As heard on August 20-24, 2001 on AirTalk
Monday, August 20
Ethanol
The State of California recently filed a lawsuit against the United States Environmental Protection Agency, hoping to
reverse a requirement that California add ethanol to gasoline. Larry Mantle speaks with the Secretary of the California
Environmental Protection Agency, Winston Hickox, Executive Director of the Coalition for Clean Air, Tim Carmichael, and
President of the Renewable Fuels Association, Bob Dineen, about the arguments of the lawsuit.
The History of Little League Baseball
Little League teams from all over the world are competing this week in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Larry Mantle speaks with
Lance Van Auken, author of Play Ball: The Story of Little League Baseball (Penn State Press), about the history of Little League baseball, as well of some
of the challenges the sport is facing today.
Tuesday, August 21
Are Americans Vacation Starved?
Many Americans balked when President George W. Bush announced that he would be taking a month off for his vacation. In reality, most workers in other western
industrialized nations have as much as two to three times more vacation time than Americans. Larry Mantle takes listener comments about the amount of vacation time
given to American workers.
Wildlife Corridors
Southern California has the highest number of threatened corridors of any region in the state. An idea once considered fringe, preserving wildlife corridors is now seen as
a vital step in saving Southern California's remaining native ecosystems from collapse. Larry Mantle tackles the subject with South Coast Wildlands Project Director, Kristeen
Penrod, Chief of Natural Resources for the State Department of Parks and Recreation, Richard Rayburn, and Associate Professor of Conservation Biology at Northern
Arizona University, Paul Beier.
Wednesday, August 22
Welfare Reform
August 22nd marks the fifth anniversary of the Welfare Reform Act. Who has benefited from the legislation, and who has suffered? Larry Mantle speaks with
June O'Neill, Professor of Economics at CUNY, Wendell Primus who worked in the Clinton Administration, and Jacob Klerman, Senior Economist at the RAND Institute.
Science News
Larry Mantle discusses the latest science news with resident skeptic and editor of Skeptic Magazine Michael Shermer. Topics include: Future Year 3000;
Face and Race; British Study of Organic vs. Commercial Food; Genetic Engineering in New Zealand?; and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Funding
Continues.
Thursday, August 23
CityBeat with New Times L.A. columnist Jill Stewart
Outdoor Advertising Blight
The advertising industry has proposed a plan to allow large inflatable balloons to proliferate throughout the Los Angeles. Larry Mantle talks with the head of a
homeowners association, Gerald Silver, about their fight against billboards and other forms of visual blight.
Travel
Larry Mantle talks with travel experts Paul Lasley and Elizabeth Harryman Lasley about a variety of travel-related issues including end of summer travel deals,
fall getaways, children's safety on the airlines, and passenger health and air travel.
Friday, August 24
Ecstasy
The use of the drug ecstasy is exploding, crossing ethnic and class lines. Larry Mantle talks with drug experts Marsha Rosenbaum, Director of the San
Francisco office of the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, and Charles S. Grob, Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, about
ecstacy's range of physical and physiological responses, usage patterns and the increasing violence surrounding the drug.
FilmWeek
Larry Mantle together with critics Andy Klein and Jean Oppenheimer of New Times L.A. discuss the week's latest
film and video releases. This week's selections include: Bubble Boy, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Jay and Silent Bob
Strike Back, John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, Maybe Baby, 101 Reykjavik, Summer Catch, Tortilla Soup, and Captain
Corelli's Mandolin.
