Your Call 022709 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday media roundtable where we examine the week that was in American media. This week President Obama delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress, and Hearst announced the days of the San Francisco Chronicle were numbered unless a buyer was found soon. We'll be joined by Doug Henwood from the Left Business Observer, Jane Mayer from the New Yorker and Mark Sandalow, author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi's Life, Times and Rise to Power. Where did you see the best reporting this week and where did it fall short? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Doug Henwood in New York
Editor of the Left Business Observer, contributing editor of The Nation and producer of Behind the News on KPFA, Saturdays, 10-11 AM. He is the author of After the New Economy: The Binge and the Hangover That Won't Go Away, now in paperback.

Jane Mayer in Washington
Staff writer for the New Yorker in the Washington Bureau where she writes about national security and the War on Terror. She is the author of the best seller The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals.

Mark Sandalow in Washington
Staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle for 21 years, the last 10 years as the paper's Washington bureau chief. He is a political analyst for CBS-5 and KCBS and teaches politics and journalism at the University of California's Washington Center. He is the author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi's Life, Times and Rise to Power.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 022609 How do you find your voice and change your world?

How do you find your voice and change your world? On the next Your Call -- in conjunction with an event Thursday night celebrating the voices in Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States -- we'll talk about the voices that inspire us and how we can inspire others. What are the voices from U.S. history that have inspired you? You can send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org or join live at 11 am. Who is speaking out today that will belong in the People's History a century from now? When have you found your own voice? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Anthony Arnove in San Francisco
Writer, editor and activist. He is the author of Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal and the editor, with Howard Zinn, of Voices of a People's History of the United States.

James Kass in San Francisco
Founder & executive director of Youth Speaks, which creates writing, poetry, and spoken word programs for young people. Kass was the 1996 San Francisco Poetry Slam Champion and launched Brave New Voices, the International Youth Poetry Slam Festival, which is hosted in a different American city each year. Youth Speaks is based in San Francisco, but has affiliate programs in many other cities including New York, Seattle, Honolulu and Los Angeles.

Click to Listen: How do you find your voice and change your world?

Your Call 022509 Will credit card companies fall next?

Will the credit card companies be the next to fall? On the next Your Call, we find out what happens now that card issuers have raised interest rates, added new fees, lowered credit limits and even shut down accounts. Americans recycle $882 billion dollars in debt, month after month; as unemployment sails past 5 million, how long before defaults skyrocket? You can send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org or join live at 11 am. What happens when the downturn turns on plastic? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Jose Garcia in New York
Senior research and policy associate at Demos with over ten years of experience working on civil rights, census advocacy, and socio-demographic analysis. Co-author of Up to Our Eyeballs: The Hidden Truths and Consequences of Debt in Today's America.

David Lazarus in LA
Business & consumer columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He joined the paper in August 2007. He previously worked as a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and a nightly radio talk show host for San Francisco's KGO Radio.

Click to Listen: Will credit card companies fall next?

Your Call 022409 How will California's state budget affect your community?

How will California's state budget affect your community? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about California's $130 billion spending package. It's a combination of steep spending cuts, tax hikes and borrowing. Who are the winners and losers? Funding for the social safety net will shrink college fees will rise. You can join the conversation by phone or by sending us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. What does the budget say about state politics and our future? It's Your Call with me, Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Jean Ross, director of the California Budget Project

Lenny Goldberg, executive director of the California Tax Reform Association

Click to Listen: How will California's state budget affect your community?

Your Call 022309 Can California avoid a drought?

Can any amount of rain avert drought in California? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the future of our water supply. The director of the California Dept. of Water Resources recently said that state is faced with its most severe drought since at least the early 1990s. How has our demand for water changed? What will water rationing look like? You can join the conversation by phone or by sending us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. How is climate change affecting California's water supply? It's your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Andrew T. Fisher, professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences and Hydrogeology at UC Santa Cruz

Mindy McIntyre, Water Program Manager at Planning & Conservation League

Click to Listen: Can California avoid a drought?

