The Jefferson Exchange

The Jefferson Exchange: August 1, 2013: Hour 1B:Latch On Convincing mothers of the values of breastfeeding is the focus of the "Latch On" campaigns.  You can guess who is supposed to latch onto what.  You'll hear details of a global "Latch On," and how it is being observed in our region.

The Jefferson Exchange: August 1, 2013: Hour 2:The Business of Baby There are certain rituals and moments common to childbirth and infant care in America that we take for granted.  And Ashland-based journalist Jennifer Margulis says we shouldn't.  Margulis addresses practices ranging from circumcision to diapering and vaccination in her book "The Business of Baby."

The Jefferson Exchange: July 31, 2013 Hour 1B:VENTSday-Barred Owls + Bradley Manning Our weekly ritual is renewed, as we throw a pair of topics on the table--in theory, unrelated--and open up the phone lines and the email box to gather your take on either or both of the issues.  It's VENTSday on The Jefferson Exchange, and you participate by calling 1-800-838-3760 or 541-552-6782 or emailing JX@jeffnet.org. THIS WEEK: A) Barred owls vs spotted owls--should we shoot one to save the other? B) Bradley Manning, NOT guilty of aiding the enemy--hero? Traitor?

The Jefferson Exchange: July 31, 2013 Hour 2:A Chance to Win The South Ward of Newark, New Jersey may be one of the most gritty urban environments in the country.  Yet it is also home to a successful Little League program started by a man paralyzed by a drive-by shooting.  He wanted a better life for the kids in his neighborhood.  Baseball offered "A Chance to Win," which is the title of a book about the program by Jonathan Schuppe.

The Jefferson Exchange: July 30, 2013, Hour 1B: Saving Extension Services The OSU Research and Extension Center in Jackson County remains open, but its future remains uncertain.  Jackson County's budget process gave the center enough money to get halfway through the current fiscal year, while longer-term funding is sought.  You'll hear about the efforts of the Friends of Research and Extension (FORE).

The Jefferson Exchange: July 30, 2013, Hour 2: Canning Safely As fruits and vegetables ripen in fields, gardens, and orchards, home canners will get ready to preserve food for the months ahead.  It is not a danger-free process.  Ignoring simple safety steps can lead to the presence of botulism and other issues in the canning process.  We'll visit with a Master Food Preserver about the way to do things right.  

The Jefferson Exchange: July 29, 2013 Hour 1B:New Psychiatric Hospital The days of large-scale mental hospitals, of "warehousing" the mentally ill, are long over.  But some psychiatric hospitals are still needed, and Junction City is about to get one.  The Oregon Legislature recently allocated money for such a hospital, and you'll hear about the plans.

The Jefferson Exchange: July 29, 2013 Hour 2:Cold, Hungry, Dark The excitement over American supplies of natural gas runs both positive and negative: the idea of natural gas leading the way to energy independence, and the concern that getting the gas out of the ground will wreck the environment.  Bill Powers studies the energy sector for a living, and he takes issue with the claims of a huge supply of gas on the American continent in "Cold, Hungry and in the Dark: Exploding the Natural Gas Supply Myth."

The Jefferson Exchange: July 26, 2013, Hour 1B: Beach Birthday Bingo Oregon's blizzard of environmental laws made national news in the 1970s, but the environmental ethic goes further back in time.  In fact, it was 100 years ago that Governor Oswald West moved to protect public access to the state's ocean beaches.  The state Parks and Recreation department observes the anniversary with a "Celebrate the Shore" photo contest.  You'll hear about the anniversary and how to get your picture considered.  

The Jefferson Exchange: July 26, 2013, Hour 2: Whoa: Slow News The advantage of our information age is quick access to news, in many different forms.  But maybe that's a disadvantage as well.  When TV stations provide wall-to-wall live coverage with little new information, and tweets containing little more than conjecture sprinkle throughout cyberspace, are we really gaining much?  University of Oregon journalism professor Peter Laufer says no, emphatically.  He'll explain his approach, something he calls the "slow news movement."  

The Jefferson Exchange: July 25, 2013 Hour 1B: Columbia Fish The Columbia River is a long way from our neck of the woods, but what happens to fish in the Columbia can have an effect on fish and the people who depend upon them in our region.  The Northwest Power and Conservation Council is in the process of amending its Fish and Wildife Program, and the public is invited to comment on the management of the power facilities on the Columbia.

The Jefferson Exchange: July 25, 2013 Hour 2: Bud Powell Remembered At first glance, the story of jazz pianist Bud Powell may appear to be one of alcohol, mental illness, and racial abuse.  But author Guthrie Ramsey Jr. digs deeper for clues to Powell's life and influence on bebop and jazz more generally, in "The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, and the Challenge of Bebop."

The Jefferson Exchange: July 24, 2013 Hour 1B:VENTSday-Surveillance Cameras + Transparency Our weekly ritual is renewed, as we throw a pair of topics on the table--in theory, unrelated--and open up the phone lines and the email box to gather your take on either or both of the issues.  It's VENTSday on The Jefferson Exchange, and you participate by calling 1-800-838-3760 or 541-552-6782 or emailing JX@jeffnet.org. THIS WEEK: A) Your thoughts on surveillance cameras--safety or snooping? B) Transparency in government--want more than we're getting?

The Jefferson Exchange: July 24, 2013 Hour 2:Deep Travel When we travel, we visit new places in search of new experiences, putting ourselves out in the world.  Or are we?  There is a strain of thought that travel is really a turning inward, a search for parts of ourselves either forgotten or never accessed.  Christina Ammon and Erin Byrne subscribe to the "Deep Travel" school, and teach it as well.

The Jefferson Exchange: July 19, 2013, Hour 1B: Bee Catastrophe An event in a shopping center parking lot led to action by the Oregon Agriculture Department.  The event was the death of thousands of bees, and the action was a temporary ban on some pesticides, including the ones blamed for the mass bee deaths.  We'll discuss the ban and what happens now.