Your Call 013009 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday media roundtable where we hold American media accountable for getting us the news we need. This was the first full week of the Obama Administration and the president gave his first White House interview to al Arabiya. How big a break from the Bush era was the interview with the network owned by a Saudi prince? We'll also talk about covering lobbyists in Washington DC with Bara Vaida of the National Journal and the presidential arm-twisting on Capitol Hill with Gail Chaddock of the Christian Science Monitor and Richard Gizbert of Al Jazeera about President Obama's interview on al Arabiya. 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:

Gail Chaddock in Washington
Covers Congress for the Christian Science Monitor

Bara Vaida in Washington
Covers the lobbying industry for National Journal and writes for their Under the Influence blog

Richard Gizbert in London
Host of Al Jazeera's Listening Post

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 012909 What is life like for international aid workers?

What is life like for international aid workers? On the next Your Call we'll look at why anyone would choose to leave the comforts of home to comfort those in dire need. During her confirmation hearing, Secretary of State Clinton said that America would return to a foreign policy driven by defense, diplomacy and development. What was President Bush's legacy on foreign aid and what reforms are likely? In a globalized world riven by inequality and conflict, are aid workers the true heroes? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:

Cassandra Nelson in Gaza
Spokesperson and director of Multimedia Projects for Mercy Corps

John Main in San Francisco
Veteran foreign assistance worker. He organized the distribution of emergency supplies in Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Azerbaijian for the ICRC. Work with UPS international logistics. Has been living in the US since 1996.

Steve Radelet in Washington DC
Senior fellow at the Center for Global Development

Click to Listen: What is life like for international aid workers?

Your Call 012809 What needs to be done for veterans coming home?

What needs to be done for the veterans coming home? On the next Your Call we discuss the toll of the Bush wars that continue now that his presidency is over. Stories of the neglect of veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center made headlines three years ago, but underfunding of the VA is too commonplace to warrant front pages. We'll talk with Aaron Glantz, author of The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle against America's Veterans and with researchers at the S.F. VA hospital about the impact of traumatic brain injury and PTSD. What is left to be done for the veterans of a war that should never have happened? It's your call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:

Aaron Glantz in San Francisco
Independent unembedded reporter and author of The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle against America's Veterans.

Dr Anthony Chen in San Francisco
Assistant professor of Neurology at UCSF and associate director of the Center for Brain Injury Research and Treatment at the VA Medical Center in San Francisco and Martinez.

Click to Listen: What needs to be done for veterans coming home?

Your Call 012709 After Bush, what's left of HUD and federal housing?

After eight years of George W. Bush, what's left of HUD and federal housing? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Under the Bush Administration, HUD's budget was drastically scrapped, dozens of economic development projects were purged, and low-income housing programs were cut. So what should be done to fix HUD? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Danilo Pelletiere, research director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, senior fellow at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University

John Bartlett, executive director of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization

Click to Listen: After Bush, what's left of HUD and federal housing?

Your Call 012609 How have native peoples lived in Northern California?

What was Native American life like in Northern California? On the next Your Call, we will have a conversation about Ohlone people, the original inhabitants of the Bay Area. They lived in the central California coastal areas between Big Sur and the Golden Gate of San Francisco Bay for 3000 years. So who were the Ohlone? What happened to them? What can we learn from their way of life? And how can we apply their environmental practices to our daily life? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Anne-Marie Sayers, tribal chairperson of the Indian Canyon Nation and Director of the Costanoan Indian Research, Inc.

Beverly Ortiz, an anthropologist with Coyote Hills Regional Park in Hayward, California and author of After the First Full Moon in April: A Sourcebook of Herbal Medicine from a California Indian Elder

Click to Listen: How have native peoples lived in Northern California?

