Volcanic ash grounds European flights. How to save American journalism. The Supreme Court takes up the case on student group discrimination. And Karen Stabiner captures the drama of college acceptance in her novel Getting In.
Icelandic volcano further delays European air travel
Five days after Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano scattered ash over European skies and grounded flights across the continent, air travel is slowly resuming as airspace is reopened. But thousands of passengers remain stranded and airline executives are accusing aviation authorities of overreacting to the volcanic conditions. What is the economic impact of the flight delays, and when will air travel resume from Europe?
Guests:
Rob Gifford, Foreign Correspondent for NPR, London
Stephen Beard, London bureau chief for public radio program Marketplace
Major Wes Smith, USAF, Edwards Air Force Base
Breathing new life into America's newsrooms
Newspapers are getting thinner and thinner with less of the news coming from local reporters and more of it coming from huge news agencies like the Associated Press. Several large American cities no longer have daily newspapers at all and international bureaus are closing-up shop every day. So where does this leave the industry? In very bad shape, argue media experts Robert McChesney and John Nichols. The solution? Government funding for news operations, they contend, is the only way to save the Fourth Estate.
Guests:
Robert McChesney and John Nichols, writers of The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin the World Again (Nation Books)
Can student groups discriminate? The Supreme Court hears the case
Can student groups at state colleges and universities bar certain people from joining and still receive money and school recognition? The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a case brought by the Christian Legal Society at the University of California's Hastings School of Law. In 2004, the student group required members to sign a "statement of faith" that denied membership to those who did not share the society's beliefs, as well as gay students. Hastings denied official recognition to the Christian Legal Society because it requires all student groups seeking funding and access to its facilities to adhere to the school's nondiscrimination policy for factors such as race, religion, and sexual orientation. Does the public school's requirement of openness infringe on First Amendment rights?
Guests:
Tom Caso, Associate Clinical Professor, Chapman University School of Law and Director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, which filed a brief in the case
Shannon Minter, Legal Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights, which represents Hastings Outlaw, a student organization that is a party in the case
College application insanity
Most high school seniors applying to college for the Fall of 2010 have already received their acceptance and rejection letters. Oh, the excitement and the dread of it all! In her new novel “Getting In,” author Karen Stabiner examines the experience of five Los Angeles families whose children are applying to college. From the financially strapped immigrant parents whose daughter aces the SAT, to the Harvard legacy whose parents' aspirations don't match his own, Stabiner’s families undergo a process that’s grueling, frustrating and tedious. Her advice? Keep a sense of humor and keep the therapist on speed dial.
Guest:
Karen Stabiner, author of Getting In: A Novel (Voice)