From WILL - Focus - May 24, 2013

Coming up Next Week on Focus

Next week on Focus, we’ll remember Uncle Joe Cannon, one of the most influential Speaker’s of the House of Representatives and will investigate the so-called problems with the new Diagnostics and Statistics Manual which is used to diagnose mental disease. We’ll also talk about “Millenial” generation, will check in with former WILL Meteorologist Ed Keiser and more!

Monday, May 27 – Encore: Women in Combat and the Transition to Civilian Life after the Military
This is an encore edition of Focus. We won’t take live calls this hour.

Even though the ban on women serving in combat was only officially lifted earlier this year, women were already serving on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. This hour on Focus, we'll listen back to a conversation Craig Cohen had with Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Erica Borggren about the ban being lifted and about her experiences serving in Iraq.

Then, during the second half of the hour, we'll listen back to a conversation with Elizabeth Ambros, a 26 year old veteran Navy corpsman. She’ll tell us about what it was like to serve as a young woman overseas and about the challenges she’s faced as a veteran transitioning to civilian life. Nicholas Osborne, Assistant Dean of Students in the Office of Veteran Student Affairs at the UIUC and a veteran member of the US Coast Guard also joins us.

Tuesday, May 28 – Uncle Joe Cannon
Have you heard the name Joe Cannon? Maybe you’ve seen statues or pictures of him around the area… We’ll learn about who  he was and why he’s such an iconic figure in East Central Illinois this hour on Focus.

Uncle Joe Cannon served in the U.S. House of Representatives as speaker from 1903 to 1911 and is considered the second-longest serving speaker in history. He was featured on the first cover of Time Magazine and is remembered as one of the more colorful members of Congress. This hour on Focus, we’ll remember Joe, his Illinois roots, and some of his more notorious moments as speaker in Washington D.C. Host Jim Meadows talks with Matt Wasnewski, a historian for the House of Representatives and Timothy Smith, an amateur historian and long-time Danville resident who is working on a biography about Joe.

Wednesday, May 29 – The Me Me Me Generation?
Are you a twentysomething? Are you the parent or grandparent of a twentysomething? We want to hear from you this hour on Focus!

“Digital Natives,” “Millenials” or twentysomethings are always a focus of discourse in late spring when new classes of graduates flood the labor market. This spring there has been a critical twist to some of the discussion referring to young Americans as “the Dumbest Generation,” branding young people as narcissistic, unprofessional and unemployable. Who are Millenials really? Are they so different from any other generation? This hour on Focus, we’ll talk about what makes “Millenial” a “Millenial,” how generations view each other and if the criticism of “Digital Natives” should be so different from Generation X, Generation Y, the BabyBoomers or the Greatest Generation. Where were you when you were 25? Someone who is 25 today is likely in a very different place in their life than many who were that age even a decade ago. Does that make young people lazy, entitled and unmotivated, or should we chalk the differences up to societal change and progress?

We’ll talk it over this hour on Focus with Meg Jay, author of the book “The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter - And How to Make the Most of Them Now” and Jeffrey Arnett who has spent his career studying young people.  He’s most recently the author of “When Will My Grown Up Kid Grow Up?”

Thursday, May 30 – The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry

The usefulness of the fifth version of the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders, which has traditionally played a large role in the diagnosis of mental disease, has been a huge point of controversy within the psychological science community lately.  The National Institute for Mental Health, the largest funder for mental health research in the US, has officially withdrawn its support for the new version. The NIMH says  there is no objective laboratory measure for diagnosis in the new manual and that it “lacks validity.” This hour on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with author and psychotherapist Gary Greenberg about the controversy over the new manual and why it’s an issue that so many mental health professionals have questions about the manual’s usefulness. 

Friday, May 31 – Summer Meteorology
This hour on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with former WILL meteorologist Ed Keiser about summer storms and tornado preparedness. We welcome your calls and questions!

One of the deadliest tornadoes to come through the Midwest in years has left a trail of destruction and death in Moore, Oklahoma. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk with former WILL meteorologist Ed Keiser about tornadoes, when they form, how they form and when they become dangerous. We’ll also talk with him about the strange weather patterns we’ve been having in the Midwest – from drought to damaging floods, and summer weather preparedness.