Patt Morrison for Monday, October 31, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, October 31, 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 – 1:40: OPEN

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Journalist Erin Aubry Kaplan and the modern black experience

Erin Aubry Kaplan is a Los Angeles-based author and journalist who is renowned for addressing issues of race head on and with a deft touch.  In her new book, Black Talk, Blue Thoughts and Walking the Color Line, Kaplan turns her keen eye and unique literary voice to topics that encompass the full range of the modern African American experience.  The book features thirty-three essays about a wide range of topics that originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Salon.com and elsewhere. Subjects range from the mundane to the tragic – including stories about Hurricane Katrina, Tiger Woods and Serena Williams, as well as new essays about President Barack Obama and her personal struggles with depression. But the common thread is Kaplan’s ability to distill life in the 21st century down to its complex and beautiful absurdity.

 

Guest:

Erin Aubry Kaplan, author, “Black Talk, Blue Thoughts, and Walking the Color Line: Dispatches from a Black Journalista;” contributing editor, op-ed section of the Los Angeles Times

IN-STUDIO

2:06 – 2:30

How much praise should we give our children?

Of course every parent wants to build self-esteem in their child, but can too much praise, or the wrong kind, backfire? Carol Dweck, author of “Parent Praise” claims it can. Her research found that kids who were given kudos for their effort (you tried really hard) as opposed to their sense of self (you are really smart) had higher self-esteem and were more motivated.  So if too much praise isn’t such a good thing, should we avoid giving kids trophies for simply showing up? Does the wrong kind of positive reinforcement as a child explain why some adults feel worthless after losing a job? If the research is sound, should we readjust how we talk to our kids? 

 

Guest:

UNCONFIRMED – DO NOT PROMOTE

Carol Dweck, researcher, Stanford University, author of the study “Parent Praise”

 

2:30 – 2:58:30

Halloween costumes: the good, the bad and the ugly

Ah, Halloween, a holiday full of chocolate and reminders about the dangers of public perception. As of last Saturday, 4-year-old Luc wanted to be a princess for Halloween. Luc’s mothers, Anna and Louisa Villenueve, a lesbian couple living in Glendora, CA, are as loathe to let him as they are to turn their backs on their activist values. Glendora weighed in as “Yes on 8” in 2008, and the Villenueves are afraid that their neighbors’ reactions might be too vehement for Luc to understand. As Anna said in a recent Los Angeles Times article, “What I don’t want is. . .the comment that will make my child feel like he’s done something wrong.” The Villaneuves have a particularly sticky issue on the table (no pun intended), but what has the holiday brought up for you?  Share your best and worst stories, plus best and worst costumes, today on Patt Morrison.

 

Guests:

Anna and Louisa Villeneuve, a lesbian couple whose son wanted to dress up as a princess for Halloween

Paula Poundstone, comedienne and mother, she is a regular on NPR’s weekly news quiz program, “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me,” Her first comedy CD is “I HEART JOKES.”

 

 

 

Lauren Osen

Southern California Public Radio - 89.3 KPCC

626-583-5173 / 626-483-5278

losen@scpr.org @Patt_Morrison