President Trump plans to announce his new nominee for the Supreme Court on Monday, following the departure of Justice Anthony Kennedy last week. Kennedy acted as an important swing vote on the bench. In 1973, he famously helped codify a woman’s right to abortion within the first trimester of a pregnancy with his decision in Roe v. Wade. As the country watches on for the next nominee, many are concerned that another conservative voice on the bench could mean the end of abortion rights, gay marriage, etc. Caroline M. Corbin is a Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Miami specializing in religion, speech and women’s rights. She joined Sundial to discuss Justice Kennedy’s legacy on the court, and the future of women’s reproductive rights in Florida under a President Trump's Supreme Court nominee.
Miami-Beach native Dr. Robert Yonover has dedicated his life to helping people survive in extreme conditions—both physically and emotionally. After studying science and volcanology in Florida and Hawaii, he worked as a long-time developer of military survival gear. One of his inventions—a 40-foot inflatable streamer used for easy recognition in search and rescue missions—was picked up by Shark Tank, a reality-tv show for entrepreneurs. But Yonover’s own survival story is much closer to home. His late wife, Cindy, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, confining her to a wheelchair for 19 years of their 33 years of married life. On Sundial, Yonover talked about the acting as the primary caregiver to his wife—all while raising two children and managing a burgeoning startup. The experiences coalesced themselves into his latest book: The Caregiver's Survival Guide.
This artwork was the inspiration for @robyonover's See/Rescue Streamer -- an inflatable raft that helps people stranded at sea or in the wilderness. #SharkTank pic.twitter.com/iXUCB6NO1c
— WLRN Sundial (@WLRNSundial) July 5, 2018
While climate change and sea-level rise are hot topics in South Florida, an exhibit at the Miami Dade Public Library Main Branch looks at the issues through a slightly different lens: memory. The Fifty-Fifty Art Collective was co-founded by Laurencia Strauss and Lisa Bulawsky and they have created an exhibit called “Portable Memories in Rising Seas.”This exhibit is a multimedia project that incorporates video and attendee-made art from communities in Miami and Miami Beach, as part of their attempt to get South Floridians thinking about rising sea-levels in a different way. After watching screenings of excerpts from films about climate change, attendees are encouraged to create their own art: how they hope South Florida will be remembered when it is underwater. Co-founder of Fifty-Fifty Art Collective Laurencia Strauss joined Sundial to talk about how getting locals to explore their own anticipatory grief might get them more inclined to do something about climate change.