Obama calls for new banking regulations. What's next for the health care bill? The prosecution calls final witnesses in the Prop. 8 trial. And it's FilmWeek on AirTalk. KPCC film critics review the week's releases, including Tooth Fairy, Extraordinary Measures, and Creation. Then, Warren Beatty takes the spotlight in Peter Biskind's biography, Star.
Obama proposes new banking regulations
President Obama called for tougher financial regulation yesterday, proposing to limit the size of large banks as well as the risks that they can take with federally insured deposits. The plan is similar to the Glass-Steagall Act, which was enacted after the Great Depression to separate commercial and investment banking, and was repealed in 1999. What are the pros and cons of the proposed regulations, and will they help to prevent another financial crisis?
Guest:
Joseph Mason, Professor of Banking, Louisiana State University, and a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School
Lawrence Baxter, Professor of Law at Duke. He is a former corporate executive vice president of Wachovia Bank.
Health care reform going forward
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced yesterday that House Democrats would not have the votes to pass the Senate’s health care bill—the Democrats last-ditch effort to quickly pass a reform package before Massachusetts Senator-elect Scott Brown is seated. Will the bill be broken into pieces so that politically popular provisions can quickly become law? If reform won’t come in a comprehensive package, what portions would you like to see Congress take up first?
Guests:
Noam Levey, Staff Reporter, Los Angeles Times
Walter Zelman, Chairman of the Department of Health Science at Cal State Los Angeles
Prop. 8 prosecution wraps, what's next?
Opponents of Proposition 8 call their final witness in a federal courthouse in San Francisco today. Expert testimony from the past few days cites discrimination faced by gays and lesbians at the ballot box and at large, saying homosexuals lack political clout. The legal team advocating for same-sex marriage will have to show that gays and lesbians are politically disenfranchised and a protected minority to secure a favorable ruling. We check in with KQED’s Scott Shafer from the courthouse.
Guests:
Scott Shafer, KQED reporter
FilmWeek
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Jean Oppenheimer of Village Voice Media and Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com discuss the week’s new film releases, including Tooth Fairy, Extraordinary Measures, To Save a Life, Drool, and Creation. Larry and the critics also discuss the Golden Globe winners, and check in with Peter Rainer from the Sundance Film Festival.
Guests:
Jean Oppenheimer, KPCC critic
Henry Sheehan, henrysheehan.com
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Jean's Top Films of 2009
The Escapist
Creation
Everlasting Moments
O’Horten
The Hurt Locker
District 9
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Five Minutes of Heaven
Precious
Up in the Air
Henry's Top Film's of 2009
How Warren Beatty seduced America
With memorable roles in Bonnie and Clyde, Shampoo, Bugsy, and Bulworth, Warren Beatty is one of the most iconic figures in film. Along with Orson Welles, he is the only person to be nominated for four Academy Awards for a single film- though Beatty did it twice, earning actor, director, screenwriter, and producer nominations for Heaven Can Wait and Reds. But Beatty was just as well-known for his life off the screen, with a reputation as the biggest playboy in Hollywood. In his comprehensive biography, Peter Biskind details Beatty’s accomplishments in moviemaking as well as his captivating private life.
Guest:
Peter Biskind, author of Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America (Simon & Schuster). He is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair.