How Christian is America, really? Forget insights, develop your mindsight. Then, models for cutting health care costs, and are public employee unions bankrupting the nation?
How Christian is America, really?
Fundamentalist and religious leaders like to promote the notion that we live in a Christian nation. But author Richard Hughes maintains the notion of America as a “kingdom of God” is at odds with the values of an empire that sanctions war instead of peace, promotes oppression over reconciliation and exalts wealth and power over justice for the needy. In his new book, Hughes reviews the myth of a “Christian America” and points out the irony of that ideal.
Guest:
Richard Hughes, author of Christian America and the Kingdom of God (University of Illinois Press). He is Senior Fellow at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania.
Personal transformation through psychotherapy
Ever wish you could change who you are? To an extent, says psychotherapist Daniel Siegel, you can. In his new book "Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation" Siegel details his technique for helping people deal with traumatic memories, undesirable or counterproductive behavior, and irrational fears. Siegel attempts to unite the theories of brain science and psychotherapy to argue that you can literally change the wiring of your own brain.
Guest:
Dr. Daniel Siegel, author of Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation (Random House Publishing Group)
Models for cutting health care costs
The American health care system is the most expensive in the world, but far from the best. And bills pending in Congress are unlikely to cut costs or improve quality of care. In the Nov. 8 issue of New York Times Magazine, columnist David Leonhardt, looks at one model that might change things: Intermountain Healthcare, a network of hospitals and clinics in Utah and Idaho. What can be learned from Intermountain’s results-based, statistical treatment guidelines? And could these improvements be applied nationally?
Guests:
David Leonhardt, Economic Scene columnist at the New York Times
Theodore Marmor, Professor Emeritus of Public Management and Political Science at Yale University
Are public employee unions bankrupting the nation?
In his new book “Plunder,” Sacramento based investigative journalist Steven Greenhut argues that public workers earn more than other Americans and receive vastly superior benefits. Greenhut claims that outsized retirement pensions and benefits packages place a huge burden on state and federal treasuries, resulting in higher taxes and massive debt. Steven Greenhut goes toe-to-toe on public employee unions with Nick Barardino, general manager of the Orange County Employees Association.
Guests:
Steve Greenhut, author of “Plunder: How Public Employee Unions Are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation” (The Forum Press)
Nick Berardino, General Manager of the Orange County Employees Association