Your Call 022009 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday media roundtable -- the day we connect you with reporters to discuss coverage of the week's news. This week we'll speak with Pratap Chatterjee, editor of Corpwatch and author of Halliburton's Army. Pratap just returned from nearly a year in Dubai reporting on Iraq contractors. We'll also speak with Paul Jay from the Real News Network about the stimulus and the aftermath of the Gaza assault. You can join us by phone or email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Where did you see the best reporting this week and where did it fall short? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Paul Jay in San Francisco
Senior editor of the Real News Network, an independent online news source based in Toronto, Canada.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 021909 What are the Weather Underground's founders saying today?

Forty years after they announced their intentions to overthrow the U.S. government by any means necessary, what is the message of the founders of the Weather Underground today? On the next Your Call, we'll speak with Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, co-founders of the Weather Underground and authors of Race Course Against White Supremacy. Why are they placing white supremacy at the center of their analysis of American politics? You can join us by calling in or emailing us at feedback@yourcallradio.org. What has changed since the heyday of activism 40 years ago? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
William Ayers & Bernadine Dohrn in San Francisco
Former leaders of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Weather Underground. Bill is now Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Bernadine is an associate professor at Northwestern University School of Law and the Director of Northwestern's Children and Family Justice Center.

They co-authored a book, Race Course Against White Supremacy, and Bill just re-released his memoir, Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Anti- War Activist.

Click to Listen: What are the Weather Underground's founders saying today?

Your Call 021809 How Should We Share Resources Between the Generations?

Is it time to rethink how we share resources between the generations? On the next Your Call we'll discuss intergenerational justice. When the first boomers entered the work force 45 years ago, the elderly were the poorest demographic in the country; as those first boomers hit retirement age, they are among the richest. Medicare, education, environmental policies and social security are all under pressure from the current downturn. What should be weighed in making changes to wealth distribution? How should boomers prepare their businesses and institutions for the next generation? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Steve Pascal-Joiner in Minnesota
Director of the Career Transitions Program at Idealist.org

Nader Shabahangi in San Francisco
CEO of Agesong, which runs assisted living facilities in San Francisco and Oakland. They are sponsoring The International Film Festival on Aging, the first event of its kind to be held in California. It features 24 films that celebrate the unique joys and challenges of aging and address archaic preconceptions about growing older.

David Bank in San Francisco
Vice President of Civic Ventures and editor of their blog encore.org about aging and boomers.

Click to Listen: How Should We Share Resources Between the Generations?

Your Call 021709 Will the stimulus help people in need?

Will the $787 billion economic plan help people in need? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation about the short term and long term affects the 1,100-page package is expected to have on the US economy. You can join the conversation by phone or by sending us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Who will benefit from the plan and who will be left out? It’s Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Michael Grabell, an investigative reporter for ProPublica

Alexander J. Field, executive director, Economic History Association; Michel and Mary Orradre Professor of Economics at Santa Clara University

Click to Listen: Will the stimulus help people in need?

Your Call 021609 Is the FDA looking out for us?

What will it take to ensure the Food and Drug Administration adequately regulates our food system? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the FDA's food regulatory policies. The recent salmonella outbreak tied to the Peanut Corporation has killed eight and sickened more than 500 people across the country. How safe is our food system? What is the FDA doing to protect us? Is the agency on our side, or is it too close to food corporations? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Jaydee Hanson, a policy analyst on cloning with Center for Food Safety

William Hubbard, former Associate Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration

Click to Listen: Is the FDA looking out for us?

Your Call 021309 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday media roundtable -- the day we connect you with reporters to discuss coverage of the week's news. This week, President Obama's stimulus package was once again the subject of fierce partisan battles for front pages and air time. On the whole, did the media you perused serve your interests and not the interests of the partisans? After three weeks of debate, do you know what is in the bill and what was left out? We'll be joined by The Nation's John Nichols and David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer prize winning author of Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expensive (and Stick You with the Bill). Where did you see the best reporting this week and where did it fall short? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
David Cay Johnston in Albany
Pulitzer Prize winner, former New York Times tax reporter and author of Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill). Johnston is now a columnist for the trade journal Tax Notes

John Nichols in Madison
Washington correspondent for The Nation magazine.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 021209 Is evolution by natural selection a fact?

