Patt Morrison schedule for Wednesday, July 18, 2012

1:06 – 1:39  – OPEN

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

The mystery and mythology of picking names for new pharmaceuticals
Viagra, Rogaine, Cialis and Propecia are some of the marquee brand names for big pharma’s never ending array of drugs, but the list goes on and on. There is Evista, Essure, Velcade, Alora, Levitra, Zubrin, Meridia, Xigris, Strattera and Humira. And let’s not forget RePro, Velcade, Humalog, Vree, ZipWik and GemZar. It’s a dizzying cavalcade of blandly inoffensive names for drugs that may or may not mean anything, yet sound subtly suggestive of what they might actually do. Picking a name for a new drug is a complicated proposition, and pharmaceutical companies spend around $3 million to come up with a name like Viagra and get it approved. Given that regulators reject as many as 50 percent of the names that are proposed - and it isn’t uncommon for a multi-million dollar advertising campaign to back up a new product - a lot of time and research goes into conjuring up these monikers. How much does a name for a drug matter? What makes naming pharmaceutical products different from naming other goods and services?

Guests:

UNCONFIRMED

David Placek, founder and C.E.O. of Lexicon Branding, the firm responsible for naming the Pentium processor and Apple’s Powerbook.

 

 

2:06 – 2:19 – OPEN

 

 

 

2:21:30 – 2:39

How does the gender disparity among Wikipedia editors influence what you read?

What’s more culturally important, Kate Middleton’s wedding gown or the most obscure of Linux distributions? For Wikipedia editors, Linux distribution wins hands down, with over 100 articles. As for the wedding dress, someone flagged it for deletion—on the day of the royal wedding itself. The entry was ultimately saved by a group of editors worried about the Wiki-community’s persistent gender gap, including Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales. While plenty of female editors also scoffed at the entry, and representatives of both genders rolled their eyes over the notion that an entry on a dress could correct Wikipedia’s hormonal imbalance (only 9% of the site’s editors are female), the incident raised questions about how much influence Wikipedia’s gender gap actually has on its content. Are Wiki-editors with itchy keyboard fingers getting rid of pertinent content that someone of a different chromosome set would find more relevant than (for the sake of argument) Linux distributions?

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Why do we love to swim?

Did you know swimming is the third most popular sport in the U.S.? Or did you every stop to think about how it’s the only sport humans play in a different element?  Join Patt as she talks with author Lynn Sherr about the history of swimming, from Julius Caesar to Michael Phelps; the science of spandex and the evolution of swim suits. Find out how the fluid activity uses every large muscle group and helps build lean muscle mass. And why, because skin is our largest organ, swimming is arguably the most sensuous sport. What do you love about swimming? Call in and share.

 

Guests:

Lynn Sherr, former ABC correspondent and author of “SWIM: Why We Love the Water”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Tuesday, July 17, 2012

1:06 – 1:39 – OPEN

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Some of America’s most prominent companies have become ‘ethical chic,’ but how ethical are they really?

In the digital age, information travels faster than ever thanks to texting, e-mailing, and social media. As a result, word of mouth or word of Twitter, are increasingly vital for companies looking to establish trendy reputations among consumers. Some companies such as Apple Inc. have managed to win over many consumers’ trust, loyalty, and adoration through clever marketing techniques. Author Fran Hawthorne, however, questions the ethical standards practiced by the beloved companies behind some of America’s most popular brands, including Apple, American Apparel, Trader Joe’s, Tom’s of Maine and more. Hawthorne investigated these companies and revealed her intriguing findings in her latest book. Some brands seem to project progressive images, but how progressive and how ethical are they really? How much does a company’s ethical track record really matter to you as a consumer? How do you decide whether or not you can trust a company?

 

Guests:

Fran Hawthorne, author of “Ethical Chic: The Inside Story of the Companies We Think We Love”

 

2:06 – 2:19  – OPEN

 

 

2:21:30 – 2:39

Air Conditioning turns 110

They say the Winchester rifle won the West, but some beg to differ. In many ways, air conditioning won the west, allowing millions of people to live in almost uninhabitable deserts. Patt celebrates the 110^th anniversary of modern air conditioning and takes a look at how it forever changed development in the western United States. Tune in to learn about its earliest origins in ancient Egypt, Benjamin Franklin’s experiments with evaporation as a means of cooling, and the first large-scale electrical air conditioning invented in 1911 by Willis Haviland Carrier.

