What's the Story with All our Stuff?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Annie Leonard, creator and host of the short animated film, The Story of Stuff. Leonard is just out with a new book by the same title. She takes us on a journey from production to consumption and asks: Do we really need all this stuff?

Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. How does what we buy affect the planet we live on? What's your story of stuff? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Annie Leonard, author and host of The Story of Stuff

Click to Listen: What's the Story with All our Stuff?

How Do You Deal with a Failing School?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about President Obama's Race to the Top Education reform plan, which has given school districts a tough set of options to deal with low performing schools. Shut them down, fire the principals or teachers, or turn them into charter schools. Are these the best options for under-performing schools?

Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Are we getting it right about which schools aren't working? And how are schools responding? It's Your Call, with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Arun Ramanathan is executive director of The Education Trust-West, which was established in 1990 in Washington D.C. by the American Association for Higher Education as a special project to encourage colleges and universities to support K-12 reform efforts.

Murry Schekman, principal of Watsonville Valley High School, one of the schools identified as "persistently lowest achieving" in the State.

Roma Grove, principal of Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in Oakland, one of the schools on the list of "persistently lowest achieving" schools in the state.

Click to Listen: How Do You Deal with a Failing School?

Can We Talk About Taxes?

As fiscal crises hit every level of American government, is it finally possible to break the taboo around raising taxes? On the next Your Call, we'll look at how the question of taxation is framed in today's political agenda, how that affects tax policy, public opinion, and the budget deficit. What would make you feel good about paying taxes? Join us live at 11am or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. How can we talk about taxes in a positive way? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Lenny Goldberg, executive director of California Tax Reform Association

Kevin Looper, director of "Yes for Oregon" Tax Hike's Campaign

Click to Listen: Can We Talk About Taxes?

Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, we'll discuss the coverage of Vice President Biden's trip to Israel, California's plans to close down 188 of its "worst" schools and threats to 'take out' Democratic lawmakers who vote against the healthcare bill. How did the media cover these stories? We'll be joined by Contra Costa Times education reporter Theresa Harrington, Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros and Media Channel founder and executive editor Danny Schechter. Where did you see the best reporting this week?

Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Theresa Harrington, education reporter for Contra Costa Times
Sherine Tadros, a correspondent for Al Jazeera English based in Jerusalem
Danny Schechter, founder and executive editor of Media Channel

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

How Can Art Change Public Space?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about how a mural or other piece of art can create community and conversation. Where has public art really made a difference? What are the limits on art in public spaces, and how do you go about getting public art made? Join us live at 11 or send us and email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Do you have favorite mural or public art piece? And what's the public space near you that could use some art? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Eric Drooker, a painter, graphic novelist, and illustrator
Susan Cervantes, founding director at Precita Eyes Muralists
Mona Caron, freelance illustrator and muralist

Click to Listen: How Can Art Change Public Space?

Is the Clean Water Act Losing Ground?

How do you know if waters near you are safe? On the next Your Call, we look at the state of water regulation both locally and nationally. Two Supreme Court decisions left ambiguous language surrounding the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, causing a standstill on regulation of many American wetlands and waterways. A bill now in the Senate would solve the problem by expanding the current term "navigable waters" to all "waters of the United States." In the meantime, are we giving an open invitation to water polluters? What standards do you expect of water regulation?

Join us live at 11 a.m. or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. What's at stake for you and your environment if the Clean Water Act is not enforced? It's Your Call, with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Jennifer Clary, Water Policy and Legislative Analyst, Clean Water Action in SF

Mark Squillace, Director, Natural Resources Law Center at U. of Colorado Law School

Click to Listen: Is the Clean Water Act Losing Ground?

Can Theater Improve Public Health?

Can theatre and the arts raise awareness about public health issues? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about how artists are bringing social activism to the stage to break down barriers and challenge stereotypes. Bay Area artist Rhodessa Jones' latest project, "Dancing With the Clown of Love," aims to do just that. She collaborated with the Women's HIV Program at UCSF, and with women who say "HIV is living with me." How can art and social activism lead to more awareness? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Erik Ehn, head of playwriting at Brown University. He produces the Arts in the One World conference yearly, which engages themes of art and social change. Ehn is also the co-founder of the highly significant Regional Alternative Theatre movement (RAT).