Is evolution by natural selection a fact? On the next Your Call, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. Darwin's theory about the mechanism of evolution is one of the most predictive, transformational and accurate theories devised by science, but how certain should we be that this explanation is the final word? Proponents of creationism in schools have attacked Natural Selection for being merely a theory. Should science educators, humanists and proponents of rationalism use the language of certainty to fight back? Can the scientific virtues of open-mindedness and curiosity succeed in America? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Kevin Padian
Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Padian's area of interest is vertebrate evolution, especially the origins of flight and the evolution of birds from theropod dinosaurs. He served as an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial, and his testimony was repeatedly cited in the federal court's decision to outlaw teaching creationism in classrooms.

Peter Hess
Faith Project Director at the Oakland-based National Center for Science Education.

Michael Shermer
Publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of Why Darwin Matters

Click to Listen: Is evolution by natural selection a fact?

Your Call 021109 Did the Iranian Revolution Change the World?

How did the Iranian revolution change the world? On the next Your Call we will follow the trail of one of the monumental events of the 20th century and see how we are still living with the repercussions in the 21st. After nearly a decade and a half in exile Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Tehran on February 1, 1979. Soon after, Time magazine speculated that the revolution threatened "to upset the world balance of power more than any political event since Hitler's conquest of Europe." How did the Iranian revolution reshuffle the deck in the Middle East and Central Asia? How did it shift the political conversation within the Muslim world, from Morocco to Indonesia? And 30 years on, what do we still need to understand about the Iranian revolution?

Guests:
William O. Beeman in St Paul
Professor and Chair of Anthropology and specialist in Middle East Studies at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul. He also maintains the very informative and interesting blog on Middle Eastern affairs,Culture and International Affairs

Behrooz Moazami in New Orleans
Assistant Professor of history Loyola University New Orleans where he is creating a Middle East / Peace Studies interdisciplinary minor program. He is a native of Tehran and also a Visiting Scholar at the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies @ NYU.

Click to Listen: Did the Iranian Revolution Change the World?

Your Call 021009 What do we need to know about Iraq?

As Iraq moves through a critical phase, what do we need to know? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Professor Nadje Al-Ali, author of What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq, and Dahr Jamail, a Bay Area independent journalist who recently returned to Baghdad. With the recent election described as a success by Washington, what is daily life like in Iraq? How have the lives of women been affected by so many dead and imprisoned Iraqi men? And what's the status of U.S. troop withdrawal? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Nadje Al-Ali, director of the Gender Studies Centre at SOAS, University of London.

Dahr Jamail, an independent journalist

Click to Listen: What do we need to know about Iraq?

Nadje Al-Ali's speaking events:
When: February 10, 2009 [ 4pm ]
Where: UC BERKELEY GENDER AND WOMEN'S STUDIES COLLOQUIUM LECTURE

When: February 11, 2009 [ 7pm ]
Where: LA PEA CULTURAL CENTER WITH MIDDLE EAST CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE

When: February 12, 2009 [11am-12.30pm]
Where: CODEPINK TALK AT FIRST UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH SAN FRANCISCO

When: February 12, 2009 [ 5-6:30pm ]
Where: UC BERKELEY CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES

When: February 12, 2009 [ 8pm ]
Where: GREEN ARCADE BOOKSTORE

Your Call 020909 Should we nationalize American banking?

Should we nationalize the banks? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with economists about the future of the banking system. More than 300 billion dollars was spent to save Bank of America and hundreds of other banks. Taxpayers are now the biggest shareholders in Bank of America, with about 6 percent of the stock, and in Citigroup, with 7.8 percent. Is the era of laissez-faire capitalism over? And will nationalization of the banking system save the financial system? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.

Anwar M. Shaikh, Professor at the Department of Economics at the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science of the New School University.

Click to Listen: Should we nationalize American banking?