Your Call 012309 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 we'll speak with Moises Naim, editor of Foreign Policy about the global coverage of the inauguration. We'll also speak with Jamal Dajani from Mosaic on LinkTV who is just back from two weeks covering the assault on Gaza. What else was going on while we watched the inaguration? 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:
Moises Nam in Washington DC
Editor of Foreign Policy, a sister publication of Slate and the Washington Post. Dr. Nam served as Venezuela's minister of trade and industry in the early 1990s;

Jamal Dajani in Berkeley
Senior Director of Middle Eastern Programming at Link TV where he produces the program Mosaic, which translates and rebroadcasts Arabic language news broadcasts. He is also a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post;

George Curry in Suburban Washington
Syndicated columnist. From 2001 until 2007, he served as editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a news service for the nation's Black newspapers. He was the executive editor of Emerge magazine and a reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 012209 What is Israel's End Game? What is Hamas'?

Now that the cease fire has begun, what is Israel's End Game? What is Hamas'? On the next Your Call we'll speak with Israeli and Palestinian analysts about the goals and state of mind of the two peoples. What did the Israeli people think they were trying accomplish? Were they trying to stop the rockets, intimidate the Palestinians, Iran or even the Obama administration? Did Hamas achieve their goals when they began the strategy of firing qassam rockets into Israel? Can we end the slaughter by understanding the motivations of all sides?

Guests:
Beshara Doumani in Berkeley
Professor in the Department of History at the University of California, Berkeley specializing in Middle Eastern history. He is working on two books: a social history of the Palestinians, and a comparative history of women and the family in Palestine and Lebanon.

Nathan Guttman in Washington DC
Washington bureau chief for the Forward, and the former Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post. The Forward has been reporting in Yiddish and English on the Global Jewish Community for more than a century.

Click to Listen: What is Israel's End Game? What is Hamas'?

Your Call 012109 How can we kill the Bush power grab?

How can we kill the Bush power grab and know that it is truly dead? On the next Your Call we'll mark the first day of the Obama Administration by taking a hard look at the office Bush left him. The Bush administration conducted a very public power grab for the executive branch: signing statements, suspending habeas corpus, torture and warrantless wire-tapping are just a start. As a Senator, Obama introduced a resolution requiring that "any offensive military action taken by the United States against Iran must be explicitly authorized by Congress." Will he stick by his demand for humbler executive? Does not using these powers render them off-limits to future presidents? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Julian Zelizer in Princeton

Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He is the author and editor of many books and is working on four more: A look at the presidency of Jimmy Carter, a history of National Security Politics since World War II, a history of the Reagan Revolution and an edited volume about former President George W. Bush.

Charlie Savage in Washington DC

Charlie Savage is Washington correspondent for the New York Times. He was the recipient of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for his work uncovering the Bush administration's use of Presidential signing statements. He is the author of Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency & the Subversion of American Democracy.

Gene Healy in Washington DC

Vice President at Libertarian think tank the Cato Institute and author of The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power

Click to Listen: How can we kill the Bush power grab?

Your Call 012009 How should your government and Your Call change?

It's Inauguration Day. What do you make of the changing of the guard? And how should we change accordingly? On the next Your Call, we want to hear from you. Every Your Call we've ever done has been under President Bush; as of noon on Tuesday, we will be covering a whole new administration. How do you reflect on the past eight years? What are your expectations of the next four? How should your media change now that the leadership has changed? And what do you want from Your Call? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Click to Listen: How should your government and Your Call change?

Your Call 011909 How has the struggle for racial and social justice changed?

How has the struggle for racial and social justice changed over time? On the next Your Call, we'll discuss Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s ideas of racial equality and social justice. This year, Martin Luther King Day coincides with the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, the nation's first black head of state. Many people see Obama's presidency as a realization of King's dream. What do different generations still have to learn from one another about race in America? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests:
Robert Smith, SF State political science professor

Mike Turner, Poet, Youth Speaks

Click to Listen: How has the struggle for racial and social justice changed?

Your Call 011609 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday media roundtable where we hold American media accountable for getting us the news we need. For the final week of the Bush presidency we will speak with Lawrence Pintak in Cairo, the publisher & co-editor of Arab Media & Society; Kenneth Whyte, publisher and editor in chief of the Canadian news magazine Maclean's and Clara Jeffrey, co-editor of Mother Jones. 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:
Clara Jeffery in San Francisco
Co-Editor of Mother Jones

Kenneth Whyte in San Francisco
Publisher and editor in chief of Maclean's, and author of The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst.

