Patt Morrison schedule for Friday, August 10, 2012

GUEST HOST IS KPCC’S ALEX COHEN – PATT MORRISON RETURNS MONDAY, AUGUST 13TH

 

1:06 – 1:30 - OPEN

 

 

1:30 – 1:39

Slate Explainer Brian Palmer ponders why famous killers have three names

America’s past is littered with infamous killers like Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth, John Wayne Gacy, and most recently, Wade Michael Page, who committed a mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Slate’s Brian Palmer, no middle name, looked at why history’s notorious murderers often become known by three names.

 

Guest:

Brian Palmer, writer for Slate and the Washington Post

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Airline luggage – lost and found

Airlines are losing your luggage at the lowest rates since statistics have been kept. According to SITA, the airline-owned entity that tracks baggage handling mishaps, better than 99 percent of all passengers received their bags in the right place at the right time in 2005. That’s an error rate of nine lost bags per thousand, down from the high in 2005 of 18 per thousand. Are you buying the statistics? Is this merely a reflection of fewer checked bags since it costs more to check bags now than it used to?

Guests:

Brett Snyder, “The Cranky Flier” at Crankyflier.com

UNCONFIRMED
Patrick Smith, author of commercial pilot, industry expert

 

2:06 – 2:19

Does separating boys and girls help them learn better?
One of the ongoing and growing controversies in the new academic reality in the aftermath of the No Child Left Behind reforms is the proliferation of single sex public education. Proponents believe that separating boys and girls for certain classes in mixed gender schools allows the curricula to be catered to the way they believe each gender learns. Dr. Leonard Sax, founder of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education believes that with proper teacher training for single-sex educational environments, girls are more likely to take classes in math and science and boys are more interested in subjects like music, drama and foreign languages. But the opt-in practice has its detractors as well; including the American Civil Liberties Union, which has launched a national campaign called Teach Kids, Not Stereotypes and sent cease-and-desist letters to schools in five states that are implementing the practice. Critics say that schools that are currently implementing single-sex public education are doing so in a way that violates both the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, a federal statute that protects against sex discrimination in schools. Parents and school officials want the best for kids, but how can putting boys and girls in separate classes improve their education? Would you opt to put your kids in single-sex classes? Why?


Guests:
Amy Katz, cooperating attorney with the ACLU Women’s Rights Project

Leonard Sax, founder and director of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education

Edward Colación, principal of Central Los Angeles Middle School #3, a school with an opt-in single-sex instructional focus

 

2:21:30 – 2:50 - OPEN

 

 

 

2:50 – 2:58:30
Got wishes? Summer’s biggest meteor shower is here
The Perseids meteor shower is our solar system’s annual free August fireworks. The celestial show can have a theoretical peak of 90-100 meteors per hour at locations without light pollution and it brings thousands of sky watchers out to places like The Griffith Park Observatory’s annual viewing event. The Perseids begin slowly every July and build to a peak around every August 12^th. So why is 2012 anything special? In 2011, the Perseids fell on the night of a full moon, which meant that most of the ‘shooting stars’ - actually particles of interplanetary dust leftover from the comet 109/P Swift-Tuttle that generate streaks of light as they pass through Earth’s atmosphere - were washed out by the bright light of the moon. But this year the show is ripe for viewing; the 2012 Perseids peak the night of Sunday, August 12^th, which falls only a handful of days from the darkness of a new moon. For the best possible show be prepared to drive far from Los Angles’ considerable light pollution, however. Joshua Tree, anyone? Will you bring out your lawn chair and sleeping bag for the Perseids this year?    

Guests: TBD

 

 

 

 

 

 

Producer - Patt Morrison
89.3 KPCC - Southern California Public Radio
213.290.4201 – mobile/SMS
626-583-5171  – office
474 South Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA  91105
jarmstrong@kpcc.org

 

Patt Morrison schedule for Thursday, August 9, 2012

1:06 – 1:19

OPEN

 

1:21:30 – 1:39

Women’s boxing knocks out its Olympics debut

Today (Thursday), women’s boxing completes its historic first Olympics. We discuss the winners and their impact on women’s athletics. What other male-dominated sports could soon feature women?