Your Call 020609 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday media roundtable where we bring in reporters from the mainstream, alternative and international press to discuss the week in American media. This week while millions of Americans filed their taxes early to get their tax refunds, two of President Obama's cabinet picks were taken down for not paying their taxes. We'll speak with Greg Mitchell, editor in chief of Editor and Publisher magazine and author of the newly released How Obama Won; New York Times labor and workplace reporter Steven Greenhouse, author of The Big Squeeze, now in paperback; and Jonathan Stein, Washington correspondent for Mother Jones magazine. Where did you see the best reporting this week and where did it fall short? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Greg Mitchell
Editor in chief of Editor and Publisher magazine and author of the newly released How Obama Won

Steven Greenhouse in New York
New York Times labor and workplace reporter and author of The Big Squeeze, now in paperback

Jonathan Stein in Washington
Washington correspondent for Mother Jones magazine.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 020509 Is Reaganism Dead?

How does the shadow of Reaganism live on in the political choices of President Obama? On the next Your Call we mark what would have been the 98th birthday of one of Barack Obama's heroes . . . Ronald Reagan. Richard Lister of the BBC spoke for many when he wrote, "The Reagan era is finally, comprehensively, over." Does President Obama truly herald the start of something as new and different as Reagan did? What part of Reaganism is no more and which parts of President Obama's agenda would have suited Ronnie just fine? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:

Robert Smith in San Francisco
Professor of political science at San Francisco State University. Next week he will be presenting a paper called "In the Shadows of Ronald Reagan: Civil Rights Policy Making in the Clinton Administration"

Will Bunch in Philadelphia
Writes the Attytood column for the Philadelphia Daily News and author of the forthcoming book Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our Future

William Kleinknecht in Glen Rock, New Jersey
Veteran reporter and crime correspondent for the Newark Star-Ledger. He is the author of The Man Who Sold the World: Ronald Reagan and the Betrayal of Main Street America

Click to Listen: Is Reaganism Dead?

Hear author William Kleinknecht speak at these Bay Area events:
Feb. 12th, 7:30pm
Books, Inc.
301 Castro St.
Mountain View, CA 94041

Feb. 13th, 7:00pm
Revolution Books
2425 Channing Way
Berkeley, CA 94704

Your Call 020409 What's a biopic got that a documentary doesn't?

What's a biopic got that a documentary doesn't? And vice-versa? On the next Your Call we'll discuss the choices artists make when deciding to retell the past on film. Gus Van Sant decided to tell the story of Harvey Milk as a biopic rather than as a documentary -- other than getting to cast Sean Penn in the leading role, what's the advantage? Can they bend the truth more? Does original footage from a particular time and place have an impact that actors and sets never can? Is there a documentary you wish would be made into a biopic -- or one that never should be? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Robert Cary in Los Angeles
Director of the feature film Save Me, about the intertwined lives of three people struggling with homosexuality.

Dawn Logsdon in San Francisco
Director of the documentary Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans, a celebration of the oldest black neighborhood in America.

Bill Banning in San Francisco
Runs the Roxie movie theater in the Mission since 1984

Click to Listen: What's a biopic got that a documentary doesn't?

Your Call 020309 Is the FDA on our side?

Is the Food and Drug Administration on our side? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the policies of the FDA. It's responsible for overseeing the safety of drugs, medical devices, food, cosmetics and many other health-related products. We will focus on drug safety. In 2006, the Government Accountability Office found that the FDA does not have clear policies for drug safety. So what needs to change? And how do you decide if a drug is safe enough for you? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:

Dr. Peter Lurie, deputy director of the Health Research Group at Public Citizen.

Dr. Nissen, chairman of the Cleveland Clinic's department of cardiovascular medicine.

Dr. Marcia Angell, senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

Click to Listen: Is the FDA on our side?

Your Call 020209 What's our plan in Afghanistan?

President Obama is in the beginning stages of shifting military resources from Iraq to Afghanistan. What is his goal? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald, authors of Afghanistan's Untold Story. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently said Afghanistan is "our greatest military challenge." The U.S. plans to send 30,000 additional troops to the region. What has failed to this point? And what is the U.S. trying to accomplish by escalating the seven-year occupation? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:

Elizabeth Gould & Paul Fitzgerald, journalists and authors of Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story

Click to Listen: What's our plan in Afghanistan?