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The Brian Lehrer Show

Friday, July 03, 2009

Land of P(aw)lenty

The final day of coverage from the Aspen Ideas Festival begins with a conversation with Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty (R), who talks about Al Franken's election to the senate and dysfunctional state governments.

Being Human in a Digital World

Brooke Gladstone, managing editor and co-host of National Public Radio’s Peabody-winning On the Media“, Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences and the NSF Science of Learning Center at the University of Washington, John Palfrey, faculty co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and video game designer Will Wright, creator of Spore and Sim City, discuss what it means to be human in a digital world.

paul van zyl

Transitional Justice with Paul van Zyl

Paul van Zyl, co-founder and the executive vice-president of the International Center for Transitional Justice and former executive secretary of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, discusses how countries move on from collective injustice, why he believes the U.S. needs a post-9/11 truth and reconciliation commission, and the crisis in Honduras.

The Man Who Saved New York

Financier Felix Rohatyn helped New York avoid bankruptcy in the 1970's - so what does he make of the city's current financial crisis?

Tod Machover: Guitar Hero

Composer/inventor/educator Tod Machover is the head of the MIT Media Lab's Hyperinstruments/Opera of the Future group, which created the video game Guitar Hero.

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.