 

Guests:

UNCONFIRMED

Bill Dwyer, LA Times reporter in London

 

UNCONFIRMED

Laila Ali, retired women’s boxer and former champion

 

1:41:30 – 1:59

Diet coke celebrates its 30^th birthday

A look at Coca-Cola’s younger, svelter sibling’s impact on pop culture and waistlines in America.

 

Guests:

Katie Baker, writer for Jezebel, contributor for the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Times

 

2:06 – 2:19

Residents deposit debris at Bank of America to protest neglected foreclosed homes

Customers headed to local Bank of America branches in southeast San Diego Tuesday might have found themselves obstructed by junk furniture such as the old sofa that local protesters dumped in front of one location to protest the banks’ neglect of foreclosed  homes. Members of the Alliance Of Californians For Community Empowerment, a homeowner advocate group, want Bank of America and other property owning banks to clean up and maintain vacant property. The group is even pushing for a city ordinance that would create a registry of foreclosed properties, and fine banks who did not maintain foreclosed homes.

 

Guests:

Paul Habibi, professor at UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, Principal of Habibi Properties, LLC, which owns over 1,600 apartment units in the Los Angeles area, and Managing Member of the Arrowhead Residential Funds, which invest in distressed housing in Kansas City, Missouri

 

UNCONFIRMED

Alliance Of Californians For Community Empowerment representative

Bank of America representative

 

2:21:30 – 2:39

Protecting yourself online: is your personal information secure with Apple, Amazon?

You would probably think that a technology magazine reporter would be an expert at keeping his personal information safe on the Internet; however; this past weekend, Wired Magazine contributor Mat Honan had his digital life kidnapped by hackers. Along with deleting his Google account, hackers also erased all the data on Honan’s MacBook, iPhone, and iPad. And what hacking takeover wouldn’t be complete without breaking into Honan’s Twitter account and posting homophobic and racially insensitive comments in his name. Honan conceded that his penchant for using the same information for each account is what led to the digital domino effect. What was more disconcerting, however, was how easy it was for hackers to attain all of his ID account information with just using his name, address, and email account through Apple and Cloud phone support. The essential piece of information that opened the flood gates for these hackers actually came from Honan’s Amazon account. All it took was for the hackers to call Amazon claiming to be Honan and ask for account setting changes (all of which were emailed to an address of their choosing.) Amazon has not made an official statement regarding Honan’s case in particular, but they claim they have taken care of this security gap. After hearing Honan’s story, do you feel less safe about the security of your digital information?

 

Guest:

Mat Honan, senior writer at WIRED

 

2:41:30 – 2:59

OPEN

 

 

 

 

Patt Morrison schedule for Wednesday, August 8, 2012

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, August 8, 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 – 1:19 OPEN

 

1:21 – 1:30

Military to limit Guantanamo detainees’ access to lawyers

On Tuesday, the Obama administration filed a 52-page brief arguing that the Navy base commander at Guantanamo should have sole veto power over attorneys’ access to detainees who do not currently have habeas petitions pending, effectively restricting a detainee’s ability to initiate such a petition. The government claims that “the court’s power to intervene” in these cases should be limited. Of the approximately 168 detainees left in Guantanamo, only five are currently being prosecuted

 

Guest: TBD

 

1:30 – 1:39 OPEN

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Tired parents can turn to ‘The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep’ for a tranquil slumber

Millions of tired parents are regularly kept awake night after night by the sound of a crying baby and are desperate to lull their babies to sleep through the night or at least most of it. Desperate parents can now turn to child sleep expert Dr. Harvey Karp’s new book “The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep: Simple Solutions for Kids from Birth to 5 Years” for guidance. Dr. Karp provides tips such as using strong white noise to induce good sleep while debunking sleep myths like the belief that a sleeping baby should never be woken. How many hours does your baby sleep at night? What challenges do you encounter when trying to lull your baby to sleep?

