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>> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the newshour. houston and other parts of the gulf coast are dealing with the aftermath of intense storms. at least four people were killed in houston after hurricane force winds tore through the city and at more than seven hundred thousand remain without power in

texas and louisiana. >> today, the houston area is littered with debris. downtown is at a standstill. >> it was fierce, intense, quick , and most houstonians do not have time to place themselves out of harm's way. >> it all began late yesterday when ominous clouds rolled into the region. >> i realized it was pretty bad when it got black. i mean it really got dark. >> soon, torrential rain and fierce winds lashed the area. officials say gusts in some places reached 100 miles per hour. there were even reports of potential tornadoes. >> that's the electricity again. >> the storm easily knocked out electricity. eyewitness video caught the moment the lights went out as hundreds of customers took shelter in a costco. emergency officials called the

damage to transmission lines “catastrophic,” and said it could take weeks to restore power in some places. in downtown houston, the storms shattered windows in high rises, leaving the streets below littered with glass. at a briefing today, state representative jolanda jones warned people to keep out. >> you need to stay away from downtown. i literally just came from there. there's glass everywhere. >> harris county judge lina hidalgo said the storms were unexpected and historic. >> last night we were expecting some rain, the meteorologists were in touch with us, we knew something was coming. but instead we saw winds of 80 to 100 miles an hour. this kind of wind is something we have not seen in harris county since hurricane alicia in 1983. >> in louisiana, similar scenes overnight of heavy rain, flooding and a suspected tornado. and it didn't end last night. the national weather service kept flood watches and warnings in effect today for large

swathes of the southeast. all further complicating efforts to clean up and rebuild. for the pbs newshour, i'm ali rogin. geoff: the israeli military says its troops in gaza found the bodies of three hostages killed by hamas as they tried to flee the nova music festival october 7. they were identified as 22-year-old shani luke, a 28-year-old and a 56-year-old. meantime, the first shipments of aid arrived on gaza's shoreline via a floating pier, made by the u.s. military. trucks lined up nearby, ready to load. in washington this afternoon, white house officials said distribution would be swift. >> the u.n. has now taken possession of these 1st pallets and are getting them ready for distribution inside gaza. so, look, i mean, hopefully, by the time we're done here, some of that stuff will actually be in the mouths of some hungry people, but we'll see.

geoff: separately, israel argued before the u.n.'s top court at the hague today that its military is doing everything he can to protect the civilian population in gaza. the international court of justice wrapped up earrings on emergency measures requested by south africa, which has accused israel of genocide. it has been a surreal day at the pga championship in kentucky after the world's top-ranked golfer was arrested while trying to drive around a traffic stop outside the valhalla golf club. police say scottie scheffler ignored instructions, and dragged an officer with his car. scheffler was booked for assaulting a police officer and other charges. the masters champion was handcuffed and put in a police car. in a statement, scheffler said it was a misunderstanding. he was released and back at the course for his tee-time. the man who attacked former house speaker nancy pelosi's husband with a hammer was sentenced to 30 years imprisoned. david depape was found guilty

last november of attempting to kidnap a federal official, and assaulting an official's family member. the 44-year-old admitted to breaking into the speaker's home with the goal of taking her hostage. the u.s. state department issued a worldwide caution security alert today addressing threats to the lgbtq community. in its statement the department said it is “aware of the increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violce against lgbtqi+ persons and events and advises u.s. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution." the alert comes two weeks before the start of pride month in the u.s. russia has carried out multiple strikes on ukrainian territory today. at least one person was killed and eight injured near the black sea port of odessa. five others were hospitalized. the mayor of kharkiv says russian bombs killed three

