WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show

Decisions Made and Unmade

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The 9th Circuit ruled that California’s Proposition 8 ban on same sex marriage is unconstitutional. Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick discusses the decision and what comes next. Plus, New York Magazine’s Frank Rich explores the politics of the Clint Eastwood Super Bowl ad; Philip Taubman talks about his new book The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Atomic Bomb; the challenge of picking an elementary school as more closures appear imminent; and analysis of yesterday's primaries.

David Sanger on Syria

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:27:03 -0500

David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for the New York Times and a contributor to WNYC, talks about the situation in Syria.

Models' Rights

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:07:34 -0500

Sara Ziff, former model and founder of the Model Alliance, the first workers' rights organization for fashion models, and Susan Scafidi, Fordham Law professor and director of the Law School’s new Fashion Law Institute, talk about the launch of the Model Alliance.

State of Manhattan

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:05:04 -0500

Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President, talks about some of his ideas for tax policy and small business assistance in his recent State of the Borough address.

What McCarthy Means for Pro-Romney SuperPAC

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:18:53 -0500

Recap from It's a Free Country.

Welcome to Politics Bites, where every afternoon at It's A Free Country, we bring you the unmissable quotes from the morning's political conversations on WNYC. Today on the Brian Lehrer Show, Jane Mayer, New Yorker staff writer, discussed the career of Larry McCarthy, one of the most successful negative-ad makers in history, who is now working for the pro-Romney SuperPAC Restore Our Future.

Donning the brass knuckles again

Can Larry McCarthy make the 2012 campaign even more vicious?

McCarthy, the mastermind behind such seminal political attack ads as the 1988 Willie Horton spot, has thrown his hat in with Restore Our Future, a pro-Romney SuperPAC that's been pulling in huge money.

Jane Mayer said that working with a SuperPAC should feel familiar to McCarthy, who has decades of experience operating just outside of political campaigns: in the corners of campaign finance that most Americans didn't think about before Citizens United.

He's almost always been with outside groups, groups that were predecessors of SuperPACs. And those are the ones that really use the brass knuckles.

The Willie Horton ad

Of the many ads created by Larry McCarthy over the years, the one that used convicted felon Willie Horton to hammer former Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis on crime remains the most infamous.

The Horton ad stands out for its explicit imagery and gruesome bravado: flashing the words "kidnapping", "stabbing", and "raping" before showing a picture of a presidential candidate takes it to a level that most attack ads dare not go. And yet, the ad is like most others in one fundamental respect: it distorts the facts.

Mayer pointed out that the ad never mentions the furlough program was started not by Dukakis, but by his Republican predecessor.

The Willie Horton story had taken place 12 years before [Dukakis] was running for president, and the furlough program was similar to furlough programs in 45 of the 50 states, and the national program that had been set up by Reagan.

That's not the only thing McCarthy swept under the rug. Mayer said that when he was originally shopping the ad to television stations, he offered a version that didn't include Horton's mugshot. The spot that eventually aired—which included a picture of Horton, a black man—was more inflammatory for its perceived racial coding than the one most stations thought they were airing.

[McCarthy] decided they shouldn't show [the version with the mugshot] to the stations when they were going to try and get approval to put the ad on the air. Then later, after it was approved, he sent a second version, which he said just had a correction in it. They didn't look at it carefully—he knew it would get by station managers and get on the air that way.

Unlimited money, killer ads

Jane Mayer said that inserting any sort of similar racial coding—intentional or otherwise—in a 2012 political advertisement wouldn't fly. But spinning the facts and taking information out of context remains par for the course. With McCarthy and unprecedented millions of dollars in the mix, likely more than in any election ever up to this point, Mayer said the attack ads aren't going away anytime soon.

What you can expect is killer ads, an awful lot of negativity. It's entertaining in some ways, and some of the ads are actually informative too, but they have the end effect of so degrading the debate and making both candidates look so awful that it increases cynicism among voters and decreases idealism.

That might be what this campaign ends up being remembered for more than anything else.

2012 is the year of unlimited humongous money. You can't compete without it. It's really changing the face of presidential politics.

Solo Life

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:17:35 -0500

Eric Klinenberg, NYU sociologist and author of Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, discusses why living alone is on the rise--and why it is so appealing.

LISTENERS: Do you live alone? What do you find surprisingly appealing about living solo? Do you feel more plugged-in to the city or not? Tell us the pros and cons of living alone. Call us or comment here!