 

Guest: Dr. Harvey Karp, author of “The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep;” Dr. Karp is also the official child sleep expert for babycenter.com and an advisor to Parent’s Magazine, American Baby, and other publications

 

2:06 – 2:30 OPEN

 

2:30 – 2:39

Sculptor Xavier Neilhan celebrates the life and work of Richard Neutra

What’s the first thing you think when you see an airplane towing a blank, ivory banner through the sky? Can’t wrap your mind around it? Well, that’s one indication you’re dealing with modern art. This airborne performance will open “Architectones,” a new exhibition in Richard Neutra’s VDL Research House, located in Los Angeles’ Silverlake neighborhood. Neutra, one of the most significant historical figures of modernist architecture, built the glass and metal house with the financial backing of Dutch philanthropist Dr C.H. van der Leeuw (VDL) seventy-five years ago. As an homage to Neutra, figurative and abstract artist Xavier Veilhan has created a new series of installations for the house, on view starting Wednesday, August 8. Have you been to the Neutra house? What’s your take on modernist architecture and its influence on Los Angeles’ cityscape?

 

Guests: Xavier Neilhan, sculptor

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30 OPEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patt Morrison schedule for Tuesday, August 7, 2012

 

1:06 – 1:39 - OPEN

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

A new photography slide show features ‘out’ gay athletes
President Obama signed into law the repeal of the U.S. military’s controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell policy” that prevented homosexuals from openly serving in the military on December 22, 2010. In America, gay rights advocates have been making great strides in equality of sexual preference, and public perception is shifting to being more accepting of same sex marriage. But there is one aspect of American culture that has been very reluctant to accept gays, and that is the world of sports. Just try and name a single ‘out’ professional or collegiate football, basketball or baseball player. American artist Jeff Sheng created a new ten-minute video expedition that features photographs from over 150 lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual athletes that he hopes will change some entrenched ideas about gays in sports. The project is called “Fearless” and it is on display through the close of the 2012 summer Olympics in London. How can gay athletes feel free to be open about their sexuality in the world of competitive sports? Why is the sporting world so reluctant to accept gay athletes?

Guest:
Jeff Sheng, photographer, artist and the creator of “Fearless”

2:06 – 2:19 - OPEN

 

2:21:30 – 2:39
Maintaining your personal space comfort zone on the bus
Different cultures have different comfort zones as far as personal space in public places. Americans generally prefer to keep a small buffer zone around them, which can lead to some interesting interactions in cramped places with lots of people like public trains and buses. Yale sociologist Esther Kim was studying these sorts of human interactions and decided to do a little research, so she rode coach buses for three years to gather data about the techniques people use to avoid each other in places where space is at a premium. She logged thousands of miles on buses and studied people’s habits and interviewed them about the kinds of techniques they use to keep the seat next to them empty. These strategies included things like avoiding eye contact, pretending to be asleep and employing something called “the hate stare.” How far will you go for a little extra space? How close is too close when it comes to strangers?

Guest: TBD

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30
A job search from the other side of craigslist

With an 8.3 percent unemployment rate in the U.S, it’s not uncommon that job searchers are now taking to unorthodox methods to snag a job and beat out other applicants. But does anyone know the competition they’re up against? HR representatives and recruiters are swamped with applications, what does it take to actually land a job, or even an interview? Eric Auld, a partially-employed 26-year-old with a master’s degree went to craigslist, an internet classifieds website, to find the answer.  Auld decided to post a fictitious employment ad for an administrative assistant position in Manhattan to see the range of candidates that typically applied for jobs. “At 2:41P.M. on Friday — exactly 24 hours after I posted the ad — there were 653 responses in my inbox,” Auld wrote on Thought Catalog, where he posted his findings from the experiment. Auld said the test left him with one mantra in his job hunt, “No matter how much you want this job, there are 652 other people who want it, too.”

