Patt Morrison for Monday, 10/4/2010

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, October 4, 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

 

 

1:00 – 1:30

OPEN

 

 

1:30 – 2:00

Another habitable planet - does Earth have a not-so distant rival?

Human fascination with space, the final frontier if you will, has led us to ask many questions and subsequently discoveries. Can man walk on the moon? How big is the Universe? And perhaps the most mystery shrouded question of them all, can there be life outside of Earth? Astronomers and physicists constantly scan other planets and solar systems for signs of life, or at least habitable planets. Meet the most recently discovered habitable planet, Gliese 581g, which orbits a nearby red dwarf star in the constellation Libra along with five other planets. A team of astronomers from UC Santa Cruz and the Carnegie Institution of Washington have collected data for 11 years and estimate the planet to be Earth-sized but roughly three times more massive. This is the third “habitable” planet detected in the same solar system, but as Goldilocks discovered of the bear’s porridge, one was too hot, one two cold – this one, would be just right. If the discovery is proven, this would be the first strong case for a potentially habitable planet. But does habitable mean pleasant? Patt shoots for the stars and talks to one of the lead astronomers. 

 

Guests:

Steven Vogt, Distinguished Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics in the UCO/Lick Observatory at the University of California Santa Cruz

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1:40 – 2:00

Getting Savage on SCOTUS

From angry astronauts to vexed vaccine manufacturers the Supreme Court of the United States is hearing it all this session. What is the skinny on Skinner v. Switzer and will the court get a clear signal on AT & T v. Concepcion? There is a new justice on the bench and a bevy of cases to be considered. Patt sits down with David Savage to preview what is on the docket for the highest court in the land.

 

David Savage, Supreme Court correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and author of "Turning Right: the Making of the Rehnquist Supreme Court”

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2:00 – 2:40

OPEN

 

 

2:40 – 3;00

“Half a Life”

Years ago, on a clear and sober day Darin Strauss hit and killed a young cyclist with his Oldsmobile.  In his memoir, “Half a Life” Strauss details how he decided to live his life more ambitiously than before at the request of the young girl’s mother and how he struggled to keep the accident secret from the friends he made and in the relationships he had.  Strauss joins Patt in studio to discuss his story and the idea that what life delivers to us forms us all, but as surely as random and sometimes monstrous events shape our lives, so too does our response to those events

 

Darin Strauss will be reading at Skylight books in Los Angeles tonight at 7:30pm.

 

Guests:

Darin Strauss, author “Half a Life”

IN STUDIO