people. ukraine's second largest city has come under increasing attack. president putin said russia will not invade the city but aims to use it as a buffer zone. >> as for what is happening in the kharkiv direction, this is also their fault because they shoot residential areas of the border territories, including belgorod. i said publicly that if this continues, we will be forced to create a safety zone, a sanitary zone. geoff: in response to russia's latest military advances, the ukrainian president signed a bill to allow prisoners to enlist in the military in exchange for parole and raised fines for draft dodgers. slovakia's prime minister has undergone -- another surgery. earlier today, investigators removed a computer and other evidence from the suspect's home, in eastern slovakia. police escorted the 71-year-old

there for the search, before loading him back into a police car. employees at two mercedes facilities in alabama have voted against joining the united auto workers. in the final tally, 56% of workers were opposed to the union. the result is a setback to the uaw's efforts to organize 150,000 workers at more than a dozen non-union auto factories, mostly in the south. it also comes a month after workers at a volkswagen factory in tennessee voted in favor of joining. on wall street, the dow closed about 40,000 for the first time ever. the index added 134 points for a new high of 40,003. the nasdaq slipped 12 points after hitting records of its own this week. the s&p added six points. brazil will host the 2027 women's world cup, becoming the

first south american country to stage that tournament. the announcement was made today in thailand. brazil beat out a joint bid of belgium, the netherlands and germany. still to come, a national security expert makes the case that we are in a second cold war, this time when china. this week's political headlines. and a college course examines the depiction of alcohol and drunkenness on film. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: this has been a big week for the stock market. not only did the dow jones close above the 40,000 mark for the first time today but the broader s&p 500 and nasdaq reached record highs this week. the markets have rallied back from the recent lows of 2022 and the dow is about 40 percent

higher than when the pandemic started. roben farzad joins us. he's the host of public radio's full disclosure podcast. always great to see you. how significant is it that the dow hit the $40,000 -- hit the 40,000 mark? >> it's a talking point. everything is pricey now. then again, at the turn-of-the-century, there was an infamous book called dow 36,000. there's another school of thought that says the dow should be higher. if it was more rationally planned. if apple or amazon was added or there were other components the more represent this economy. but we will take it. but nothing is cheap in this peculiar economy. geoff: what's behind the broader rise in markets now? roben: artificial intelligence.

we have a semiconductor company called nvidia that is suddenly a two trillion dollars player. how will the ai boom affect manufacturing, construction, journalism, media? all these powerful chips that will be required, the staffing, consulting and professional services that will be disrupted because of that, so it's almost a parallel internet. we have companies with record profits because they have pricing power. that passes through the stock market investors. there was a timely worried inflation would kill stocks but you have these companies that are pushing through price increases and you are partaking in that as a shareholder. geoff: if you take this into account and add last months cooler than expected jobs report, is this an overall indication the fed might take the step of cutting interest rates? roben: it's bizarre we are having that conversation.

you have asset prices at a record high. no one can seem to afford a house. and yet the fed is romancing this idea of cutting interest rates. i think it speaks to the weakness in the economy, the fact of those who are not partaking in this wealth effect, lower-middle income people, who are struggling to make ends meet amid this inflation, the value meal shock at a drive-through, the fed has a blunt instrument. if they ease into this, does the housing market really need stimulus? does the stock market need stimulus? there's a debate going on. the fed was supposed to hike earlier and it's been punting on it. geoff: i hear you saying this is not enough to improve americans overall perception of the economy. roben: what am i going to do? take my paper winnings? i still get sticker shock. guacamole four dollars?

that money is on a long but it's not giving me a dividend to deal with the real world sticker shock of gas, housing, rent, clothing, you name it. it's a bizarre economy. but when hasn't the economy been bizarre? geoff: how do you see this playing out moving forward? roben: i don't know how we put the genie back in the bottle. it's the first time in a generation that we have dealt with i inflation. the fed was saying this was transitory. but you get this once in a generation pandemic, flood the plane with money, and it's hard to pull all of that back and normalize it. what is a normal interest rate or stock market or housing market? that's a $20 trillion question now. geoff: roben farzad, thanks for coming in. thank you.

texas governor greg abbott has pardoned the man convicted of fatally shooting a black lives of esther in the summer of 2020. abbott had faced pressure to issue the pardon from right-wing conservatives, including then fox news host tucker carlson. stephanie sy has the story. >> yesterday, the texas state parole board, whose members are appointed by the governor coming in initially recommended the release of convicted killer daniel perry and the restoration of his firearm rights. he walked free just hours after the pardon was issued. perry was serving a 25 year prison sentence for the murder of garrett foster, an armed white man who was attending a racial justice protest with his black fiancee. in court, perry argued he shot foster from his car in self-defense. prosecutors argued he sought out the encounter and the jury ultimately agreed. for more on what led to perry's pardon, we're joined by kvue and austin american statesman investigative reporter tony

plohetski. welcome to the newshour. the board said it did a “meticulous review” of the case but critics say this is politics and you have right-wing pundits like tucker carlson calling for this for a year. what was the biggest justification gov abbot gave for this pardon? >> to your point, while the parole board issued this statement saying they had done a meticulous review, what was absent from their statement was any sort of legal rationale in terms of recommending the governor issued this pardon. in a separate proclamation, the governor says that texas has a very strong, one of the strongest, in his words, self-defense stand laws in texas, and so he saw this as upholding the law, and that the conviction of daniel perry was a travesty of justice, in his

words. >> he also had criticism for the travis county d.a. handling of the case. how does this fit into abbott's broader record on pardons? is this a governor who has shown mercy to others who have been convicted of such crimes? >> certainly this adds fuel to the already burning fire between republicans here in texas and progressive district attorneys like district attorney jose garza in austin. there's been a lot of back-and-forth discussion about what crimes get prosecuted and what crimes do not get prosecuted in austin, but with regard to the governor's record, with regard to pardons, over time, the governor has issued precious few of these pardons, usually doing so at the end of the year. we are talking only about a handful per year. most of them nonviolent offenders who were convicted,

some of them after serving years or even decades in prison. this pardon, however, stands very distinct from that in that daniel perry has only been in prison a little more than a year. >> i want to read a statement from whitney mitchell, garrett foster's surviving fiance. she testified during the trial and said through her attorney “with this pardon, the governor has desecrated the life of a murdered texan and u.s. air force veteran, and impugned that jury's just verdict. he has declared that texans who hold political views that are different from his and different from those in power can be killed in this state with impunity." pardons are often political. does this pardon go beyond a norm? does it set a new precedent? >> i can tell you that is certainly the concern, not only here in the criminal justice community and austin, but really

across the state. what this might lead to with regard to other cases that are on dockets not only in austin but across the state, whether or not governor abbott may lend support to those offenders should they be convicted sometime down the line, and in the minds of some people in texas, further appending the criminal justice system. >> how else are you are hearing reaction from this particularly from the family and black lives matter protesters? >> i can assure you that the reaction of whitney mitchell is consistent to a lot of feelings here in austin. austin has a very strong community with regard to activism and demonstrations and so they were alarmed the night foster was killed but let me assure you that elsewhere in the state, a deeply conservative state, others view this, other

loud voices, including the attorney general, view this as righting a wrong, that a miscarriage of justice occurred in this case, and so they see this as the governor using his authority, legally using his pardon authority, to right that wrong, but again, the reaction really does range depending on who you talk to not only in austin but across the state of texas. >> tony with the austin american statesman. thank you for joining the newshour. >> thanks for having me. geoff: we turn to a seismic shift within the united methodist church. they recently voted to lift vans on lgbtq clergy and same sex marriages.