Guest:

Eric Auld, contributor to McSweeney’s and Thought Catalog, lecturer in English at SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury, NY and Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, MA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Producer - Patt Morrison
89.3 KPCC - Southern California Public Radio
213.290.4201 – mobile/SMS
626-583-5171  – office
474 South Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA  91105
jarmstrong@kpcc.org

 

Patt Morrison schedule for Monday, August 6, 2012

1:06 – 1:20

OPEN

 

1:21 – 1:39

NASA’s ‘Curiosity’ Mars rover survives the ‘seven minutes of terror’ – so what next?
Shortly after 10pm PDT last night, NASA’s latest robotic Mars explorer hurtled through the Martian atmosphere and landed safely on the surface of Mars. Since leaving Earth in late November of last year, Curiosity had travelled roughly 150 million miles at nearly 13,000 miles per hour before arriving on the Martian surface. But it wasn’t easy, to get from interplanetary space to Mars’ red soil, Curiosity had to successfully complete an elaborate automated landing sequence that captured imaginations of Earthlings and gave scientists fits. Now that the perilous trip is over the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) - Curiosity’s official name - can begin its mission. Objectives for the $2.5 billion mission include a range of experiments designed to determine if Mars could have ever supported life. The one-ton unmanned rover will also study Mars’ climate and geology to set the stage for an eventual human mission to Mars. Is sending such an expensive and complicated piece of machinery to another planet worth the cost? How will humans reach Mars, and someday beyond?

 

Guests:

TBD

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Olympics in Los Angeles: 1932, 1984, 2024?

In 1932, the Olympic Games in Los Angeles brought the first Olympic village for athletes, a victory podium for medal-winners and the debut of the first photo-finish camera in races. In 1984, the Los Angeles Games turned a profit of more than $200 million, the most financially successful Olympics in history. What would another Los Angeles Olympics bring to the city? Investment in infrastructure and green-lit transit projects around the city to prepare for an influx of visitors? Or heavy debt and venues that will sit empty soon after? Would you like to see the Olympics back in LA?

 

Guests:

TBD

 

2:06 – 2:30

What should a therapist do with a patient like James Holmes?

James Holmes was being treated by a psychiatrist who warned University of Colorado officials about his behavior, according to one report, but no action was taken because Holmes began the process of dropping out of graduate school. The case has reignited a debate about when therapists or counselors should or should not breach doctor-patient confidentiality. Professionals are legally and ethically required to break confidentiality when they believe an identifiable victim is in imminent danger; however, making this determination can be a less than straightforward process. Whether or not a patient has a history of violence is often a key factor in deciding when to breach confidentiality, warn the appropriate parties, and possibly recommend that the patient be hospitalized. No therapist can predict a patient’s future behavior, but how should they go about determining whether or not to violate their patient’s confidence, if ever?

 

Guest:

Art Caplan, head of the division of medical ethics at the NYU Langone medical center

 

2:30 – 2:39

OPEN

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Clint Eastwood endorses Mitt Romney, could more in Hollywood turn red?

A look at whether Clint Eastwood’s recent endorsement of Mitt Romney could be an indication of the traditionally-liberal Hollywood scene supporting the Republican party in the futre. 

 

Guest:

UNCONFIRMED

Ted Johnson, writes the “Wilshire and Washington” blog for Variety

 

 

 

 

Patt Morrison schedule for Friday, August 3, 2012

1:06 – 1:39 – OPEN

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

The age of the TV reboot

Here’s a story of a lovely lady…actually, it’s the story of another 70s reboot. Actor Vince Vaughn has announced plans to return to “The Brady Bunch,” which aired originally from 1969-1974. Like CBS’s version of “Hawaii Five-0,” the plotline will take place in this century, however. The show will follow a divorced Bobby Brady (not Mike), who marries a divorcée with her own children. Reboots and remakes have had varying success; the most popular being Syfy’s “Battlestar Galactica.” On the other hand, after several feature-length films, the “Charlie’s Angels” 2011 television series fizzled out with nary a whimper. What makes one reboot better than another? For that matter, when a reboot is good, what makes it good to begin with? What shows are you dying to return to?

