We'll check in on the Lance Armstrong doping discussion and talk about Armstrong's public apology. We'll also consider the replacement of the TSA's controversial "naked image" scanners and discuss "Aaron's Law," the proposal from California Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren that would change the computer hacking law used to prosecute Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz. On FilmWeek, Larry and the critics review this week's new releases, "56 Up," "Broken City," and "Mama." All that and more, today on AirTalk.
Lance Armstrong admits to doping
Last night, Lance Armstrong admitted to a truth long known by everyone else close to the story. The cycling superstar had used a "cocktail" of illegal performance enhancers -- testosterone injections, erythropoetein (known as EPO), and blood transfusions -- throughout his incredible career.
He told interviewer Oprah Winfrey the routine was "like saying we have to have air in our tires or water in our bottles." The admission comes after years of accusations that culminated in a damning 1000-page report by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) last October. After which, Armstrong was stripped of his Tour de France titles and myriad other winnings.
This fallen-hero story won't end with part two of Oprah's interview tonight. Armstrong is facing innumerable lawsuits and actions against him. So why did he finally tell the truth? What judgements did you make after watching him last night?
Guests:
Steve Bartolucci, cyclist, and LiveStrong leader who has been involved with LiveStrong for a decade as an organizer and fundraiser. He has been a cancer survivor since 2000 and is currently in treatment.
Dan Empfield, blogs about triathlon and bicycles at slowtwitch.com. He was an early innovator in triathlon bikes and wetsuits, and one of the best writers about triathlon. Has known Armstrong since he was a teenager.
'Aaron’s Law' leads to mixed reactions
In the wake of Aaron Swartz’s suicide, sympathetic supporters of the young man have been calling for changes in how the government prosecutes certain digital crimes. U.S. Rep Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) has answered those calls with a proposed amendment to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).
Swartz was charged with violating MIT’s terms of service, which allowed prosecutors to pursue a harsh sentence, which most everyone besides the prosecutors themselves found way out of proportion to the crime. The amendment would exclude terms of service violations from the law, in hopes to prevent what happened to Swartz to happen to anybody else. While it’s certainly a noble effort, there are still critics of this proposed amendment. Security experts feel that excluding the terms of service violations would open up systems to huge breaches and more dangerous cybercrimes. They say that the CFAA isn’t the problem here, and shouldn’t be touched in any way, as it is a perfectly acceptable means of charging and prosecuting such crimes. They focus on creating prosecutorial guidelines, so that lawyers and law enforcement officials can’t intimidate the accused into doing something like Swartz.
Which side do you fall on? What implications would the amendment have on cybercrime and internet privacy? What are the arguments on both sides? What’s the absolute best way to approach this issue so that it is prevented in the future?
Guests:
Susan Freiwald, Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco School of Law where she teaches Cyberspace Law, Information Privacy Law, and Contracts
Jody Westby, CEO & Founder of Global Cyber Risk, a cybersecurity firm that provides advisory services to corporations and governments in the U.S. and globally
FilmWeek: 56 Up, Broken City, Mama and more
Larry is joined by KPCC film critics Tim Cogshell, Henry Sheehan and Charles Solomon to review the week’s new film releases including 56 Up, Broken City, Mama and more. TGI-FilmWeek!
56 Up
Broken City
Mama
Let My People Go
The Last Stand
Luv
The Rabbi's Cat (animated)
FilmWeek Oscar Preview at the Egyptian Theatre
Guests:
Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Box Office Magazine
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and dearhenrysheehan.com
Charles Solomon, animation critic for KPCC and author for amazon.com
Sketch to screen: The history of Hollywood costume illustration (Photos)
When Deborah Nadoolman Landis was starting out in the costume shops of major Hollywood studios, she remembers finding “stacks and stacks” of old drawings - stuffed under tables, into walls for insulation, underfoot, being used as doormats. At that time, no one considered the sketches made for costume designs to be art.
They were just the first step in translating a designer’s ideas into costumes that would be worn by Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Barbra Streisand and other bigger-than-life stars. Some were signed by famous designers — Edith Head, Cecil Beaton, Walter Plunkett — although they were often the work of lesser-known or anonymous artists.
Nadoolman Landis calls herself a costume archaeologist, the “Indiana Jones” of costume design. She spent years combing through archives and private collections, not to mention dumpsters, garages and attics, to unearth long-unseen illustrations of Hollywood costume designs.
The result is ‘Hollywood Sketchbook: A Century of Costume Illustrated,” the first book devoted to the art of the costume illustrator. Nadoolman Landis is a costume historian as well as a successful costume designer; her credits include Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Blues Brothers and Michael Jackson’s seminal music video/short film Thriller.
In creating this book, she tells the story of an important chapter in film history. Its pages showcase a lush and loving history of Hollywood costume design, but more importantly, of the artists whose sketches combine the visions of writer, director and designer to create unforgettable, immortal characters.
Guest:
Deborah Nadoolman Landis, author of Hollywood Sketchbook: A Century of Costume Illustrated (Harper Design), costume historian, UCLA professor and founding director of the David C. Copley Center for Costume Design at UCLA