Your Call 101007 The Israel Lobby

What explains the U.S. government's support of Israel? On the next Your Call, we welcome Stephen Walt, professor of International Affairs at Harvard University and co-author of the new book, The Israel Lobby. The book explores why there is so little disagreement about Israel among American politicians. Stephen Walt argues that unconditional support for the Jewish state is heavily influenced by the powerful Israeli lobby in the U.S. and in the end, he says it's bad for both countries. What do you think? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Guests:
Stephen Walt in Cambridge
The Robert and Rene Belfer Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and author with John Mearsheimer of the new book The Israel Lobby.

Mitchell Plitnick in San Francisco
Director of Administration and Policy for Jewish Voice for Peace

Click to Listen: The Israel Lobby

Your Call 100907 Food Stamps and the Farm Bill

Why is it so easy to get a subsidy to grow food and so hard to get a subsidy to buy it? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation about the food stamp provision of the 2007 Farm Bill, which is scheduled to be voted on next week. Subsidies for corn farmers are up, while funding for food stamps is down. Over 35 million Americans will go to bed hungry tonight. Will the Farm Bill include improvements to food stamp and nutrition programs? It’s Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Click to Listen: The Israel Lobby

Your Call 100807 All Hail the Blockbuster

If you see a movie advertised on the side of a bus does that make you unlikely to see it in the theatre? On the next Your Call we welcome Kenneth Turan, film reviewer for NPR and the Los Angeles Times and author of Now in Theaters Everywhere: A Celebration of a Certain Kind of Blockbuster. Turan’s first book was called Never Coming to a Theater Near You and celebrated rarely seen movies. This time he tells you which movies with big budgets are worth your time. What is your favorite blockbuster? It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Guest:
Kenneth Turan in Los Angeles
Film critic for the Los Angeles Times and NPR's Morning Edition, as well as the director of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. He has been a staff writer for the Washington Post and TV Guide, and served as the Times' book review editor.

Click to Listen: All Hail the Blockbuster

Your Call 100507 Friday Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week the Senate considered a national shield law that would allow reporters to protect their sources. We’ll talk Iran news with independent reporter Reese Erlich, with Carolyn Lochhead of the San Francisco Chronicle on the importance of having national reporters at local papers and about race and international news coverage in the U.S. with Lakshmi Chaudhry of The Nation. What was your story of the week? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Guests:
Carolyn Lochhead in Washington D.C.
San Francisco Chronicle’s Washington correspondent since 1991
 
Lakshmi Chaudhry in San Francisco
Contributing writer to the magazine The Nation
 
Reese Erlich in San Francisco
Independent reporter and author of The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis
 
Click to Listen: Friday Media Roundtable

Your Call 100407 Nobodies

What products do you buy that support modern day slavery? On the next Your Call we welcome John Bowe, author of Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy. Slavery was outlawed in the U.S. 142 years ago, but Bowe discovers cases across the continent where people work without rights, without paychecks and without the freedom to leave. Around the world nearly 27 million people are in conditions tantamount to enslavement. Which products are most likely to have been made by slaves? What can you do to join the new abolitionist movement? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
John Bowe, author of Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy. He is the co-editor of Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs, one of Harvard Business Review’s best books of 2000, and a recipient of the Richard J. Margolis Award, dedicated to journalism that combines social concern and humor.
 
Norma Hotaling, executive director of Sage: Standing Against Global Exploitation

David Batstone, founder of The Not For Sale Campaign
 
Click to Listen: Nobodies

Your Call 100307 On the Record--Bill Richardson

What kind of president would Bill Richardson be? On the next Your Call we continue our On The Record series examining the voting and governing records of every man and woman running for president. This week we look at a former ambassador, cabinet member, congressman and governor. Richardson would be the first Hispanic president and had a reputation as a liberal congressman but was also at the helm of the energy department during the Wen Ho Lee debacle. What did Richardson support, suppress or go out on a limb for? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you. 

Guests:
Steve Terrell in Santa Fe, New México
Political reporter and music columnist for The Santa Fe New Mexican, and producer of Terrell's Sound World and The Santa Fe Opry on KSFR, Santa Fe Public Radio.
 