 

Guests: TBD

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:19

The Jonah Lehrer scandal makes us question journalistic ethics in a mash-up world
Best-selling author and journalist Johan Lehrer sent a shockwave through the realm of intellectuals when he resigned his position at The New Yorker on Monday following a scandal that involved fabricated quotes from music legend Bob Dylan. When another journalist confronted Lehrer about Dylan quotes he felt were invented in his latest book, “Imagine,” Lehrer initially attributed the error to unintentional misquoting, thereby deepening the ruse. Lehrer came clean early this week and thus began the headlines. Lehrer’s actions and attempted cover up led to widespread criticism and prompted his publisher to pull “Imagine” from bookstores and e-book retailers. Journalism is a profession of information built on the bedrock of truth, and Lehrer had made a name for himself writing books and magazine articles on heady topics like psychology, neuroscience and how science and the humanities intersect. But Lehrer is only 31 years old and had only been writing for The New Yorker for less than two months. Intelligent and insightful as he may be, he is from a generation of Internet natives for whom ideas like intellectual property are an archaic concept. Modern artists - more than ever before - freely borrow from each other and from work that came before, blurring, and even rejecting, genre lines along the way. So, did Jonah Lehrer violate a pillar of journalism or is he just giving a name to a new kind of ‘gonzo journalism’ where the art is close enough to the truth to make it so? How have journalistic ethics changed in the era of blogs and opinion-based media?

Guests: TBD

 

 

 

2:21:30 – 2:39 – OPEN

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30
UNCONFIRMED

Marilyn Monroe’s death 50 years later

 

Guests: TBD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Producer - Patt Morrison
89.3 KPCC - Southern California Public Radio
213.290.4201 – mobile/SMS
626-583-5171  – office
474 South Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA  91105
jarmstrong@kpcc.org

 

Patt Morrison schedule for Wednesday, August 2, 2012

1:06 – 1:39 - OPEN

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

UNCONFIRMED

Mindy Meyer, latest internet sensation, future President?
New York state Senate candidate Mindy Meyer’s bedazzled pink web page seems more akin to something you’d expect from Jersey Shore’s Snooki than a political candidate, and is making the Internet rounds as the latest viral hit. But according to Salon’s Michael Barthel, she's also the first candidate to truly represent the culture of the web.

 

Guest:

Michael Barthel, PhD candidate in the communication department at the University of Washington, contributor to the Awl, Idolator, and the Village Voice

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

Is the United States a Christian nation?
At a press event with the president of Turkey in 2006, President Barack Obama made the comment that the United States was no longer simply a Christian nation - that America had become more ecumenical and was comprised of a diverse set of faiths. Obama was widely criticized for his remark at the time, but this week the National Association of Evangelicals echoed his comments with the results of a survey of selected evangelical leaders. When asked whether or not the U.S. was a Christian nation, 68 percent of them said no. The association’s president, Leith Anderson, added “Much of the world refers to America as a Christian nation, but most of our Christian leaders don’t think so.” Other members of the organization gave different reasons for their answers that ranged from rejecting the idea that a nation can be solely Christian to a position that America once had been, but is no longer a nation of Christians. But many of them were in agreement that more domestic missionary work was required to put the country back on the Evangelical path. The U.S. doesn’t have an official religion, but how has Christianity influenced its people and history?

Guest:
Reza Aslan, editor at the Daily Beast and internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions; his latest book is “Beyond Fundamentalism: confronting religious extremism in the age of globalization”|

2:30 – 2:58:30

Consumer complaints lead to recoup of almost $147 million from American businesses

The Consumer Federation of America released its annual report of consumer complaints this week, and it seems no business sector was left untouched. Shady mechanics, hidden credit card fees, missing-in-action contractors and straight-up fraud are just a few of the complaints on the list. New this year, are real-estate-related complaints like high-pressure timeshare sales and assisted living facilities that misrepresent their services. The report also indicates grievances about cockroaches are being overrun by complaints about bedbugs. Positively, the 290,000 complaints resulted in a recovery of nearly $147 million for the parties involved. Does this new study mirror your experiences? What bad experiences have you had as a consumer? What is your number one complaint?

 

Guest:

Susan Grant, director of consumer protection, Consumer Federation of America (CFA); she is the author of the 2011 Consumer Complaint Survey Report published on Tuesday; The CFA is a non-profit consumer advocate association of nearly 300 organizations and it was established in 1968

 

 

 

 

 

Producer - Patt Morrison
89.3 KPCC - Southern California Public Radio
213.290.4201 – mobile/SMS
626-583-5171  – office
474 South Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA  91105
jarmstrong@kpcc.org