first a bit of background. >> the results should appear on the screen. geoff: it was described as the most consequential meeting of the united methodist church in more than half a century. hundreds of delegates from around the world gathered in charlotte, the first such meeting since 2019. >> the affirmative has it and the motion is adopted. geoff: they voted overwhelmingly to end the church's bans on same-sex marriage and the ordination of lgbtq clergy. >> these decisions that have been made is a testimony that we are claiming that we are a church where everyone belongs. we are a church with open hearts, open minds and open doors. geoff: in 19 70 two, the methodists adopted language that the practice of homosexuality was incompatible with christian teaching. in 19 84, they banned clergy who were self about practicing

homosexuals. delegates voted to uphold those bands and 2019 that in 2019, but in the years that followed, congregations left the church over its lack of enforcement of the policies. by 2022, the united methodists had 5.4 million members in the u.s., less than half their peak in the 1960's. the recent departures have seen that number dropped even further. for more on the significance of these changes, i spoke with the reverend valerie jackson, the lead pastor at park hill united methodist church in denver. she joined the methodist church from the baptist church years ago. i asked rev. jackson how the church lifting its bans has resonated with her. >> i did not think i was really feeling the oppression of the rule until it was lifted.

and then once it was lifted i became aware of how much i am bodied that oppression. and it surprised me that on the last day of the conference i so freely danced and i don't do that. i don't do that in public, anyway. i danced freely by myself in the middle of the assembly hall on the last day of the general conference. geoff: when you sa you were embodying the -- when you say you were embodying the oppression, tell us what that means. >> even though i have the privilege of living in a conference, in a region where being lgbtq is not criminalized, that somewhere deep within me i still knew that i was at risk,

that my ordination was at risk, that a claim could be filed against me, that i could go to trial. somewhere deep within me i knew that and so it's almost like looking over your shoulder unconsciously or subconsciously all day every day 365 days a year. geoff: nearly a quarter of the united methodist church broke away. what is the impact of that on the church and really on the faith? >> it's multilayered. so the impact is grieving the loss of united methodist siblings even though we did not have the same theology or values. they were family so you grieved the loss of family members. on the other hand, it was

liberating because it's like being in a marriage where you grow apart and you don't share the same vision for the lives that you have or the future you are living into. and so when you finally make that courageous decision to separate and go your different ways, it's freeing, liberating, and it gives the space for people to live into being who they really are. it is tiring to code switch depending on who you are talking to and who is in the space. think about the time that it takes for the mind to take in in seconds it was in the room and what you are allowed to say and what you should not say and to live like that is so profoundly tiring. geoff: what do you say to those

conservative methodists who argue that the church is now buying into the culture, that the bible has not changed but the church has changed? what is your reaction to that? >> the church is changing and thank god. the church is becoming aware of who god is in compared --in comparison to writers have said about god and religious leaders have also declared that god is. i know what it's like to be indoctrinated with a particular teaching and to not be able to see anything beyond that teaching. i know what that is like. i know how difficult it is to break through that.

so we are not responsible for the systems that we are born into, but we are accountable and responsible for the decision to remain in those systems. and so i pray for my siblings and i pray that they will one day be liberated and set free and come to experience the liberating, unconditional love and grace of god. geoff: lastly, what does all of this mean for the clergy, for your congregants, and for the future of the united methodist church? >> we are looking forward to preserving a church with a future for those coming behind us that will not have to worry can they walk through the doors? will they be loved? will they be accepted?

will they be seen? we look forward to a church where those in the lgbtq community can walk into the church holding hands, can sit in the pews in each other's arms just like those who are heteronormative. there are so many things about being lgbtq that we have to give up that those who are heteronormative never have to think about. so we look forward to a church where all people will get to thrive in love, wife and liberation. geoff: the reverend dr. valerie jackson is pastor at a methodist church in denver. >> thank you for having me. ♪

geoff: china's xi jinping and russia's vladimir putin inaugurated a new era of partnership just before taiwan inaugurates a new president monday. a book argues taiwan is at the center of china's challenge to u.s. power and influence in asia. >> the biden administration calls china the only country in the world with the will, intent and strength to change the world order. it says china threatens u.s. and allied interest all over the world in now the u.s.'s national security strategy prioritizes confronting china. how did washington and beijing get to this point? how strong are they compared to each other? how should the u.s. approaches relationship to china? those questions are at the heart of a new book, world on the brink. dimitri, the author, joins me.

