Guest host David Lazarus talks about President Obama's struggle to quit smoking, high-speed rail, the climate biil, and the newly released Nixon tapes.
State budget update
The California legislature is meeting today to vote on a Democrat-driven plan to reduce the state’s deficit by $23.2 billion. David Lazarus and KPCC’s Sacramento reporter Julie Small discuss the behind the scenes wrangling over the budget and the use of creative accounting to balance the state’s book.
Julie Small, KPCC's State Capital Reporter
If President Obama can't quit smoking, who can?
President Obama admitted yesterday in a White House press conference that he is still smoking cigarettes. Why can’t Barack Obama, highly intelligent, self-disciplined, leader of the free world, kick the habit? David Lazarus talks with experts and listeners about why some people just can’t quit and how to reconcile the president’s smoking habit with other aspects of his personality.
Dr. Joseph Haraszti, psychiatrist and Assistant Professor of Medicine and USC's Keck School of Medicine
Where do you build the bullet train?
In November, California voted in $10 billion in bonds for a high speed rail network spanning from Sacramento to San Diego. Another $8 billion is available for high speed rail from the Feds. And billions more are potentially available from the stimulus bill. That's enough dough to start the project. It's not, however, nearly enough to finish the project--let alone achieve the holy grail of a super-fast train between San Francisco and Los Angeles. That leg alone will cost some $40 billion. So where do you start?
David Crane, Governor Schwarzenegger's special advisor on jobs and economic growth, and a board member of the State High Speed Rail Authority
Oscar race for best picture will have 10 nominees
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced today that the Oscar category for Best Picture now will include 10 nominees instead of five. David discusses the change with Leonard Maltin of Entertainment Tonight.
Leonard Maltin, film critic and historian for Entertainment Tonight
Climate bill moves forward
The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee says farmers can support a proposed Democratic bill to limit greenhouse gases and combat global warming. This lifts a hurdle that had tied up the bill, and it looks as if a vote could come as early as Friday. But Republicans warn it will jack up energy costs. How will it work? How much will it really cost? Guest-host David Lazarus gets the latest on the issue.
Darren Samuelsohn, Senior Reporter for "Greenwire" and "Environment and Energy Daily"
New Nixon tapes
Approximately 152 hours of tape and about 30,000 pages of documents from former President Richard M. Nixon's administration were released yesterday. Mostly from January and February 1973, the tapes may shed light on some of the mystery surrounding the Nixon presidency. From Vietnam to Watergate, David Lazarus and guests take a closer look at the newly released tapes and what it means for Nixon's legacy.
Luke Nichter, a Nixon historian at Texas A&M University, whose website specializes in the tape recordings
Timothy Naftali, director of Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum