June 2 - 6, 2008
Monday, June 2
Universal Fire
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A fire destroyed a wide swath of the 400 acre Universal Studios backlot yesterday. It took more than 12 hours to extinguish the flames that destroyed movie sets and a video archive. L.A. County Fire Chief Michael Freeman told the L.A. Times that a lack of adequate water pressure made battling the fast moving blaze a challenge and that the sprinkler system on the outdoor sets was nearly useless. Larry and his guests Captain Michael Brown, Public Information Officer for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, and L.A. County Supervisor, Zev Yaroslavsky discuss the latest information about the cause of the fire and the clean-up of the damage which is expected to reach into the millions.
Primary Update
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Saturday's long-awaited meeting of the Democratic Party's rules and bylaws Committee, and Puerto Rico's Primary provided a bit more clarity in the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Hillary Rodham Clinton won the election in Puerto Rico, and the panel voted to seat disputed delegations from Michigan and Florida, but to give each delegate only one-half vote rather than the full vote sought by the Clinton campaign. In the end, Barack Obama is now only 47 short of the 2,118 needed to clinch the nomination. Larry Mantle talks with Los Angeles Times reporters Mark Barabak and Peter Nicholas about the recent developments in the race, and about what we can expect next.
Jack Sheldon Documentary
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Larry talks with legendary musician Jack Sheldon and with Doug McIntyre, co-writer, producer and director with wife Penny Peyser, of the film "Trying to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon."
Kakfa Comes To America
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After the train bombing in Spain in 2004 Brandon Mayfield, a Muslim, fell under suspicion of terrorism when his fingerprint was found on the bomber's backpack. The FBI held Mayfield for 19 days before he was found not guilty and released. In another case, a Sudanese man named Adel Hassan Hamad was held in Guantanamo for 2,000 days before he was found not guilty of any wrong doing. Steven T. Wax was the federal public defender who represented both men. In his book, "Kafka Comes to America: Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror," Wax talks about both cases as well as why Mayfield sued for $2-million and won, and Hamad sued and received nothing. Larry speaks with Mayfield about his experiences with the men and as a defense attorney in the War on Terror.
Leisureville
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Imagine a utopian society with music streaming from lampposts and golf carts providing all transportation. Well, "The happiest place on Earth" might not be Disneyland, it might just be gated retirement communities. Developers are buying and gating massive plots of land in warm climates and installing aesthetically pleasing downtown centers designed by Universal. But these developments don't allow for children, and indeed segregate themselves from much of the outside world. In his new book "Leisureville: Adventures in America's Retirement Utopias," author Andrew Blechman explores beyond the facade of these surreal communities. Larry speaks with Blechman about what stirred his interest in the subject as well as the benefits and drawbacks of living in paradise, removed from society.
Tuesday, June 3
Next Steps In The Presidential Election
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Today, the Associated Press is reporting that Hillary Clinton will concede that Barack Obama has enough delegates to claim the Presidential nomination. However, the Clinton campaign is adamantly denying that she will concede her candidacy tonight. In light of today's primary elections in Montana and South Dakota, guest host David Lazarus talks with Ron Elving of NPR, Yashar Hedayat from the Hillary Clinton campaign, Mark Barabak from the L.A. Times, Bill Carrick, democratic strategist, and political consultant Chris Lehane to ask what Hillary Clinton should do next? What should Barack Obama do to win over Hillary Clinton's voters? Does she want to be Vice President? David also checks in briefly with KPCC special correspondent Kitty Felde about turnout in today's statewide primary.
Parental Consent: Sarah's Law
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A measure that would require a waiting period and parental notification before a minor may terminate a pregnancy has qualified for the November, 2008 General election ballot. It would amend California's Constitution to prohibit abortions for unemancipated minors until 48 hours after her physician notifies the minor's parent, legal guardian or, if parental abuse has been reported, an adult family member. The measure provides exceptions for medical emergency or parental waiver and permits courts to waive notice in some cases. David Lazarus speaks with guests with opposing views of the "Waiting Period and Parental Notification Act of 2008." Guests include Katie Short, spokeswoman and author of the text of the Sarah's Law notification initiative, and Kathy Kneer, President of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.
Loyalty Oath
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A Quaker college instructor, who lost her position at Cal State Fullerton because she refused to sign the state-required loyalty oath, was reappointed yesterday. Wendy Gonaver will be allowed to attach a personal statement of her views when she signs the pledge. David Lazarus talks with Judith Schaeffer, Legal Director of People for the American Way Foundation who represented Wendy Gonaver, Monique Shay, University Counsel at Cal State Fullerton, about the settlement that was reached. He also talks about the history of loyalty oaths with Constitutional Law Professor Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago.
