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The Brian Lehrer Show

Tuesday, December 27, 2005
  • Barack Obama

    Sharpe James, Meet Barack Obama

    For decades, black politicians like Newark’s Sharpe James came out of the civil rights movement and embraced big-government solutions to social ills. But members of the new generation of African-American leaders have more varied biographies and political views. Plus: NYPD spies at protest marches, scantily clad preteens and your calls.

Big Brother is Not Only Watching, He's Egging You On

Jim Dwyer, New York Times reporter
-on NYPD surveillance of war protesters

» "Police Infiltrate Protests, Videotapes Show" by Jim Dwyer in the New York Times
» Video of N.Y.C. Police Surveillance (New York Times)

Girls Gone Wild

Dr. Patricia Dalton, clinical psychologist,
-says children need to dress their age

» "What's Wrong With This Outfit, Mom?" by Patricia Dalton in the Washington Post

Sharpe James, Meet Barack Obama

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, columnist and author, The Disappearance of Black Leadership (Middle Passage Press, April 2000)
- on the shift in leadership within the African American community

» Earl Hutchinson's webpage, The Hutchinson Report

Open Phones

Listeners call in to share their defining moments of 2005

Uncommon Indicators

The Brian Lehrer Show

The Brian Lehrer Show wants to hear how the economy is affecting the little things in your daily life. Share your stories and photos of the downturn.

Cast your vote for our video contest semi-finalists.

The Rocky Road Ahead

The Brian Lehrer Show

Ray Young, the chief financial officer of General Motors, talks about GM’s bankruptcy.

Then, Damon Lester, president of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers, and Greg Williams, former owner of the recently closed Huntington Chevrolet in Huntington Station, NY., discusses the effect GM’s bankruptcy has had on dealerships and their employees.

Tweet If You Use Twitter

The Brian Lehrer Show

Farhad Manjoo, Slate's technology columnist and the author of True Enough: Learning To Live in a Post-Fact Society talks about what Twitter means and how different groups use it.

What's your take on Twitter? How do you use it? Comment below!

Don't Say That, Literally

The Brian Lehrer Show

John Flansburgh of the band They Might Be Giants discusses the running list the band keeps of "things we can no longer say." (a few examples: "my bad" "don't go there" "one hundred and ten percent" and "voted off the island")

What would be on your list of banned words or phrases? Comment below!

From Denmark with Love

The Brian Lehrer Show

Jesper Grunwald, senior managing editor with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, talks about the Danish economy, biking to work, and why the Danes are allegedly the happiest people in the world.

Squatting, Then and Now

The Brian Lehrer Show

As former squats in the East Village make the transition to coops, making homes from abandoned housing is again an issue. Andrew Reicher executive director of Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, Frank Morales an Episcopal priest involved in East Village/Lower East Side squatting and homelessness activism since the late '70s, and Rob Robinson, a leader of the Housing Campaign of Picture the Homeless, discuss the return of squatting.

Video Picks

The Brian Lehrer Show

Check out some recent video clips of interviews with guests and Brian Lehrer's weekly Web video picks.