room in their competition with the rival owls for living space.  The federal barred owl hunting program has been controversial since it was first proposed.  Friends of Animals attorney Michael Harris joins us to explain the group's opposition to the killing.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 2, 2014, Hour 1B:The definition of "Christmas season" truly depends upon the person.  Some people celebrate for a month or more.  Take the National Audubon Society for example.  The society runs its Christmas Bird Count, every year for several weeks.  This year's counting window runs from December 14 to January 5, with many of the counts already done.  Ashland birder Harry Fuller joins us with details of his findings.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 2, 2014, Hour 2:If you are a person who makes New Year's resolutions, you can hold on until you hear this interview.  Winnie Abramson is a naturopathic doctor who writes the blog "Healthy Green Kitchen."  So you can guess the overall direction of her wellness guide, called "One Simple Change: Surprisingly Easy Ways to Transform Your Life." 

The Jefferson Exchange: December 31, 2013 Hour 1A:Record Dry Year For Medford AreaUnless a massive storm hits, and soon (highly unlikely), 2013 will end with a weather whimper that amounts to a meteorological bang. The bang is that the year will end with less precipitation in Medford than in any other calendar year since record-keeping began more than 100 years ago. Meteorologist (and occasional Exchange guest host) Milt Radford joins us to talk about the climate conditions that led to the dry year.

The Jefferson Exchange: December 31, 2013 Hour 1B:A Tribal Casino For Yreka?While a pair of Native American tribes spent much of the last year squabbling over a plan for a casino in Medford, a third tribe quietly laid the groundwork for a different casino in nearby Yreka. And the Karuk Tribe got a further boost when California's governor signed a compact with the tribe, a key step toward locating the casino. Tribal chair Buster Attebery joins us to detail the plan.