Guest:

Stan Cox, senior scientist at The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas and author of “Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World”

NOT CONFIRMED:

David Seifman, City Hall bureau chief, New York Post

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30
‘Fight Club’ author Chuck Palahniuk reimagines his third novel ‘Invisible Monsters’
Authors don’t usually get the chance to do a “director’s cut” of their earlier works, but success has its perks. It was the David Fincher-directed adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s first book, “Fight Club” that would put the author on the literary map, but Palahniuk had penned two other books before Fincher’s movie got released three years after the book was originally published. Due to Palahniuk’s relative obscurity in the interim, his third book, “Invisible Monsters” was only released in paperback form. In his post-“Fight Club” notoriety, Palahniuk wrote nine more books, including “Choke,” “Rant” and “Lullaby” but felt that the first edition of “Invisible Monsters” didn’t fully realize his original vision for the work. The newly released 2012 hardcover edition of the revamped book is called “Invisible Monsters Remix” and it provided Palahniuk the opportunity to add additional scenes and use an innovative pacing that finds readers jumping between chapters to follow the plot that blurs the line between fiction and fact. What are your favorite Chuck Palahniuk books? What are artists accomplishing when they go back and modify their older works? 

 

Guests:
Chuck Palahniuk (PAHL-ah-nick – rhymes with “politic”), author of “Invisible Monsters Remix (W.W. Norton and Company 2012), his other books include “Fight Club,” “Choke” and “Rant”

IN- STUDIO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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, July 16, 2012

1:06  – 1:19  OPEN

 

1:21 – 1:39

Gov. Brown allows hands-free texting

 

Guest:

TBD

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Can the porn industry fight back against required condoms?

Will adult film actors be required to wear condoms across the county? It depends what Los Angeles has to say. A petition that requires condoms for all pornography actors has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, says "This ordinance should go a long way to improve safety on the sets for adult film performers," Porn actors in the city of Los Angeles have been required to wear condoms since March, but now, voters will get decide if the same regulations should be applied to the rest of L.A. county. But how will the porn industry fight back? "There's never been something on the ballot as sexually explicit as this,” Weinstein said, and it’s unlikely fighting against the use of condoms will be popular with voters. "If we have ads brought to you by Larry Flynt and other pornographers, we would be thrilled. It's not hard to figure out that people don't hold pornographers in high esteem."

 

Guest:

UNCONFIRMED:

Request sent to the Free Speech Coalition, the trade association for the adult entertainment industry

 

2:06 – 2:30

What was President Obama’s biggest mistake? Depends who you ask

“What’s been your biggest mistake?” is an evergreen question asked of presidents nearing the end of their first terms. President George W. Bush couldn’t think of an answer and during CBS’s interview, which aired in full this morning [MONDAY], President Obama said his biggest mistake “was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right” and not so much to “tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism…” Do you agree? Patt talks with presidential historian Michael Beschloss about how this answer has changed over time with the expectations of presidents.

 

Guest:

UNCONFIRMED:

Michael Beschloss, presidential historian and author of nine books including “Presidential Courage”

 

2:30 – 2:40 OPEN

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Politics and the Olympics – can sports trump ideology?
The Olympic Games allow athletes from countries around the globe to gather peacefully and compete in a myriad of sporting events.  The competitors may be apolitical, but the countries that send them are most certainly not. Countries have boycotted the games numerous times throughout history, notably the United States’ boycotting of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest of the U.S.S.R.’s invasion of Afghanistan on December 27, 1979. Four years later, the Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles citing safety concerns for their athletes. By the time the Cold War ended in 1989, the major states had all returned to compete, but internal politics marred the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta when a domestic terrorist set off a bomb in Centennial Park, killing two people and injuring 111 others. The bloodiest Olympic controversy took place during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany when the Palestinian terrorist group Black September took members of the Israeli Olympics team hostage and ended up murdering eleven of them. Is it possible to keep politics out of the Olympics? How do athletes, spectators and host countries balance national pride and sportsmanship?

