Dodger Blues: MLB steps in to take over operations. More than a thousand words - two photojournalists are killed in Libya. Drawing the (district) lines in California. The birth, adolescence, and maturation of politics.
Dodger Blues: MLB throws the Dodgers a curve
Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced Wednesday afternoon that he will appoint a representative to oversee the "business and the day-to-day operations" of the Dodgers' baseball club. Selig made the announcement on the heels of reports that owner Frank McCourt had asked for a $30 million loan from Fox citing "deep concerns regarding the finances and operations of the Dodgers." A new team head is expected to be named in the next few days. So what does this all mean for the future of the LA Dodgers? From opening day on it's already been a rocky season for the team - will MLB taking over turn things around? How are fans taking this newest wrinkle in the troubled team’s woes?
Guest:
Bill Shaikin, National Baseball Writer for Los Angeles Times
The allure of combat journalism
The death of two photojournalists in Libya yesterday shines the spotlight on a very select group of journalists and photographers who specialize in covering war zones. Photographers Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros were documenting a rebel militia in Misrata, Libya when they were hit by a mortar strike yesterday. Hetherington, who co-directed the Oscar-nominated war documentary ‘Restrepo,’ was killed instantly; Hondros was wounded and died several hours later. These men are just two of over a dozen journalists killed this year in the line of duty. What is the allure of combat journalism? What kinds of reporters and photographers are willing to choose a lifestyle most of us would be terrified to lead?
Guests:
Rob Mahoney, Deputy Director for the Committee to Protect Journalists
Greg Marinovich, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who documented South Africa’s transition to democracy. He is the co-author of the book The Bang Bang Club about combat photography.
Drawing the lines in California
Nearly every state is required to redraw its congressional, senate and other districts between now and 2012, and the 14-member California Citizens’ Redistricting Commission is sharpening its pencils for the task. As one of only seven states with a citizen’s commission, California promises a number of very interesting outcomes as district lines and demographics shift. Not the least of which is our congressional seating arrangement - thanks in part to our oddly-shaped districting, only one House seat has changed party hands here in the last decade. The shake-up may cause more upset than the San Andreas fault – some Hill-watchers predict that after the fallout, as much as 25 percent of delegates will not be returning to congress in 2012. In this game of musical chairs, which legislators will end up with a seat – and who will be bounced out?
Guests:
Aaron Blake, staff writer, Washington Post
Bob Stern, President, Center for Governmental Studies
Jeanne Raya, Commissioner, California Citizens Redistricting Commission
Peter Yao, Commissioner, California Citizens Redistricting Commission
The first step in the redistricting process will be a series of public hearings to be held statewide. Starting April 27th, the public is invited to express their concerns and preferences at meetings in Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Gabriel, San Fernando and Lancaster. For more info, go to WeDrawTheLines.ca.gov
The birth, adolescence, and maturation of politics
E. O. Wilson’s classic book Sociobiology contends that human society is, in some way, driven by the same forces of evolutionary biology and natural selection that affect living organisms. Taking this tenet as a jumping off point, Frances Fukuyama tackles the history of politics in The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution. In modern times, government institutions can easily be taken for granted. However, when civilizations were in their nascent stages, the notion of political order and accountability could not have been more infeasible. In the first of a two book series, Fukuyama provides a broad historical overview of how politics have evolved; the story covers the era of barbaric, prehuman tribes to the refined intellectualism of the Enlightenment, and spans from China to the Middle East to Europe. How exactly did humanity come around to the issue of politics? What specific gains have been made over time, and how? What trends for development, or devolution, can we expect in the future?
Guest:
Francis Fukuyama, author of The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution (FSG). His previous books include The End of History and The Last Man. He is a Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Rights and served as the deputy director in the State Department policy planning staff.