U.S.-China relations are in the news this week with the G-20 summit meeting. China is the world's second largest economy and, forgive the paraphrase, when China catches cold, the U.S. sneezes. Even though our economies are so intertwined, most Americans really know very little about China. That's why this show was so well timed. Robert Oxnam is one of our country's most influential China and Asian experts. Oxnam was in town for the Frank Church Conference at BSU and we were lucky enough to snag him for an interview. It is an interesting interview and he is a fascinating man. He is also a man who has suffered a great deal in his life. He suffers from multiple personality disorder. While we didn't talk about that aspect of his life in the broadcast show, we did touch on it in our Dialogue Web Extra. I encourage you to watch it. It is a compelling story. Mr. Oxnam is returning to Boise in the spring and I will try to book him for another show to talk more about this disorder.

 

A note for our You Tube fans, I apologize that this week's show won't be up on our You Tube channel until Sunday. I am attending the Capitolbeat conference Thursday-Sunday so I won't be able to upload it until Sunday night.

Capitolbeat is an association of statehouse reporters and editors. The annual conference is a great opportunity to learn more about the issues facing state government. Hopefully, I will be able to do a better job covering state issues with a little insight from leading experts and my colleagues around the country.

I plan to use some of that training for next week's show. We will be discussing the FY2012 state budget with key legislators. Governor Otter has already said the next session will be one of the toughest ever because they will either have to raise taxes or make even more cuts. I hope you all will call in during the show with your questions or send me an email beforehand.