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The Brian Lehrer Show

Thursday, July 26, 2007
  • (joshbousel/flickr)

    Fare Play

    The MTA is now officially considering an increase in subway fares, as well as bridge and tunnel tolls. MTA head Lee Sander explains why. Also, we ask you to go out and count the number of SUVs parked on your block, compared to the number of cars. We get Wired Magazine’s Jeff Howe to explain this experiment in “crowdsourcing.” Also, is Apu a racist character in the Simpsons?

Fare Play

Lee Sander, CEO and Executive Director of the MTA, explains the planned subway fare and toll hike in the face of a budget surplus.

SUV in Chinatown (kyrion/flickr)

How Many SUVs Are on Your block?

We want you to go outside and count the number of SUVs on your block, as well as the number of regular cars. This is our experiment in “crowdsourcing,” where we employ you, the listener, in an act of journalism. We’re trying to find out just how much gas-guzzling SUV use there is throughout the New York area, with all the talk of environmental sustainability in the city. We’re giving you until next Thursday to do the counting, but please, just count the cars once. Most trucks and minivans are not SUVs, so we're trusting your judgment. Also, please count the cars on both sides of the block (i.e. the section of your street between intersecting roads).

Post your results in the comment section below and we’ll analyze the results Thursday, August 2. The count ends at 1 pm Wednesday, Aug 1st!

Wired Magazine writer Jeff Howe explains the idea on the air.

Please post 1) your neighborhood, 2) your block (street and cross street) 3) the number of SUVs parked 4) the total number of cars parked

NOTE: While we ordinarily encourage comments of any kind, we would like to keep this page limited to the findings about SUVs. We will take other comments when we discuss this next week. Thanks!

Jeff Howe's original article on Crowdsourcing
Jeff Howe's Crowdsourcing blog
View the results of our SUV count on our Google Map

Gonzales Under Fire

More trouble for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Emily Bazelon, senior editor at Slate magazine, joins us to talk about possible perjury charges against him and what this means for his office.

The Spitzer Response

Press Secretary to Governor Eliot Spitzer, Christine Anderson, joins us to respond to the helicopter scandal.

July with Jen

Jen Chung, editor of Gothamist.com, answers your questions about what's going on around Gotham each week in July.

Et Tu, Apu?

In a promotion for The Simpsons Movie, opening tomorrow, 7-Elevens have been transformed into the show's Kwik-E-Mart convenience stores run by the Indian-American character Apu. But some find the character offensive. Manish Vij, author of the blog Ultrabrown, explains why.

Ultrabrown

Step Three: The Wiki

The Brian Lehrer Show

This fall, The Brian Lehrer Show will air our presidential election series “30 Issues In 30 Days.” With your help, we can produce great election coverage!

Digesting Politics

A weekly podcast with Brian Lehrer and Andrea Bernstein

New Episode Posted 10/03
Eavesdrop on Andrea Bernstein and Brian Lehrer, two of the most political savvy minds around, as they eat lunch and break down the week’s political activities.

Slideluck Potshow

The Brian Lehrer Show

Check out our contribution to the recent Slideluck Potshow, an event where folks share their love of food and photos!

ICANN, You Can…

Web Exclusive

Paul Twomey, president and CEO of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), on their recent decision to offer more top-level domain names.

Mixed Up

The Brian Lehrer Show

We discuss the implications of our mixed-race future and how Barack Obama's candidacy has changed the discussion about mixed-race identity.