The head of the Spokane, Washington NAACP is in the hot seat after allegations that she has been misrepresenting her racial identity in her professional life. Also, what role should the FTC play in protecting the public from crowdfunding scams? Then, paleontologist and scientific advisor on “Jurassic World” breaks down fact and fiction.
Examining the importance of racial self-identification as questions arise about Spokane NAACP president
The head of the Spokane, Washington NAACP is in the hot seat after allegations that she has been misrepresenting her racial identity in her professional life.
The City of Spokane is planning to investigate Rachel Dolezal, who is an adjunct professor at Eastern Washington University in addition to heading up the local NAACP chapter, on charges that she violated the city’s ethics code when she applied to be part of the citizen police ombudsman commission, on which she now serves.
Dolezal, whose parents say they are of European descent and identify their (estranged) daughter as Caucasian, said in an interview with Reuters that she identifies herself as black. When confronted about her racial identity by KXLY4 reporter Jeff Humphrey, she said she didn’t understand the question, then walked off camera and ended the interview.
Parents say NAACP leader is "pretending"; she grew up blonde, blue-eyed and freckled-face http://t.co/cAcLGALTAB pic.twitter.com/ZQWEsopjKd
— CBS News (@CBSNews)
Parents say NAACP leader is "pretending"; she grew up blonde, blue-eyed and freckled-face http://t.co/cAcLGALTAB pic.twitter.com/ZQWEsopjKd
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 12, 2015
Dolezal attended Howard University, a historically black college in Washington, D.C., on a full scholarship, and her father says the university simply took her for a black woman because she applied to study art with a portfolio of “exclusively African American portraiture.”
Does racial identity matter as much to younger generations? What do you see as the case with Rachel Dolezal? Is this a misunderstanding or is this a case of Dolezal being disingenuous?
Guest:
Ann Morning, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology at New York University. Her research focuses on racial self-identification and official classification of multiracial individuals.
Play at your own risk: Protecting against crowdfunding scams
When donating to a crowdfunding campaign or a kickstarter there is always a chance the project won’t come to fruition. But should there be stricter regulations or oversight on how the money raised is used if a project fails?
This week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settled charges against a man who raised $122,000 through Kickstarter to produce a board game called “The Doom that Came To Atlantic City.” The game never happened and according to the FTC, the game’s creator Erik Chevalier canceled the project and said he would refund the donations, but used the money instead to pay for personal expenses.
While there is always a chance projects won’t be successful, the FTC says consumers should be able to trust their money will actually be spent on the project they funded.
What role should the FTC play in protecting the public from crowdfunding scams?
Guests:
Jeff Howe, contributing editor at Wired Magazine, coined "crowd sourcing" for Wired in 2006, runs media innovation program at Northeastern University.
Elissa Grossman, Associate Professor of Clinical Entrepreneurship at USC Marshall at the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
A deep dive into the forbidden corners of the Internet
While a majority of us use the Internet for Facebook, Google and Twitter, there is also a dark side to the World Wide Web that often goes unnoticed by the general public, where illegal drugs, weapons and sex are sold and traded around the world.
Jamie Bartlett, author of “The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld,” explores the dark subculture of the Internet, a place of encrypted Internet browsing, where payments are made using untraceable Bitcoins. Jamie Bartlett is the director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos, a U.K. think tank. He shares his experience with the “dark net” and what’s being done to regulate it.
Guest:
Jamie Bartlett, Author of “The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld” (Melville House, 2015); director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the U.K. think tank DEMOS
Filmweek: ‘Jurassic World,’ ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,’ ‘Madame Bovary,’ and more
Patt Morrison and KPCC film critics Amy Nicholson and Wade Major review this week’s new film releases, including the dinosaur spectacular "Jurassic World," the Sundance hit "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," Mia Wasikowski starring in "Madame Bovary," and more. TGI-Filmweek!
Most folks are probably heading to see Jurassic World this weekend, but our critics say there are a lot of other solid, but smaller films coming out that may not be in wide release. Which indie movie would you be most likely to see? Vote on our Ranker below!
Oh, and here's the trailer for Jurassic World, too.
Guests:
Amy Nicholson, film critic for KPCC and chief film critic for LA Weekly
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and host for IGN’s DigiGods.com
Dinos more fantastic than factual in ‘Jurassic World’
One of the summer's biggest blockbuster sequels opens this week starring a ferocious, fantastical hybrid dinosaur in "Jurassic World."
It's the fourth film set in "Jurassic Park" as dreamed up first by novelist Michael Crichton in his 1990 bestseller that was adapted by filmmaker Steven Spielberg. For the first films, Spielberg wanted a scientific advisor, paleontologist Jack Horner, to help ensure the dinosaurs were as realistic as possible, but scarier.
In the years since the first movie, scientists have learned more about the physical features and behavioral attributes of dinosaurs, so there was some expectation that the latest movie would take the new research into account.
As British paleontologist Darren Naish wrote:
After all, the early 21st century is the age of fuzzy-coated tyrannosaurs, a time where we have seen a seemingly endless stream of discoveries about feathery little bird-like dinosaurs. We now know that pterosaurs had furry pelts, we've discovered iridescence on dinosaur feathers. We've also found out about bizarre dinosaurs that bristled with spines, fuzz and filaments, and a myriad other extravagant ancient beasts never dreamed of 20 years ago, like the "Hellboy" dinosaur Regaliceratops.
Instead, Naish says "Jurassic World" missed an opportunity.
"Rather than feature new-look dinosaurs and present audiences with something wonderful, 'Jurassic World' appeared to have made the 'bold' decision to stick with the dinosaurs of yore," Naish explained.
What do you think of the choices to not incorporate dino feathers and the rest of the new traits?
Guest:
Jack Horner, Paleontologist and scientific advisor on “Jurassic World” and the preceding “Jurassic” films; Curator of Paleontology, Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana