Intersection on KBIA

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Each week, we start with an issue that affects people like you in mid-Missouri. Then we line up a group of panelists who can speak intelligently about that topic, and bring them into the studio for a live discussion every Monday at 2 p.m.

How Missouri is trying to lure Boeing (Dec. 9)

Last week, Missouri lawmakers approved a package of tax credits aimed at attracting a new Boeing facility to the state. Missouri is just one of a little over a dozen states competing to house the new production site of Boeing’s Triple 777x airliner. The company is considering its options following a labor dispute with a machinists union in Washington state.

Missouri’s bid offers the company up to $1.7 billion over 23 years, with the exact amount depending on the number of jobs created. The state is also offering assistance with job training and a pledge from union groups to work around the clock without overtime to build the facility as quickly as possible. Gov. Nixon is widely expected to sign the bill before Boeing’s deadline Tuesday. The company is expected to announce a decision early next year.

This week on Intersection, we’ll take a closer look at Missouri’s offer and talk about ways the state could best attract business in the future.

Panelists

Chris Kelly is Democratic state representative for part of northeastern Boone County.

Daniel Mehan is the President and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the state’s largest business association.

Brian Dabson is the associate dean of MU’s Truman School of Public Affairs.

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Keija Parssinen describes writing 'The Ruins of Us' [rebroadcast]

In September, folks around town discussed this year’s One Read selection, the Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen. Set in Saudi Arabia in 2005, the novel tells the story of Rosalie March, an American expat married to a wealthy Saudi businessman. Their happy union starts to crumble after she discovers her husband’s secret second marriage. The book examines the emotional toll the revelation takes on Rosalie, her husband, her son and daughter, and a family friend.

This week on Intersection, we’ll talk about the novel with the book’s author. In the second half of the show, we’ll chat with other local authors about what it’s like writing in Columbia.

How the Thanksgiving menu evolved (Nov. 25)

If you're like most people, you've probably started thinking already about the traditional foods you'll eat this week at Thanksgiving dinner.

As many of us learned in elementary school, the holiday is based on a three-day harvest feast held back in 1621. No one knows for certain what exactly was on the table at that first meal, but two colonial accounts mention venison, wild fowl, lobsters, eels, mussels, grapes, plums, and corn.

What's conspicuously not mentioned are some of the foods we now consider Thanksgiving staples, such as sweetened cranberry sauce, potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Turkey is mentioned, but its prominence at that first meal is doubtful.

This week on Intersection, we’ll talk turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, and ask why we eat the foods that we do on Thanksgiving.

Why veterans have a hard time returning to civilian life (Nov. 18)

Last week, Americans across the country took time to celebrate veterans and their contributions to the nation. Here in Columbia, the festivities included a Veterans Day Parade that made its way down 8th Street, ending at the Boone County Courthouse. To mark the occasion, each day since Veteran’s Day KBIA had been airing a variety of personal interviews with soldiers during Morning Edition. The series, which was done in partnership with Storycorps’ Military Voices Initiative and the MU Extension Community Arts Project, will continue through Wednesday.

Today on Intersection we’ll listen to a few of these interviews, and try to get a better understanding of what it’s like to be a veteran returning home, and about military life in general.

Why was Ryan Ferguson's conviction vacated? (Nov. 11)

Last week a Missouri Court of Appeals vacated the conviction of Ryan Ferguson. Listeners might recall Ferguson as one of the two men accused in the 2001 murder of Columbia Daily Tribune Sports editor Kent Heitholt. In its legal opinion, the appeals court said the prosecution violated Ferguson’s due process rights by withholding favorable information from the defense team. In this case, it was an interview with the wife of a key witness that could have undermined her husband’s testimony.

This type of evidence suppression or withholding, which is known as a Brady violation, may be more common than you think. A 1999 Chicago Tribune report on prosecutorial misconduct found that 381 homicide convictions were later vacated because “prosecutors hid evidence or allowed witnesses to lie.”

This week on Intersection, we’ll take a closer look at Ryan Ferguson’s case, and learn more about Brady violations.

MU chancellor and provost reflect on their long careers (Nov. 4)

For nearly a decade, Chancellor Brady Deaton and Provost Brian Foster have held the top posts at the University of Missouri flagship campus in Columbia. Now, the University is beginning a significant period of change at the administration level. Chancellor Deaton will retire on November 15th, and Provost Foster will retire at the end of the year, as will the Vice Chancellor of Administrative services and the Vice Chancellor of Research. Deaton and Foster have overseen a significant period of growth and change and the University.

This week on Intersection, we’re hosting an exit interview for these University leaders - to talk about the successes and struggles of their time at MU - and to hear what advice they have for their successors.

Note: This interview was recorded on Oct. 30, 2013.

How luxury student housing divides students (Oct. 28)

Columbia’s downtown may soon become the home to yet another luxury housing development. A New York developer is considering plans to build a 24 story complex on the corner of 6th and Elm. The development echoes a trend being seen in many public university towns across the nation -- to create luxury housing for an affluent student population. But is this trend sustainable?

Today on Intersection, we’ll take a closer look at student housing in Columbia. In the first half of the show, we’ll discuss how it’s changing the college experience for students. In the second half of the program, we’ll talk about how it’s changing Columbia.

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