December 31, 2007 - January 4, 2008
Monday, Dec. 31
Caucuses 101
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Guest host Jon Beaupre is joined by NPR senior Washington editor Ron Elving to provide a primer on the Iowa Caucuses. Jon then opens the phones to take listener calls.
Campaign Giuliani
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Guest Host Jon Beaupre talks with Katie Levinson, Communication Director for Rudy Giuliani's Presidential Campaign about Rudy Giuliani's bid to be the next President of the United States.
Texas Monopolizes Executions
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Over 60% of all executions in the U.S. took place in Texas this year. Even death penalty supporters admit that national support for executions has waned so considerably that Texas may be the only state left with the political and judicial will to carry them out. University of Houston law professor David R. Dow talks with guest host Jon Beaupre about the deepening national ambivalence toward the death penalty and how Texas may end up monopolizing execution in the United States.
Important Humanitarian Stories Of 2007
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Guest host John Beaupre speaks with Nicolas de Torrente, executive director of Doctors Without Borders in the USA about their list of the most important humanitarian stories of 2007.
Tuesday, Jan. 1
Evil Genes?
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Have you ever met a person who left you wondering, "How could someone be so twisted? So evil?" Larry Mantle talks with author Barbara Oakley, whose studies suggest that people may be genetically predisposed to be bad. Drawing on recent advances in brain imaging, Oakley links the behavior of Hitler, Stalin, Mao TseDong, and even her own sister, and makes the argument that evil behavior may be caused by a brain disorder. If this is true, Larry Mantle asks, how responsible are malevolent people for their own behavior?
Human Nature and War
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Larry Mantle talks with David Livingstone Smith, author of The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War (St. Martin's Press), about his new book that delves into the evolutionary, anthropological and psychological reasons why war has continued to exist as a human compulsion.
Women, Lingerie and Sexuality
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Jill Fields speaks with Larry Mantle on a variety of topics related to the history of women's undergarments. Her new book An Intimate Affair, is a provocative examination of the how women's underwear became lingerie and how intimate articles of clothing became high fashion.
The History of Whaling in America
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Author Eric Jay Dolin joins Larry Mantle to discuss his new book Leviathan, a richly detailed history of American whaling and the men who built an industrial empire through the pursuit of whales.
Wednesday, Jan. 2
New State Laws
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Larry Mantle talks with Dan Walters, political columnist with The Sacramento Bee about the new laws that will take affect this week in California.
State Senator Jack Scott On Education In California
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Larry Mantle talks with State Senator Jack Scott about a variety of education issues including the budget crisis, proposed cuts in education funding, higher education accountability, and how all of this would impact education in California. Chancellor Charles Reed of the Cal State University system also joins the discussion.
Iowa Caucuses Preview
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Larry Mantle and guests Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, Political Analyst for KNBC and senior scholar at the USC's School of Policy, Planning and Development, Tom Beaumont, chief political reporter for the Des Moines Register, Joshua Green, Senior Editor for The Atlantic, and Raphael Sonenshein, Professor of Political Science at Cal State Fullerton provide a preview of the Iowa Caucuses.
Thursday, Jan. 3
Major Storms Coming To The Southland
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Larry Mantle talks with Eric Boldt, of the Los Angeles Office of the National Weather Service, Jeff Jennings, Mayor of Malibu, and KPCC Reporter Susan Valot about preparation for the storms that are heading toward Southern California.
They're Baaaaack: Late Night Comedy Returns To T.V.
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Wednesday night several late-night talk show hosts including Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, and Jimmy Kimmel returned to late-night TV without writers after a two month hiatus caused by the WGA strike. Larry Mantle and guests Patric Verrone, President of the WGA West, Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times staff writer, and Tom Hollihan, professor of communication at USC's Annenberg School for Communication talk about how late-night hosts managed the shows without the aid of writers. He also talks about how the dearth of political humor may have affected the opinions of possible voters.
Iowa Update
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Larry Mantle is joined by Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, Political Analyst for KNBC and senior scholar at the USC's School of Policy, Planning and Development, and Mark Barabak, L.A. Times Staff Writer to set the scene and provide analysis of today's Iowa Caucuses.
Justice Department Investigates CIA Torture Tape Destruction
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On Wednesday the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes. Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced that he was appointing John Durham, a federal prosecutor in Connecticut, to oversee the investigation after the CIA acknowledged last month that in 2005 it destroyed videos of officers using harsh interrogation methods while questioning two al-Qaida suspects. Larry Mantle and guest Loch Johnson, Regents Professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia, discuss the investigation and how the case has challenged the Bush administration's controversial handling of terrorism suspects.
The Global Race To Fuel The Car Of The Future
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In their new book Zoom, Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, award-winning correspondents for The Economist, show why and how geopolitical and economic forces are compelling the linked industries of oil and autos to change as never before. Drawing on years of industry research-including dozens of interviews with motor and energy executives and top policymakers, the authors explain how Toyota became the world's largest automaker through innovation and superior performance and why American politicians have for decades failed to address our energy issues and global warming. Zoom co-author Vijay Vaitheeswaran joins Larry Mantle to offer a lucid and visionary portrait of what our energy, environmental and economic future could be.
Friday, Jan. 4
The Iowa Caucus Results
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Larry and a variety of political experts including Ken Rudin, NPR Political Editor, Linda Feldmann, White House Correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, and Tony West, member of the California Leadership Council and a senior strategist with the Obama campaign analyze the results of the Democratic and Republican Iowa Caucuses.
John Sayles
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Larry talks with acclaimed filmmaker, John Sayles, about his latest movie, "Honeydripper," as well as his long career.
FilmWeek Reviews
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Larry and critics Claudia Puig, of USAToday, and Wade Major, of boxoffice.com and L.A. CityBeat, review the new Mexican film, "The Violin," and discuss their Top Ten Films of 2007. They also discuss the Los Angeles and New York Film Critic's Award winners and the Golden Globe nominations.
