12:00: What is driving the rightward shift in many American counties?
1:00: Earworms: Why we love them, hate them, and how we get rid of them
Nearly 90 percent of American counties moved more to the political right in the recent election. What is driving the shift? How durable is the Republican advantage? Monroe County moved rightward by two points. Interestingly, two Finger Lakes counties — Yates and Tompkins — were among the rare counties to shift further left than 2020. Our guest discusses the reddening of America in 2024:
- Joseph Burgess, team leader at the Social Sciences Data Lab at the University of Copenhagen
Then in our second hour, are you loving the return of Christmas music season? Or have you already had enough of Mariah Carey and "Carol of the Bells" and the "Little Drummer Boy?" NPR recently dove into the science of earworms — those songs that get stuck in our heads. Our guests are songwriters who seek to write memorable tunes, sometimes with repeatable choruses, but not the kinds that drive us crazy. We even wade into how to get earworms OUT of your head. Our guests:
- Sarah De Valliere, local songwriter and recording artist
- James "Jimmie" E. Highsmith Jr., CEO and managing partner of Xperience Live Music Group LLC and Grammy-nominated saxophonist
- Hannah Maier, music director of the Route on WRUR
- Taurus Savant, artist, musician, writer, and community advocate
