Patt Morrison for Wednesday, February 23, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

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

How to shut down the federal government and live to tell the tale

It was November of 1995 and the leaders of the House of Representatives, flush off their Republican Revolution victory from a year earlier, and the Clinton White House, gearing up for a reelection campaign the following year, were playing an old fashioned game of brinksmanship.  Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and President Clinton squared off over a budget bill, vetoed by Clinton, which resulted in the shutdown of the federal government that lasted for almost two months.  Flash forward to 2011 and another new Republican majority in the House is flexing its muscles against a Democratic president that will soon be up for reelection, and another shutdown looms.  This time it’s the budget bill and the raising of the federal debt ceiling that has created an impasse and both sides, the John Boehner-lead House and the Barack Obama White House, seem as if they won’t cede any ground.  We give a review of the ’95 shutdown and a primer on how the government might survive a new version of budget brinksmanship.

 

Guests:

TBD

 

 

1:41 – 1:58:30

The earth is rare, in high-demand, and local

Here’s the first thing to know about rare earth elements—they’re not very rare.  Cerium, an element used in high-tech ovens, is more abundance in the Earth’s crust than copper or lead.  Gadolinite, yttrium, scandium and terbium, while not household names, are just some of the rare earth elements that help to power and process several household items, advanced electronics, and green technologies making these anonymous little elements extremely valuable.  Mining rare earth elements is costly, dangerous and extremely non-environmentally-friendly, and after the U.S. pulled out of the business in the 1990’s it was left to China to provide tons of rare earth elements to high-tech product manufacturers.  The Chinese have since clamped down on their rare earth element business and we’re jumping back into it, a California mine out in the Mojave Desert leading the way.  What does California’s rare earth element mine look like and can it be done without too much ecological damage?

 

Guests:

Jim Sims, director of public affairs, Molycorp Minerals, the only company in the US that currently produces rare earths—located in the Mojave desert, it makes 3% of the earth’s rare earths
CALL HIM:

 

UNCONFIRMED:

Jack Lifton, co-founder of Technology Metals Research, rare commodities research firm

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

Castles of Sand II: How should the FDA weigh timely drug access with consumer safety?

The FDA began making deals with drug companies in the early 1990s: in exchange for green-lighting their cancer drugs based only on preliminary evidence, the companies would conduct follow-up studies to ensure those early results. But many of the companies failed to conduct those studies and now some drugs, like the blockbuster cancer treatment Avastin, have been pulled. At the same time, new studies show the FDA’s 510 (k) system, an accelerated approval process, saves time and money but also accounts for the majority of product recalls. How rigorous is the FDA when it comes to approving new drugs and new medical devices? Depends who you ask—some say the process needs to be streamlined to provide patients fast access to new drugs and devices; others caution that the process needs to be slowed down until full data can be compiled; critics on both ends of the spectrum agree the process needs to be made more transparent and consistent across the board. How should the FDA weigh providing quick access to new drugs against endangering the public’s health? And for drugs and devices that have been recalled after being approved – where’s the glitch? Is the FDA too fast, too slow, or just right?

 

Guests:

ON THE MEDICAL DEVICE APPROVAL PROCESS:

David Nexon, president, AdvaMed (Advanced Medical Technology Association), the medical device trade association

CALL HIM @

 

ON THE PHARMACEUTICAL APPROVAL PROCESS:

Scott Gottlieb, M.D., a practicing physician, has served in various capacities at the Food and Drug Administration, including senior adviser for medical technology; director of medical policy development; and, most recently, deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs.

CALL HIM @

 

SAYING THE FDA SHOULD BE MORE CAUTIOUS:

UNCONFIRMED:

Steven Nissen, chairman of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic

 

Guest TBA

 

 

 

2:30 – 2:58:30

OPEN

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3 KPCV-FM
626.583.5171, office
415.497.2131, mobile
jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org
www.scpr.org