December 16 - 20, 2002

Monday, Dec. 16

Faculty-Student Relationships (Listen)
In the last few years, more and more colleges and universities have adopted policies prohibiting professors from dating their students. Now the entire UC system is considering a formal ban on professors dating students after the Dean of UC Berkeley’s Law School was accused by a student of sexual assault. Larry Mantle talks with Barry Dank, Professor of Sociology at Cal State Long Beach, and editor of the academic quarterly, Sexuality and Culture. He is married to one of his former students. Also joining Larry is Maryanne Horowitz, a Professor of History at Occidental College. She is the school’s Title 9 officer. They discuss whether or not schools should get involved in faculty/student relationships.

The American West (Listen)
Larry Mantle talks with University of Nevada, Las Vegas Professor David Wrobel about his new book titled Promised Lands: Promotion, Memory and the Creation of the American West (University Press of Kansas).

Tuesday, Dec. 17

Magnet Schools (Listen)
Los Angeles Unified School District has over 150 magnet schools, and each of them is now accepting applications for admission. Larry Mantle talks with the LAUSD’s Associate Superintendent of Magnet Schools Dr. Ted Alexander about the history of magnet schools, the application process, as well as whether recent court decisions on affirmative action may affect the admissions process. Also joining Larry are Dr. Judy Stein, Executive Director of Magnet Schools of America, Terry Morton, Principal of Valley Alternative Magnet School in Van Nuys and Maryanne Sorenson, Magnet Coordinator at T.S. King Middle School in the Los Feliz/Silverlake area.

Intelligent Design (Listen)
People who believe in intelligent design dispute the Darwinian idea that natural selection is responsible for planet Earth and its complex ecosystems. These are not traditional creationists whose argument is rooted in the Bible. The academics and intellectuals who advocate “intelligent design” say that an “intelligent designer” must be responsible for creating Earth and its plants and animals. Doug Geivett, professor of Philosophy at Biola University and Michael Shermer, editor of Skeptic Magazine, join Larry Mantle to discuss Intelligent Design.

Wednesday, Dec. 18

Town Hall Meeting: Gay & Lesbian Politics and Culture (Listen)
AirTalk Host Larry Mantle moderates a wide-ranging discussion that examines gay and lesbian political power, culture and relationships. Panelists include: West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran; gay rights activist Ivy Bottini; Log Cabin Republicans organizer and AIDS activist Abner Mason; journalist Karen Ocamb; psychotherapist Greg Cason; author and scholar Walter Williams; and Stuart Timmons, President of the Board of One Institute and Archives. Hour I focuses on gay and lesbian political issues.

Town Hall Meeting: Gay & Lesbian Politics and Culture (Listen)
AirTalk Host Larry Mantle moderates a wide-ranging discussion that examines gay and lesbian political power, culture and relationships. Panelists include: West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran; gay rights activist Ivy Bottini; Log Cabin Republicans organizer and AIDS activist Abner Mason; journalist Karen Ocamb; psychotherapist Greg Cason; author and scholar Walter Williams; and Stuart Timmons, President of the Board of One Institute and Archives. Hour II focuses on gay and lesbian culture and relationships.

Thursday, Dec. 19

Proposed Ban On Police Pursuits (Listen)
Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton is proposing a ban on the majority of police pursuits. A proposed new policy would require greater supervision of chases in progress and would ban the use of minor infractions to justify a pursuit. Host Larry Mantle discusses the policy and the related issue of police immunity in high-speed chases that result in injury or death to bystanders with Los Angeles City Council Member Jack Weiss, and John Taylor, veteran consumer lawyer who is pushing to hold police officers liable in high-speed pursuit crashes.

Chris Reed: Orange County News (Listen)
Host Larry Mantle discusses the latest in Orange County news with Chris Reed, the Opinion pages editor for the Orange County Register.

The Strange Tale Of Elmer Mccurdy (Listen)
Elmer McCurdy died an outlaw, shot dead in 1911 after a string of botched robberies. He became a celebrity in death, a symbol of the free spirit of self-determination in a new age of consumerism. McCurdy was mummified and forgotten, turning up in freak shows and finally in the Laff in the Dark ghost tunnel in Long Beach, California, in 1976. Forensic experts at the Los Angeles Coroner’s office identified his body, and McCurdy became famous all over again. Author Mark Svenvold retraced McCurdy’s footsteps, piecing together the life of an outlaw in the wrong age. Svenvold joins host Larry Mantle to talk about his book, Elmer McCurdy: the Misadventures in Life and Afterlife of an American Outlaw.

The Museum Of Hoaxes (Listen)
Have you ever been duped by a hoax? How about the BMW crop circle, the Nigerian banking e-mails, or spaghetti growing on trees? Author Alex Boese joins host Larry Mantle to discuss his new book, The Museum of Hoaxes: A Collection of Pranks, Stunts, Deceptions, and Other Wonderful Stories Contrived for the Public from the Middle Ages to the New Millennium. Boese will talk about the woman who claimed she gave birth to kittens, a chess automaton, and winged men on the moon.

Friday, Dec. 20

INS Detains Men From Muslim Nations (Listen)
Monday was the INS registration deadline for all men over the age of 16 from the nations of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria. Hundreds were arrested when they went to register. No one knows how many Arab men have been arrested, but estimates range from 500-1000 men and boys have been detained by the INS for problems with their visas. No one can say for how long they will be held, or what will happen when they appear in front of an immigration judge. Many of those arrested are Iranian, and the Muslim community generally feels punished for obeying the law to go and register. Host Larry Mantle speaks with Jorge Martinez, spokesman for the Department of Justice in Washington. Also joining him are Salam Al-Marayati, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, Ali Farahmand, an immigration attorney from Orange County, and Reza Ghassemi, an Iranian here legally who was detained and then released by the INS.

FilmWeek (Listen)

Larry Mantle and critics F.X. Feeney of the L.A. Weekly Jean Oppenheimer of New Times , and Lael Lowenstein of Variety discuss this week's new film releases, including The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, 25th Hour, Antwone Fisher, Gangs of New York, Two Weeks Notice, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, and NARC.

Larry and the critics also discussed last week's About Schmidt, Star Trek Nemesis, and Talk to Her.


Be sure to visit Henry Sheehan's website, HenrySheehan.com, for a selection of his past reviews and commentaries.