Rhodessa Jones, co-artistic director of the San Francisco acclaimed performance company Cultural Odyssey.

Click to Listen: Can Theater Improve Public Health?

What Can We Learn from Europe?

On the next Your Call, we explore economic comparisons and contrasts between Europe and the United States. Both the American and European economies were sent reeling during the 2008 crisis. While our government is now busy cutting funding for a wide array of social programs, Europeans are still investing into health care, child care, education, affordable housing, and more. Why such different responses?

Join us live at 11 a.m. or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. What lessons do you think Europe has to offer us?

Guests:
Steven Hill is a political writer and program director at the New America Foundation. His new book is Europe's Promise: Why the European Way Is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age.

Eric Reguly is The Globe and Mail's European business correspondent, based in Rome.

Click to Listen: What Can We Learn from Europe?

Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, we'll discuss coverage of the Parliamentary election in Iraq, health care and we find out why the media is ignoring Joe Stack, the man who crashed his plane into IRS offices in Austin, Texas a few weeks ago. We will be joined by investigative journalist David Cay Johnston, SF Chronicle's Victoria Colliver and Guardian's Martin Chulov. What stories did not get enough attention this week?

Join us live at 11 or drop us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Where did you see the best reporting this week? It's your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning independent investigative journalist and author, formerly of The New York Times.

Victoria Colliver, health reporter with San Francisco Chronicle

Martin Chulov, reporter with Guardian, based in Iraq

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Who can Save California's Public Schools?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the statewide day of action to protest the cuts in education. Where is the power to halt the decline of California's schools and colleges? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. What's the strategy to bring together the coalition to defend what was the country's best system of public education? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
José Luis Santos, assistant professor of Higher Education and Organizational Change at UCLA

Mark Lisip, an organizer with against cuts campaign, and English and philosophy instructor at Berkeley City College

Dr. Robert Ovetz, adjunct professor of Sociology and Political Science at Cañada College

Craig Gordon, high school teacher at Robeson High in Oakland

Click to Listen: Who can Save California's Public Schools?

What does Buddhism look like in America?

On the next Your Call, we meditate on just what it means to be a Buddhist living and practicing in the United States. Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the country. The Dalai Lama is a revered household name and Tiger Woods has publicly linked his infidelity to "losing track" of his Buddhist upbringing. What is the appeal of Buddhism to so many Americans? And what does it have to teach us?

Join us live at 11 a.m. or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. What do you think defines Buddhism in the West?

Guests:
Anchalee Kurutach, board member of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship

Patricia Mushim Ikeda-Nash, teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center

Reverend Harry Gyokyo Bridge, minister of the Oakland Buddhist Church

Click to Listen: What does Buddhism look like in America?

Why Do So Many Americans Own Guns?

Why do so many Americans own guns? On the next Your Call, as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a challenge to Chicago's handgun ban, we'll have a conversation about gun ownership. If you own a gun, we want to know why. Are there limits to the right to bear arms that you're comfortable with?

Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. If you can't imagine keeping a gun, what questions do you have for the people who do? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Joe Meyers, gun collector based in Santa Cruz

Scott Jackson, chief instructor with California Department of Justice and a handgun safety instructor at Bay Area Firearms Instruction Company

Click to Listen: Why Do So Many Americans Own Guns?

What Will Long-Term Unemployment Look Like?

How will long-term unemployment shape our society in the coming decades? On the next Your Call, we continue our Agenda for a New Economy series by discussing long-term unemployment. Economists say the era of high joblessness is just beginning and might get worse. What can we learn about the impact of long-term joblessness from previous recessions, or from communities where high unemployment is chronic?

Join us live at 11 a.m. or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. If you've experienced long-term unemployment, how has it changed the course of your life? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Don Peck, managing editor of the Atlantic Monthly magazine

Ethel Long Scott, executive director of the Women's Economic Agenda Project

Click to Listen: What Will Long-Term Unemployment Look Like?

Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media roundtable. This week, we'll discuss the coverage of the healthcare summit, the three-week-long assault in Helmand province, NY Times and conflict of interest as well as the lack of coverage of Gaza. We'll be joined by Kabul-based journalist Anand Gopal, Electronic Intifada's Ali Abunimah and Congressional Quarterly's Adriel Bettelheim.

Where did you see the best reporting this week? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Anand Gopal, reporting from Afghanistan for the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal. His dispatches can be read at anandgopal.com.

Ali Abunimah, a Palestinian American journalist and co-founder of Electronic Intifada, a not-for-profit, independent online publication about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

Adriel Bettelheim, Congressional Quarterly's Managing Editor

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Are You Going Native in Your Garden?

On the next Your Call, we'll look at the world of native plants in Northern California, both in the great outdoors and our backyards. What is a native plant? Why are they worth planting, and how do you pick the right ones? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org? Is there ever a wrong time to choose native species? And what are your favorite native plants? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Ellen Zagory, director of Horticulture at UC Davis Arboretum

Jessa Guisse, California pollinator outreach coordinator at Xerces Society

Kevin Bryant, chapter council chair of California Native Plant Society

Kathy Kramer, Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Coordinator

Click to Listen: Are You Going Native in Your Garden?

Who Needs the Filibuster?

Where did the filibuster come from and what's it good for? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the filibuster, which allows politicians to block or delay Senate action on a bill by obstructive actions. Are there times when the slow-moving Senate has blocked destructive legislation? Join us live at 11 a.m. or send an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org. When is the filibuster appropriate and is it time to change the rules? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Gregory Koger, assistant professor of political science at the University of Miami and author of the forthcoming book, Filibustering: A Political History of Obstruction in the House and Senate.

Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog

Click to Listen: Who Needs the Filibuster?

Will Corporate Control of Politics Increase?

Is this the moment to transform the role of corporations in politics? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision that has laid down the gauntlet for anyone who's ever wanted to take politics back from the corporations. What should we be demanding? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Is there a coalition that can get it done? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:

Trent Lange, president, California Clean Money Action Fund

Dave Levinthal, communications director and spokesperson with Center for Responsive Politics

David Donnelly, Public Campaign Action Fund's (PCAF) National Campaigns Director.

Click to Listen: Can Moving Your Money Make a Difference?

Can Moving Your Money Make a Difference?

On the next Your Call, we'll continue our Monday series Agenda for a New Economy with a conversation about the "Move Your Money" movement. It's calling on people to take their deposits out of the big banks and put them in smaller banks that work at the community level. How much money would have to move to significantly bolster the small banks?

Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. How many people have moved their money so far and are you one of them? It's Your Call, with me Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:

Stacy Mitchell is a researcher with the New Rules Project of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Rick Hofstetter, president and chief executive officer of The Lighthouse Bank

Click to Listen: Can Moving Your Money Make a Difference?

Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, we'll discuss coverage of the assault on Afghanistan's Helmand province, the one year anniversary of the stimulus package, and the $8 billion loan guarantee for the first nuclear power plant in 27 years. We'll be joined by Propublica's Michael Grabell, the San Francisco Chronicle's David Baker and independent journalist Aunohita Mojumdar joins us from Kabul.

Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org? Where did you see the best reporting this week? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Michael Grabell covers transportation for ProPublica.

David R. Baker, staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle covering energy issues

Aunohita Mojumdar, freelance journalist based in Kabul

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

What Does It Take to be a Whistleblower?

What are the stakes of being a whistleblower today? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Daniel Ellsberg who is featured in the new documentary film, The Most Dangerous Man in America. What does it take to be a whistleblower today versus what it took during Vietnam?

Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Based on the realities of politics today, what do you expect from potential whistleblowers? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Daniel Ellsberg, an activist and political analyst. His leaking of the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times set in motion a chain of events that ended not only the Nixon presidency but the Vietnam War.

Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, president of the No Fear Institute

David Colapinto, general counsel, National Whistleblower Center

Lewis Maltby, founder of the National Workplace Institute and author of Can They Do That? Retaking Our Fundamental Rights in the Workplace.

Click to Listen: What Does It Take to be a Whistleblower?