Guest:

TBD

 

 

 

 

 

Patt Morrison schedule for Friday, July 13, 2012

1:06  – 1:39  OPEN

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Damage control: when and what should politicians disclose?

After weeks of missing votes, Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. announced through his office in late June that he was on medical leave for exhaustion. Yesterday, his office revealed that he is being treated for a mood disorder. Whether it’s Vice President Dick Cheney’s heart condition or former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus, who disappeared before revealing a substance-abuse problem, there are countless examples of publicly elected officials keeping medical information from their constituents. What obligation do elected officials have to disclose medical information to their constituents? Does it matter whether that’s a heart condition or depression? 

 

Guests:

TBA

 

2:06 – 2:19

Don’t take your road trip for granted

It’s summer vacation season and for many of us, that means “road trip.” As recently as the 1960s, however, African American motorists traveling in America were often guaranteed less-the-welcome receptions in many parts of the country. Traveling could be downright dangerous. In 1936, a postal worker and activist named Victor H. Green took matters into his own hands and started publishing “The Negro Motorist Green Book.” “The Green Book,” along with similar publications, acted as guidebooks, identifying safe zones and “tourist homes” – private houses where African Americans could spend the night while on the road. Calvin Alexander Ramsey, whose play “The Green Book” features a couple spending the night at the house of a Holocaust survivor, remembers traveling with his parents between Baltimore and Roxboro, North Carolina and having to pack a huge picnic lunch in order to avoid any risky stops. Green published the last issue of his book in 1964, but these travel experiences continue to be within the living memory of many African Americans. Do you have experiences of traveling or hosting African Americans pre-segregation? How much have things actually changed?

 

Guests: TBA

 

 

2:21:30 – 2:39
Is binge-watching TV the best or worst way to catch up on your favorite programs?
The Internet has revolutionized how people watch TV. No longer are consumers beholden to the whims of networks and the rigid structures of calendars and airtimes. Americans now watch TV on their computers, smart phones and on their living room sets - and they watch their favorite shows when they want to watch them. Television is now largely an on-demand medium and that has lead TV junkies to develop some interesting viewing habits. One of these newer practices is the rise of “binge-watching,” which occurs when a viewer might consume many hours of a particular program in one sitting, one episode after the other. Proponents of binge-watching say, for example, that viewing the entire 3^rd season of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” in a weekend allows viewers to be totally immersed in the universe of the show. But there is also a rising chorus of those who believe that the serial nature of television programming dictates that a TV show must be best appreciated with days between episodes to properly digest, mull and discuss the many plotlines, characters and subtle details involved in the story arc of a season. Are you guilty of watching entire seasons of “The Wire” in a week? How do you think TV shows are best appreciated – in one fell swoop or spread out over days?

 

Guests:
Jim Pagels, Slate contributor and author of the article “Stop Binge-Watching TV”

Mary H.K. Choi, columnist for Wired magazine, editor at MTV style, comic book creator at Marvel and Vertigo and author of the article “In Praise of Binge TV Consumption”

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

‘Fooling Houdini’ – the science behind the art of magic
The art of magic is a lot more than just pulling a rabbit out of a hat or sawing a person in half. It is a time-honored tradition that uses the limitations of the human mind and body to make people believe that they’re seeing things they know to be impossible. When amateur magician Alex Stone made a spectacularly poor showing at the Magic Olympics in 2006 he initially vowed to hang up his cape for good. But he found he couldn’t bring himself to put down the wand and decided to combine other skills from his bag of tricks to become an elite practitioner of the art form. Apart from being a struggling magician, Stone was also a journalist and held a master’s degree in physics; these disciplines put him in a unique position to deconstruct the closely guarded skills and secrets of magicians and illusionists and take a look at the science behind the trickery. His new book, “Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind,” follows the author’s journey through magic tournaments, conventions, lectures, shows and encounters with eccentrics, skeptics, scholars, cheats, criminals, geniuses, legends and prodigies on his odyssey to peel back the curtain on the world of magic. How has magic changed over time? What can science tell us about the world of illusion?

