Patt Morrison for Friday, March 11, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, March 11, 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

 

 

1:08:30 – 1:19:30

What can the White House do for you on high fuel prices?

Gasoline in California costs an average of $3.91 and is most likely headed much higher before any relief will be felt by motorists, the perfect formula to wreck an already shaky economic recovery.  What, if anything, can the Obama administration do for average Americans who are starting to feel the pinch of not only high gas prices but also high food prices?  That is debatable—there are increasing demands for the president to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the stash of oil that the federal government keeps on hands in case of emergencies, and arguments have been made for increased domestic oil production.  But beyond that, short of engineering a magical solution for the civil war in Libya that’s mostly to blame for the oil price spike, what more can the White House do?  President Obama will step the mic to offer some potential solutions, but can he do anything more than tell the American people he feels their pain?

 

Guests:

Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

HE CALLS US:

 

 

1:26 – 1:37

OPEN

 

 

1:42:30 – 1:54

Will the real GOP presidential candidate in 2012 please stand up?

It’s being described as the most wide open presidential primary in the history of the Republican Party.  2012 presents an opportunity to topple a sitting president in Barack Obama who has championed some of the most intensely unpopular policies & legislation among American conservatives, and preside over what could very well be a Republican sweep of Congress.  2012 also promises to be a vicious primary battle with several high-profile and well financed candidates vying for the GOP nomination, and the race has a little bit of everything—something old, something new, something borrowed, something red.  From established veterans like Romney, Huckabee and Gingrich to super star lightening rods like Sarah Palin, and dark horse candidates like Huntsman, Daniels or Barbour, the GOP primary has something for every Republican voter—except a clear front runner.  Who is best poised to win the nomination and take on President Obama, and who could come out of nowhere to be the next big Republican thing?

 

Guest:

TBD

 

2:08:30 – 2:19:30

Federal Reserve report finds no wrongful foreclosures…can that be true?

All 50 state attorneys general banded together last fall to demand a Federal investigation into banks' foreclosure practices after revelations of widespread “robo-signing” of foreclosures by some companies halted repossessions of many homes. The resulting report from a months-long Federal Reserve investigation came back yesterday and found no wrongful foreclosures by banks. The Fed's findings seem to support the banking industry’s claims that, while they cop to sloppy practices, maintain that homeowners whose homes were repossessed were significantly behind on their payments. However, consumer advocates think the federal investigators defined what constitutes a "wrongful foreclosure" far too narrowly. The report stirs the pot for bank regulators concerned with ensuring the soundness of the banking system, and law enforcement officials, concerned with allegations of widespread violations of state and federal bankruptcy and consumer protection laws during foreclosures.

 

Guests:

TBD

 

 

2:26 – 2:37

How did the penis lose its spikes?

A study published this week in the journal Nature details how humans lost chunks of DNA from their genome as they evolved from apes, with whom it has been estimated we share 96% of our DNA. In the study, Stanford researchers pinpointed molecular mechanisms that triggered humans to evolve bigger brains than chimpanzees, lose the small sensory whiskers found on apes’ faces, and evolve distinctly spike-free penises. The small hard spines on chimpanzee penises are believed to promote monogamy, so why did evolution phase them out of humans?

 

Guest:

NOT CONFIRMED:

Gill Bejerano, assistant professor of Developmental Biology, Stanford University. He is also the author of the study published in Nature

CALL HIM @

 

 

2:42 – 2:53:45

Annie Leonard and the Story of Stuff

Stuff. Americans have got a lot of it, we don’t share it well, and some of it is even toxic. Annie Leonard first tackled the story of stuff in a viral online video that explained the processes all our stuff goes through on its journey from natural resource, to product, to waste. The cartoon was so popular it even became a book, further exploring the negative impact that Americans’ “take, make, waste” philosophy has on our lives and our planet. Leonard joins Patt with her exposé into the hidden environmental and social costs of our current systems of production and consumption and what you can do to curb it.

 

Guests:

Annie Leonard, author of The Story of Stuff: The Impact of Overconsumption on the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health—And How We Can Make It Better; director of the Story of Stuff Project

CALL HER:

 

 

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