you start the book with a scenario. it is after election day 2028. beijing decides to invade taiwan. is that the future we are heading toward? >> i think that period of 2028 through 2032, where you would see xi jinping at the twilight of his power, and i believe he wants to do it on his own watch, just like code and to invade ukraine -- just like putin wanted to invade ukraine. they don't only want to take these countries, but they want to be the ones to do it, because they want to go down in the pantheon of history. >> you call it cold war ii. >> when you compare it to the first cold war, the similarities are numerous. we have an ideological struggle, authoritarianism versus

democracy. you have an arms race, a conventional one at a nuclear one. you have a space race, a trade war, a tech war, a spy war and a global competition for supremacy between the u.s. and china that plays out in the diplomatic sphere, the military sphere and economic sphere all over the world. >> you write that china achieving presence in the bradley islands in the south china sea was a microcosm of the modern china challenge. america's failure to read china directly -- correctly and america's failure or disinterest in acting to counter its rival's rise. >> the chinese have been practicing this strategy where they have been building up these artificial islands, encroaching on the disputed territories of vietnam and the philippines, and building on military installations. you look at the south china sea and it's become a lake for the chinese navy. they are trying to do the same thing in the east china sea. >> what should the u.s. do about

this? you describe the overall approach to china as this, an echo of what the u.s. did to the soviet union. patiently practicing deterrence and waiting out the inevitable economically driven decline. >> we believe we have all the strengths and china is weak. it's economy is in stagnation. it is contained. china looks out at the world. it sees korea, japan, taiwan and the philippines, surrounded by military bases, u.s. allies. it's navy is not able to get out to the broader pacific without going through the chokepoints. >> there are some people who are worried the u.s. is not dong enough militarily and china would be able to practice the denial of u.s. ships in the territory that it claims as its own. >> that's right. even though we are stronger on paper, on spreadsheets, spreadsheets don't go to war. context matters and there's no

question we could defeat the chinese military easily in the atlantic, but that is not the case. we would be fighting in the east china sea, in the taiwan strait, and that's where they have been practicing and building capability. >> not only has the biden administration expanded the military footprint but also political agreements with japan, south korea, australia, the philippines. does that kind of thing deter xi jinping? >> it's all about creating dilemmas for him. if you think there will be u.s. military forces shooting missiles at his ships crossing the straight from the philippines, from japan, from guam, potentially taiwan itself, that will make it more difficult. >> why is taiwan so important to the u.s.? >> a lot of people talk about chips and that is certainly important but it's also much more important than that. if you control taiwan, you dominate east asia. it's next to japan and the philippines. those countries would feel less safe if china controls taiwan

and is able to project power on the eastern shore of taiwan across the pacific, push the u.s. back to hawaii and establish dominance in the region where you have 50% of the world's gdp, most of the supply chains and economic growth. >> the biden administration is announcing new tariffs on electric vehicles. they have continued most of the trump era tariffs. does economic pressure deter xi jinping? >> i think it helps and you have to apply all elements of our power, military, diplomatic and economic to deter him, to convince him that even if he succeeds in taking taiwan, the impact on the chinese economy would be disastrous. >> do you think taiwan is taking enough steps to defend itself? >> they are moving that direction but to slowly. they are not focusing enough on asymmetric capabilities. the key is to prevent china from coming across the taiwan strait in significant numbers. if they establish a significant presence on the time island it's

over. if they bring in hundreds of thousands of troops it will be difficult for the taiwanese to defend themselves. but if they managed to sink those ships and defend their cities, they can win. >> is the u.s. doing enough to help taiwan defend itself? >> again, we are doing a lot. the admiral believes he can defend taiwan if he is ordered. we are certainly building capabilities. the command you visited in hawaii, they are preparing for war and getting most of the resources now. will the president, well they ordered americans to fight for taiwan? i think it's a 5050 proposition. >> how america can be china -- can beat china's author, thank you. >> thank you very much.