 

Guest:
Alex Stone, magician, journalist and author of “Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind” (Harper 2012)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 for Thursday July 12, 2012

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Thursday, July 12, 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 – 1:48:30 - OPEN

 

1:48:30-1:58:30

After San Bernardino, what happens to its municipal bonds?

Yesterday San Bernardino became the third city in California to declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy in three weeks. For the city of about 200,000, what does that mean for all its debts? So far the news doesn’t seem to have impacted the market and it is exceedingly rare for cities to default on investment-grade municipal bonds, but could they? Do big investors fare better than small ones? And do they get paid?

 

Guests:

UNCONFIRMED:

Josh Gonze, a municipal-bond fund manager at Thornburg Investment Management

2:06 – 2:30

Digging into Mitt Romney’s offshore accounts

Journalist Nicholas Shaxson, author of “Treasure Islands: Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens,” joins Patt to talk about his Vanity Fair article looking into Mitt Romney's offshore financial dealings. How do they work? And what’s a blind trust?

 

Guest:

Nicholas Shaxson, author of the piece “Where the Money Lives” in this month’s Vanity Fair

ON TAPE

 

TBD, Other guest

2:21:30 – 2:39
Jerry Brown wins the fight to have his tax proposal appear first on the ballot in November
California Governor Jerry Brown won an incremental victory on Monday when a Sacramento County superior judge ruled that his tax proposal will appear first on the ballot in November. Molly Munger is a proponent of a competing tax proposal who had filed suit against the governor to change the order of the eleven ballot measures and ensure that Brown’s initiative wasn’t at the top of the ballot. In California, initiatives appear on election ballots in the order in which the state certifies them after counties count and verify signatures on petitions. Many election experts believe that appearing higher on a paper ballot can increase a candidate or law’s chances of passing as fickle voters lose interest as their eyes move farther down the ballot. How can the order of choices on a ballot influence the possibility of success? What is the fairest way to determine what appears where on a ballot?

Guest: TBA 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

‘The Better End: Surviving (and Dying) on Your Own Terms in Today's Modern Medical World’ according to Dan Morhaim

We often praise modern medical science for providing advanced treatments that save lives using methods beyond what was once thought possible. Physicians are able to monitor, regulate and even engineer the human body more effectively with each passing year. These advancements in health management, however, have brought along new dilemmas to face when navigating our mortality such as deciding how, when, and where we die. In his new book, author and practicing physician Dr. Dan Morhaim explores end-of-life care and the tough decisions that we must make as we prepare to depart our existence. Morhaim informs readers about considerations such as where to find readily available living wills and advance directives and why it is important to use them. Where and how do you want to spend your final days?

 

Guest:

Dr. Dan Morhaim, author of "The Better End: Surviving (and Dying) on Your Own Terms in Today's Modern Medical World" and practicing physician

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lauren Osen

Southern California Public Radio - 89.3 KPCC

626-583-5173 / 626-483-5278

losen@scpr.org @Patt_Morrison

 

Patt Morrison for Wednesday, July 11, 2012

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, July 11, 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 – 1:39
Having a dog or cat makes kids healthier
A new study by researchers at Kuopio University Hospital in Finland found that kids who grow up with pets in their home get sick less often. The study took a look at 397 children from pregnancy through their 1^st birthdays and found that kids with a dog in their household had 31 percent fewer respiratory tract infections, 44 percent fewer ear infections and needed 29 percent fewer prescriptions for antibiotics. Houses with cats had similar, but less pronounced results. Is it the dirt that Molly the lab or Mr. Peepers the tabby drags in that boots kids’ immunity? Or is it just that kids with pets are happier?

Guest:

Michael Chill, Dog behaviorist and animal trainer

 

1:40-2:00 – OPEN

 

2:06 – 2:39

Ask the Chief
It’s time for Ask the Chief, your monthly opportunity to put your law and order questions to top cop chief Charlie Beck. Patt gets the latest on the ongoing hunt for the “Teardrop Rapist,” the recent eight shootings in six hours in South L.A., and the arraignment hearings of the two suspects charged with murdering USC students Ying Wu and Ming Qu. Chief Beck also responds to the report out this week that called LAPD police shooting data “misleading” and took a look at officer related traffic incidents, which now account for 25 percent of all suits filed against police officers, and a lot of taxpayer money. Write or call-in with your questions for the Chief.

