Parsing the Science on Mental Illness and Mass Shootings

Coming up on today’s show:

• Very little right now is known about the Parkland, Florida shooter, and some say that the focus on mental health doesn’t do anything to prevent these types of shootings Jonathan Metzl,director of Vanderbilt University’s Center for Medicine, Health and Society and research director of the Safe Tennessee Project and co-author of “Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms,” explains.

• According to the U.S. Census, 20 percent of the population in Parkland is foreign born. Many are from nations that have been racked by violence, but rarely see mass shootings. Keyvan Antonio Heydari, a reporter with Reporters Without Borders covering the Caribbean and Florida, shares how immigrant families are reacting to the shooting. 

• Arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) went up by 30 percent in 2017, but deportations decreased by 6 percent. Jackie Stevens, professor and director of Northwestern University’s Deportation Research Clinic, discusses what’s behind the trend. 

• Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter says drug makers are largely to blame for the opioid crisis. Oklahoma is one of a numberof states that have filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, alleging misleading marketing. But it’s the only state to see its suit move ahead, with a trial date set for 2019. AG Hunter weighs in today on The Takeaway. 

• A baby born to a woman addicted to opioids can experience tremors, muscle stiffness, and other withdrawal symptoms. Nationwide, there is no consistent method of treating these babies. But Greenville, South Carolina, is taking a different approach: Giving babies tiny doses of methadone. Jennifer Hudson,medical director for newborn services for Greenville Health Systems, explains. 

• George Marshall,the co-founder of the U.K.-based climate change communication organization Climate Outreach, and the author of “Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains are Wired to Ignore Climate Change,” and WGBH Correspondent Arun Rath, say that our brains can hinder us when it comes to dealing with the challenges related to climate change.

• In South Korea, Team USA is 92 percent white — and that’s actually the most diverse squad ever sent to the Winter Olympics. Amira Rose Davis,assistant professor of history and women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Penn State and co-host of the Burn It All Down podcast, explores ways to make the Olympics more diverse. 

This episode is hosted by Tanzina Vega