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We learn about a nationwide clinical trial, funded by the National Institute of Aging, that's trying to determine if high doses of a synthetic form of Vitamin B1 called benfotiamine might be an effective treatment for mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's Disease. Also known as thiamine, Vitamin B1 is important for brain health, and it's known that people with Alzheimer's have a thiamine deficiency.

When confronted with a difficult conversation – or person – it's often hard to contain our emotions and respond to the moment, rather than have a kneejerk reaction to it. But our guest today, legendary sports agent and negotiator Ron Shapiro, says it’s possible to learn. He was on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus last week to give a talk so stopped by our studio for a chat about his civil approach to difficult conversations.

This past October, three Lee County teachers were suspended without pay or benefits after making comments on social media regarding the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

Long form journalism and deep dive investigative reporting on local issues have historically been the domain of local newspapers. But as newsrooms have shrunk, gaps have been created — and a new model for local journalism has emerged in response: nonprofit newsrooms, mostly comprised of reporters who once worked for newspapers and other forms of commercial media. We meet the Executive Editor-in Chief of Suncoast Searchlight which focuses on Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto Counties to get a sense of their origin story and mission — and reflect on the state of local news that’s led to the rise of these online, nonprofit news organizations.

Florida Gulf Coast University is hosting a virtual debate today on Affirmative Action in University Admissions and the Cost of Higher Education. The debate participants are Dr. Cornel West, he is a progressive professor and author, and currently an Independent candidate for president; and Robert George is a conservative legal scholar and political philosopher, and Founding Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. The debate is moderated by Dr. Christopher Phillips. Dr. Phillips has devoted his life to facilitating thoughtful and inclusive conversations among people of all walks of life, from all around the world, about deep and meaningful issues.

Antisemitism has been on the rise in the United States for about the past two decades – and 2021 was the highest year on record for documented reports of violence, harassment, and vandalism directed toward Jews. That’s according to data from the nonprofit Anti-Defamation League, which has been actively monitoring and documenting incidents of antisemitism and publishing this information since 1979. We go back into history to add some context to the world we find ourselves in, to an incident that unfolded in France in the late 1800s and early 1900s known as The Dreyfus Affair.

The 2010 Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed U.S. campaign finance laws by saying that corporations, unions, and other organizations have a First Amendment right to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns, as long as the spending is independent and not directly coordinated with candidates or political parties. It allowed for the creation of Super PACs and 501(c)(4)s which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose candidates. We get an overview of the recent history of campaign finance rules and spending patterns, and learn what campaigns spend all of that money on.

The United States has become increasingly polarized in recent years. New research published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace seeks to better understand what happens when democracies become ‘perniciously polarized’ — that’s when polarization has divided a society into two mutually antagonistic political camps, where each side sees the other as a threat to the country’s future. According to this research, polarization in the United States reached the level of pernicious in 2015 and remains so to this day.

The 2010 Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed U.S. campaign finance laws by saying that corporations, unions, and other organizations have a First Amendment right to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns, as long as the spending is independent and not directly coordinated with candidates or political parties. It allowed for the creation of Super PACs and 501(c)(4)s which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose candidates. We get an overview of the recent history of campaign finance rules and spending patterns, and learn what campaigns spend all of that money on.

The idea for an AI Institute at Florida Gulf Coast University dates back to before OpenAI released ChatGPT in the fall of 2022. Founded in Aug. 2023, the FGCU Dendritic Institute is a hub for all things AI and data science, from research to education to community outreach. FGCU recently announced a multi-year initiative focusing on responsible, ethical and practical use of AI to enhance teaching, learning, researching and collaborating, so we sit down with the Dendritic Institute's founding director Dr. Leandro de Castro to get the Institute’s origin story and what lies ahead.