George Lobsenze in Washington D.C.
Executive editor of The Energy Daily, which covers all aspects of the energy industry including electric utilities, nuclear power, natural gas, oil, coal and alternative fuels.

Click to Listen: On the Record--Bill Richardson

Your Call 100207 The Fate of Iraqi Refugees

What is life like for Iraqi refugees? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation about the fate of displaced Iraqis with two activists who recently returned from the Middle East. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees reports that more than 4.2 million Iraqis have been forced out of their homes. More than half have sought refuge in neighboring countries. How are they coping with their forced exile? And what is the role of the United States as the occupying force? It’s Your Call, with me, Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Raed Jarrar is an Iraqi political analyst who established a grassroots organization that provides humanitarian and political aid to Iraqi internally displaced persons.

Noah Baker Merrill has been living and working among Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria and coordinates the Direct Aid Initiative, a project of the Electronic Iraq news and analysis website.

Click to Listen: The Fate of Iraqi Refugees

Your Call 100107 Burma 101

What is in store for the future of Burma? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a discussion about the ongoing uprising in Burma, which began after the government doubled the price of fuel last month. Four hundred pro-democracy activists led the initial demonstration. Tens of thousands then responded to create a massive protest. A number of people have been killed and wounded. What is the modern political history of Burma? Will the current uprising end the military-Junta rule in that country? It’s Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Michael Aung-Thwin, a professor of Southeast Asian history at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawaii-Honolulu

Kyi May Kaung, a Washington, DC-based writer and analyst, a contributor to Foreign Policy in Focus, and a close observer of the Burmese scene since the 1960s.
 
Click to Listen: Burma 101

Your Call 092807 Friday Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it’s our Friday Media Roundtable. This week tens of thousands of Buddhist monks upturned the bowl and took to the streets of Rangoon; President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran visited Columbia University, and the AFL-CIO walked out on GM for the first time in nearly four decades. That’s what happened, but where did you find the context and insight that explained why it was happening and why it was important? What was your story of the week? It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Nathan Guttman in Washington DC, Washington bureau chief for the Jewish Forward and reporter for Channel 1 TV in Israel

Lane Greene in New York, International Correspondent for the Economist
Click to Listen: Friday Media Roundtable

Your Call 092707 Happy Birthday CIA!

It was 60 years ago that the National Security Act was passed. On the next Your Call we talk with former analysts at the CIA and outsider experts on the intelligence community about what we have learned from those 60 years living with the CIA and NSA. What do they do well? And where do they regularly fail? Do overestimations of the CIA’s capabilities lead to wild overreach and civil liberties violations? What should intelligence agencies actually do? It’s Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Sue McCloud, former CIA operations officer
Mel Goodman, former CIA analyst
John Prados, National Security Archive, and author of Hoodwinked: The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War

Click to Listen: Happy Birthday CIA!

Your Call 092607 Shock Doctrine

What happens when societies are hit with massive collective shocks -- wars, terror attacks, and natural disasters? Journalist Naomi Klein says they are used to push through highly unpopular shock therapy. On the next Your Call, we talk with Klein about her new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. In it, Klein reveals the cunning way opportunists use disasters to remake societies as free market wonderlands. How can the system free itself from what Klein calls the shock doctrine? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Naomi Klein, author of the The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

Click to Listen: Shock Doctrine

Your Call 092507 The Real Wealth of Nations

What's wrong with traditional economic theories? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation with Riane Eisler, author of The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics. Here in the U.S., the top one percent of the population own 40 percent of the nation’s wealth. We’re the richest nation in the world, but we have the most expensive healthcare and our children are more likely to die than those in countries with a lower GPD. How can we create an equitable and sustainable society? It’s Your Call with me, Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Riane Eisler, author of The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics.

Click to Listen: The Real Wealth of Nations

Your Call 092407 A Show About You!

Why do you listen to Your Call? On the next Your Call, we will have a conversation with you. Your Call has been on the air for five years now and thanks to your generous support, we just completed a successful fund drive, so we’ve decided to dedicate our next show to you. We’d love to hear from our regular callers and those of you who've never called. Call in and tell us about yourself and what you like about Your Call. What are your favorite topics of conversation? And where do you want to see the shows go in the future? It’s Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Our listeners

Click to Listen: A Show About You!

