From main street commerce to energy innovations… what will drive the economy in mid-Missouri’s smaller cities? Mayors from around the region discuss the business health of our small towns and what is being done to help boost their economies.

Panelists:
Charles Latham, mayor of Fulton
Bob Riley, mayor of Moberly
Julie Thacher, mayor of Boonville

How much of what we do is by choice, what philosophers and theologians call “free will”? And how much can be attributed to the unconscious workings of our brains? Can brain scans, such as functional MRIs, show what is happening in the brain? Can they predict violent criminal behavior - and if so, should they be admissible in legal proceedings? In advance of a symposium on the topic next weekend at MU, we invited a few experts to help explain how advanced study of the brain intersects with our humanity.

Panelists:
Phil Robbins, University of Missouri associate professor of philosophy and co-chair of the Life Sciences and Society Symposium planning committee
Ines Segert, University of Missouri professor of psychology
Jim Fallon, professor of anatomy and neurobiology, University of California-Irvine (joining by phone)

Related links:
Life Sciences and Society Symposium website
NPR story about Jim Fallon’s discovery of his own psychopathic potential
Overview brain imaging and purposes, as explained by the University of Pennsylvania
CNN article about research by Adrian Raine (mentioned multiple times during the Intersection conversation)

We typically expect that when water goes down the drain, it keeps going down. But Columbia has seen an increasing number of sewer backups and overflows, and measures related to the issue continue making their way before the Columbia City Council. Our panelists discuss the expensive challenge ahead for the City of Columbia to keep stormwater and wastewater flowing in the right direction. We also take up the important question of who exactly should pay for it, especially in light of an upcoming measure to reallocate the way sewer fees are assessed.

Panelists:
Rick Buford, member of the Columbia sewer task force
Bill Weitkemper, Columbia sanitary sewer maintenance superintendant
Also included are clips from an interview with John Glascock, Columbia Public Works director