Patt Morrison for Thurs 7/2/09

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Thursday, July 2, 2009

1-3 p.m.

 

1:00 - 1:30

OPEN

 

 

1:30 - 2:00

America: Broke but Buying TVs

We're in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. And yet, sales of television sets are up 17.3 percent over last year, according to the research firm ISuppli Corp.. What gives? Surely, a TV is not a necessity. Yet with the end of analogue TV many Americans are forgoing $40 converter boxes and instead finding the cast to buy a $1,000 high def flat panel. Or maybe it's just that with vacations too expensive to consider, nice home entertainment is the only alternative?

 

Guests:

Britt Beemer, chairman of the consumer behavior firm America's Research Group, based in Charleston, SC

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2:00 - 2:30

The Most E-mailed Segment on Patt Morrison!

More and more frequently, online popularity rankings allow us to make decisions more quickly. But are they better decisions? Are they changing our behavior as consumers? And do such wide-spread rankings lead to more informed choices or more uniform ones?

 

Matt Salganik, professor of sociology at Princeton, who studies popularity; he co-authored a study showing how popularity breeds popularity

 

NOT CONFIRMED:

James Surowiecki

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TBA, Consumers Union

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2:30 – 2:40

OPEN

 

 

2:40 – 3:00

NASA’s JPL is All Over Earthquakes.

Can NASA solve Earth’s problems from space? It can try. JPL scientists are using space-based technologies to track earth’s movements and shifting fault lines in an attempt to not just predict, but to understand, earthquakes. Patt talks with JPL geophysicist Maggi Glasscoe to find out more.

 

Guests:

Maggi Glasscoe, geophysicist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

IN STUDIO