Screening Room: Larry McCarthy's Greatest Attack Ads

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:28:59 -0500

On Tuesday, Jane Mayer of the New Yorker joins Brian to discuss the career of Larry McCarthy, perhaps the most successful practitioner of the art of the negative political ad. He's now working for the pro-Romney SuperPAC "Restore Our Future." From Willie Horton to the Newt Gingrich "baggage" ad, here (in chronological order) are some of McCarthy's most notable pieces (that are available online).

→ If you find other McCarthy created ads online, tweet us a link and we'll add it! Tweet to @brianlehrer

1984 Kentucky Senate Race: Walter (Dee) Huddleston Chased by Bloodhounds, created for Mitch McConnell

1988 Presidential Election: Willie Horton, created on behalf of the George H.W. Bush campaign

2004 Presidential Campaign: Ashley's Story, created for pro-Bush Progress for America Action Fund

2010 Iowa Congressional Race: Ground Zero Mosque, ad created by American Future Fund

2012 Republican Nomination Race: Newt Gingrich's Baggage, from pro-Romney SuperPAC Restore Our Future

On Your Own

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

More people are living alone than at any point in history. Eric Klinenberg, NYU sociologist and author of the new book Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, discusses why more people live alone and why they’re more likely to be more social than others. Plus: New Yorker staff writer, Jane Mayer, discusses her article about who’s behind the pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future; Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer talks about the state of the borough and his ideas about tax policy; and a conversation about the new Model Alliance to fight for the rights of fashion models.

Wael Ghonim on Revolution (2.0)

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:23:17 -0500

Wael Ghonim, Egyptian pro-democracy activist, administrator of the Facebook page "We are all Khaled Saeed," former Google executive, and author of Revolution 2.0: The Power of the People Is Greater Than the People in Power: A Memoir, reflects on the Egyptian revolution and what his role and the role of social media was in the uprising, as well as news from Egypt now.

Winter Arts: Books

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:50:31 -0500

Sarah McNally, owner of McNally Jackson bookstore on Prince Street, offers listeners her picks for new books this winter. What new books are you reading now?

Open Phones: Your Jobs Report

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:22:06 -0500

The national unemployment rate is down to 8.3%, the lowest since early 2009.

Listeners: Tell us the stories behind the numbers. What's your jobs report? Are you recently employed? Tell us about your search and how you're feeling about the new job. Are you an employer? Are you getting back to hiring? Why? Call us at 212-433-WNYC or comment here!

Justen Fox: Super Bowl Prediction Winner

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:19:42 -0500

On Friday we asked you to predict the winner, score, MVP and more for this year's Super Bowl. Justen Fox, a web developer at Major League Baseball, did that the best -- he talks about his prognostication skills and the big Giants win.

GOP Race Latest

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:39:43 -0500

Reihan Salam, columnist at The Daily and blogger for National Review Online's The Agenda, discusses the results of the Nevada primary and the latest news from the GOP presidential candidates.

Ambassador Pickering on Iran, Syria, and Diplomacy

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:21:39 -0500

Ambassador Thomas Pickering, former ambassador and trustee of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, discusses the U.S. relationship with Iran, the crisis in Syria and the UN's inaction and what diplomatic options the U.S. should consider when dealing with the the Mideast.

Options on the Table

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. is weighing options for dealing with a potential threat from Iran, while the international community decides what to do with Syria. Former UN Ambassador Thomas Pickering, discusses the diplomatic options for dealing with the region. Plus: Egyptian pro-democracy activist Wael Ghonim discusses his new book, Revolution 2.0, and the recent violence in Egypt; and the winter arts series continues with a conversation about the season’s new books.

Your Super Bowl Predictions

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:27:18 -0500

Who Does Connecticut Root For in the Super Bowl?

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:49:25 -0500

New York and Boston play on Sunday - and the Constitution State has mixed allegiances. We discuss the Giants/Pats Sox/Yanks divide with Jeff Jacobs, sports columnist for the Hartford Courant.

Stimulus Money Well Spent?

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:19:29 -0500

Michael Grabell, who covers transportation for ProPublica and is the author of Money Well Spent?: The Truth Behind the Trillion-Dollar Stimulus, the Biggest Economic Recovery Plan in History follows up on his ShovelWatch reporting with a book about the stimulus plan and what it accomplished.

Paging Mitt Romney: Here are the Holes in the Safety Net

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:45:02 -0500

Recap from It's a Free Country.

Welcome to Politics Bites, where every afternoon at It's A Free Country, we bring you the unmissable quotes from the morning's political conversations on WNYC. Today on the Brian Lehrer Show, Mitt Romney says if the safety net for the very poor needs repair, he'll fix it. Melissa Boteach, poverty expert and manager of the Half in Ten Campaign at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, offered suggestions on where to start.

