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Trouble in pro sports is nothing new, but recently it dominates headlines from baseball to biking to basketball! We’ll talk with the author of a new book who says this trend of cheating, doping and bad behavior in sports reflects our hyper-competitive society – and what he calls “the erosion of the American sporting ethos”.

Guest

• Joel Nathan Rosen: author of “The Erosion of the American Sporting Ethos: Shifting Attitudes Towards Competition” and assistant professor of sociology at Moravian College in Pennsylvania

There’s that old saying about “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”...and now, the federal Medicare system is taking that to heart with a new initiative to educate Seniors and their doctors about the huge health and financial benefits of preventative care. We’ll look at the realities on the ground right now...and how Medicare itself may have to change.

Guests

• Dr. Charlotte Yeh: Region One Administrator for the Massachusetts Health Quality Partners and Regional Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in Region I, a Boston-based agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that administers Medicare and Medicaid.
• Rick Pollack: Family Doctor with Concord Family Medicine, Adjunct Associate Professor of Community and Family Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School and President of the New Hampshire Academy of Family Physicians.
• Tom Maher: Regional Director for Medicare Today, Regional Director for the Healthcare Leadership Council and New Hampshire Director for the Medicare Diabetes Screening Project, a public/private effort to educate seniors about diabetes and improve treatment.

The Department of Education recently released its vision of how high schools in New Hampshire can be redesigned to better fit new standards that became law in 2005 which allow schools more flexibility in how, when and where kids learn. The 50 page redesign document is seen by its creators as one more step in the move from “bricks and mortar” to “real world” learning.

Guests

• Fred Bramante, member and former chair of the State Board of Education
• Chuck Ott, Former superintendent of schools for Somersworth and Rollinsford and current adjunct faculty member of the Department of Education at the University of New Hampshire
• Joe DiMartino, President of the Center for Secondary School Redesign and an Adjunct Faculty Member at Rhode Island College where he has taught High School Personalization. In addition to work on the national level, Joe has also supported statewide high school reform efforts in Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

We'll Also Hear From

• Stephen Reno, Chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire

Eric Dolin tells the epic story of the men who built an industrial empire through the pursuit of whales. He explores the social, cultural and economic histories of the industry and how whaling transformed the nation and helped grease the gears for the industrial revolution.

Guest

• Eric Dolin, former analyst with the National Marine Fisheries Service and author of "Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America"

More and more people are becoming concerned with where their food is coming from, how safe it is and how they can best navigate the food world. We'll take a look at the policies around imported foods, including a movement to have so-called country of origin labeling applied to foods and also look at the trade-off between demand for certain kinds of food and how far supermarkets have to go to get them onto their shelves, especially in the off-season.

Guests

• Patty Lovera, Assistant Director for Food & Water Watch in Washington, D.C. She works on the food team, especially on meat inspection and mad cow disease, country of origin labeling, and dairy issues.
• Dr. Joanne Burke, Director of the Dietetic Internship Program and Clinical Assistant Professor of Animal and Nutritional Sciences at UNH. She is also an Advisory Member of the UNH Food and Society Initiative of the UNH Office of Sustainability and a founding member of the UNH New Hampshire Center for a Food Secure Future.

We'll Also Hear From

• John Dumas, CEO of the New Hampshire Grocers Association.