The Brian Lehrer Show Archive
January 2006
Boxer Fight
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
California Senator Barbara Boxer’s new novel is about scuttling a controversial Supreme Court nomination. She talks about the real-life efforts to prevent Samuel Alito getting on the Court. Plus: Student loans, tension between mothers and daughters, and what’s next for Hamas.
Monday Morning Blues
Monday, January 30, 2006
The State of the Union address and the Senate vote on Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court make this a crucial week in Washington, not to mention the outcome of the Palestinian election and calls for Abbas’ resignation. Plus: a case for the Patriot Act, your calls on Health Savings accounts and the (maybe) first-ever DVD-magazine
The Great Fire Wall of China
Friday, January 27, 2006
Google garnered praise among net enthusiasts for its “Don’t Be Evil” motto even as it became a multi-billion-dollar public company. That’s one reason why its plan to restrict sites in China has caused such a furor in the US. But Google isn’t the only American internet company complying with Chinese censorship demands. Plus: What the Mayor outlined in his State of the City address and why writers and actors are protesting product placement.
Boy Trouble
Thursday, January 26, 2006
The statistics are startling. Women make up 57 percent of college undergraduates--and that’s just the end of an educational story of girls outperforming and outlasting boys from kindergarten to college. When the numbers were reversed, 30 years ago with a 60 – 40 ratio of men to women in colleges, laws were passed to fix the problem – is that what we need now? Plus reaction to President Bush's pre-State of the Union press conference.
Hamas' Big Test
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Today Palestinians vote for a new parliament. For the first time ever, they’ll have the chance to choose deputies from Hamas, a political party that’s also a major sponsor of terrorism in Israel. Could a strong Hamas showing nudge the group to a more conciliatory stance? Also: lobbying in NY, rock n' roll for peace in Indonesia and your calls.
The Color of Disaster
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Hurricane Katrina exposed many failures in federal disaster management, but it also renewed the national conversation about race and poverty in America. In his new book, Michael Eric Dyson examines the deeper meaning of the disaster by putting the experiences of New Orleanians in context with prior black migrations. Plus: What to do if you notice child abuse, a call-in about the American auto-industry, a lawsuit by immigrants deported after 9/11, and the state of homelessness in New York City.
Rejected!
Monday, January 23, 2006
By a margin of just seven ballots, New York City transit workers voted to reject a draft contract with their employer, the MTA. Whether they strike again or not, the vote suggests that bus and subway workers want more than the TWU head, Roger Toussaint, was able to deliver.
Torturous Questions
Friday, January 20, 2006
Craig Murray was the British ambassador to Uzbekistan until he criticized the use of torture to gain intelligence. Army Colonel Janis Karpinski took the wrap for much of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. They're teaming up to criticize the Bush administration's waging of, the latest bin Laden video and 24 hours in the life of Craig's List users
Web of Intrigue
Thursday, January 19, 2006
New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald’s investigation into online child porn was one of the paper’s most forwarded stories of 2005. Eichenwald talks about the changes it brought about and his close connection to his source. Plus: Are World Trade Center rescue workers suffering 9/11-related respiratory problems?, Chile's new president and are you a paranoid parent?
But is it a Gay Movie?
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
It has sex between two matinee idols in a tent, but is Brokeback Mountain really a gay movie? Many critics think it isn’t. But—pardon the expression—how can you tell? And could Brokeback just be a Priscilla, Queen of the Desert for the 21st century? Also: NJ politics, suing the government and juicy supreme court decisions.
Meet Tom Suozzi
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer is well-known for his high-profile Wall Street prosecutions, and is considered the frontrunner to be Democratic nominee for governor. But now he has a challenge from within his own party, from Nassau Country Executive Tom Suozzi. Also: a big picture look at the recent increase in Children's deaths and weighing in on the living wage issue.
Seeing the Promised Land
Monday, January 16, 2006
On this Martin Luther King Day, one of Dr. King’s disciples, Jesse Jackson, is pushing for the inclusion of poor and minority residents of New Orleans to be included in decisions about rebuilding their city. Plus: your one-minute readings on social justice and Monday morning politics.
Talking Trash
Friday, January 13, 2006
The average American produces sixteen hundred pounds of trash each year, but not many people know where it goes. Writer and filmmaker Heather Rogers looks at the hidden life of garbage and its impact on the planet. Plus: Alito and whether the right to abortion is settled law.
Fraudulent Writers Exposed!
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Novelist JT Leroy revelled in his mystique as a twentysomething former rent boy and crack addict. James Frey’s memoirs of jail and glue-sniffing, A Million Little Pieces, made him a bestselling author. This week, both writers were unmasked as frauds who embellished their bad deeds to sell books. Also: Iran's confrontation with the West and the Samuel Alito hearings.
Sam I Am
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
In Senate hearings yesterday, Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito strove to distance himself from some of his early writings on abortion and civil liberties. “When someone becomes a judge,” he said, “you really have to put aside the things that you did as a lawyer." The hearings continue today.
Hearings Aid
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
The Samuel Alito Supreme Court confirmation hearings go into full swing today with questions and speeches from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Listen in live to the hearings with analysis from legal experts including constitutional expert Noah Feldman.
State Secrets
Monday, January 09, 2006
New York Times reporter James Risen broke the story of domestic Government wiretapping, but his new book shows there’s more to the scandal than just eavesdropping. He reveals a failed CIA plot that leaked nuclear technology to Iran. Plus: filmmaker John Sayles, a call in on Dia de los Reyes and a preview of the Samuel Alito Supreme Court nominations
China in Your Hand
Friday, January 06, 2006
China’s younger generation is coming of age with the inspiration of American pop culture. Who better to look at that country’s Generation Y than a 17-year-old high school student from New York? Plus: Israeli politics, the link between circumcision and herpes and John McWhorter on where Black America is going wrong.
From Statehouse to White House?
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Governor Pataki's State of the State speech yesterday touched on issues that resonate with Republicans nationwide. Many analysts saw it as the start of a bid for the White House, but what are the ethics of using a state office for a national campaign? Plus: blogger Ana Marie Cox, City Comptroller Bill Thomspon and a history of left-handedness.
Did The Leaker Break The Law?
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
The recent news that President Bush ordered domestic wiretaps came from a well-placed source whose identity is still a secret. While the debate rages over whether Bush’s actions were legal, the White House alleges that the leaker broke the law and endangered national security. Plus: American foreign policy, your calls on rebates and coal miners.
Ever Again
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
The situation in Darfur is worsening, but Congress has cut funding for African Union peacekeeping troops there. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof says the conflict there is a genocide like the ones that happened in Rwanda and Armenia. University of Oregon’s Paul Slovic says there is a psychological explanation for our ignorance of the conflict. Plus: how certain is the transit workers' contract? What's up with cures for baldness? And the trials and travails of Jack Abramoff.
Make Mine a Cosmopolitan
Monday, January 02, 2006
Globalism threatens to rob local cultures of their distinctive character, leading some to fight for the preservation of cultural diversity. Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah, though, sees the value in cultural “contamination” and argues in favor of a more cosmopolitan world. Plus: what's going on in Washington, the paperless office and your calls on self-reflection in the new year.
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