More Flack On IndyMac; Geoengineering; New Yorker Obama Cover Sparks Uproar; We Are What We Buy
More Flack On IndyMac
Federal regulators seized Pasadena-based IndyMac on Friday and reopened the bank Monday under the control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Although deposits to $100,000 are fully insured by the FDIC, worried customers have been flooding IndyMac Bank branches, demanding to withdraw as much money as they could or get answers about the fate of their funds. Larry Mantle talks with FDIC ombudsman Rickey McCollogh and takes calls from IndyMac customers.
Geoengineering
As the threat of global warming gets more urgent, scientists are taking a second look at the controversial idea of geoengineering. Geoengineering looks at how we might artificially cool the earth by reducing the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth. One idea would be to reduce sulfur particles in the air, creating haze over the earth to cool it, much like a volcanic eruption. Some climate scientists and policymakers are excited by the promise of geoengineering. Most environmentalists, however, are skeptical. They believe the research is half-baked, and that raising false hopes about geoengineering might cause people to relax their efforts to lower CO2 emissions. Larry looks at both sides with Samuel Thernstrom, Co-director of the American Enterprise Institute's Geoengineering Project and Brenda Ekwurzel, Climate Scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
New Yorker Obama Cover Sparks Uproar
The latest New Yorker cover depicts Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in a turban, fist-bumping his gun-slinging wife. Obama's campaign has condemned the rendering as tasteless and offensive. Even McCain's campaign agreed. The New Yorker says it's simply satire. Is it really offensive - or is it just funny? Could it have a negative impact on Obama's campaign? If so, is that fair? Should we be concerned that it might play into the fears and ignorance of the voting public? Or should we all just lighten up? Larry talks with Tom Hollihan, Professor of Communications, USC's Annenberg School of Communications, and opens the phones so listeners can weigh in.
We Are What We Buy
We consumers like to think that we're in control; that advertising and marketing campaigns don't work on us. In his new book, "Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are," Rob Walker argues that this accepted wisdom misses an important cultural shift; that buyers adopt products, not just as consumer choices, but as expressions of their identities. Larry talks with Walker about how people participate in marketing campaigns in unprecedented ways; from creating their own internet video ads to becoming word-of-mouth "agents" for their favorite products.