Nader Decides to Run for President; Mayor Hahn on Ethics Reform; The National Crime Decline; How the Military Handles Sexual Assault Cases; Space, Time and the Texture of Reality
Nader Decides to Run for President
On Sunday, during the program "Meet the Press," Ralph Nader announced his intention to run for president in the 2004 election. Larry Mantle speaks with political consultant Joe Cerell about how Nader's bid for the presidency will affect the Democratic votes and then open the phones for listener response to the announceme
Mayor Hahn on Ethics Reform
Mayor James Hahn joins Larry Mantle to discuss his five-point ethics reform plan, announced at a press conference on Friday. The plan includes bans on conflicts of interest between city contractors and campaign fundraising. Mayor Hahn's proposal would make the City's fundraising guidelines some of the most restrictive in the nation.
The National Crime Decline
In the Nineteen-nineties, violent crime rates declined steadily not just in Los Angeles, but also across the nation. Larry Mantle talks with criminologist Richard Rosenfeld about the many theories for the decline, and about whether or not we can expect crime rates to rise again. Mr. Rosenfeld is the author of an article in this month’s Scientific American called "The Case of the Unsolved Crime Decline."
How the Military Handles Sexual Assault Cases
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld recently created a task force to investigate reports that dozens of female troops serving overseas have reported sexual assaults by fellow service members. Hearings begin on February 25th. The Miles Foundation, an advocacy group that provides services to victims of violence associated with the military, has received at least sixty reports of sexual assaults by female service members on assignment in Kuwait and Iraq. Allegations surrounding these assaults include poor, or non-existent, health treatment, lack of counseling, and downplaying of alleged events. Christine Hansen, Executive Director of the Miles Foundation, and Dr. David Chu, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Department of Defense, join Larry to discuss the issue.
Space, Time and the Texture of Reality
Space and time form the fabric of the cosmos, and yet they remain the most mysterious of concepts. Physicist and science writer Brian Greene joins Larry Mantle to talk about the big questions regarding the definitions of space, time, reality, what the universe is, where it came from and where it’s going. Mr. Greene's new book is called The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time and the Texture of Reality (Alfred A. Knopf).