Your Call 072208 What do you want from a public beach?

What do you want from a public beach? On the next Your Call, we'll have a discussion about the state of our beaches. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has announced the formation of Vision Council to transform Ocean Beach, the largest urban beach in the country. Makeover possibilities include bathrooms, more garbage cans, and possible commercial developments. So what are the competing visions and who should have a voice in the process? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:

Sarah Corbin, Central California Regional Manager of Surfrider Foundation

Keith Weissglass, Pacific Outreach Coordinator of Ocean Conservancy.

Click to Listen: What do you want from a public beach?

Your Call 072108 What's next in Iran-US relations?

Where is the United States' relationship with Iran heading? On the next Your Call, we'll look at a number of recent developments. In a major policy shift, the U.S. announced to send a high level State Department official to Geneva to meet with Iranians on the nuclear issue. According to the Guardian, the U.S. plans for a diplomatic presence in Iran. What should we make of the recent developments? Where does Israel fit in this equation? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:

Thomas Powers, a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books and the author of Intelligence Wars: American Secret History from Hitler to al-Qaeda.

Mansour Farhang, Iranian-born author and former diplomat. He teaches international relations and Middle Eastern politics at Bennington College, Vermont.

Click to Listen: What's next in Iran-US relations?

Your Call 071808 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday Media Roundtable, the day we discuss how the media covered the week's top stories. This week, the IndyMac Bank collapsed, we got higher inflation numbers, and the Bush administration proposed even more bailouts. Are the media giving you the context you need to understand what's happening? We'll also will talk about coverage of California's fires with Neil Shea of National Geographic. Where did the media shine this week and where did it fall short? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Amy Gluckman, co-editor of Dollars & Sense

Neil Shea, staff writer for National Geographic

Russell Carollo, Sacramento Bee staff writer

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 071708 U.S. Economic Woes

Has the U.S. economy reached a tipping point? On the next Your Call, we will have a discussion about the recent housing crisis and the broader economic outlook for the United States. Oil prices are soaring, the dollar has fallen to a new low and the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve are proposing steps to possibly bail out the nation's two largest mortgage lenders. Where is the U.S. economy heading and how are you being impacted? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:

Catherine Austin Fitts Catherine, president of Solari, Inc. and the managing member of Solari Investment Advisory Services.

Robert Pollin, Professor of Economics and founding Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Click to Listen: U.S. Economic Woes

Your Call 071608 Never Alone, Always Recorded

How has our culture changed because of near ubiquitous surveillance? On the next Your Call we'll discuss the ever shrinking zone of privacy free from government or corporate observation. The NSA could be listening to your phone calls, Google might be taking pictures of your front door and the pizza parlor might be selling your information to marketers. How are we responding, co-opting and resisting the culture of no privacy? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and You.

Guest:
Trevor Paglen in San Francisco
East Bay artist who uses high powered cameras to take pictures of spy satellites

Bruce Schneier in Santa Clara, CA
Security expert and skeptic, founder of Counterpane Security and author of the blog Schneier on Security

Rudolf Freiling in San Francisco
Curator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Click to Listen: Never Alone, Always Recorded

Your Call 071508 Afghanistan Update

Why was June the most violent month in Afghanistan? On the next Your Call, we'll speak with three women about the forgotten war. Last week, a car bomb killed 41 Afghans and on Sunday, nine U.S. troops were killed and 15 were wounded. From Kabul, we'll speak with the New York Times' Carlotta Gall and independent reporter Roya Aziz. We'll also be joined by Malalai Joya, the first woman elected to the Afghan parliament. She was suspended for calling politicians warlords. She's currently on a Bay Area speaking tour. Where is America's other war headed? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guest:
Malalai Joya in San Francisco
The youngest person and one of 68 women elected to the 249- seat National Assembly or Wolesi Jirga in 2005. In 2007, Joya was suspended from her seat because of controversial remarks she made about warlords in parliament.

Roya Aziz in Kabul
Reporter, documentary film maker and editor of the English language section of the Kabul Weekly. Roya was born in Kabul, raised in the U.S., and returned to Afghanistan 4 years ago.

Carlotta Gall in Afghanistan
New York Times correspondent in Afghanistan. Gall broke the story of an Afghan taxi driver named Dilawar who was beaten to death in 2002 while in U.S. military custody. Gall's reporting revealed the official military explanation of death from natural causes to have been a lie.

Click to Listen: Afghanistan Update

Your Call 071408 Bottlemania

Why did Americans invest billions of dollars piping clean water to every home and building only to abandon the tap for bottles? On the next Your Call we talk with Elizabeth Royte, author of Bottlemania: How Water Went On Sale and Why We Bought It. Americans' per capita consumption of bottled water has jumped from 5.7 gallons in 1987 to more than 27 gallons today and there are more than 700 domestic and 75 imported brands to choose from. Was this a cultural oddity from the consumption crazed SUV era, or is it a long term habit born of distrust of the government? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Elizabeth Royte in Brooklyn
Author of Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It.

