RE: Patt Morrison for Tuesday, October 18. 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

1:06 – 1:30 OPEN

 

1:30– 1:58:30

Will Amazon’s self-publishing put publishers out of a job?

Amazon has expanded from a book-seller to a book-publisher. This fall, it is accelerating the number of books it publishes, with 122 brand-name fiction and nonfiction books lined up. The company already scared publishers with the release of its Kindle Fire, which Amazon branded as an “end-to-end service,” enabling Amazon to single-handedly publish, promote and deliver a book. Having already shrunk the market for bookstores, will Amazon now shrink the need for other publishers as well? Or will enough writers still want an agent to assist with the business side of writing? Does this threat to publishing companies bother you or are you happy to have it all done under one Amazonian roof?

 

Guests:

Jack Perry, a publishing consultant

Jim Fusilli, author of six novels as well as the rock and pop music critic of The Wall Street Journal.  His next book is being published by Amazon. 

 

UNCONFIRMED

A publisher

 

 

2:06 – 2:39

Is our quest for diversity racist?
Abigail Fisher was denied admission to the University of Texas in part because of the color of her skin. That didn’t sit too well with her, so she sued (Fisher is white).  And now it appears her case may be headed to the highest court in the land. If it makes it there, the Supreme Court could, and some say very likely will, either put an end to affirmative action programs in our nation’s public universities or severely limit them. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003 allowed states the opportunity to use race as a factor for admission. If the court changes course, will the complexion of the student body at institutions of higher learning change? Since the state of California put an end to affirmative action after the passage of Prop 209, Vikram Amar, a law professor at University of California, claims fewer black students have been admitted. He says African Americans used to account for 5 to 7 percent of the total population, now the number is around 3 to 4 percent. Does doing away with affirmative action automatically mean schools will become less diverse? And if they do, can affirmative action be instituted temporarily, until the make-up of the student body changes?

 

Guests:

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the school of law at the University of Irvine

Vikram Amar, professor of law, UC Davis

 

UNCONFIRMED

Peter Wood, anthropologist and author of “Diversity: The Invention of Concept”. He is a critic of the Grutter decision.

Peter Schuck, professor at Yale University.  He does not support affirmative action

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

From the tomato fields of California to Harvard Medical School: the life of Dr. Q

Alfredo started his academic life at a California community college after hopping the U.S.-Mexican border fence. Today, he’s known as Dr. Q, an associate professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology, Neuroscience and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Johns Hopkins University where he also directs the Brain Tumor Surgery Program, the Pituitary Surgery Program and leads the Brain Tumor Stem Cell Laboratory. In 2008, he was named one of the 100 most influential Hispanics for his cutting edge research on a cure for brain cancer. How did a 19-year-old undocumented migrant working in the tomato fields of central California become an internationally renowned neurosurgeon? Dr. Q joins Patt in studio with his story.

 

Guests:

Dr. Alfredo Quinones Hinojosa, professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology, Neuroscience and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Johns Hopkins University

IN STUDIO