 

Guest:

Charlie Beck, Los Angeles Police Department Chief

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Angelenos sniff out love through the science of smell 

Ever hear of a pheromone party? People looking for love – or at least a great conversation – try to find their perfect match using their noses. These shindigs are loosely based on scientific research on pheromones, hormones we emit as scents that can create strong attractions between people. Before the event, partygoers sleep in a clean shirt. Purists insist that they wear no perfume, cologne or deodorant.  Upon arrival, guests rate one another solely based on their pheromones, inferred by sniffing the t-shirt samples, later to learn the identity of their love match. Would you attend such a gathering? And how important is smell in our intimate relationships?

 

Guests:

Judith Prays, a web developer who now lives in Atlanta, said she came up with the idea for pheromone parties after she failed to find a match online

 

Denise Hamilton, LA crime novelist, editor of Los Angeles Noir and perfume writer for the Los Angeles Times

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lauren Osen

Southern California Public Radio - 89.3 KPCC

626-583-5173 / 626-483-5278

losen@scpr.org @Patt_Morrison

 

Patt Morrison schedule for Tuesday, July 10, 2012

1:06 – 1:39 - OPEN

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Teens are looking for summer jobs that just aren’t there
“Where are you working this summer?” is a traditional question asked of American teenagers on the last days of high school before summer break. But in the aftermath of the economic downturn of 2008 that crippled the national economy the answer may now as often as not be “nowhere.” With unemployment rates holding at 8.2 percent nationally for people over 16 years of age, many jobs traditionally held by younger workers are now performed by older, more experienced people who are struggling to stay afloat. This means that many young workers looking for their first job may not be able to join the workforce at all. As spring of 2012 arrived, roughly 25 percent of Americans aged 16 to 19 couldn’t find a job. Technological advances have also left teens out in the cold; it is now possible to pump gas or check out at the grocery store without ever interacting with a human worker. Where can teenagers turn to put some money in their pockets in these tough economic times? Why is the job market for younger workers lagging behind the rest of the economy?

 

Guests:  TBA

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:19

Does money make people less compassionate?
Does having large amounts of money make us less humane? In this month’s issue of New York Magazine, author Lisa Miller dives into several studies that finds that money essentially makes people more unsympathetic and selfish. A new field of study has emerged to investigate the current era of income inequality, using experiments at traffic stops and board games to see the effects of increased wealth on human psychology. And the verdict isn’t so kind to the wealthy. They’re more likely to be not stop at stop signs, be mean during games of Monopoly and steal candy from a bowl designated for children. As Paul Kiff, researcher of the effects of money at UC Berkeley wrote, “The Rich are way more likely to prioritize their own self-interests above the interests of other people. It makes them more likely to exhibit characteristics that we would stereotypically associate with, say, ---holes.”

 

Guest:

Lisa Miller, writer and senior editor at Newsweek

 

 

 

2:21:30 – 2:30

Verizon: gatekeeper of the internet?

Should Verizon have the ability to decide which websites you can and cannot access on your phone? It thinks so. The Telecom giant filed in federal court last week against the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet Order, which put net neutrality regulations in place for Internet service providers. The Open Internet Order says that, as a provider of broadband Internet, Verizon can't block or slow access to legal online content, regardless of whether they disagree with its message or are being paid by an outside party to do so. Verizon argues that, similar to a newspaper editor, it has the constitutionally protected right to decide which content you, as a Verizon customer, access, from its court documents: “In performing these functions, broadband providers possess "editorial discretion."  Just as a newspaper is entitled to decide which content to publish and where, broadband providers may feature some content over others.” Patt checks in on the case and what its implications could be.

 

Guest:

UNCONFIRMED:

Rob Frieden, chair and professor of Telecommunications and Law, Penn State University

 

 

2:30 – 2:39 – OPEN

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30
MOCA art – what’s it for?

 

Guests: TBA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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