geoff: president biden and former president trump agreed to face-off on the debate stage after months of back-and-forth on that and the other political stories shaping the week, we turn to the analysis of capehart and johnson. that's jonathan capehart, associate editor for the washington post and eliana johnson, editor in chief of the washington free beacon. david brooks is away. we have a pair of debates on the books between president biden and former president trump, debates that suddenly came together in a matter of minutes wednesday it felt like. the first will be hosted by cnn, the second by abc. the biden campaign has agreed to a vice president for debate hosted by cbs this summer. no agreement from the trump campaign on that one. these debates will be unusual for a few reasons. they are happening earlier than normal. the commission on presidential

debates is not involved at all. and there's not going to be an audience. who does this benefit? >> it benefits the american people. leave aside the commission. the american people need to see these two men debate the issues and let the american people see and judge for themselves who they want to vote for or not vote for, but you better vote. but are they up to the job? are they up to running this country? in terms of the specifics of the debate, president biden got everything he wanted. he taunts donald trump with a video out wednesday saying i hear you are free wednesday. donald trump immediately agrees to do it after taunting weeks ago, saying joe biden is not up to it. he will never take the debate stage. anyone who has been paying attention to joe biden knows there's no way he would not debate donald trump.

that leads to my big question. even though donald trump did agree to these two debates, i will believe it when i see it. i don't think he shows up. >> do you think these debates will actually happen as planned? >> i do think they are going to happen. trump has said i will debate him anytime, anywhere. the specifics of the proposal for the biden campaign indicate an effort to mitigate risk on their part. they are taking place in june and september. typically they take place closer to the election. they will be seen by a fewer number of people because the first debate will take place on cable. typically they are on public access channels anybody can see. i think biden wanted to show he is able to debate but if anything happens he has time to make a correction. >> donald trump has been downplaying expectations for president biden, saying he's the worst debater ever, cannot put two sentences together. is that an unforced error?

because typically you try to raise the expectations for your opponent. >> we are talking about donald trump, who never misses an opportunity to belittle someone he's afraid of, but just to belittle anyone. the key thing about these two debates isone of the big complas been you have these debates happening and some people have already voted and some might regret the votes they cast. by having these debates in june and september, people get to see before they cast that first early ballot. >> typically they talk about an october surprise and the debate's impact on the election. they are mitigating the case this could happen by putting it so far away. >> auctor -- october surprises happen every friday.

we should get rid of the concept. >> we could get a decision in the hush money trial as soon as next week. do you think the prosecution has effectively made their case? >> probably not the target audience. i don't think they have effectively made their case but it's a high bar. they need to convince everyone of those jurors and they have not been clear about what law it is that trump violated. the defense -- it will be interesting to see how expenses -- how extensive of a case they will have. it looks like they could rest their case without witnesses, which would suggest they don't feel threatened by this case, in which case the central witness is not -- i would not say he is our idea of a stellar, upright citizen. >> we see this as being the weakest of the four criminal cases following donald trump but

it might be the only case that goes to trial before the election. >> that's why i think people who have been putting on this case were wrong to do so i think. the whole point is to hold donald trump accountable and now a jury of his peers are about to hold him accountable. and anyone who thinks that this entire case rests on the credibility of michael cohen has not been paying attention to the case. there's a reason why david packer, the former publisher of the national enquirer, went first, to show there's a culture here. there was a system here. stormy daniels talked about the system. hope hicks talked about her work in that time. all of these people clubbed michael cohen when like he was a piñata in the week before he took the stand and i think that was for the sole purpose of getting it into the jury's had that michael cohen is not a good guy. and you are going to see a not good guy take the stand.

