Top of Mind with Julie Rose
Tackling tough topics in a way that will help you feel more empathy and empower you to become a better citizen, kinder neighbor, and more effective advocate. For people who are turned off by the divisive nature of the news, but still want to engage with important issues. Hosted by journalist Julie Rose, Top of Mind is a production of BYUradio.
Episodes
December 22, 2025 • 54 mins
What makes you nostalgic for home?
In this episode of Top of Mind, we explore the surprising science behind place attachment — why certain places feel like home, and why traditions, parades, festivals, and quirky community rituals bring us closer together. Writer and researcher Melody Warnick joins the conversation to unpack what connects us to the places we live.
Through stories from around the country, we dive into:
- A 63-y...
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December 8, 2025 • 53 mins
Confidence in America’s higher education system is slipping, even as the government spends nearly half a trillion dollars a year on it. The average US taxpayer invests $1,700 a year in higher education – whether you went to college or not. And frustration with the system runs across the political spectrum – from anger over high tuition and student loan debt to concerns that universities are too liberal.
In this episode of Top of M...
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November 24, 2025 • 50 mins
From a small town in Wasatch County, Utah, comes the remarkable true story of the Karren family — a journey through illness, unlikely connections, and the quiet evidence of God in the details.
On Memorial Day weekend 2020, Brady Karren suddenly became gravely ill and was diagnosed with liver failure. Around the same time, his wife, Meranie, had been searching for information about her birth parents, hoping to uncover the story be...
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November 10, 2025 • 54 mins
Why are we so uncomfortable with grief?
In this episode of Top of Mind, we explore America’s fear of grief and mourning and what we lose when we rush people to “move on.” Writer Jacqueline Dooley shares how she keeps her daughter’s memory alive years after her death. Historian Brandy Schillace takes us back to Victorian mourning rituals when grief was public, visible and communal. And grief expert Lisa Athan offers clear, compassi...
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October 27, 2025 • 42 mins
American patriotism is at a historic low. Gallup polls show fewer and fewer Americans say they feel “extremely” – or even “very” proud to be American. When you dig into the polling data on patriotism, you find significant differences depending on political party, racial identity and age. Why are some groups of Americans much less likely to tell posters they’re proud to be American? And does it really even matter to the nation’s hea...
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October 13, 2025 • 54 mins
What happens when the justice system convicts an innocent person? Anthony Graves spent 18 years in prison—12 of them on Texas death row—for a crime he didn’t commit. His story is one of unthinkable injustice, unbroken faith, and a determination to reform the system that failed him. Criminal defense attorney David Rudolf reveals the patterns of human error and bias that lead to wrongful convictions. And Sheriff Walt McNeil and forme...
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September 29, 2025 • 53 mins
Americans are having fewer babies than ever before. The fertility rate in the United States has dropped to an all-time low of 1.6 births per woman. In response, the Trump Administration has urged Americans to have more children and proposed a range of pronatalist policies including baby bonuses, an expanded Child Tax Credit and making IVF treatment more affordable. Critics of the Trump Administration worry the underlying intent is ...
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September 15, 2025 • 41 mins
Extreme heat kills more Americans most years than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined, but we don’t give it the same emergency treatment. The government doesn’t name heatwaves like it does storms. And extreme heat doesn’t qualify for federal disaster funding. But record-breaking temperatures are now a yearly reality across the U.S. Cities are scrambling for solutions—from planting trees to setting up cooling centers—but exper...
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September 1, 2025 • 53 mins
How is the balance of power supposed to work when a U.S. President aggressively pushes for more? In his first 100 days of his second term, President Donald Trump issued more executive orders than any president in history, and the Supreme Court has largely let them stand while legal challenges play out. Whether that troubles you depends largely on how you feel about the President and his policies. But within four years, someone else...
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August 18, 2025 • 52 mins
Is Housing First a viable solution or just repeating the past? What actually works to end homelessness? Communities across the U.S. have debated and tested solutions, from housing first to human first, permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelters. But Housing First has gained national traction, a strategy that prioritizes permanent housing without conditions, followed up by supportive services.
