Patt Morrison for Wednesday, May 7, 2012

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, May 7, 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 – 1:58:30

Without Osama bin Laden, how big of a threat is al-Qaida?

When U.S. seals killed Osama bin Laden, did they also destroy al-Qaida? Patt checks up on al-Qaida’s activity one year after bin Laden’s death—including how it has shifted tactics in his absence. She also talks with the man who spent much of his 22-year career as a CIA intelligence officer hunting, but never catching, bin Laden. In a statement he issued in 2007, bin Laden even wrote to the U.S. “If you want to understand what’s going on and if you would like to get to know some of the reasons for your losing the war against us, then read the book of Michael Scheuer in this regard.” Scheuer argued while bin Laden was still living, that the U.S. fundamentally misunderstood him as a crazy-eyed, homicidal fanatic, when in fact he was a man of intellect, compassion, and piety. That misunderstanding, Scheuer argued, kept us suffering casualties in Afghanistan. Critics, however, have long argued that Scheuer has incentive to build up an endlessly illusive and omnipotent adversary, who defied American intelligence—and specifically Scheuer—for so long.

 

Guests:

Brian Michael Jenkins, senior advisor to the President of the RAND Corporation, author of the paper “Al Qaeda in Its Third Decade”

Michael Scheuer, former intelligence officer at the Central Intelligence Agency where he served as the Chief of the bin Laden Issue Station (1996-1999) and as Special Advisor to the Chief of the bin Laden unit (2001-2004); he’s also the author of the book, Osama bin Laden

 

2:06 – 2:19 – OPEN

 

2:21:30 – 2:39

Openly gay spokesman resigns from Romney campaign over pressure from anti-gay conservatives

Mitt Romney’s Foreign Policy and National Security spokesman resigned yesterday after some social conservatives criticized his appointment as an openly gay Republican. In a statement published in the Washington Post’s Right Turn, Richard Grenell revealed that his “ability to speak clearly and forcefully on the issues has been greatly diminished by the hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues that sometimes comes from a presidential campaign.” The Romney campaign was reportedly reluctant to use Grenell as a spokesman due to pressure from socially conservative circles that object to his support of same-sex marriage. Was the campaign manipulated by conservatives who condemn same-sex marriage? What does his resignation mean for the Romney campaign’s appeal to gay Republicans?

 

Guests:

NOT CONFIRMED:

Richard Grenell, former Foreign Policy and National Security spokesman, Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign; former director of communications & public diplomacy for the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations under the Bush Administration

 

TBD, Log Cabin Republicans, a national gay and lesbian Republican grassroots organization

 

2:40 – 2:58:30

DNA USA: Mapping the melting pot, genetically speaking

Did you know that many Southwestern Catholics have Jewish genes? Or that racial intermixing is least common American descendants of New England colonists? English geneticist Bryan Sykes spent four months touring the United States, taking DNA samples and interviewing the people he took them from. The end result is DNA USA: a Genetic Biography of America, and while it might confirm your suspicions about America as a melting pot, the stories and lineages that Sykes traces aren’t always what you’d expect. Make sure to join Patt as she speaks with Skyes about the genetic history (and future) of America.

 

Guest:

Bryan Sykes, geneticist and author of DNA USA: a Genetic Biography of America and The Seven Daughters of Eve

Via ISDN

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lauren Osen

Southern California Public Radio - 89.3 KPCC

626-583-5173 / 626-483-5278

losen@scpr.org @Patt_Morrison