Should Romney be concerned?

"I'm not concerned about the very poor," was the political shot heard round the world this week, courtesy of one Willard Mitt Romney. "We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it."

Watching the full clip, it's clear what Mitt means to say: there are programs in place to help the poorest Americans; the rich don't need any help from the government; so I'm concerned with helping middle income Americans, who don't seem to get any help.

On its own, though, it sounds like another in a long string of gaffes ("I like being able to fire people"; "Ten thousand dollars?") that have painted Romney into the out-of-touch-rich-guy corner, which he's been meaning to escape for a while now.

Is Mitt right? Is there a proper safety net for the poor? Does it do what it's supposed to do? Are there holes? And if so, where?

Here a hole, there a hole

Melissa Boteach of the Half in Ten Campaign at the Center for American Progress Action Fund said that some areas of the net are stronger than others. Certain programs, like affordable housing initiatives and energy assistance, are funded through discretionary spending that Congress allocates each year, and didn't keep up with demand as the recession deepened.

There is not a single congressional district in the entire country where a full-time minimum wage worker with kids can afford fair market rent for a two bedroom apartment. Only one in four people across the country gets any kind of housing assistance, and the waiting list for a Section 8 voucher is often so long that they're closed.

That's one place where there's a hole, but there are other places where Boteach said there actually was a responsive safety net that Governor Romney has proposed to slash.

Because of the increase in the food stamp program from the Recovery Act, hunger didn't really rise during the recession, despite increased poverty and unemployment. We need to be talking about things when they're working; unfortunately, Governor Romney has endorsed cutting $127 billion from the program, which would kick about 8 million people off of food stamps.

The (offensive) 'hammock' analogy

Callers offered their experience with other holes in the net: dentists not taking Medicaid; food stamps not providing enough of a daily allowance to afford fruits and vegetables; subsidized child care not available to a parent for the duration of their undergraduate education.

Many of these anecdotes gave the lie to a common political interpretation of why people are poor and how they remain that way: the social safety net, instead of getting people back on their feet during tough times, has become "a hammock which lulls able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency," as House Republican Paul Ryan put it in his response to the State of the Union last year.

But Boteach said that poverty is not an uncommon experience for many Americans, and neither is using the safety net to rise above it. Between 2004 and 2008, one in three Americans were in poverty for at least two months. And this was before the Great Recession.

This is not some stagnant group of people that are just laying there on a hammock watching Oprah all day. They're people trying to work, trying to make it, and being paid low wages and oftentimes can't find a job in this economy. So that analogy is actually quite offensive to people who are really trying to make it.

Cutting taxes, cutting new holes

Mitt Romney says that he'd look at fixing the safety net only if the safety net needed fixing. It's not a priority: what are priorities are lower taxes and repealing "Obamacare."

But Boteach argues that repealing "Obamacare" would weaken an area of the safety net that's less expensive to shore up than the tax cuts sought by Romney. Not being concerned about the very poor could undermine the very rationale Romney gives for focusing his attention elsewhere.

His tax cuts to the one percent, over $2 trillion over ten years, would be more than his cuts to 72 million Americans' health care. We're looking at a massive transfer from people getting health care, by repealing the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansions, and channeling that money upward towards the one percent in the form of tax cuts.

Challenges & Grants

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:43:01 -0500

Howard Wolfson, NYC deputy mayor for Government Affairs and Communications and former communications director for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, discusses Mayor Bloomberg's budget and his challenge grant to Planned Parenthood.

Jim McGreevey's New Work

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:34:00 -0500

Jim McGreevey, the former governor of New Jersey and current spiritual counselor of Integrity House at New Jersey's Hudson County Correctional Center, discusses his support for Governor Christie's proposal to require drug treatment services for low-level drug offenders and what he's learned since leaving office.

Syria in Crisis

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:23:44 -0500

Executive director of the Middle East & North Africa Division for Human Rights Watch, Sarah Leah Whitson discusses the humanitarian crisis within Syria and the international response.

Grey Zones

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has said that if the safety net for America’s poor needs repair, he’ll fix it. Melissa Boteach of the Center for American Progress details where the net needs mending. Then, former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey on why he supports a proposal from Governor Chris Christie on mandatory drug rehab; and the latest on the uprising in Syria. Plus: Michael Grabell of ProPublica is now author of “Money Well Spent?: The Truth Behind the Trillion-Dollar Stimulus, the Biggest Economic Recovery Plan in History.”

