July 2 - 6, 2007
Monday, July 2
London Bombings And Glasgow Airport Attack
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Larry talks with reporters and experts about the attempted bombings in London and the attack on the Glasgow airport.
Putin Visit
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Larry Mantle talks about Vladimir Putin's visit to President Bush in Kennebunkport Maine.
Toll Roads In Los Angeles?
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Larry Mantle discusses the proposal by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board to implement toll roads within the next three years in Los Angeles County. Larry will talk with experts and take listener calls.
Measuring The I.Q. Test
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Larry Mantle interviews Stephen Murdoch, the author of I.Q.: A Smart History of a Failed Idea. The book tells the story of how Americans came to regard the IQ test as the ultimate and infallible measure of intelligence, and why it is still in use today.
The Superfly 70's
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Todd Boyd, author of The Notorious Phd's Guide to the Super Fly '70s: A Connoisseur's Journey Through the Fabulous Flix, Hip Sounds, and Cool Vibes That Defined a Decade, joins Larry Mantle to talk about how the explosive power of the performers, musicians, filmmakers, and athletes that swept America and the world in the 1970s.
Tuesday, July 3
No Jail for Libby
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President Bush commuted the sentence of former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby yesterday, sparing him a two-year prison term. The move came hours after a federal appeals panel ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term in the Valarie Plame CIA leak case. Larry talks with Dean of Chapman University School of Law John Eastman and Professor Neil Siegel of Duke University on Bush's decision.
Fireworks and Fire Safety
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Are fireworks essential to celebrating the 4th of July? Larry talks to Ed Cox, Director of Community Development for Duarte, Secretary and Past President of the Duarte Kiwanis, and Project Manager of the fireworks booth, Captain Mike Brown from the LA County Fire Department, and Keith Hanks, Major Pro Tem of Azusa.
Presidential Election Update
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Senator Barack Obama out fundraised Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton by $10 million in second-quarter contributions. He also posted 154,000 individual donors. Meanwhile, Senator McCain's support in national polls has plummeted. He is now in single digits in some surveys, behind candidates Giuliani, Romney, and even Fred Thompson, the actor and former Tennessee senator who's not yet in the race officially. Larry talks with political strategist Arnold Steinberg and political consultant Christopher Lehane of Fabiani & Lehane strategic communications firm about these and other latest developments in the Presidential race.
The Hollywood Bowl Season
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Larry Mantle talks about the Hollywood Bowl season with Los Angeles Philharmonic Association's Deborah Borda, President and CEO, and Christian McBride, Creative Chair for Jazz.
Wednesday, July 4
Ten Tortured Words
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The First Amendment to the Constitution is one of the most fascinating, controversial, and defining sentences in American history. In his new book, Ten Tortured Words (Thomas Nelson), author Stephen Mansfield examines the first 10 words of our Bill of Rights: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." Larry talks to Mansfield about the First Amendment and the centuries of legal debate on the role of religion in our society.
Huntington Library Exhibits
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Larry talks with Peter Mancall, and Kathryn Hight, curators of the "Jamestown at 400: Natives and Newcomers in Early Virginia," and "Legacy and Legend: Images of Indians from Four Centuries" exhibits at the Huntington Library. The Jamestown exhibit runs from July 7th through October 7th, and the Legacy and Legend exhibit runs from June 9th through September 2nd.
Harriet Tubman
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Harriet Tubman could not read or write, so the stories of her remarkable life have necessarily been told by others. In her new book, Harriett Tubman: Imagining a Life (Doubleday), Beverly Lowry draws on previous biographies, archival material, and new findings of the woman who was also known as Araminta, Moses, and The General, through various stages of her life. Larry talks with Lowry about Tubman, an African-American woman who risked her life to free slaves and to serve in the Union army during the Civil War.
Billy the Kid
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In his new book, Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride, historian Michael Wallis traces the life of America's mythic outlaw. Born Henry McCarty in 1859, stories of the kid first showed up in Silver City, Colorado. In 1877, Henry - already known to some under the alias Kid - shot a man who was bullying him and began a life on the run. The Kid was eventually gunned down by Sheriff Pat Garrett in the New Mexico Territory at the age of twenty-one, but not before helping define a new breed of celebrity outlaw. Larry talks to Wallis about the Kid and other criminals of the old west.
Thursday, July 5
Telemundo 52, City Hall And Journalistic Ethics
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It really does play out like a bad soap opera script...Telemundo's Channel 52 reporter Mirthala Salinas covers City Hall and, by the way, she's been having a long-running affair with LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. What does that say about the station's journalistic ethics? Larry talks with Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute and Kevin Roderick of LAObserved.com about City Hall, Spanish-language television, and LA's sordid summer.
Orange County Journalists Roundtable
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Larry Mantle talks with William Lobdell, City Editor of the Orange County Edition of the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register's senior editorial writer and columnist, Steven Greenhut, and OC Weekly's senior editorial writer and columnist, Gustavo Arellano, about the latest news events and developments in Orange County.
Science Stories
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Larry talks about the latest science stories with Michael Shermer, founder and publisher of Skeptic Magazine, who elaborates on topics like the evolution theory, DNA of new archaeological findings, and global warming.
God's Continent
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What does the future hold for European Christianity? That's the question Philip Jenkins attempts to answer in his new book, God's Continent (Oxford University Press). He speculates about the impact of globalization and Muslim immigration and influence in Europe. Jenkins considers other influences, such as African and Eastern European Christian immigration. He also questions whether any religion can survive the secularism. Larry talks to Jenkins about these issues and more.
Friday, July 6
Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal
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There are reports that the deal between Rupert Murdoch and Dow Jones and Co. may be sealed as early as next week. Larry talks with Andrew Neil of The Business and Rick Edmonds from the Poynter Institute, and takes listener calls about this possible development in negotiations.
Changes in News Coverage at the L.A. Weekly
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When the LA Weekly's parent company, Village Voice Media, merged with Phoenix-based New Times Media in 2005, a host of changes started at the free-distribution paper. Critics argue that the paper is now more interested in sensationalist stories at the detriment of in-depth and progressive-issue reporting. Supporters say the paper has gained respect and cast off its left-wing bias. Larry talks with Journalist and University of California at Irvine Professor Jon Wiener, whose article in The Nation reviews the Weekly's editorial history and with current LA Weekly Deputy News Editor Jill Stewart about current trends at LA's alternative paper.
The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal
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The documentary, "I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal" takes a comprehensive look at the life of Holocaust survivor and humanitarian Simon Wiesenthal. Larry talks to filmmakers Rick Trank and Rabbi Marvin Hier about the film.
FilmWeek
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Larry Mantle and critics Jean Oppenheimer of Village Voice Media, Andy Klein of CityBeat, and Charles Solomon animation critic and historian for amazon.com discuss this week's new releases including Transformers, Rescue Dawn, Introducing the Dwights, Joshua, I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal, Vitus, Noriko's Dinner Table, Manufactured Landscapes and Dynamite Warrior.
