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Why the Internet is Bad for Us
It seems like everyone loves the internet, but one former technology entrepreneur thinks it’s destructive. Self-described web contrarian Andrew Keen rails against blogs, wikis and web 2.0 in his new book, The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing our Culture. We ask him why. Also, excerpts and analysis from the latest Republican presidential debate and a Harvard economist explains how New York businesses survive.
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Republican Debate
John Fund, columnist at the Wall Street Journal and author, Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy (Encounter, 2004), analyzes the third Republican presidential debate, then Dan Coats, former senator from Indiana and surrogate for the McCain presidential campaign, Congressman Buck McKeon (R-CA), representing Mitt Romney, and former Congresswoman Susan Molinari (R-SI), a senior advisor to the Giuliani campaign, assess their candidates' performances. Finally, Republican listeners tell us which candidate they are leaning towards.
Listen to the debate.
Why the Internet is Bad for Us
Andrew Keen, former Silicon Valley entrepreneur and author of the new book The Cult of the Amateur: How today's Internet is killing our culture (Currency, 2007), says blogs, wikis and other web 2.0 phenomena do more harm than good.
The Cult of the Amateur is available for purchase at Amazon.com.
How Businesses Make it in New York
Harvard economist Edward Glaeser and writer Arianne Cohen analyzed how diners, drug dealers, copy shops, and other businesses manage to survive and thrive in NYC in their article "The Profit Calculator" in this week's New York Magazine. They discuss how "Newyorkonomics" makes it possible.
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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.- Comments [40]
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!- Comments [15]
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!- Comments [172]
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.
- Comments [22]
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.
- Comments [44]
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