Patt Morrison schedule for Monday, January 9, 2012

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, January 9, 2012

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

 

1:00– 1:30

OPEN

 

1:30 – 2:00

What’s the Economy For, Anyway?

Is the point to have the largest GDP, or a healthy and happy society? What do Americans hold as their most powerful economic ideals—teamwork? Pragmatism? Equality? These are questions economists John de Graaf and David K. Batker set out to answer in their film and new book, What’s the Economy For, Anyway? De Graaf, who writes on overwork and overconsumption issues, and Batker, an environmental economist, challenge the U.S. reliance on the GDP as an indicator of progress, which they argue can run contrary to overall quality of life factors, as it did during the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, according to data analyzed by de Graaf in areas such as quality of life and health outcomes, the U.S. often under-performs, and not just against Western Europe, but poorer nations, too. Do you equate GDP with our national well-being? Are there other factors you consider to be more important?

 

Guest:

David Batker, director of Earth Economics, a non profit that provides ecologically-oriented economic analysis; he’s co-author with John de Graaf of What’s the Economy for Anyway? Why It’s Time to Stop Chasing Growth and Start Pursuing Happiness

CALL HIM

 

2:00 – 2:30
How women vote
White males have long been a bellwether when it comes to the perception of how America votes, but toss in the simple twist of gender and the situation becomes much more complicated… and nuanced. Research into the voting habits of women has provided some data that flies in the face of assumptions about voting. In fact, the lauded white male proves to be a far more fickle creature than expected once in the voting booth. Some of the research pins the shift on Ronald Reagan, whose hawkish stance and fiscal policies resonated with much of the white guy demographic, causing them to a shift to the political right while women stayed largely the same. Research has also indicated that when women shift their positions to one party or the other, men tend to follow suit, but in much more dramatically. So who’s moody now? What issues make women vote one way or the other? What can candidates do to court the female vote?

Guest: TBA

 

2:30 – 2:40

OPEN

 

2:40 – 3:00

Mystery in the jungle: Charlie Hood returns in T. Jefferson Parker’s “The Jaguar”

A Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter waits in a crumbling castle deep in a Yucatecan jungle, held hostage by the head of a powerful cartel. His demand? That she write him “the greatest narcocorrido of all time.” This is the plot of “The Jaguar,” the newest Charlie Hood novel from author T. Jefferson Parker and the third in his “Border Quartet.” Parker and his family spent time in Veracruz, Mexico, researching “The Jaguar”, and the novel roots itself in place as much as is the conflict caused by Mexico’s drug trade. Is “The Jaguar” truly “Scheherazade meets ‘No Country for Old Men,’ as Parker claims?  Join Patt as she chats with Parker and finds out.

 

PATT:  On Saturday, January 14^th, Mr. Parker is appearing at noon at Mysteries To Die For in Thousand Oaks  and at 4pm at Vroman’s Bookstore at All Saints Church in Pasadena.

 

Guests:

T. Jefferson Parker

IN STUDIO