Betsy Kaplan

In January of 2018, a seemingly racist incident occurred on the National Mall. Photos and videos were posted to social media showing a group of MAGA hat-wearing high school students from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky. One of them, Nick Sandmann, seemed to be mocking and blocking the path of Native American activist, Nathan Phillips. People either jeered or cheered on social media, depending on how it was perceived, long before most of us had any idea of the context of the situation. 

President Trump leaves chaos in his wake.

There is chaos in Syria. Turkish artillery fire is targeting the Kurdish-led militia that has been allied with U.S. Special Forces over the last five years in their war against ISIS. Syrians are fleeing their homes, ISIS prisoners are escaping from prisons no longer guarded by the Kurds, and the last U.S. troops pulled out on Sunday.

On January 31, 2018, Kristin and Mike Song's 15-year-old son Ethan Song, accidentally shot and killed himself at his friend's house. They were handling a gun they knew was kept in a bedroom closet. The gun was one of three guns owned by the friend's father. They were in a cardboard box inside a tupperware container that was hidden in a bedroom closet. The guns had locks but the keys and ammunition were in the same box. 

.Jimmy Webb was possibly the most successful songwriter of the 1960's and 1970's. Classics like "Galveston," "Wichita Lineman," "Up, Up, and Away," and "MacArthur Park," were recorded by hundreds of artists from Glen Campbell to Donna Summer. Webb wrote the songs that others made famous.

We’re exploring the world of Barbershop Harmony; from its roots in the African American community to its influence in other genres, Barbershop is an important piece of the puzzle in the American music scene.

The Supreme Court begins a new session Monday. It will be the first full term since the more conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh replaced the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

On September 5, our team traveled to Glen Cove, New York to interview legendary songwriter, Jimmy Webb. 

The interview has been on our "to do" list for four years, and it was worth every minute of the wait. For the first time in CMS history, we've decided to create two shows from Webb's stories and music.

A lot has happened since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initiated an impeachment inquiry against President Trump last week after learning that Trump asked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Velensky to interfere in the 2020 election.

Women in America die more frequently from complications of childbirth than in any other industrialized nation in the world. In addition, women of color are three to four times more likely to die than white women. And over the last 25 years that the maternal mortality was rising in America, other countries were decreasing their rate. 

House Democrats are moving closer to initiating impeachment proceedings against President Trump after he confirmed that he discussed 2020 presidential candidate and political rival Joe Biden, with the Ukrainian president.

The possibility that the president may have subjugated the national interest for personal political gain is a "new chapter of lawlessness," according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Is this the tipping point for impeachment? What are the implications of seeking to impeach -- or not? 

Ocean Vuong emigrated to Hartford from Vietnam when he was two-years-old. His family brought with them the trauma of an American-led war that ravaged their people and their culture. How do they retain their culture and assimilate into one that doesn't want them? 

Fear of sharks spiked last summer after a great white fatally bit a 26-year-old surfer off the coast of Cape Cod. The fever still runs high as reports of great white sightings coincide with people heading to the beach.

A photo of people inching their way up a snaking line to the peak of Mount Everest last month has drawn attention to a number of problems, one of which was the jostling at the top of the mountain to take social media-ready selfies and photos.

You're shopping for groceries. Out of the blue your heart starts to race, your knees feel week, you feel like you can't breathe, like you might be having a heart attack. You wonder if you're losing your mind -- but you're not. You're having a panic attack. 

It's your turn to speak. You're called to the front of the room. Your heart starts racing, you're sweating, your mouth has gone dry, your hands are shaking. Your chest feels heavy. You feel like you're having a heart attack! But, you're not. 

Have you ever had a panic attack? If so, you're not alone. About 1 in 4 people have experienced a panic attack at some point in their life. About 1 in 100 people have repeated attacks that can feel like they come out of nowhere. 

We want to hear your thoughts on what it's like to be "living in a Trump salad," on this all-call Monday. (Colin coined the term.)

First, there's #sharpiegate. Last week, President Trump unleashed on the media for reporting his error tweeting  a warning about Hurricane Dorian that included the state of Alabama. To prevent mass evacuation, the National Weather Service corrected his error. Alabama was not in danger. 

The American criminal justice system has become less 'just' over recent decades and prosecutors bear much of the responsibility.

We've got no guests today. It's you and Colin and whatever is on your mind.

There's a lot we could talk about. There's the 2020 election, why President Trump isn't sure what a Category 5 hurricane is, whether gun control measures beyond the introduction of the death penalty will come from this weekend's shootings in Texas, both top seeds are out of the US Open, and why a Tennessee school wants to ban Harry Potter books. 

But we're interested in what you want to talk about. It could be very different. To some degree, this is an experiment to see if we're focusing on what's really important to you. 

U.S. Representative Jahanna Hayes (D-5th District) issued a press release Sunday accusing the news media of “clickbait journalism” in response to two recent stories she claims made “reckless assumptions” about her comments.

Chuck Klosterman is a man for all seasons. He's a pop culture icon. He's a sports geek. He's interviewed Jimmy Page. He appears as himself in other people's movies. He was part of a rock band. He's an author of fiction, nonfiction, and fictional nonfiction. Top that!

Today, an hour with someone at least one person would call, the smartest man on earth. 

You responded so enthusiastically to our all-call show last Monday, we decided to try it again this week.

What's on your mind? The world is you oyster, at least from 1-2 pm this afternoon.

The 18th century Parisian cafe was an incubator for the liberal tradition as it was before liberalism became a politically-loaded and dirty word. The cafe brought people together to exchange ideas, talk, connect, argue, debate, and learn about humanity, empathy, and humility outside the control of the state; a place where civil society trumped tribal impulse. 

Populism is on the rise from Europe to India to the United States.

Americans elected Donald Trump on his promise to "Drain the swamp" of a political elite no longer responsive to their needs. Populists almost took control of Germany, France, and the Netherlands in 2017. Former prime minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi regained power seven short years after being ousted from office for corruption. 

The FBI, the Justice Department's inspector general and the New York City medical examiner will investigate how billionaire and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan early Saturday morning. 

If you ever drive across the country, you’ll notice there is a surprising amount of World’s Largest attractions.

West Virginia has the world’s largest teapot, California has the world’s largest yo-yo and Arkansas, for whatever reason, has the world’s largest Spinach can. This hour we talk to the man who brought the world’s tallest Uncle Sam to Danbury, Connecticut. 

The music begins - it's coming. I see it. The ice cream truck is here! Can I have some money? HURRY! We're gonna miss it. 

Constantin Mutu was four-months-old when he was separated from his father, Vasily. The elder Mutu was arrested while seeking asylum at the southern border. So far, Constantin is the youngest child to be separated from his family.

Dr. Joseph Cyr, a surgeon with the Royal Canadian Navy, had to think quick when his ship came upon a rickety boat with mangled and bloody bodies at the height of the Korean War in 1951. As the only doctor on board, he quickly moved to operate on 19 men, all of them his enemies in this war. All survived, making the young doctor a hero.

Except he wasn't really a doctor. 

Marianne Williamson was Googled more than any other candidate after last week's Democratic debate. Voters liked her call for "some deep truth-telling" and a "politics that speaks to the heart." But to understand Williamson's words, we need to first understand A Course in Miracles, the almost 1,300 page spiritual text she has built a career on interpreting. 

Women in America die more frequently from complications of childbirth than in any other industrialized nation in the world. In addition, women of color are three to four times more likely to die than white women. And over the last 25 years that the maternal mortality was rising in America, other countries were decreasing their rate.