This week on Connect the Dots, we’ll explore how the representation of Asian American and Pacific Islanders in the media, and lack thereof, can impact the mental health of the people in these communities.

To learn more, we spoke with Dr. Kevin Nadal, Distinguished Professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York, and the author of “Filipino American Psychology” and “That's So Gay! Micro-aggressions and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community, and Valerie Soe, a Chinese American experimental filmmaker and Asian American Studies professor at San Francisco State University, who has produced experimental films in an effort to dismantle racist stereotypes.

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How did the student loan crisis get so bad?

This week on Connect the Dots, we’ll explore the history of the federal student loan program and how it has impacted a generation of borrowers.

We spoke with Josh Mitchell, author of “The Debt Trap: How Student Loans Became a National Catastrophe,” and with Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, author of “Indentured Students: How Government-Guaranteed Loans Left Generations Drowning in College Debt,” who both explained how the student loan crisis started from systemic flaws in the 1965 Higher Education Act and how that has helped propel the loan program into a $1.7 trillion industry.

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This week on “Connect the Dots”, we’ll explore the Walt Disney Company’s tense relationship with conservative politicians as the company attempts to advocate for its LGBTQ+ employees in the wake of Florida’s Parent Rights Education Bill, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” proposal, which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March.

We spoke with Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a professor of corporate governance at Stetson University, who explained how Disney's relationship with politicians has fostered privileges for the company. We also heard from Blake Simons, a former Disney Parks employee and a student of corporate law and Savannah Bell, another former Disney employee and LGBTQ+ Florida resident.

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