How big a threat are airline bombers? Search for extraterrestrial life gains momentum. Then, does financial disclosure in LAPD gang units promote transparency? Later, we talk with John Cassidy about his book How Markets Fail.
Airline bombers: what do you think?
This Christmas wasn't all about holiday cheer for the 278 passengers on Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit, who are just happy to be alive. As they were preparing to land, passengers on the flight noticed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly attempting to ignite an explosive device strapped to his leg. He was restrained by passengers--authorities are saying the device malfunctioned. This has caused a wave of airport jitters and delays. But it also raises the question, what do you do if you see someone acting suspiciously on a plane? Do you jump him and ask questions later? And how long before someone gets beaten up on a flight for doing something suspicious looking, but entirely innocent?
Guest:
Captain Ross Aimer, CEO of Aviation Experts, LLC, Aviation Safety Specialist; former United Airlines pilot
Search for intelligent life gains woldwide momentum
For 25 years the SETI Institute has pointed their satellites to the sky in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Its research was once associated with UFOs and fringe science, but with more than 400 planets known to exist outside of our solar system, and more discovered every week, the search for intelligent life beyond our planet is gaining more and more momentum around the world. Is intelligent life out there? Will we ever find it? And what happens if we do?
Guest:
Jill Tarter, Director for the Center of SETI research, at the SETI Institute
Check out Jill Tarter's TED talk:
LAPD gang unit policy: increases transparency or encourages attrition?
LAPD officers in gang units must disclose their financial assets, along with accounts, real estate and stocks jointly held with a spouse or business partner. Under the consent decree, the financial disclosure rule was intended to prevent bribery. Problems with attrition, however, have some reconsidering the rule. Does financial disclosure reduce police corruption? Or, is the department's ability to combat gangs compromised?
Guests:
Joel Rubin, reporter, Los Angeles Times
Paul Weber, President, Los Angeles Police Protective League
Michael Moore, Assistant Chief, Director of Office of Special Operations, Los Angeles Police Department
How markets fail
Utopian economics – thinking that is blind to how real people act and denies ways in which the free market can sometimes produce disastrous consequences – is on the rise. John Cassidy's new book, "How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities," looks at this phenomenon and other reasons why sometimes markets just don't work. Credit crunches, real estate crashes, stock market bubbles – why do they happen, how do they happen, and what can we learn from them?
Guest:
John Cassidy, author of "How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities"