Victory For Socialist Party In Spain; Obesity In America; The American Empire; The Not-So-Still Life: A Century Of California Painting And Sculpture
Victory For Socialist Party In Spain
Spaniards reacted to the terrorist bombing in their country last week by voting out the Popular Party of Prime Minster Jose Maria Aznar and voting in the Socialist Party and a new prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Brookings Institution expert Michael O’Hanlon joins guest host Jon Beaupre to discuss the election upset.
Obesity In America
The House just passed a bill titled “The Personal Responsibility and Food Consumption Act.” It provides legal immunity to restaurants against lawsuits by customers who would sue over their weight gain. Jon Beaupre discusses the law, the growing problem of obesity in America and how obesity is predicted to surpass tobacco as a major cause of illness in decades to come. Jon talks with David Dreier, California congressmen representing the 26th district, and Greg Critser, author of Fatland: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World, and Roland Sturm, senior economist at RAND and lead author of a recently released study predicting that with in the next 20 years, obesity-linked disease in the US will cancel out improvements made in medical technology, like vaccinations.
The American Empire
Chalmers Johnson joins guest host Jon Beaupre to discuss his latest book called The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy and the End of the Republic. Mr. Johnson contends that America has always had an empire and pursued self-aggrandizing policies under various guises such as the Cold War and now the war on terror. Johnson warns that the implications for American democracy are dire and could even mean an end to the American Republic, if the government does not change its aggressive foreign policy and militarism.
The Not-So-Still Life: A Century Of California Painting And Sculpture
The Pasadena Museum of California Art is showcasing the first ever exhibit of California still life painting and sculpture. The director of the PMCA, Wesley Jessup and one of the co-curators of the exhibit, Patricia Trenton join guest host Jon Beaupre to discuss the evolution of still life in California art. The exhibit runs through June 27th.