RE: Patt Morrison for Friday, November 18, 2011

 

 

 

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, November 18, 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 – 1:30 OPEN

 

1:30 – 1:58:30

Employers find new ways to deal with the costs of worker wellness

New statistics from consulting companies that advise major employers on benefits they provide to employees show that companies are increasingly penalizing workers with unhealthy lifestyles. Smoking is the first vice in the crosshairs – and employers are hitting employees where it hurts… in their paychecks. Of 248 major American employers surveyed, 19 percent are now imposing financial penalties for lighting up. America’s largest employer, Wal-Mart, recently imposed a $2,000-a-year surcharge for some smokers. Other employers are taking a different tack by offering incentives to coax them into wellness programs or insurance discounts. Cash-strapped employers cite skyrocketing health care costs as the reason for the changes. Where should employers draw the line? Should companies fine their employees for vices outside the workplace? When does incentivizing wellness become discrimination?

 

Guests:

TBD

 

2:06 – 2:19 OPEN

 

2:21:30 – 2:30

Wonder Woman!  We love her, so why doesn’t Hollywood (she’s 70 and still no movie)

We’ve seen almost every notable comic book figure made into a big budget popcorn movie, but alas, our invisible jet traveling, lasso wielding sexy heroine has never made it to the silver screen.  What woman (and a few men) hasn’t put on the boots, the wig, padded their bra and dressed up as WW for Halloween? She’s a strong, independent woman, so why hasn’t the character translated to the big screen?

 

Guest:

Geoff Boucher is a pop culture writer for the Los Angeles Times and anchors the Hero Complex site (www.herocomplex.com).

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

The Doors: a close reading with Greil Marcus

It’s been forty years since Jim Morrison’s death, and still his psychedelic presence rings clear through the music of The Doors. The rock legends stumbled onto the L.A. rock and roll scene in the 1960s, and have since sold over 100 million albums worldwide. In today’s age where Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian (she sings, right?) dominate pop culture, The Doors harken back to a time in which music reflected the attitudes of an entire generation.  In his new book, “The Doors: A Lifetime of Listening to Five Mean Years,” music critic Greil Marcus dissects studio and bootleg performances to get inside these rockers’ minds. Marcus ties the band’s popularity to a dark place in American history of Charles Manson and the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Marcus joins us to talk about the cult of The Doors.

 

Guests:

Greil Marcus, author of “The Doors: A lifetime of Listening to Five Mean Years” and “Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20^th Century”; former music writer at Rolling Stone; teaches American Studies at UC Berkeley; currently teaching at The New School in New York