This American Life 179: Cicero
This program tells the story of a town that time forgot, or more accurately, a town that tried to forget the times. It's the story of what at one time was one of most notoriously racist and corrupt suburbs in America. In the 1960s, Cicero residents reacted so violently to threats of integration that officials told Martin Luther King, Jr.'s supporters that marching there would be a suicide mission. Today, two-thirds of the population is Mexican-American, but the political machine from decades past still holds power. A parable of racial politics in America, of white Americans not wanting change, not wanting to let in the outside world, and what happens when they have no choice.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the effect of migration on this city?
2. Explain the demographic transition of the city.
3. Can you find a period effect in this story?

This American Life 124: Welcome to America
This program reveals stories of people moving to this country: what they see and hear about America that those of us who were born here don't necessarily see. Act Two is about Juan Zaldivar, who was born in Cuba. Juan has spent the past four years shooting a movie about his father, to try to reassure him that he did the right thing to leave Cuba with his family in the 1980s and come to America. His father, so far, is not reassured.

Questions to Consider:

1. How would a demographer view these stories as compared to a lay person?
2. Do the international migrations discussed in this program lead to conflict for the larger society?
3. What social responses are apparent about the immigrants mentioned in the program?

Popularity of Western-Style Weddings in Japan Creates Demand for White Officiants
Western/U.S. style marriage ceremonies are increasingly popular in Japan. This segment explores the exportation of the cultural rituals surrounding the marriage ceremony.

Questions to Consider:

1. What role does race play in this story?
2. Why do you think these marriage services have become popular?
3. Do you think that this is simply a novelty or fad that will die out?
4. Do you think traditional Japanese ceremonies will change as result of these services?

The Way You Learned Math is so Old School
As result of society’s changing needs, schools have changed the way they teach students to do maths. They now stress algebraic thinking. Because the “steps entailed in calculations are now so different than those taught in the past, teachers can no longer assume that parents can help their children with their maths homework.

Questions to Consider:

1. Why have schools changed the way they teach students to do mathematical calculations?
2. What assumption can teachers no longer make when they send a child home with homework?
3. How do such changes contribute to the “divides” that separate the generations