SAG Board Fires Chief Negotiator; Can Theater Survive Without Theater Critics?; Stimulus Package Negotiations Continue; The Financial Foundations of Civilation; Octuplets Born in Bellflower
SAG Board Fires Chief Negotiator
Doug Allen is no longer the National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Larry talks about this and about what it means for ongoing contract negotiations with Jay Fernandez of the Hollywood Reporter, entertainment lawyer and blogger Jonathan Handel, and SAG National President Alan Rosenberg.
Can Theater Survive Without Theater Critics?
Recent reports of the elimination of theater critic, writer and editor positions at several Southern California newspapers comes as a blow to Los Angeles' stage community. How will the decline in media coverage of the theater arts affect the arts in LA? Larry Mantle talks about the problem with Geffen Playhouse producing director Gilbert Cates, Pasadena Playhouse artistic director Sheldon Epps and Center Theatre Group artistic director Michael Ritchie.
Stimulus Package Negotiations Continue
Larry Mantle talks with Los Angeles Times' Washington correspondent Peter Nicholas about President Obama's meeting with Republicans to discuss the stimulus package, Nancy Pelosi's comments on the contraceptive provision, and what will likely stay or go in the package.
The Financial Foundations of Civilation
Great art? Success in war and conquest? Sanitation? Health? Historians have often argued about what exactly defines great societies. In "The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World," writer and Harvard professor Niall Ferguson argues that finance, is, in fact, the foundation of human progress. Larry talks with Ferguson about his theory.
Octuplets Born in Bellflower
The second set of surviving octuplets born in the United States were delivered by Caesarian yesterday in Bellflower. Doctors said the newborns and their mother were doing well, and that all eight babies are now breathing on their own. Larry talks with fertility specialist Dr. Richard Paulson about how this situation may have come about.