(1) OPEN Discussion on Is America Losing Heart?
From the halls of Congress to presidential candidates and the main streets of America, there appears to be a growing lack of compassion these days towards those with opposing or different viewpoints as well as in general.
The Golden Rule states “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But look around in today’s society and there are far too many examples of lack of empathy and general disregard for others. Entitlement, greed, corruption, and hypocrisy seem to be replacing shared values, service, honesty, integrity, and heart (empathy).
The biologist Frans de Waal states in The Age of Empathy (2008) that humans are human because we are empathetic. He writes, “Empathy is part of the survival package, and human society depends on it as much as many other animal societies do.” Yet so many political, financial, and corporate leaders in society today seem to lack empathy, showing outright disdain for those they “serve” and represent.
Is this growing collapse of empathy and heart a symptom of our failing humanity or is it indicative of an agenda where disdain and indifference become the cornerstones of American policy?
JOIN Barb and John as they discuss Is America Losing Heart?
(2) Ron Felber
Joining the show during the second hour is author Ron Felber, who will be discussing his latest novel, Dark Angel.
Imagine the genetic experiments of Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele being fine-tuned by scientists in secret laboratories at Princeton University with the blessing of the U.S. government. The objective: create an army of trans-human super soldiers, killing machines that can be cloned and can conquer the world.
That’s the basis of Felber’s lastest Jack Madson thriller, Dark Angel. Felber will discuss why this is not such a far-fetched idea and how, since 1990, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the central research and development organization of the Department of Defense, has been focusing on transforming humans for war.
But Felber adds his own twist. He imagines that at the close of WWII, the U.S. government got hold of genetic material developed by Mengele to create a trans-human super race. That genetic material is being used at Princeton to build unstoppable killers, controlled by a small cadre of scientists and ego-maniacal entrepreneurs who plan on taking over the world to create a Fourth Reich.
Fact or fiction? Listen in as Ron Felber talks Dark Angel.
Ron Felber is the author of the Jack Madson crime thrillers A Man of Indeterminate Value, The Kafka Society, and Dark Angel. His non-fiction books include Mojave Incident and Il Dottore: The Double Life of a Mafia Doctor, which was the inspiration for the FOX television drama The Mob Doctor. Mr. Felber is a graduate of Georgetown University and teaches creative writing at Drew University’s Caspersen School of Graduate Studies.
For more information, visit http://ronfelber.com.
(3) Allison Leotta
Former federal sex-crimes prosecutor and bestselling author Allison Leotta joins the show in the third hour to discuss her latest book, The Last Good Girl, which tackles college campus sexual assault.
All across the country this month (May) high school seniors are preparing for graduation and, for many, it’s also a time to finalize plans on which college they’ll be attending. Leotta hopes her book will help students and their parents become more informed before making that decision.
In this her fifth novel of the Anna Curtis series, The Last Good Girl, Leotta tackles campus rape at a prestigious Michigan 
university. “This book is so important to me,” says Leotta. “I felt compelled to write it. Too many young women are sexually assaulted during what should be a wonderful and empowering time of their life: their college years. I wanted both to tell a compelling story and to examine the powerful forces that rip through these cases and the real emotions and consequences for young people caught in these currents.”
Allison will discuss
- Why a disproportionate number of rapes happen in the first week of college; experts call this time “the Red Zone.”
- 6% of young men commit 90% of the rapes on campus.
- 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted during their time in college.
- Why rape is the most under-reported crime in America; over 80% of victims never report it.
- Why men who join fraternities are 300% more likely to rape women than other college boys.
- If a student files a sex-assault report through the university, the charges are typically sealed and confidential; the suspect never has a public record of the allegations against him.
- Universities are concerned about application rates dropping if a rape report gets out; they have a vested interest in keeping records sealed and reporting 0 rapes per year. Dartmouth College’s application rate dropped 14% after a rape allegation.
- Universities can be sued for kicking a boy out—but not sued for letting him off, which is why suspects are so often found “not responsible.
For twelve years, Allison Leotta served as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., where she specialized in sex crimes, domestic violence, and crimes against children. She now writes legal thrillers drawing on her experience.
Allison was dubbed “the female John Grisham” for her first novel, Law of Attraction, which the Washington Post called, “a racy legal thriller…taking on a still-taboo subject.” Her second novel, Discretion, was named one of the Ten Best Books of 2012 by Strand Magazine and Best Suspense Novel by Romance Reviews Today. Her novel, Speak of the Deveil (2013) was named a best book of the year by Suspense Magazine. A Good Killing (2015) was named one of O, The Oprah Magazine’s Best of the Best Summer Books, 2015.
For more information, visit http://allisonleotta.com.
Share this post...
