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The Brian Lehrer Show

Wednesday, October 18, 2006
  • New York Democratic gubernatorial candidate and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on July 26, 2006 in New York.
    New York Democratic gubernatorial candidate and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on July 26, 2006 in New York. (AP Photo)

    Should the U.S. Get Out of Iraq?

    After three and a half years, 2,700 U.S. casualties, spending of $379 billion, and no end in sight, a forum at Town Hall took on the question: Should the U.S. get out of Iraq? Congressman Jack Murtha and former Senator George McGovern grappled with the question along with others. We’ll play excerpts of the taped debate and make available the full audio online. Plus: Eliot Spitzer takes questions on what he’d do if he gets elected governor and a new play that encompasses the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn, roller coaster rides, 9/11, and Starbucks.

Stuy-Town Sold

Daniel Garodnick, New York City Councilmember, District 4
- discuses the sale of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village

On the Road

Eliot Spitzer, New York State Attorney General and candidate for Governor (D)
- talks about his campaign

Open Phones

-Listeners call in about the Stuy-Town sale

The Old Ball Game

Heather Woodbury, playwright and performer, winner of the inaugural Spalding Gray Award
- on her first multi-actor ensemble work, A Tale of 2Cities: An American Joyride on Multiple Tracks, that takes as its starting point the move of the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles

Tale of 2Cities: An American Joyride on Multiple Tracks is in performance at Performance Space 122 through October 29th.

Tale of 2Cities is also available for purchase at Amazon.com

Should the U.S. Get Out of Iraq?

Congressman John Murtha, D-12 (PA), ranking member, and former chairman, of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee; Vietnam combat veteran and retired Marine Corps colonel
and
George McGovern, former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate; co-author of Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now (Simon & Schuster, 2006)
and
William Polk, historian and co-author of Out of Iraq
and
James Carafano, senior fellow for National Security and Homeland Security at The Heritage Foundation
and
Salameh Nematt, Washington bureau chief for Al Hayat International Arab Daily
-a live forum at Town Hall examining the options for, and the consequences of, an exit strategy for the U.S. in Iraq
Listen to the whole debate

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.

Just Launched! The Uncommon Economic Indicators Video Contest. All the details here!

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.