This year's One Read selection, “The Tiger’s Wife” by Tea Obreht, has been described as a story about storytelling. As the One Read program gets under way, we take a closer look at the idea of storytelling itself: Why are stories important on an individual and community level? How have our ideas about story changed? And what can we expect to see in the future?

Panelists:
Berkley Hudson, associate professor of journalism, University of Missouri
Michael Porter, associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Missouri
Jonathan Gottschall, author of "The Storytelling Animal" (joining the program by phone)

Why does the amount of college debt keep rising? Are students threatening their own futures by taking on unwieldy debt loads? And how big is the danger of indebted graduates not being able to pay back what they borrowed? We explore the causes and effects of large amounts of student debt.

Panelists:
Richard Schwartz, professor of English, University of Missouri and author of “Is a College Education Still Worth the Price? A Dean’s Sobering Perspective”
Paul Wagner, deputy commissioner, Missouri Department of Higher Education
Sandy Baum, professor of economics emerita at Skidmore College and independent higher education policy analyst for the College Board (joining by phone)

A trade deal that Gov. Jay Nixon signed with Chinese officials in October is expected to significantly increase exports between now and 2014. We explore the current state of business relations between Missouri and China, and discuss how they might expand even more in the future.

Panelists:
Tony Clayton, president, Clayton Agri-Marking, a company that exports hogs and horses to China and elsewhere
Wen Ouyang, co-director, Confucius Institute at the University of Missouri
Handy Williamson, vice provost of International Programs at MU.
Rosemary Gallant, principal commercial officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing (joining the program by phone)