RadioEd

The time that K-12 students spend with teachers is formative. It’s important. Some might say that a teacher can make or break a kid, especially kids from marginalized communities. There are systems in place to educate and evaluate teachers on best practices in the classroom—but are we doing enough to make sure teacher training is equitable and culturally sensitive? On this episode on RadioEd, Emma speaks with María del Carmen Salazar, associate dean of the University of Denver’s Morgridge College of Education, about her work with culturally responsive teacher evaluation.

On Sept. 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died.Three days earlier, she was arrested by Iran’s so-called morality police for not wearing her hijab, a traditional Muslim face covering, in accordance with the regime’s standards. Her death sparked a series of protests in a country deeply divided for several decades.We discuss Amini's death and the politics of the region with Nader Hashemi, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver, and Reza Mehraeen, an Iranian-born PhD student at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies.

The Colorado River is drying. And that's a problem for the people and businesses that reside in the seven states that make up the Colorado River Basin. Among the varied issues are the environmental costs of having to use less water—a problem that affects not just day-to-day at-home life, but also could mean significant changes for farmers and ranchers, who depend on water to grow crops and feed livestock. The question of who gets to use the river's dwindling water supply is also up in the air: States disagree on which areas should get the bulk of the water. This creates a bit of a legal brouhaha for the states and the federal government, whose job it has become to sort out the whole mess. We speak with reporter Alex Hager and DU Law Professor Kevin Lynch about the legal and environmental problems that have become integral parts of the Colorado River crisis.

Every day in the United States, 17 veterans commit suicide. This Veterans Day, President Joe Biden is putting their mental health in the spotlight. In the latest episode of RadioEd, veteran Evan Stratton explains why the conversation needs reframing. Then, a University of Denver associate clinical professor in the military psychology specialty, Kathryn Barrs, who works closely with veterans, service members and their families, shares mental health trends, obstacles to care and stories of resilience.

Among the many revelations associated with the Pandora Papers scandal was new information about Douglas Latchford, a notorious figure in the art world. He was indicted in 2019 for trafficking looted Cambodian antiquities. According to a trove of Pandora documents, 27 art artifacts with Latchford ties remain on display in prominent museums, including six in the Denver Art Museum. Elizabeth Campbell, director of the University of Denver’s Center for Art Collection Ethics, joins us to talk about ethical stewardship, repatriation of stolen art and the impact of returning these pieces to their rightful owners.