AirTalk has been here to guide listeners throughout the 2016 election season with more than just in depth coverage and analysis, but also how to stay sane - like tips on handling election stress and mending political rifts between families. Today we want to hear from you on how you survived politics-talks over Thanksgiving dinner; we take a look at the surge in U.S. volunteerism over the past 14 years; and TGI-FilmWeek!
AirTalk listeners share the good, bad, and ugly of talking politics on Thanksgiving
Wednesday on AirTalk, we heard from listeners across Southern California about how they planned to navigate any political discussions that might surface during Thanksgiving dinner.
Some families planned to instate a ‘no politics whatsoever’ rule. Others said they would try and redirect the conversation to other topics. And still others were steeling themselves for battle, expecting to get into it with relatives who maybe didn’t vote the same way you did.
Well, Thanksgiving has now come and gone, and we want to know how it went. Did you ban talking politics at the dinner table? If not, what were the political discussions at Thanksgiving dinner like in your family? Did things stay civil or get heated? What were your biggest takeaways? Did any discussions you had or heard change your perspective?
Guest:
Jaclyn Cravens, Ph.D., assistant professor and program director for Addictive Disorders and Recovery Studies at Texas Tech University; she is also a licensed marriage and family therapist
AirTalk asks: why do you volunteer?
People volunteer for a plethora of reasons: to give back to their communities, to impress college admissions boards, to gain a sense of purpose, to meet new people.
According to a new report from the Corporation for National and Community Service, 62.6 million adults volunteered through an organization last year and gave $184 billion worth of service.
The research shows that Gen Xers lead in volunteering, followed by Baby Boomers, who tend to volunteer more hours. One in five millennials volunteered last year, and young adults attending college volunteered at twice the rate of their peers who did not attend school. The demographic with the highest volunteering rate continued to be working mothers.
But overall, the U.S. saw a dip in the rate of volunteering from 2014, reflecting a larger drop in volunteering rates over the last decade.
We want to hear from you. Where do you volunteer? Do you do it during the holidays, or all year round? What motivates you to volunteer?
Guest:
Bill Basl, Director of AmeriCorps - Corporation for National and Community Service