The Global Parent: Culture or Nature

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:55:55 -0500

Mei-Ling Hopgood, author of How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm: And Other Adventures in Parenting (from Argentina to Tanzania and everywhere in between), joins us weekly in February to talk about the "best practices" of parenting around the world. This week: when it comes to basics like sleeping and feeding, where does "nature" end and "culture" begin?

Teaching Controversy

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:39:31 -0500

Jonathan Zimmerman, professor and department chair of History and Education at NYU, takes your calls on whether and how to teach controversial aspects of history to students.

Justice and the Enemy

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:56:25 -0500

William Shawcross, journalist and author of, Justice and the Enemy: Nuremberg, 9/11, and the Trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, talks about his new book.

Transportation, Republican-Style

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:54:19 -0500

A markup hearing is scheduled today for the House Republicans' transportation bill. Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists, Robert Sinclair Jr., manager of media relations at AAA New York, and Sean McNally, vice president of communications and press secretary for the American Trucking Associations, explain how the bill would affect pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and truckers.

Facebook Going Public

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:41:31 -0500

Dan Gallagher, tech editor for MarketWatch, talks about what we can know about Facebook from the company's filing for an Initial Public Offering, and what it means for users of the site.

Winter Arts: Indie Movies

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:12:22 -0500

Rafer Guzman, Newsday critic and Takeaway contributor, and Jada Yuan, contributing editor for New York Magazine, NYMag.com, and Vulture.com, talk about independent films in the theaters, coming soon, and at Sundance.

Walking the Lines

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) is sounding the alarm over what the House transportation bill would change for cyclists and pedestrians. LAB president Andy Clarke talks about the proposals and their impact on New York and New Jersey. Author Mei-Ling Hopgood starts a February series on the "best practices" of parenting around the world. Journalist William Shawcross talks about his new book Justice and the Enemy: Nuremberg, 9/11, and the Trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and democratic values in times of war. Plus, what the Facebook IPO means for your data, a discussion of indie movies and the Sundance Film Festival, and we take your calls on teaching controversial history topics to students.

Komen Foundation Stops Planned Parenthood Funding

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:31:49 -0500

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure says it will stop funding Planned Parenthood centers -- leaving women and health advocates divided. Rebecca Traister, contributor to the New York Times Magazine and Salon.com and the author of Big Girls Don't Cry: The Election that Changed Everything for American Women, comments.

How to Be Black with Baratunde Thurston

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:42:36 -0500

Co-founder of Jack & Jill Politics, and director of digital at The Onion, Baratunde Thurston, talks about the complexities of contemporary racial politics in his new book, How To Be Black.

Freedom and the Internet

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:31:19 -0500

Rebecca MacKinnon, senior fellow at the New America Foundation, co-founder of Global Voices and author of Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle For Internet Freedom, wants to advance the discussion from whether the Internet can be a force for democracy or repression to exactly how that battle is being waged.

The State of the Occupation

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:28:48 -0500

Four months ago, protesters first entered Zuccotti Park. Allison Kilkenny, contributing reporter for In These Times, The Nation, and co-host of Citizen Radio discusses where the Occupy Wall Street movement is now and where it's headed.

Florida After the Primary

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:01:18 -0500

Patchwork Nation director, Dante Chinni, analyzes how the Florida primary vote broke down by demographics. We're also joined by Jennifer Rubin, "Right Turn" blogger for the Washington Post, to discuss the state of the Republican party now that Mitt Romney has been declared the victor in the Florida primary.

How to Be [blank]

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Dante Chinni, Patchwork Nation director and author of the book "Our Patchwork Nation," looks at the Florida primary election results and asks what can be learned from an analysis of the voting blocs in the state. Then, the state of the Occupy Wall Street movement; journalist and New America Foundation fellow, Rebecca MacKinnon on the Internet, right to access, democracy and repression. Plus, Baratunde Thurston of Jack and Jill Politics and The Onion shares lessons and stories from his new book "How to Be Black."

Stay in School

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:14:44 -0500

Cecilia Rouse, professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University and recent member of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, talks about President Obama's call to legally require students to stay in school until graduation or turning 18.

AG Schneiderman Promises Swift Action From New Financial Regulation Group

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:41:38 -0500

Recap from It's a Free Country.

Welcome to Politics Bites, where every afternoon at It's A Free Country, we bring you the unmissable quotes from the morning's political conversations on WNYC. Today on the Brian Lehrer Show, Eric Schneiderman, New York State Attorney General and co-chair of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, talked about his appointment to co-chair the federal working group examining mortgage fraud.

