Patt Morrison for Monday, April 9, 2012

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, April 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

 

 

1:06 – 1:30 - OPEN

 

1:30 – 2:00

Growing a green business: inside the medical marijuana trade
Ganjaprenurialism – it’s on the rise. At least it has been since 2009, when the U.S. Justice Department announced that it would make busting medical marijuana operations a low priority. But pot’s popular appeal was growing steadily long before that – in the ‘50s, reefer was just for rapists, murderers and juvenile delinquents; today nearly 40% of the United State population over 12 admits to having tried it.  The for-profit growth and sale of medical marijuana is legal in 16 states and the District of Columbia, with “green” storefronts sprouting up in strip malls and openly advertising their wares. Greg Campbell, author of “Pot, Inc,” writes that the “question isn’t if the nation will one day confront the differences between what the law says…and what science…and social culture say, but when.” As a formerly non-inhaling journalist and a resident of Colorado – a state whose Constitution protects its citizens’ right to grow pot – Campbell decided to dive into what is both a subculture and an industry.  He enrolled in the medical marijuana program and started farming pot in his basement in order to investigate what he calls the United States’ “schizophrenic” attitude towards the substance. “Devil weed” or medical miracle?  Outlaws or entrepreneurs?  Will growing marijuana always be a shadow industry?

Guest:

Greg Campbell, author of “Pot, Inc.: Inside Medical Marijuana, America’s Most Outlaw Industry” (Sterling)

VIA ISDN

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

Hispanic vs. Latino, or neither…how do you identify?

The term “Hispanic” was adopted by the United States government in the 1970s as a word used to identify people from Central and South America, but many Americans whose lineage traces to countries in that part of the world have never felt an affinity for the label. In the 1990s, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget added the term “Latino” to government reports, but that word has not always been fully embraced either. A new report by the Pew Hispanic Center indicates that the majority of people of Latin American descent choose to identify themselves by their countries of origin. For instance, an individual from Puerto Rico would simply be called “Puerto Rican.” Most of the 1,220 “Latino” adults polled also did not observe a shared common culture among all “Latinos,” as is sometimes assumed by mainstream America. Are the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” misleading, inaccurate, or offensive? Is it politically incorrect to group all people with Central and South American lineage together? Where do we draw the line, if at all, between a person’s race and his or her nationality?

 

Guests:

UNCONFIRMED:

Roberto Suro, former president, Pew Hispanic Center, USC Annenberg School of Communication

 

Leslie Berestein-Rojas, KPCC’s immigration reporter; she writes the Multi-American blog

IN STUDIO

 

2:30 – 2:39 - OPEN

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

What’s your strategy for beating death? Stephen Cave’s Immortality

How much would you say your life is influenced by your fear of death? Some say that everything humankind does reflects this fear, from art to science to politics. Whether you’re interested in cryogenics, seeing your face on-screen, or are invested in your children’s education, author, philosopher and former diplomat Stephen Cave believes you’re likely unconsciously following one of four timeless strategies for beating death: the quest for immortality (coincidentally the name of Cave’s newest book), the belief in the soul, the promise of resurrection, or the pursuit of legacy. Do your actions fit any of these categories? What would the world look like if we all truly did live forever?

 

Guests:

Stephen Cave, author of Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Destroys Civilizations

 

 

 

 

Lauren Osen

Southern California Public Radio - 89.3 KPCC

626-583-5173 / 626-483-5278

losen@scpr.org @Patt_Morrison