Noelle Ferdon in San Francisco
Senior organizer for food campaigns in California for Food and Water Watch, a nonprofit consumer rights organization that challenges the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources.

Click to Listen: Bottlemania

Your Call 071108 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it is our Friday Media Roundtable. This week we'll speak with Tom Lasseter, Moscow Bureau Chief for McClatchy and the lead reporter on a recent five part series about the prisoners at Guantanamo, many whom were radicalized by their treatment. What was the response to 8 months of investigation? We'll also speak with National Public Radio's Ombudswoman Lisa Shepard. Where did the news media succeed and where did it fall short this week? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Tom Lasseter in Moscow
Bureau chief for McClatchy and the lead reporter for a recently published a five-part series detailing the U.S.'s treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan. The series was the culmination of an eight-month investigation, during which McClatchy interviewed 66 former detainees, few of whom had talked before with reporters.

Lisa Shepard in Washington DC
Ombudsman for NPR. Prior to joining NPR for the 2 year appointment, Shepard was a journalism instructor and analyst.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 071008 Guantanamo Diary

What was it like to come face to face with the men called the worst of the worst, only to find out they were no such thing? On the next Your Call we speak with Mahvish Khan, author of My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me. Khan, an American lawyer born to immigrant Afghan parents, volunteered to be a translator for detainees in Guantanamo. Instead of the worst killers she found innocent men caged by the worst excesses of the War on Terror. How is it that a country can illegally imprison innocent people, and also give an immigrant's child the opportunity to intervene on their behalf? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Mahvish Rukhsana Khan in San Francisco
Author of My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me. Khan, an American Lawyer with Afghan immigrant parents, made more than 30 trips to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to interpret for the Pashto speaking detainees.

Click to Listen: Guantanamo Diary

Your Call 070908 Guns after Heller

What should the Left's position be on guns? On the next Your Call we'll discuss the impact of the Supreme Court decision that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual's right to bear arms, and overturned the legal tradition that the right was collective. So if guns can't be banned, what kind of regulation, if any, would create a safer, healthier world. We'll talk with anti-gun lefties, pro-gun feminists and a scholar who says gun laws have always been more about controlling the poor than they were about controlling guns. On the next Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Don Kates in Battleground, Washington
Research Fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland and author of Restricting Handguns: The Liberal Skeptics Speak Out.

Laura Cutilletta in San Francisco
Staff attorney with the San Francisco based gun control group, Legal Community Against Violence. She joins us from San Francisco.

Mary Zeiss Stange in Montana
Professor of Religion and Women's Studies at Skidmore College and author of Gun Women: Firearms and Feminism in America Today.

Click to Listen: Guns after Heller

Your Call 070808 Victory Gardens

Could planting a garden help save the world? On the next Your Call we'll talk about the pleasures and politics of tending and harvesting your own food right here in the center of our cities. We'll discuss the Civic Center Garden project, where volunteers are transforming a patch of city owned dirt and grass into "a living quilt of plants and people." Is growing your own fruits and vegetables something more than just a healthy hobby? Is there a better use for that small patch of land than a nice green lawn? It's locally grown, organic, and practically free on the next Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Willow Rosenthal is the founder of City Slicker Farms

John Bela, Civic Center Victory Garden Coordinator

Dajuana Turner, Summer intern at City Slicker Farms

Click to Listen: Victory Gardens

Your Call 070708 Is our democracy healthy?

What's the health of our democracy? The world's attention has recently been focused on Zimbabwe, where that country's president ran for re-election in a contest marked by violent suppression of the opposition. Zimbabwe's democracy is anything but democratic. But what about other countries who call their political system democratic, including the United States? Has the Bush Administration's wartime presidency coupled with the U.S's longstanding links between money and political power eroded our freedoms and weakened our democracy? And what about the state of our democracy right here in San Francisco? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Tom Melia in Washington D.C.
Deputy Executive Director of Freedom House

Joe Lynn in San Francisco
Former Member of the San Francisco Ethics Commission

Click to Listen: Is our democracy healthy?

Your Call 070308 Women's Rights in the Middle East

What is life like for women in the Middle East, where they've been active agents of change for many decades? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with an Iraqi and a Palestinian about women's rights. What role have women played in their national struggle? What challenges do they face? And how have the policies of the U.S. government affected their struggle? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Nadje Al-Ali is a senior lecturer in social anthropology at the Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, UK.

Isis Nusair, International Studies and Women's Studies Programs at Denison University

Click to Listen: Women's Rights in the Middle East

Your Call 070208 Homeschool's Out for the Summer

Where is the balance between a parent's right to educate their child as they wish and a society's need to have educated citizens? On the next Your Call we're talking about a remarkable hearing at the California Supreme Court. Last March, the court ruled parents who teach their children at home needed a teaching certification. On June 23rd, the court called a do-over. Even if you don't like what schools teach or how they teach it, does a societal interest in standards win over your personal interest in your child? What do kids absolutely have to know? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Debbie Schwarzer in Colorado
Lawyer for the Home School Association of California, has been very involved in the case and was present for the recent hearing. She also home schools her own two children.

