Obama: most admired, least appreciated? Is Jon Stewart the modern Edward R. Murrow? California's first-ever gubernatorial recall election was held on October 7, 2003, did it accomplish all we hoped for? Rape laws – are they strict enough? Top science stories of 2010 – scandalous speculation & watershed moments. Plus, the latest news.
Obama - most admired, least appreciated?
According to Gallup an equal number of Americans approve of the job that President Barack Obama is doing as disapprove – 46% and yet he tops the country’s list of most admired men in America for the third year in a row. The President won the title by quite a wide margin. He was chosen by 22% of those surveyed – a solid 17% higher than the second most admired man in America, Former President George W. Bush. Much of the media has painted Obama as a President frustrating Americans across the political spectrum with his compromise oriented approach to policy, yet his approval ratings say otherwise. Further confusing the issue, it was widely assumed that Americans sent a clear message of disapproval to Obama in November when Republicans took back the House of Representatives. Why, then, did the American people choose Obama? Have they continued to be supportive of him? Have his recent wins in the lame duck session turned things around? Or are the numbers misleading? Is he as approved of as it would seem?
Guest:
Doyle McManus, Washington Columnist, covering national and international politics for the Los Angeles Times
Is Jon Stewart the modern Edward R. Murrow?
On December 16th Jon Stewart brought a panel of 9/11 first responders on his show. He used his position as host of the "The Daily Show" to advocate for the Senate to pass the the bill pledging federal funds for those who sacrificed their health to save lives that day. The Senate passed the bill and there is no question that Stewart's gambit had a major influence on the passage, leading the media to wonder: what exactly is Jon Stewart? Is he a comedian? An advocate? A journalist? A fraud? He has been compared to Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite by his supporters, while his detractors say his growing influence is a mockery of the journalism profession. Do you think Jon Stewart is carrying the torch for Murrow? Has he crossed over from comedian into journalist? Or is he merely a comedian in journalists clothing?
Guest:
Kelly McBride, senior faculty for ethics, reporting and writing at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburgh
California’s recall – did it result in reform or regret?
California's first-ever gubernatorial recall election was held on October 7, 2003. After the rolling blackouts of 2000 and 2001, plus accusations of a too-cozy and lucrative relationship with the prison guards unions, then-Governor Gray Davis’s approval ratings hit record lows in April 2003 with 24 percent approval, according to a California Field Poll. On February 5, 2003, anti-tax activist Ted Costa started a petition drive to recall Davis. U.S. Representative Darrell Issa contributed close to $2 million of his own money. The rest, of course, is history. But as Governor Schwarzenegger’s own tenure comes to a close, the question comes up: was the recall really worth it? California now faces a staggering $25.4 billion budget deficit--far larger than the $10.2 billion deficit he inherited from Davis. Pundits continue arguing about whether or not the recall accomplished its broader goals. Did you vote for the recall and come to regret it? Or do you think Schwarzenegger brought the reform he promised for Sacramento?
Guests:
Gray Davis, Governor of California from 1999 - 2003
John Myers, Sacramento bureau chief for KQED's California Report
Jessica A. Levinson, Director of Political Reform, Center for Governmental Studies
Rape in the United States – are the laws strict enough?
Sexual assault is one of the most unreported crimes in the U.S. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, sixty percent of rapes are unreported, and of those that are, only about sixteen percent of the perpetrators end up in prison – partly due to the difficulty of prosecution. Could this have something to do with ambiguity about the crime itself? The news that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is facing allegations of sexual misconduct under Swedish law has sparked an international conversation about what constitutes rape. Sweden has three degrees of rape on its books, but how is it defined here in the U.S.? We tell our daughters, students and friends that “No means No,” but “non-consensual sex” is hardly clear-cut. Should a man be charged with rape for having sex without a condom or sex with a woman when she’s asleep? Should our laws be stricter than they are? How do you define rape?
Guests:
Michelle Daniels, Head Deputy of Sexual Crimes Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Julie Posadas Guzman, Rape Crisis Advocate, Bay Area Women Against Rape
National Rape Hotline:
1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
Top science stories of 2010 – scandalous speculation & watershed moments
The interbreeding of early humans and Neanderthals backed by DNA evidence, a microbe that lives on arsenic (or does it?), the electric car makes an electrifying comeback, WikiLeaks delivers a hard lesson in data security, an Icelandic volcano with a nearly unpronounceable erupts, a disaster that blackened Gulf waters – these are some of the impressive and disruptive events that defined this year in science and technology. All of these made Scientific American’s top science stories of 2010 list. Like most year-end lists, this one leaves room for debate and criticism. What stories made the cut? Which ones didn’t (ahem, teleportation via parallel universes)? What’s likely to be the next major discovery in 2011?
Guests:
Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic magazine; Executive Director of the Skeptics Society; monthly columnist for Scientific American; host of the Skeptics Distinguished Science Lecture Series at Caltech; and Adjunct Professor of Economics at Claremont Graduate University.
Fred Guterl, Executive Editor, Scientific American