Focus

Maro Chermayeff, Executive Producer and Director

Edna Adan, Founder, Edna Adan Hospital of Somaliland

Host: Craig Cohen

Inspired by journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book of the same name, Half the Sky - Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women is a four-hour television series for PBS that documents women and girls who are living under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable — and fighting to change them. Their intimate, dramatic and immediate stories of struggle reflect viable and sustainable options for empowerment and offer a blueprint for transformation. We'll talk with two guests - Maro Chermayeff, Executive Producer and Director, as well as one of the activists featured in the film, Edna Adan, founder of the Edna Hospital in Somaliland. Half the Sky airs on WILL-TV in two parts, on October 1st and 2nd at 8 pm.

Jules Polonetsky, Director and Co-Chair, Future of Privacy forum

Frances Harris, Librarian, University Laboratory High School, Urbana

Host: Craig Cohen
Filing Cabinets

As we share more and more of our lives on sites like Facebook and Twitter, privacy questions naturally arise. But so does the issue of how long this material will stay around - perhaps much longer than any of us had originally intended. In an age of social media and digital archiving, can we escape from what we have posted or written online? Is the internet compiling a "permanent record" of our lives, the one grade school teachers and principals have been warning students of for decades?

Samantha King, Associate Professor, Associate Director and Graduate Coordinator, School of Kinesiology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario

Host: Kimberlie Kranich

The National Cancer Institute estimates that just more than 12 percent of U-S women or “1 in 8” born today will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some time in her life.  Approximately 40,000 U.S. women die from breast cancer each year.  Only lung cancer claims more cancer deaths among women.

In the U-S and increasingly worldwide, the movement to end breast cancer is symbolized by a pink ribbon and the strategy is to raise billions of dollars for research and to promote early detection through mammograms.  Cause-driven marketing encourages us to buy products that display the pink ribbon and to participate in 5k races for a cure.  Are these the best strategies?  Where did they come from and who is really benefitting?

We go beyond the pink ribbon to the politics of breast cancer, civic engagement and corporate philanthropy with Samantha King, author of  “Pink Ribbons, Inc.”

The Department of Kinesiology & Community Health and the Center on Health, Aging and Disability is hosting a screening of Pink Ribbons, Inc. at 7:00 PM, on Thursday, September 27 at the Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL 61801. After the film, Samantha King will field questions about the film and her research.

Dick Simpson, Professor and Department Head, Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Former Chicago Alderman

James D. Nowlan, Senior Fellow in the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois

Richard F. Winters, William Clinton Story Remsen 1943 Professor of Government at Dartmouth and former Co-Editor of State Politics and Policy Quarterly

Host: Craig Cohen

In recent years, Illinoisans have seen two governors imprisoned and their state become the punchline of national jokes. How much of the perception of Illinois is based in reality? Is Illinois more corrupt than other states? We'll talk with two veterans of Illinois politics and a professor from Dartmouth who are taking part in the Ethics and Reform Symposium on Illinois Government in Chicago September 27 and 28.

Scott Spies, Home Inspector

Host: Craig Cohen

Our topic will be home maintenance, and our guest is Scott Spies from the Spies Home Inspection Service. We invite your questions on everything from windows and siding, to roofing and gutters, to attics and basements, just about anything that goes into the single-family home. If you’re thinking of making some changes or something needs to be repaired, you are welcome to call.

PLEASE NOTE: The first half of today's program was an open line with listener calls. Scott Spies joined for the second half of the hour. Scott appears at approximately 30:45 in the audio program.

Kevin Waspi, C.F.A., Department of Finance, College of Business, University of Illinois

Host: Craig Cohen

From time to time, we like to provide you with an opportunity to ask some basic questions about personal finance. Kevin Waspi, who lectures on finance at the University of Illinois College of Business will answer your queries on money management. Whether you are just starting out and looking for advice on investing, thinking about buying a home, sending your children to college, or planning for retirement, your questions will be welcome.

Lisa T. McElroy, J.D., Associate Professor of Law, Earle Mack School of Law, Drexel University

Daniel W. Hamilton, J.D., Ph.D., Professor of Law and History, University of Illinois

Host: Craig Cohen

The Supreme Court’s new term begins on October 1st, and includes cases dealing with issues ranging from affirmative action to the constitutionality of a global terrorism wiretapping program, to the Fourth Amendment and law enforcement use of drug-sniffing dogs. The High Court may add other cases to the docket, potentially including a challenge to a law banning same sex marriage in California. We’ll preview the fall term with Daniel Hamilton, Professor of Law and History at the University of Illinois…and Lisa McElroy, an Associate Professor of Law from Drexel University Law School.

Eboo Patel, Founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core and member of President Obama’s inaugural Faith Council

Host: Craig Cohen
Eboo Patel

Following the attacks last week on U.S. embassies in Egypt and Libya, which led to the deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, we’ll talk about how there’s a tendency among some to lump violent Muslim extremists in with the Muslim community at large, in a way that we perhaps don’t do with other radicals who pervert other religions. We’ll consider how violent acts like this make it more challenging to bring peaceful people of various faiths together, as we talk with Eboo Patel, the founder and President of Interfaith Youth Core and a member of President Obama’s inaugural Faith Council. He’s the author of the book Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America.

John Hartman, Independent Candidate for the 13th Illinois Congressional District

Host: Craig Cohen

This election season, Focus is providing you with the opportunity to speak directly with the candidates in two key races – those running for Illinois’ newly-drawn 13th Congressional District seat, and the candidates seeking to represent you in Illinois’ 52nd State Senate District. We continue today with the Independent candidate running for Congress in Illinois’ 13th district, John Hartman. He faces Democrat David Gill and Republican Rodney Davis – all three candidates are vying to replace retiring Congressman Tim Johnson. This is the first election taking place in the 13th District since it was re-drawn, and it now covers a lot of territory, stretching from Champaign/Urbana all the way to communities like Collinsville and Edwardsville in the Metro East of St. Louis. Along its winding path, It also includes the central Illinois cities of Bloomington/Normal, Decatur, and Springfield.

Sandy Mason, Extension Horticulture Educator, University of Illinois Extension, Champaign, Ford, Iroquois, Vermilion Counties

Host: Jim Meadows

Our topic will be lawn and garden care, and our guest will be Sandy Mason, horticulture educator with University of Illinois Extension.  We do these shows from time to time to help with problems in the home landscape, and we can take a wide range of questions on anything from trees and shrubs to vegetables and flowers, even houseplants. Whether you are trying to solve a problem, or you are looking for suggestions on what to plant, your call will be welcome.