Morning AMp (Weekdays 8-10AM CST)

The Vocalo Morning Amp is a call-in talk show hosted by Brian Babylon and Molly Adams. Want some funny, smart, and engaging talk? Tune in Chi-town & NWI. Listen on 89.5 FM (NWI/CHI), 90.7 FM (CHI) or WLUW 88.7 (CHI). Across the globe at Vocalo.org

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“No one knows whether Hispanics will ever achieve IQ parity with Whites” -Jason Richwine in his almost unbelievable 2009 Harvard dissertation

Democracy junkie and host of Latino USA, Maria Hinojosa joins hosts Molly Adams and Brian Babylon to continue the ongoing conversation about Latino issues in the United States. First, a conversation about new immigration legislation and the possible impact on same-sex couples. Then, a group of Harvard students are pushing for an investigation into a 2009 dissertation that argues that Whites are more intelligent than Hispanics. Why did this thesis get past Harvard review boards and into Harvard’s library?

What EMBARC does, what the over-arching idea of what it’s doing, it’s transforming the WAY we educate kids. When you look at education now a days, its all about skill acquisition, and increase academic skills and success. But to do so, working harder in the classroom, spending more hours on books and training teachers, it’s not about addressing something
that each of us know. What determines who you are? What determines your dreams, your aspirations, your goals, who are you going to become? It’s the experiences you’ve had it’s the places you’ve been, the things you’ve seen, the dreams you’re able to have,our experiences are the language of our dreams, and it’s our dreams that create action in the world. If we got this giant gap here, it needs to be addressed and education right now has moved away from that - it has focused on something else.”

- Imran Khan, Executive Direction and Founder of EMBARC

Imran Khan teaches at Harper High School, a Chicago Public School that has been dubbed one of the city’s most dangerous schools after a number of students died in the past year. Joined AMp hosts Brian Babylon and Molly Adams to talk about EMBARC, a program he developed to help his students widen their perspectives and find places in the city for themselves outside of their schools. He dropped in with Dionte Tanner, a Harper High School student and member of the program.

“I think this arena, it’s going to bring in recruits. It’s going to show that they’re committed to playing in the city. It’s a big spotlight on the team.” -Julian Zeng, sports editor, The DePaulia

That’s a lot of cash money: Projected to open for the 2016-17 season, DePaul has struck a deal with the city and the McPier group to build a $173 million arena at McCormick Place. $70 million will come from DePaul, $70 million from McPier, and then taxpayers will fill in the last $33 million.

It might be a controversial decision for the average Chicago taxpayer, but from DePaul’s perspective, it’s a big win for a struggling team. Julian Zeng, sports editor for DePaul’s student newspaper provided extensive coverage of the deal in this week’s issue. He called in to talk with hosts Molly Adams and Brian Babylon about the costs and benefits of the move from Rosemont to McCormick. Will DePaul be, once again, Chicago’s college team? We’ll have to wait and see.

Photo by Julian Zeng for The DePaulia

Legal scholar and developer of the Creative Commons licenses that have opened up access to intellectual property old and new, Lawrence Lessig has also been focused on the corrupting influence of money on American elections and politics. Earlier this month he “retired” his popular lecture about this issue and spoke with AMp hosts Brian Babylon and Molly Adams this morning about his hopes for transforming Legislator’s dependence on funders’ money and not on voter’s opinions.

So for us [ men], being the Alpha - it’s not about being the alpha man. It’s not about being the most dominate man in the group. It’s simply about being the best version of yourself, so whatever that means,whatever things you want to work on,those are the things that are most important, and it’snot just about being more confident,or making more money,or being better looking than other men, it’s about being the most confident that you can be, making the most money that you deserve and changing the body so you can be better looking for you.And taking people from a comparative mindset to a mindset of intrinsic motivation, is really one of the goals of the book.”
- John Romaniello, author of Man 2.0

Like the great Grizzly Bear that it is, Man Monday has slept through the winter. It returned with a vengeance this morning when AMp hosts Brian Babylon and Molly Adams spoke with fitness guru John Romaniello about the methods he espoused in his book with the manliest title of all time, Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha.

“Its not just about the ability for comedians in Chicago to see what people are talking about in their area. It’s also a cool way for somebody in New York to see what are the cool comedy groups that are coming out of Chicago that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to. ” - Kevin Allocca, on the usefulness of the new YouTube Trends Map.

Maggie Dziubek talks with Kevin Allocca of YouTube about the newly launched YouTube Trends Map. Trends Map allows users to see what is being watched from city to city, country to country, showcasing the unexpected diversity of content consumption. Maggie and Kevin also discuss YouTube Comedy Week, which showcases some of the funniest shows and videos.

Reggie Ponder the Reel Critic has the latest movie news, from box office results to new reviews. He joins hosts Molly Adams and Brian Babylon in the studio to talk about the surprising success of The Great Gatsby and the disappointing results for Tyler Perry’s Peeples at the box office. Reggie then reviews the latest Star Trek film: Star Trek into Darkness.

“Her life is so amazing, if she had never become a popular psychologist, we probably still would have done her obit.” - Josh Eisenberg on the multifaceted, amazing life of Joyce Brothers.

The original mass-media therapist Joyce Brothers passed away this week. Historian Josh Eisenberg from Obitoftheday.com joins hosts Brian Babylon and Molly Adams on the phone to discuss her life, from quiz show champion to popular psychologist and media icon.

“I think it’s one of the more fun things about the NBA. It seems like it’s this competition between the players of who can put on the most ridiculous outfit and get away with it.” - Molly Adams on NBA players post-game fashion.

The Bulls may be out of the playoffs, but we still have something to look forward to: the flamboyant fashion choices of the NBA, defying stereotypes and cutting edges. Senior Fashion Correspondent Alison Cuddy of WBEZ joins hosts Brian Babylon and Molly Adams in the studio to talk about style in the NBA. She also lets us know what she has found in the Chicagoland area that will meet your sustainable shopper needs.

Following up on a story about Kiera Wilmot, the Florida teenager who was expelled and possibly facing felony charges for setting off a small explosion in an “unauthorized science experiment” , as it turns out she will NOT be going through any criminal proceedings. Morning AMp hosts Brian Babylon and Molly Adams ask their listeners what they thought about the Zero-Tolerance policies for public schools. LA Public Schools have stopped theirs for non-violent offenses. Brian and Molly also touched base on how Finland’s public school system is ranked #1 in the world and probe into why that is the case. Perhaps free mandatory lunch, universal healthcare for all and no homework does the trick?