Your Call 092107 Friday Media Roundtable

Thanks to your generous support during our Fall membership drive, we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming. On today’s Your Call, it’s our Friday Media Roundtable – the day we speak to reporters about coverage of the week’s news. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Heather Knight will join us to discuss healthcare coverage at the local and federal level. The Christian Science Monitor’s Linda Feldmann will join us to discuss the presidential race and DC politics. And later in the show, we’ll be joined by Link TV’s Jamal Dajani to find out how the conversation about Iraq in DC is being covered in the Middle East. What was your story of the week? I’m Rose Aguilar and it’s Your Call after this news.

Guest:
Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle
Linda Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor
Jamal Dajani, Link TV

Click to Listen: Friday Media Roundtable

Your Call 092007 Dream Politik

When was the last time a progressive political campaign swept you away? If you’re the average American, it's been a while. On the next Your Call we talk with Professor Stephen Duncombe, author of Dream: Re-imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy.  Professor Duncombe says the left leaves behind many potential supporters by disdaining the tools and forms of pop culture. By relying too much on appeals to reason, do progressives cede political turf to the right? What would ethical spectacles look like? Can ending poverty be as moving as an SUV commercial? It’s Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guest:
Stephen Duncombe, author of Dream: Re-imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy

Click to Listen: Dream Politik

Your Call 091907 End of America?

On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation with Naomi Wolf, author of End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot. For the past six years, the Bush administration’s so-called 'Global War on Terror' has led to rampant violations of civil rights, abuse of executive power and trampling of U.S. Constitution. What will it take to bring back checks and balances? What role do citizens play in guarding the American liberal democracy? It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Naomi Wolf, author of The End of America: A Letter of Warning To A Young Patriot

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Your Call 091807 Supercapitalism

Would you trade affordable gadgets for higher wages in China? Would you pay more for cheap goods if we had nationalized health care? On the next Your Call, we talk with former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich about his new book, Supercapitalism. He argues that most people would answer "no" to those questions. Over the past twenty years, Reich says, corporate control has plummeted in the face of consumer and investor power, but citizens have fared the worst. Why are Americans so schizophrenically divided between their consumer and citizen selves? How do we get the social good back in the heart of the political process in the Supercapitalist 21st century? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Robert B. Reich, author of Supercapitalism.

Click to Listen: Supercapitalism

Your Call 091707 Responsible Travel

What does responsible travel mean? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a discussion with Lonely Planet writers and editors about tips for traveling responsibly. Tourism is the world's largest and fastest growing industry. It provides 10 percent of the world's income and employs almost one-tenth of the world's workforce. The more than 500 million people traveling for leisure each year has wide range effects on the environment, culture, and economies of local communities. How can we make our vacations more eco-friendly? How do you plan for your vacation? It’s Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests
Editors of Lonely Planet

Click to Listen: Responsible Travel

Your Call 091407 Takeover

How ambitious is President Bush's plan to consolidate federal power in the Oval Office? On the next Your Call, we discuss the president's unprecedented power grab with Pulitzer Prize winning Boston Globe reporter Charlie Savage. In his new book, Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy, Savage traces the strategies adopted by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to release the president from congressional constraint and oversight. It is one of the most complete indictments of this president and practically a legal brief for impeachment. Call in with your questions about presidential power on the next Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest
Charlie Savage, author of Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy

Click to Listen: Takeover

Your Call 091307 There's Not Enough Time

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What do we mean when we say, "There’s not enough time in the day?" On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation about our perception of time with Edward M. Hallowell, author of Crazy Busy: Overstretched, Overbooked and About to Snap. The Internet, cell phones, and other technologies have not slowed down the pace of our lives. Has technology made us busier? How do we relate to time? And what explains our rushed culture? It’s Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guest
Edward M. Hallowell, author of Crazy Busy: Overstretched, Overbooked and About to Snap

Click to Listen: There's Not Enough Time