Diane Flynn-Keith in Milpitas, CA
Home schooled her own two children, who are now in their early twenties. Now she coaches other home-schooling parents in California and runs a curriculum resource at homefires.com

Susan Sandler in San Francisco
President of Justice Matters, a San Francisco based education reform group working to create racially just schools.

Click to Listen: Homeschool's Out for the Summer

Your Call 070108 Is San Francisco a great city for bicycling?

Is San Francisco a great city for bicycling? On the next Your Call, we'll talk about efforts to get people out of their cars and onto a bike. How effective have measures to encourage biking been so far? Does the proposed stop-and-roll law for bikers at red lights and stop signs make it easier to bike in the city, or risk a backlash against cyclists? Do safer streets for bikes inevitably mean it will be harder to drive cars? What sort of changes can city planners make to improve transportation for everyone in our city? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Leah Shahum in San Francisco
Executive Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

Bert Hill in San Francisco
Chair of the San Francisco Bicycle Advisory Committee

Dave Snyder in San Francisco
Transportation Policy Director at The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR)

Click to Listen: Is San Francisco a great city for bicycling?

Your Call 070108 Is San Francisco a great city for bicycling?

Is San Francisco a great city for bicycling? On the next Your Call, we'll talk about efforts to get people out of their cars and onto a bike. How effective have measures to encourage biking been so far? Does the proposed stop-and-roll law for bikers at red lights and stop signs make it easier to bike in the city, or risk a backlash against cyclists? Do safer streets for bikes inevitably mean it will be harder to drive cars? What sort of changes can city planners make to improve transportation for everyone in our city? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Leah Shahum in San Francisco
Executive Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

Bert Hill in San Francisco
Chair of the San Francisco Bicycle Advisory Committee

Dave Snyder in San Francisco
Transportation Policy Director at The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR)

Click to Listen: Is San Francisco a great city for bicycling?

Your Call 063008 The Light Brown Apple Moth's Future

What is next for the Light Brown Apple Moth? Plans to aerial spray the urban areas of Northern California have been canceled, but what does that mean for the state's strategy to eradicate the pest - and whose communities are still on the list to be sprayed? On the next Your Call we'll take a look at the campaign to stop the spray. How did local governments, environmental activists, and concerned scientists put a stop to the aerial application of pesticides on our cities? Does this victory mark the end of the struggle, or is it just the end of the beginning? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Nan Wishner in San Francisco, CA
Chair of the City of Albany Integrated Pest Management Task Force

David Dilworth in Monterey, CA
Founder of HOPE (Help Our Peninsula Environment)

James R. Carey in Davis, CA
Professor and Program Director of Biodemographic Determinants of Life Span, University of California, Davis

Click to Listen: The Light Brown Apple Moth's Future

Your Call 062708 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday Media Roundtable where we discuss how the news of the week was covered. This week, the man at the helm of the Washington Post for the last 17 years was forced out after a new publisher took the helm, and the editorial page asked, "So what happens to our standards now?" The Supreme Court slashed Exxon's fine for fouling Prince William Sound two decades ago and a newsstand around the corner from the former home of the Oakland Tribune almost closed down after 101 years in business. Where did you get the news you needed and the context to understand it? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Peter Waldman in San Francisco
Senior writer at Condé Nast Portfolio

Eric Lichtblau in Washington DC
Pulitzer-prize winning Washington bureau reporter for The New York Times and author of Bush's Law: The Remaking Of American Justice.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 062608 The State of Black San Francisco

What happened to San Francisco's black population? On the next Your Call we talk with the organizers of a conference on the "State of Black San Francisco." Africans Americans were 13.5% of the population in 1970 but only half that now -- the biggest percentage decline in any major American city. With the passage of Proposition G, the last truly black neighborhood in the city, Bayview-Hunters Point, is about to undergo a multi-year, multi billion dollar make over. How many African Americans will call San Francisco home when it's done? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Julian Davis in San Francisco
Founder of the Osiris Coalition, organizer of this weekend's community forum on the State of Black San Francisco, Saturday, June 28th from 9 AM to 12 noon at the West Bay Conference Center at 1290 Fillmore Street in San Francisco

Sean Reynolds in San Francisco
Social worker and health educator and co-founder of the Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women, with Rhodessa Jones and Idirs Ackamore.

Malo Hutson in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Assistant Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley.

Dr Raye Richardson in San Francisco
Founder of Marcus Books, former chair of African American Studies at SF State

Click to Listen: The State of Black San Francisco

Your Call 062508 Re/De-regulating Air Travel

How should the market for commercial flying be organized? On the next Your Call we'll explore different ideas for organizing commercial aviation as once again the industry is faltering. Since 1978 when some government controls over the market were loosened, more than 200 airlines have gone out of business but does greater instability mean greater competition? What government policies would lead to the most competition, least pollution and best service? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Professor Paul Dempsey in Montreal
Director of the Institute of Air and Space at McGill University.

Mark Cooper in Maryland
Director of research for the Consumer Federation of America

Click to Listen: Re/De-regulating Air Travel