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The Brian Lehrer Show / July 31, 2007

The Brian Lehrer Show

Tuesday, July 31, 2007
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  • Twinkie, Deconstructed
    Twinkie, Deconstructed

    Junk Food Confidential

    What’s on your plate? There may be a surprise in store from Steve Ettlinger, author of Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated into What America Eats. Also, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine; New Jersey Congressman Steve Rothman – now the Northeast Coordinator for the Barack Obama campaign; other cities' traffic mitigation plans; and 237 reasons why humans have sex.

    We're counting on you! ...
    to help us get a snapshot of SUV use in the New York area. Go outside your house or building, and count the number of SUVs and total number of cars. Post the results in this comment page and we'll talk about the results soon.

The Burden of Roof

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine joins us to talk about the state's new tax relief program aimed to ease the burden of America's highest property taxes.

Regional Support

Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ 9th) talks about his support for Barack Obama and his position as Northeast Regional co-chair of his campaign.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Twinkies (But Were Afraid to Ask)

Author Steve Ettlinger tracked down the origins of every one of the dozens of ingredients that go into a Twinkie for his book Twinkie, Deconstructed.

Twinkie, Deconstructed is available for purchase at Amazon.com

How Would They Cut Traffic?

Despite the defeat of Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, New York is still in the running for $500 million in federal funds to reduce traffic congestion, along with 8 other cities. How would other cities put the grant to use? Peggy Catlin of the Colorado Department of Transportation and Bernie Arseneau of the Minnesota Department of Transportation explain Denver and Minneapolis' plans.

Then reporter Erik Engquist, who covers New York City politics and government for Crain's New York Business, talks about what NYC can do about traffic mitigation without Albany's or Washington's approval.

Why We Have Sex

A new study from the University of Texas looks at 237 reason why humans have sex. We talk to the lead author of the study, Dr. David Buss, a psychology professor, and Emma Taylor, one half of the writing duo Em & Lo, whose sex column appears in New York Magazine.

Why Humans Have Sex (PDF)
John Tierney's column in the New York Times (reg. reqd.)

A person dressed as a bear to represent a bear market performs outside the New York Stock Exchange on October 6, 200 in New York. Wall Street tumbled after the opening bell as fallout from the credit crisis triggered concerns about the economy and the Dow fell below 10,000 for the first time in four years.

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.

Ray Young, General Motors Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

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.

paper trail small

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!

(<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexerde/80417539/">alexerde</a>/flickr)

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!

happiness

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.

Judge Sotomayor

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.