_A growing body of research is looking into the connections between spirituality and the functioning of the human brain. Our panelists take us on a journey into the deep recesses of the religious mind in hopes of answering some key questions: Is there a part of the brain that’s responsible for making people religious? Or is it the other way around, with spirituality affecting the way the brain operates?

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_Panelists:
John Baker, executive director of the Community Foundation of Central Missouri and former pastor at First Baptist Church in Columbia
Daniel Cohen, teaching assistant professor in the MU Department of Religious Studies
Brick Johnstone, professor of health psychology in the MU School of Health Professions
Andrew Newberg, neuroscientist and author of the book "Principles of Neurotheology" (joining the program by phone)
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_A new Mamtek artificial sweetener factory in Moberly promised a win-win all around: Jobs for mid-Missouri residents, profits for the company, and a bump in tax revenues well into the future. But with construction halted, the city's credit rating severely damaged, and a state legislative inquiry still under way, many questions remain. We examine what happened, how problems like this might be avoided in the future, and how to attract jobs without putting taxpayers unduly at risk.

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Panelists:
Benjamin Herrold, city editor, The Moberly Monitor Index
Rudi Keller, reporter, Columbia Daily Tribune
Tina Hoffman, marketing and communications director, Iowa Economic Development Authority (joining the program by phone)_
_CORRECTION: During this Intersection discussion, Columbia Daily Tribune reporter Rudi Keller is incorrectly credited with being the first to break the Mamtek story in the spring. The Tribune and other news organizations have been reporting on Mamtek since the deal was announced in mid-2010. Keller's articles about troubles with the Mamtek deal began appearing in September 2011.

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_With the fourth installment of the "Twilight" film series currently in theaters, we take another critical look at the teen vampire phenomenon. Does this latest film deliberately promote a socially conservative agenda, as some critics argue? Or, are the story line and fan frenzy simply the lifeblood of a Gothic literary tradition that will not die after hundreds of years?

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_Panelists:
Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, assistant professor of communication at the University of Missouri and one of three co-editors of the book “Bitten by Twilight: Youth Culture, Media and the Vampire Franchise.”
Elizabeth Chang, associate professor of English at the University of Missouri
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