so just take all of that information in and then pay attention to the law and to what is at stake. i think -- the defense -- i would love for them to make their case. they are hammering michael cohen but i have not heard them rebut any of the allegations against the former president and that is something i would love to see. >> the case will be this is not a crime. stormy daniels was up there talking about things that are not appropriate to repeat on this network. michael cohen is the key witness to the crime, which is the falsification of business records. the other people names were not witness to the particular crime in question and that's what the defense will focus on. >> and the time that remains i want to talk about this reporting from the new york times. an upside down american flag, the symbol used by some from supporters to challenge the

legitimacy of joe biden's 2020 victory, that this flag hung outside the home of supreme court justice samuel alito. we have the picture there published by the new york times. this was on january 17, 2021. justice alito issued the statement where he says i had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag. it was placed by ms. alito in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable land which on yard signs. >> this is outrageous. it is outrageous because this is a supreme court justice who at the time the flag was flown was sitting in judgment of the case involving the sitting president. the other thing is could you imagine what would have happened if that flag was flying like that on the property of ruth bader ginsburg or ketanji brown jackson, someone from the

liberal wing on the bench of the supreme court? they would have been impeached. so the idea that we are supposed to accept justice alito's rationale here that my wife did it? it's unacceptable. it just feeds into the erosion of the trust and the standing of the supreme court with the american public. >> apart from the ethical issues there are dispassionate observers who have said that alito does not deny the flag was flying upside down, does not deny its meaning and does not deny what happened. >> let's stipulate his wife does not believe joe biden is the rightful victor of the 2020 election and flew the flag upside down in protest of that. i don't think that the good liberal readers of the new york times or viewers of this network

would be willing to argue with a straight face that the views of a woman are derivative of her husband's views. my husband has nothing to do with the things i say on this network and you cannot have it both ways. you cannot say that women are strong and should be out and employed and have their own views and that their husbands are responsible for everything they go into. >> liberals will do that because they are just using what conservatives have used as a cudgel against them. if that had happened, again, to ruth bader ginsburg, they would be calling for her resignation, and i would have a hard time arguing. geoff: thank you both. >> thank you. ♪ >> as college students wrap up

the year, many reflect on what they learned and what it means for their lives. at notre dame, a few jewelry -- a hugely popular course offering has real life applications. special correspondent mike cerre reports for our ongoing series at the intersection of health and arts, part of canvas. >> from animal house in the 1980's to the more recent hangover films, pop culture and advertising's depiction of drinking is playing out on college campuses to a much more alarming degree than the toga parties of the past. nearly half of college students say they drink and 30% say they binge drink according to a recent survey by the national institute on drug abuse & alcoholism. here on the campus of the university of notre dame, they are taking a more academic and intellectual approach to the issue in addition to traditional counseling and disciplinary action. the psychology department is teaming up with the

film, television and theater department on a course that teaches students why they think drinking is so cool and why it's probably not. >> societal he people seem to condone your actions because you are drunk. >> “drunk on film” is a full credit, in person & online course with over 150 students on the wait list each semester. psychology professor arne venter and film & tv professor ted mandell lead the students in their critiques of popular films featuring heavy drinking and its social and health consequences. >> so what we focused on and wanted to do a little research on is “depressed on depressants” and alcohol is a depressant. >> along with pop culture favorites, the films include classics like it's a wonderful life and even some cartoon students grow up with like beauty and the beast. professor mandell believes film, tv and advertising have long cultivated the students' acceptance of drinking as part of normal life.