Lawrence Pintak in Cairo
Director of the Adham Center for Journalism Training and Research at The American University in Cairo and publisher & co-editor of Arab Media & Society. For 30 years he has covered the Middle East, for the San Francisco Chronicle and then later for ABC News. He joins us from Cairo, Egypt.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 011509 Why can't Sacramento fix the budget?

Why can't Sacramento pass a budget that reflects the priorities of the people and the realities of the economy? On the next Your Call we will follow Gov. Schwarzenegger's State of the State address with a look at why the legislature spins its wheels while the budget shortfall grows and grows. More than a month ago, the governor unveiled a ticking budget deficit clock that jumps $470 every second. What can break the deadlock? What do you make of the governor's speech? Were his priorities yours? Can California pass a budget that reflects our values and economic reality? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Jordan Rau in Sacramento
Staff writer in the Sacramento bureau of the Los Angeles Times where he covers state health-care policy and politics. Before joining the paper in 2004, Rau was the Albany bureau chief for Newsday in New York and also worked at several newspapers in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Jonathan Wilcox in Los Angeles
Adjunct Professor at USC's Annenberg School for Communication. He is a former spokesman and speechwriter for Gov. Pete Wilson and gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon. During the California Recall, Wilcox was Communications Director for Congressman Darrell Issa.

Click to Listen: Why can't Sacramento fix the budget?

Your Call 011409 On the Record: Hilda Solis

How will the Labor Department change if California Representative Hilda Solis is confirmed to run it? On the next Your Call, we're starting a new On the Record series by looking at the people President-elect Barack Obama has nominated to run the federal agencies that most directly affect our lives, including Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Housing and Urban Development. We'll kick off the series by focusing on the Department of Labor. Representative Solis is the child of two union members. Will she transform workplace policy to put workers first? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Kellie Lunney in Washington DC
Reporter for the People section of National Journal and Congress Daily. Previously she was the managing editor of Government Executive, also a publication of the National Journal.

Dan Morain in Sacramento
Sacramento Reporter for the Los Angeles Times

Click to Listen: On the Record: Hilda Solis

Your Call 011309 How do we learn about the economy?

As President-elect Barack Obama moves forward with his economic stimulus plan, what do we need to know about the staples of economic coverage? On the next Your Call, we'll discuss the GDP, the Dow Jones, unemployment and poverty rates, consumer confidence, housing foreclosures, and bubbles. What do these reports and numbers tell us? What do they fail to tell us? What's missing? And what questions do we need to ask when we read them? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests: Sylvia Alegretto, labor economist with the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics at UC Berkeley

John Schmitt, senior economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research

Click to Listen: How do we learn about the economy?

Your Call 011209 What have we learned from the BART police shooting of Oscar Grant?

What have we learned from the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who was unarmed and lying face down on a BART station platform in Oakland on New Year's Day? And what should we do about it? On the next Your Call, we'll talk about the shooting, the cell phone video that proves Grant was shot while lying down, police accountability, and frustration and anger in Oakland's communities plagued by violence. How should the community respond? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Gregory D. Lee, a retired Supervisory Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and a former instructor at the FBI Academy.

Bobbie Bond, founder of the Feet on the Street program in Oakland. Bobbie also serves on the board of her local NCPC - Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council - and was formerly a Commissioner on Aging in Oakland.

Click to Listen: What have we learned from the BART police shooting of Oscar Grant?

Your Call 010909 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 we'll speak with investigative reporter AC Thompson from ProPublica about his 18-month-long investigation of vigilante shootings after Katrina. We'll also talk with Tim Redmond from the San Francisco Bay Guardian about the police shooting on BART and Sherine Tadros of Al Jazeera about covering the assault on Gaza. 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: A.C. Thompson in New York
Award-winning journalist on the staff of ProPublica

Tim Redmond in San Francisco
Editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian

Sherine Tadros in Gaza
Reporter for Al Jazeera English in Gaza

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 010809 What do we hope for and expect from the new Congress?

