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The Brian Lehrer Show

Wednesday, April 02, 2008
  • Paintings of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by Colombian artist Fernando Botero
    Paintings of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by Colombian artist Fernando Botero (Getty Images)

    Weighty Issues

    A new Vanity Fair article says that the origins of the torture at Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib came from the very highest levels of the Bush administration. Will these senior advisers face legal action? We talk to the reporter who broke the story. Also: the benefits of conformity, a look at legal protection for overweight people, and what role—if any—will the GOP play in the fate of Florida and Michigan delegates to this summer’s Democratic National Convention?

How High Up?

Philippe Sands, international lawyer, professor of law at University College London and author of Torture Team: Rumsfeld's Memo and the Betrayal of American Values, discusses his Vanity Fair article on the Bush Administration and torture and whether any individuals might be in legal jeopardy.

Link to a 2003 memo from the Department of Justice saying torture of foreign nationals is lawful (pdf)

Border Wars

WNYC reporter Bob Hennelly talks about New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine's opposition to congestion pricing.

One in a Million

What's so wrong with fitting in? Science writer David Berreby, author of Us and Them: Understanding Your Tribal Mind, discusses our changing understanding of conformity.

Idea Lab: The Case for Fitting In
David Berreby's Blog

Weighty Issues

Anna Kirkland, assistant professor of women's studies and political science at the University of Michigan and author of Fat Rights: Dilemmas of Difference and Personhood, and blogger Lara Frater, author of Fat Chicks Rule!: How To Survive in a Thin-Centric World, look at the legal question of discrimination against the overweight.

The Role of the GOP in Michigan and Florida

Wayne Barrett, senior editor at the Village Voice, tells us how he sees the GOP determining the fate of the delegates in Michigan and Florida at the Democratic National Convention.

Wayne Barrett: Could the Republicans Pick the Democratic Nominee? -- The Untold Story of How the GOP Rigged Florida and Michigan

Revolution Number Nine

Lenore Skenazy, columnist for the New York Sun, talks about the reaction to her article Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone.

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.