Patt Morrison for Friday, February 10, 2012

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, February 10, 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

 

1:06-1:30: OPEN

 

1:30 – 1:50
Green light for first new U.S. nuclear reactors in 34 years
For almost 35 years, there have been no new nukes – and now the first new nuclear plant since Three Mile Island has gotten the go-ahead. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission have approved the construction of two new nuclear reactors. The pair will be built at the Vogtle site south of Augusta, Georgia and will be managed by Atlanta-based Southern Co.  Critics say that the NRC is exhibiting a sort of selective memory in the shadow of disasters like Chernobyl and the Fukushima Dai-ichi facility in Japan, but the NRC believes that a series of recommendations made in the aftermath of the nuclear crisis in Japan following 2011’s earthquake and tsunami will improve safety at new and existing American facilities. The new reactors are estimated to cost $14 billion - with $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees offered by the Obama administration, which believes that nuclear power can reduce America’s reliance on fossil fuels and the necessity of dealing with volatile political actors. Is nuclear power the answer to the world’s increasing energy demands? Can technology find a way to mitigate the danger of producing nuclear power and dealing with nuclear waste? 

Guest:

NOT CONFIRMED:

Albert Carnesale, UCLA Chancellor Emeritus and Professor and Professor of Public Policy and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

 

1:50:00-1:58:30

How do you get on the FBI’s watch list?

We’ve just seen what’s in Steve Jobs’ FBI file –including past drug use and interviews with people who say he had a penchant to "distort reality." How do you find out whether you’ve got a file with the FBI, too, and if so, what’s in it? We get to the bottom of your top secret self.

 

Guests:

TBD

 

2:06 – 2:30

James Fallows on President Obama and the value of compromise

Aloof. Inexperienced. A compromiser. President Obama has been called all of these things. And now, as he contends for a second term in office, how are the political winds blowing? Is he a skillful political player and policy visionary? Or is he politically clumsy and out of his depth, at the mercy of the Republicans? Those are the two competing narratives longtime presidential analyst James Fallow sees in Obama’s legacy and he joins Patt to explain which he thinks will prevail and how the outcome rests on the way in which President Obama is able to frame the value of compromise. Republicans are eager to capitalize on his perceived waffling, most recently on the issue of forcing Catholic institutions to cover birth control in their healthcare plans, but will Obama “fold,” or can he do more to control his image?

 

Guest:

James Fallows, national correspondent, “The Atlantic;” his most recent article is “Obama, Explained”

Via ISDN

 

2:30 – 2:39

Westminster: The dog-eat-dog world of “conformation,” a.k.a. dog shows

What does it take for a dog to succeed in show business, by which we mean “dog show” business? Lots of training, love, support, and finances – plus breeding, of course. Even a dog with great talent won’t succeed without the right set of looks. Journalist Josh Dean joins Patt to preview the Westminster Dog Show and talk ‘conformation,’ the official name for dog showing.   *Westminster starts Monday, February 13^th

 

Guest:

Josh Dean, author, “Show Dog: The charmed life and trying times of a near-perfect purebread,” for which he spent a year alongside rising start Jack, a champion Australian shepherd

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Buffy, Books and Inspector Bucket: The 45^th California International Antiquarian Book Fair and Charles Dickens turns 200

What do the Los Angeles Times’ Kenneth Turan, “The Sting”-producer Tony Bill, and the-actress-formerly-known-as-Buffy, a.k.a. Sarah Michelle Gellar, all have in common? No, it’s not the Hollywood connection. All three are avid book fiends whose collections will be featured – either on-site or via panel discussions – at the 45^th California International Antiquarian Book Fair this weekend.  Join Patt as she previews the book fair and learn what makes a book valuable (it isn’t always just your emotional attachment). 

 

Guests:

Steve Gertz, chapter president, Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America; spokesman for the Book Fair

IN STUDIO

 

Happy belated birthday, Charles Dickens

A rare first edition of “David Copperfield” will be on display at the Antiquarian Book Fair; help us celebrate Dickens’ 200^th anniversary by talking with author and scholar Jonathan Grossman, whose new book on Dickens investigates the writer’s relationship with one of the first “social networks”…the public transportation system.

 

Guest:

Jonathan Grossman, associate professor of English at UCLA; long-standing member of the Dickens Universe, an international consortium of Dickens authorities

IN STUDIO

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lauren Osen

Southern California Public Radio - 89.3 KPCC

626-583-5173 / 626-483-5278

losen@scpr.org @Patt_Morrison