In t...
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August 4, 2025 • 40 mins
It’s easier than ever to connect with our representatives in Congress, so why doesn’t it feel like they’re listening?
The 1st Amendment guarantees the right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Given how frustrated Americans are with the job Congress is doing, how secure is that right in 2025?
In this episode, we talk with two members of Congress (a Republican and a Democrat) about how they are handling ang...
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July 21, 2025 • 41 mins
Smartphones have become an essential part of daily life, but should they have a place in the classroom? Half of U.S. states have recently passed laws restricting or banning phones in schools, igniting a passionate national debate.
Some parents say phones are vital for student safety and emotional regulation. Others argue they’re fueling a mental health crisis and stifling face-to-face connection. Students are caught in the middle...
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July 7, 2025 • 53 mins
For over 150 years, the U.S. has granted automatic citizenship to babies born on American soil, a principle rooted in the 14th Amendment and seen by many as key to equality and opportunity. But most countries don’t follow jus soli (“right of soil”), granting citizenship instead by bloodline. Critics, including President Donald Trump, argue birthright citizenship encourages illegal immigration and birth tourism, cheapening the value...
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June 23, 2025 • 53 mins
Alcohol is a deeply embedded part of American life—woven into celebrations, identity, and social norms. But from health warnings to sober-curious trends, new questions are surfacing about what we drink, how much, and why.
In this episode of Top of Mind, we explore how cultural attitudes toward alcohol have evolved and why more people today are rethinking what it means to drink responsibly. We also look at the science behind alcoh...
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June 9, 2025 • 53 mins
School integration in America is widely viewed as a civil rights milestone— but decades later, U.S. schools are as segregated as they were in the 1970s. So, in this episode of Top of Mind, we look at the complicated legacy of school integration in America: who it helped, who it hurt, and what struggling schools need to thrive.
Dr. Noliwe Rooks shares her family’s four-generation story with integration, highlighting both its benef...
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In this special bonus episode of Top of Mind, Julie Rose revisits the challenge of credit card debt - a topic that hits home for many of us – by sitting down with Thomas Nitzsche, a financial educator at Money Management International (MMI) and Susan, who shares her personal journey of paying off $80,000 in debt over four and a half years with help from MMI.
While some feel skeptical of credit counseling agencies, this conversati...
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May 26, 2025 • 54 mins
Credit card debt is at an all-time high in America. Half of all Americans with a credit card have carried a balance in the past year, and one in three have more credit card debt than emergency savings. And with interest rates soaring, that debt is becoming even more expensive.
It’s easy to see credit card debt as a personal failing, caused by overspending. While that’s often true, nearly a third of U.S. credit card holders say the...
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May 12, 2025 • 54 mins
In 2017, the US and a coalition of more than 80 countries ran ISIS out of its strongholds, killed the group's top leaders, and declared victory.
But that wasn't the end.
Instead, ISIS reinvented itself as an even greater threat to the United States homeland—and did so more successfully than any other foreign terror group. National security experts now say a 9/11-style attack is no longer the main worry. It's "domestic terroris...
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April 28, 2025 • 54 mins
Americans reported reading 12 books on average in 2022. That’s the lowest number since Gallup started polling on this in the 90s. Survey data from 2023 show nearly half of US adults didn't read—or listen to—even one book that year. It's no wonder; book reading has to compete with endless news feeds, social media sites, streaming services, and even podcasts for free time. Teachers are starting to worry about this. College professors...
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April 14, 2025 • 54 mins
The current state of education in America is a troubling picture. Reading proficiency scores have reached historic lows. Chronic absenteeism is on the rise—more than a quarter of K-12 students miss at least 10% of the school year. And the achievement gap in test scores between the highest and lowest performing students has widened. On this podcast episode, we take a closer look at education reform in America. Would more students sh...
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