Brain Injury And Its Aftermath
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From violent outbursts, to short and long-term memory loss, to chronic seizures, brain injury can drastically alter the lives of victims and their families. Michael Paul Mason is a brain injury case manager who sees every day how fragile the powerful organ can be. Guest host, David Lazarus, talks with Mason about his new book "Head Cases: Stories of Brain Injury and its Aftermath," and his experiences with patients, families, and the tens of thousands of brain injury cases that fall through the health care cracks.
Wednesday, June 4
Obama Becomes the Presumptive Democratic Nominee
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After finally securing enough
delegates to win the nomination, Barack Obama has declared himself the
Democratic presidential nominee. How did he do it, and what should he do about Hillary Clinton and her supporters? Larry hears from Los Angeles Times Washington bureau Chief Doyle McManus, democratic strategist Mark Mellman, and Los Angeles Times political correspondent Mark Barabak.
Obama Vs. McCain
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Larry talks with political strategists Edward Espinoza and Duf Sundheim about possible campaign strategies for Senators Barack Obama and John McCain.
The Birth of the National Football League
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The December 1958 NFL Championship game between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts is remembered as the greatest in football history. An estimated forty-five million television viewers, the largest number to have ever watched a football game, saw the first sudden-death contest in NFL history. Larry talks with Mark Bowden about his new book, "The Best Game Ever," a portrait of how that single game changed the history of an American sport.
Thursday, June 5
Hillary Clinton In Or Out?
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Senator Clinton's presidential campaign sent an email to her supporters this morning saying that she would endorse Senator Obama at an event in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. She also plans to thank her backers for sticking with her through the "long and hard-fought campaign." She hasn't given up her delegates, nor has she officially ended her campaign.. Larry opens the phones to ask listeners what Hillary should do next?
Time-Warner Cable
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The L.A. City Attorney is filing a suit against Time Warner Cable alleging it caused "major havoc and distress" when it became the number one pay T-V provider in Southern California two years ago. According to the LA Times City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo says the cable company violated state law by making false and misleading statements to subscribers. If found guilty, the New York-based company could face civil penalties of tens of millions of dollars. Larry talks with Alex Ben Block, Senior columnist for "Hollywood Today," Alex Dudley, spokesman for Time Warner Cable, and Rocky Delgadillo, Los Angeles City Attorney.
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, and Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly staff writer about the latest news events and developments in Orange County.
Standard Operating Procedure
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In his new book, "Standard Operating Procedure," Philip Gourevitch tells the story of a defining moment in the Iraq war. He drew upon over two hundred hours of interviews filmmaker Errol Morris conducted with soldiers who took, and appeared in, the photographs of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. Larry talks with Gourevitch about how those soldiers were both instruments, and victims, of a great injustice.
Is Al Qaeda Unraveling?
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An increasing number of militant Islamic clerics and leaders are distancing themselves from Osama Bin Laden. Is this a sign that Bin Laden's support within the fundamentalist Muslim community is crumbling? Larry Mantle talks with Al Qaeda expert Paul Cruikshank.
Friday, June 6
LAUSD Teacher Walk-Out
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LAUSD teachers protested proposed state budget cuts for education by holding a one-hour walk-out this morning at the beginning of the school day. Preliminary reports indicate that tens of thousands of teachers and thousands of parents walked the picket lines. L.A. Unified planned to have administrators and staff watch the students while the teachers were outside of their classrooms. Larry gets an update from KPCC reporters Brian Watt and Adolfo Guzman-Lopez who spent the morning at various schools in the district. Other guests include A.J. Duffy, President of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), and David Holmquist, the Chief Operating Officer of the LAUSD.
Karen Bass
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Larry Mantle talks with the new Speaker of the California Assembly, Karen Bass about her speakership, the state budget and her Inaugural Ceremony at Los Angeles Trade Tech College's Grand Theater today. She is the first woman and first African American woman to serve in the position. Karen Bass has represented Los Angeles' 47th Assembly District since 2005.
RFK Assassination - 40 Years Later
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Robert Kennedy gave his final speech, about unity and change, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968. He was shot that evening and died the next day. The assassination came after his brother's and Martin Luther King's assassinations. People at the time wondered if this had become a grim paradigm of American politics: anybody who tried to change the status quo would be met with bullets. On the 40th anniversary of Robert Kennedy's death, Larry asks KPCC's listeners where they were, how it changed them, and what the tragedy means today.
Documentary Filmmaking
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Larry and a panel of documentary filmmakers and watchers talk about how the techniques of reality story telling have changed over the years. They also explore the different intents of documentary filmmakers. Guests include FilmWeek critic, Wade Major, and documentary filmmakers Terry Sanders, Patrick Creadon, and A.J. Schnack.
FilmWeek Reviews
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Larry and critics Wade Major, of boxoffice.com and CityBeat, Claudia Puig, of USAToday, and Charles Solomon, of amazon.com review some of the week's new feature films including Kung Fu Panda, You Don't Mess With the Zohan, When Did You Last See Your Father?, and Mongol.
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