Patt Morrison for Thursday, July 22, 2010

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Thursday, July 22, 2010

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:19

OPEN

 

 

1:21 – 1:39

Shaping up the Congressional midterm battlefield: Dems, GOP ready their arsenals

A battle is brewing out there….can you feel it?  The first shots were fired back in Spring during the lengthy debate over the healthcare reform bill; more skirmishes followed over the effectiveness of the stimulus, job creation policies, response to the BP oil spill and financial regulation reform.  But the main battles will be coming in the Fall with the culmination of the ultimate showdown on November 2^nd, when Democrats could very likely lose control of both houses of the Congress.  Republicans are feeling confident of their chances while Democrats look disorganized and more than a little scared—but the weight of these complicated policy debates, from energy to the economy to immigration, is so great that anything can happen between now and November.  How are the generals shaping up the coming battle over the U.S. Congress?

 

Guests:

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland’s 8^th District; Assistant Speaker of the House & Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

 

UNCONFIRMED

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-32^nd District of Texas; Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee

 

 

1:41 – 1:58:30

Cutting our nukes down to zero: Valerie Plame on the importance of counterproliferation

In 2003, CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson's identity went from covert to the front page of the Washington Post.  The disclosure turned into political intrigue, as her leaked CIA status became a part of a bigger, political controversy over nuclear activity and the war in Iraq.  Now, her experience with the counterproliferation of nuclear weapons prompted her to participate in the recently released "Countdown to Zero."  The documentary exposes some of the greatest nuclear threats we face today and how a nuclear accident could send us into total, worldwide destruction.  Plame Wilson said in a recent interview that we need to "drain the swamp" and get our nukes down to zero.  Though the fear of nuclear weapons though subsided greatly since the Cold War, the threat has grown even stronger. So why don't we mind that there are over 2,400 active warheads underground in the U.S. and that Russia has over 4, 600 of them?  Is this something that should faze us?  And how exactly can every country agree to "drain" their swamps filled with uranium and plutonium?

 

Guest:

Valerie Plame, former operations officer of the Central Intelligence Agency;

IN-STUDIO

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

The morality of leaking information: the controversy over Wikileaks

How important is information? Hopefully we can all agree that the ability to digest information and form an individual opinion is about as important to a free society as, well freedom itself. So, how important is the avenue in which we receive that information? More importantly, at what point does information cross the line and become dangerous? That’s the controversy surrounding the website Wikileaks, which is based on leaking classified government documents from all around the world and hiding the identity of those who leak this information. Time magazine has said that Wikileaks “could become as important a journalistic tool as the Freedom of Information Act.” The United States’ government, on the other hand, is calling the site a danger to those they are trying to inform. As technology evolves and confidential government information becomes easier to access, will this prevent the government from protecting us? Or will the government have a harder time protecting itself?

 

Guest:

Philip Shenon (SHEE-non), an investigative reporter at The Daily Beast website who spent most of his career at The New York Times.

CALL HIM:

 

 

2:30 – 2:39

OPEN

 

 

2:41 – 2:58:30

Long for this World

Since the Middles Ages, life expectancy has jumped from 30 to the ripe age of 75.  We have an abundance of food, advanced technology and superior health care.  But yet we still want more.  How many plastic surgeries, supplements and açaí berries can we have until we go crazy?  Jonathan Weiner explores the human quest for longevity and youth, from the psychology behind our actions to the rich history of prolonged youth in art, literature and science.  So will we ever find a way to cheat death and aging?  Or will gravity and time always prevail?  You never know-there might be a cream for that.

 

Guest:

Jonathan Weiner, professor of medical and scientific journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism; former editor of The Sciences; has written for The New Yorker and The New York Magazine; author of “The Beak of the Finch” and his latest book, “Long for This World: the strange science of immortality”

VIA ISDN

 

 

Jonathan Serviss

Producer, Patt Morrison Program

Southern California Public Radio

NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles

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415.497.2131, mobile

jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org

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