Three critical areas

As co-chair of the new Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is charged with expanding investigations into the lending and packaging of risky mortgages that precipitated the recent financial crisis. He said there were three critical areas that required the group's attention.

Civil liability, criminal conduct, and changing the laws to make sure this never happens again; those are three aspects of the relief I think we're going to be pursuing through this investigation.

'The same thing I was doing before'

Schneiderman said it was important to note that he doesn't give up any of his own jurisdiction by co-chairing the working group. He said he's pursuing the same cases that he was pursuing before, just with more resources and momentum behind him.

I'm doing the same thing I was doing before, I just have a lot of new leverage, allies, friends and resources. Having the jurisdiction of entities like the FBI, the IRS, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, that just increases my ability to get the job done.

Swift action

Schneiderman cited a "variety of misconduct" in the financial sector, misconduct that has gone largely unpunished despite several regulatory pushes over the past few years. Some of that misconduct was legal, some of it wasn't, noted Schneiderman, but it's all been highlighted over the past year by changing political rhetoric and movements like Occupy Wall Street. Schneiderman promised those eagerly awaiting legal action against banks and executives that they wouldn't have long to wait.

You will see, the American people will see, action from this working group very quickly. A bunch of subpoenas have already gone out, cases will be filed. This is not something people are going to have to sit around for six months before they see results.

Building the War Crimes Tribunals

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:31:00 -0500

David Scheffer, law professor and director of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University School of Law and author of All the Missing Souls: A Personal History of the War Crimes Tribunals, talks about his work as the first US ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues.

Prosecuting Mortgage Crimes

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:01:08 -0500

Gretchen Morgenson, business reporter for the New York Times, continues the conversation about going after after mortgage fraud and other financial crimes. Listeners, what do you think? Where would you start when it comes to investigating financial crimes that led to the 2008 collapse?

Amazon Warrior

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:32:02 -0500

Brad Stone, Bloomberg Businessweek senior technology writer, talks about how the publisher of Amazon's imprint is shaking up the book industry.

From Florida

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:30:13 -0500

Anna Sale, reporter for It's a Free Country and Karen Tumulty, national political correspondent for The Washington Post, talk about today's Florida primary.

Trials and Tribulations

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman talks about his appointment to co-chair a federal task force on examining mortgage fraud. Then, Gretchen Morgenson of The New York Times discusses securities fraud investigations thus far. Plus: a check-in on the Florida primary; how the publisher of Amazon’s imprint is shaking up the book industry; President Obama’s call to require students to stay in school; and a personal history of war crimes tribunals.

Winter Arts: Museums and Galleries

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:27:46 -0500

Carolina Miranda, arts critic and author of WNYC Culture’s Gallerina blog, shares what she's looking forward to this season in area art galleries and museums.

What museum and gallery shows are you recommending? What are you looking forward to in NYC arts?

NYPD Intel

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:26:15 -0500

Mitchell Silber, director of Intelligence Analysis for the New York Police Department and author of The Al Qaeda Factor: Plots Against the West, looks at the role of Al Qaeda in past U.S. attacks and what that implies for preventing future plots.

New York's Redistricting Plan Revealed

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:35:56 -0500

Jerry Vattamala, staff attorney for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, discusses how the redistricting plans released by the legislature create majority Asian-American districts. Suffolk County Assemblyman Phil Ramos talks about the Hispanic community in Long Island, and how redistricting splits up communities there.

Is There an Ethical Gadget?

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:16:49 -0500

Alex Pasternack, editor of Motherboard, Vice's science and tech site, and a correspondent for Discovery's TreeHugger.com, follows up on our conversation last week about Apple's labor and manufacturing practices.

How much of an "ethics-premium" would you pay to know that your gadget was manufactured responsibly? 50%, 100%, less or more? Let us know!

Setting the Week in Washington and Florida

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:59:40 -0500

ABC senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper discusses politics, from inside the beltway to the GOP campaigning in the Sunshine State.

Getting Good Intel

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Mitchell Silber, director of Intelligence Analysis for the New York Police Department talks about his new book The Al Qaeda Factor: Plots Against the West and what Al Qaeda's tactics mean for counter-terrorism efforts around the world. Plus: ABC senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper talks politics both in and outside the beltway; art critic and the author of WNYC's Gallerina blog, Carolina Miranda, previews this season's best gallery and museum shows.

Countdown to Florida: The Last Debate

listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:38:52 -0500

Jennifer Rubin, blogger at "Right Turn" for the Washington Post, talks about last night's combative GOP debate in Jacksonville ahead of the Florida primary.