wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

"Culture Storm: Life and Politics in the Election Year," a panel discussion on the culture wars currently dominating the national political discourse. Presidential election years call for nominees – and American citizens – to take a position on any number of complex, challenging issues. The war in Iraq and gay marriage continue to be key arenas of debate, but the battle lines are also being drawn within renewed contests around issues that have been relatively dormant for some time, including abortion, decency standards in broadcast media, and religion in public life. Brian Lehrer and his fellow panelists tackle censorship, reproductive rights, "The Passion of the Christ," and so-called "activist" judges, among many other cultural issues, and will forecast key trends to look for this election year. In a live taping at the Brooklyn Museum, our panel of experts tries to fix the score in the new culture wars.