RE: Patt Morrison for Friday, October 28, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, October 28, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

 

1:06 – 1:30 OPEN

 

 

1:30 – 1:58:30

Is fixing America’s political system a lost cause? Lawrence Lessig doesn’t think so

On the heels of the Occupy movement comes a man with a plan: Lawrence Lessig. Lessig’s newest book, Republic, Lost, claims that the enemy that we face today is no longer hidden in smoky backrooms, but operating right in front of us, lulling us into accepting the current economic influence over our political system as par for the course. Regardless of your political stripes, says Lessig, you have to admit that the current system operates for the good of no one but itself, keeping those with the most connections rich and ignoring everyone else. Agree or disagree, but join us with your comments—and to hear Lessig talk about his proposed solution.

 

Guests:

Lawrence Lessig, author of Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard University and professor of law at Harvard Law School

IN STUDIO

 

2:06 – 2:19

L.A. contemplates protecting street murals

Street artists have used the walls of the City of Los Angeles as a canvas to express their culture, history and political struggles for decades. The city all but endorsed this renegade art form in the late 80s after issuing a blanket exemption for outdoor murals.  But in 2002, the love affair ended when the outdoor advertising industry sued to get equal protection for billboards. Today murals are, for the most part, only legal on public poverty if they are commissioned, and the city can take a pretty heavy handed approach to enforcement. Valley Village resident Barbara Black felt she had no choice but to paint over a mural she commissioned because the Department of Building and Safety threatened her with a $1,925 fine. Well-known street artist Saber said “they buff beautiful pieces, harass property owners and threaten us like we are in street gangs.” As many as 300 murals may have been lost in the last several years due to the new policy and that has frustrated some city council members who now want to find a way to preserve them.  The city is revising the distinction between murals, which should be protected as art, and advertisements. Stay-tuned, artists may get the walls back. 

Guests:

Jose Huizar, Los Angeles City Councilman (CD-14 Boyle Heights); CD 14 is home to by far the most murals of any district in the city (including Siqueros' America Tropical at El Pueblo)

 

Saber, street artist who has been fighting to protect murals

 

2:21:30 – 2:39

Farm to market to table to mouth: LA Mag’s 360 homage to local farmers’ markets

When we live in a city without noticeable seasonal changes (is Thanksgiving really one month away?), we forget how good we have it. Thanks to the West’s fertile crescent (aka, central valley), temperate weather from our endless coastline, a healthy amount of rainfall and lots of sunshine, fresh fruits and vegetables are available all year round. We eat seasonally (have you tried the fall figs yet?); we eat locally (how about fall figs from the Santa Monica farmers’ market?); and we eat well (fall figs and caramelized onions on an artisan pizza…sprinkled with some goat cheese?). Los Angeles Magazine documents our farm-to-table bounty in their latest issue, “Food Lover’s guide to L.A.” The issue takes you to the best neighborhood markets, from the West side to the San Gabriel Mountains, and dishes on the best restaurants that serve up farmers market goods. It also provides an intimate look at where our food comes from in “48 hours in the life of a market farmer.” What are your favorite neighborhood markets, or are you more of a CSA household? What makes them so special? What are your must-have ingredients for fall?

Guest:

Lesley Suter, dine editor, Los Angeles Magazine

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

“Anonymous” Shakespeare fact-check

The film “Anonymous,” which opens in theaters today [FRI], presents a version of history that William Shakespeare was a fraud and that the works attributed to him were actually written by the Elizabethan aristocrat Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. Patt fact-checks the film with a Shakespearean scholar and gets an update on the debate over Shakespeare’s authorship—a debate that’s roiled actors like Jeremy Irons and even caught the attention of great minds like Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia. Who was the man and what does the evidence support?

 

Guests:

Arthur Horowitz, professor, chair of the department of theater for the Claremont colleges