The Leonard Lopate Show
Mind the Gap
Friday, November 16, 2007
The gap between America's rich and poor is growing. We look at how that's affecting our national prosperity, and whether the U.S. government should take action to close the gap. Also, find out about the issues that matter in Virginia as part of our new States of the Union election feature. A look at how mental illness affects families. And Please Explain is all about laughter.
Closing the Wealth Gap in the U.S.
The gap is growing between America’s rich and poor. Economic critic Robert Kuttner says the U.S. government must take a more active role in closing that gap. Kuttner is editor of American Prospect and his new book is The Squandering of America.
Weigh in: Have you seen changes in the gap between the rich and poor during your lifetime? Give concrete examples if you can.
The Squandering of America is available for purchase at amazon.com
States of the Union: Virginia
The latest in our States of the Union election series focuses on the issues that matter in Virginia. Find out why illegal immigration and gun control are hot buttons, and whether last week’s statewide elections are a good indication of how the state could vote in 2008. Tim Craig writes about Virginia politics for the Washington Post.
The Washington Post’s Virginia Politics blog
A Brother’s Struggle with Mental Illness
Novelist, poet, and psychotherapist Paul Pines talks about the family tragedy of mental illness. He writes about his younger brother’s struggle with paranoid schizophrenia in a new memoir, My Brother’s Madness.
Weigh in: Have you been affected by a family member’s struggle with severe mental illness? If so, have you found a way to cope?
Event: Paul Pines will be speaking and signing books
Tuesday, November 27 at 7 pm
Book Culture
536 West 112th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)
My Brother’s Madness is available for purchase at amazon.com
Please Explain: Laughter
Research shows that the average adult laughs six to eight times a day... whereas the average child laughs around four hundred times each day. Today’s Please Explain is all about laughter. Dr. Robert Provine of the Neuroscience Program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County is author of the book Laughter: A Scientific Investigation.
Weigh in: What always makes you laugh...without fail? A person, a joke, a situation? Tell us by leaving a comment below.
Laughter is available for purchase at amazon.com
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