What are our expectations and hopes for the new Congress? On the next Your Call we are launching a new series: A citizen's guide to the 111th Congress. How will the democratic majorities work with the Obama Administration? What role will California's delegation play? We'll speak with progressive organizations about empowering the citizens to take back control of their government constituents. What do want from Washington in 2009? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Sara Dufendach
Legislative director for Common Cause

Rebecca Griffin
Political Director for Peace Action West

Melinda Pierce
Legislative Affairs Manager for the Sierra Club

Kim Gandy
President of the National Organization for Women

Massie Ritsch
Center for Responsive Politics
Communications Director

Click to Listen: What do we hope for and expect from the new Congress?

Your Call 010709 How is technology changing our brains?

How are television, the Internet, email, iPhones and video games changing our brains? On the next Your Call we'll talk with Dr. Gary Small, director of the Memory and Aging Research Center at UCLA. Many of us have gotten used to ubiquitous digital technology at work and home, but young people today have never been away from it. They average 8 and half hours a day online, working, playing and communicating and it is changing the way their brains work. How can we protect ourselves and our children from the dangers of too much tech? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest: Gary Small in Los Angeles
Director of the Memory & Aging Research Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior and the Center on Aging at UCLA. He is the author of many articles and books. His latest book is iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind.

Click to Listen: How is technology changing our brains?

Your Call 010609 How are Israelis responding to the bloodshed in Gaza?

How are progressive Israelis holding their government accountable for the air strikes and ground invasion in Gaza? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the response to the siege of Gaza. With Israeli troops now on the ground and more than 550 Palestinians dead, where is Israel's peace movement? And what role do progressives here in the U.S. have in changing the conversation in Israel and in changing policy within the incoming Obama administration? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests: Miko Peled, Israeli peace activist living in the U.S.

Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz reporter

Neve Gordon, chair of the Department of Politics and Government at Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, and author of the book, Israel's Occupation.

Click to Listen: How are Israelis responding to the bloodshed in Gaza?

Your Call 010509 What are you looking forward to in 2009?

What are you looking forward to in 2009? On the next Your Call, we'll speak with a diverse mix of global leaders, including Children's Defense Fund Founder & President Marian Wright Edelman and former Planned Parenthood President Gloria Feldt, about what they think will be the most important factors for the coming year. What are your hopes and dreams or fears for 2009? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests: Marian Wright Edelman, Founder & President of the Children's Defense Fund

Ann Wright, former State Department diplomat and retired Army Colonel

Gloria Feldt, Former President of Planned Parenthood

Antonia Juhasz, Author of "The Tyranny of Oil" & "The Bush Agenda"

David Kipen, Director, National Reading Initiatives, National Endowment of the Art

James Carey, Ph.D., Professor, UC Davis Dept of Entomology

Rhodessa Jones, Co-Artistic Director, Cultural Odyssey - a touring ensemble based here in San Francisco

David Cay Johnston, former NY Times tax reporter and author of Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill)

Click to Listen: What are you looking forward to in 2009?

Your Call 010209 Media Roundtable

In an otherwise quiet news week, Israeli airstrikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and made headlines worldwide. How can journalists tell this story without doing the bidding of Israel or Hamas? Consumer confidence hit an all-time low this week -- how are economic hard times hitting the not-for-profit news media? And all kinds of news media this week were filled with end-of-year rundowns and top ten lists -- was there one of them you found particularly enlightening? Or maddening? Join the conversation with Sandip Roy.

Guests: Blake Hounshell, online editor for Foreign Policy magazine.

Eric Beauchemin, reporter for Radio Netherlands.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 010109 Commons: Who owns human cultural heritage?

Who owns the artifacts of our human cultural heritage? On the next Your Call, we replay a show from our series on the commons with a conversation on antiquities. Whether antiquities should be retuned to the countries where they were found is one of the most controversial issues in the art world today. For the past two centuries, the most powerful nations of the West have taken treasures of other countries to display in their museums. Who is the ultimate owner of the antiquities? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: McGuire Gibson, Professor in the Oriental Institute and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at University of Chicago.

Sharon Waxman, journalist and author of Loot: The Battle Over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World.

Click to Listen: Commons: Who owns human cultural heritage?