The Hot Summer Nights music festival kicks off next month in Columbia. On this episode of Intersection, we preview some of this year’s offerings, and explore what the future holds for symphony orchestras.

Panelists:
Kirk Trevor, artistic director, Hot Summer Nights Music Festival
Chris Campbell, executive director, Missouri Symphony Society

Several weeks ago, a series of gun control measures failed in the US Senate. The legislation may have failed, but the debate over gun control isn’t expected to go away anytime soon. In this episode of Intersection, we explore both sides of the debate, and see if any middle ground could be reached.

Panelists:
Dale Roberts, attorney and adjunct assistant instructor, MU's Trulaske College of Business

David Rosman, Columnist, Columbia Missourian

Earlier this month, the so-called "Gang of Eight" group of senators unveiled their comprehensive immigration reform package. On the next Intersection, we’ll parse through the bill, and examine its effect in Missouri and beyond.

Panelists:
Domingo Martínez Castilla, Director, Cambio Center
Eduardo Crespi, founder, Centro Latino de Salud
Helene Fehlig Tatum, attorney at law

City leaders are in the midst of discussing strategies to manage Columbia's growth in the coming years. In this episode of Intersection, we'll take a closer look at future development in the city's downtown area, and find out how zoning changes could affect that. Later on in the program, we'll discuss proposed improvements to Providence Road.

Panelists:
John Ott, owner, Alley A Realty
Barbara Hoppe, Ward 6 Council Member
Doug Wheeler, Chair, Planning and Zoning Commission

Estimates place Columbia’s dropout rate at about 3 percent in 2011, close to the state average. Nationally, the  U.S. Department of education places the dropout rate at around 3.4 percent in the school year ending in 2010.

So what’s being done to reduce these numbers? Intersection explored the factors that lead students to drop out of high school, and heard about what's being done in our community to change that.

Hosted by Ryan Famuliner.

Panelists:
Eryca Neville, principal, Douglass High School
Lorenzo Lawson, executive director, Youth Empowerment Zone

Across the country, about 17% of young people under 20 are considered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here in Missouri, some analysts estimate that nearly a third of children between 10-17 are obese or overweight. And those numbers are on the rise. One report estimates that obesity rates could top 60% by 2030 if the trend continues.

So what’s contributing to this upward trend? This week on Intersection, we'll take a closer look at childhood obesity.

Panelists:
Steve Ball, Associate Professor, MU Dept. of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology
Kayla Otteson, Dietician, Adolescent Diabetic Obesity Program, MU Children’s Hospital
Dr. Aneesh Tosh, Director, Adolescent Diabetic Obesity Program, MU Children’s Hospital
Laina Fullum, Director, Nutrition Services for Columbia Public Schools (joining by phone)

As voters prepare to go to the polls on April 2, we’ll talk to some of the Columbia city council candidates, and take a closer look at the issues on this year's ballot.

Panelists:
First half
Bill Weitkemper, 4th Ward city council candidate
Ian Thomas, 4th Ward city council candidate
Karl Skala, 3rd Ward city council candidate

Second half
Scott Swafford, senior city editor, Columbia Missourian
Lora Wegman, city editor, Columbia Daily Tribune

As the Big Muddy Folk Festival enters its 22nd year, we discuss the history of the event and explore efforts to preserve folk music in mid-Missouri. Plus we hear some live folk music performed in our studio.

Panelists:
Cathy Barton, folk musician and co-founder, Big Muddy Folk Festival
Dave Para, folk musician and artistic director and co-founder, Big Muddy Folk Festival

Earlier this year, law enforcement officials with the MU Police Department used a DNA sample to identify the person responsible for the highly publicized homicide of MU Professor Jeong Im. It was a rare moment when television-style crime-scene drama made its way into actual news headlines, instead of the other way around. Today we go behind the scenes -- and around the TV glamour -- to learn more about how crime scene investigations are actually carried out in the real world.

Panelists:
Mike Himmel, retired detective and adjunct instructor, Columbia College criminal justice program
Bill Marbaker, crime lab director, Missouri State Highway Patrol
Captain Tim Hull, director of public information and education, Missouri State Highway Patrol
Jeff Nichols, retired detective and adjunct instructor, University of Missouri Law Enforcement Training Institute (joining by phone)

Over the past 30 years, the cost of getting a college degree increased twelve-fold, according to Bloomberg News. In this conversation we look into why and how that happened. We also explore how state law in Missouri limiting the amount of tuition increases affects the finances and quality of education at our state's institutions of higher learning.

Panelists:
Tery Donelson, assistant vice president for enrollment management, Columbia College
Nikki Krawitz, vice president for finance and administration, University of Missouri system
Tim Rooney, former budget director, University of Missouri