where does total abstinence fit into this course? >> nowhere. nowhere. this course is, to me, is about the ability to look at media and entertainment that you've been exposed to since you were two years old and reevaluate it and ask yourself, is this really the narrative of alcohol that's true? does alcohol really bring me community? to get students to look at narratives and reevaluate that and then compare that to college. >> the co-professor has a phd in clinical psychology and focuses more on the behavorial aspects of college drinking. >> social anxiety. >> is and that would students talk about drinking for social anxiety? >> the professors are careful not to turn the “drunk on film” class into an intervention or

therapy session that would more likely shut down the students rather than open them up for the discussions, which are the key teaching moments. >> i'm not a licensed therapist, ted's not a licensed therapist and we're not doing therapy in any way, shape, or form, but what we're i think getting the students to do is to begin to ask questions as to why and, and, and to, you know, why do i do it this way? >> alcohol changes the relationship between the hypothalamus and the pituitary ground. >> related podcasts and nonfiction films addressing the health and social consequences of excessive drinking and are part of the mix of videos. >> i wanted to welcome you to tonight's conversation with hollywood occurred. >> guest lecturers have included holly whitaker with the new york times and best-selling author of quit like a woman, which highlights the added health and safety risks for female students drinking heavily on campuses. >> i think that you are trained to become a participant in

drinking culture. we are trained to drink like this. we're given images and those images are reinforced our entire lives. when you go to college, you get drunk. how many of you didn't drink in high school? collects -- >> she and the course take on call traditions, like tailgating parties, often hosted by parents and adults, who she believes are often complicit in normalizing excessive student drinking as socially acceptable. >> the phrase you can't be an alcoholic while you're in college is very common, and people have heard that around here. >> aedan joel and ava bidner took the class year and are now teaching asssisstants. >> we watch which has miles one teller as the main actor and he plays a character called: sutton. and it's about his relationship with alcohol and his story and you kinda see it gradually progress where you don't really think his drinking is a problem and then as you kind of go through the film you see that he becomes just increasingly dependent on it, and it really affects all aspects of his life, from -- life.

>> i was drinking freshman year, and then after that, started to kind of become curious as to whether or not not drinking would be something that would fit into my own self concept. >> as a social psychologist, you know, we think that, that human behavior is a function of both the person and their environment. and often the environment is a more powerful predictor of behavior than the person's disposition. >> i think the one thing when we started this class that truly surprised me was not that students drink in college, but the level of drinking that is normalized. what's considered normal. right now, i would never even think it would have crossed my mind when i was an undergraduate. >> many students taking the course believe alcohol has taken on an oversized role in socializing on campus at the expense of other activities because so much of college life today is based on drinking,. >> if you say the premise of the course is that media has caused

this new acceptance of a moral standard that probably doesn't really work for these kids, can media also correct it? >> yeah. look at cigarettes. so great for -- cigarettes for decades were pushed on audiences as being socially, you know, desirable. that narrative has changed. >> how many of you didn't drink before going to college? >> there are no solid metrics for gauging the course's success in curbing alcohol abuse on campus. but if the final exam in the form of a personal essay is an indication, professors mandel and vetner are confident they're on the right track. >> as i started thinking about those things i realized we have a relationship with alcohol whether your choice is one way or the other. just with my family and friends in those different connections, i think it affects different parts of your life. >> for the pbs newshour, i am

mike cerre in south bend, indiana. geoff: finally tonight a major transition of note at the newshour. russ clarkson, who has led our news team for nearly 25 years, is retiring. russ represents all that is great about the newshour. he and his team are the beating heart of the broadcast. his editorial judgment and commitment to the highest standards have shaped the newsroom and helped us maintain the level of excellence we strive for every day. his wisdom and experience have been invaluable and his presence will be deeply missed. there's a whole generation of journalists out there telling stories with graduate degrees from the school of russ clarkson under their belts and our industry and our world are better for it. we thank you for everything you've done for the newshour and for being such a terrific

colleague and friend. we wish you and your wife, karen, the absolute best. here's to a wonderful retirement! [applause] rudss is the best. that is the newshour. thanks for joining us and have a great weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour, including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and george smith. >> certified financial planner professionals are proud to support newshour.

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