The latest developments in the nuclear crisis in Japan. California's budget vote. Family pet strife - does Fido bring us together or tear us apart? Getting the most bang for donated bucks - Japan, Africa, or? How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes.
Crisis continues at Japan’s damaged nuclear facility
Japanese officials have doubled the number of workers battling the 6-day old crisis to 100 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility in the aftermath of Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. Experts are feverishly working to cool the damaged nuclear fuel in the cores in 3 of the 4 reactors at the facility currently leaking radiation. The use of helicopters to dump water on the reactors has been temporarily ruled out due to the high levels of radiation leaking from the compromised containment structures. Authorities are becoming increasingly concerned about the status of reactor No. 4 as the levels of water in the reactor’s cooling pool are dangerously low and a number of fires have broken out. The increasing severity of the situation also prompted the Japanese government to increase the maximum radiation dose workers could be exposed to from 100 millisieverts to 250 millisieverts. Although workers are working short shifts and wearing full protective gear they are still being exposed to considerable amounts of radiation. What can be done to end this crisis? Is the design for Fukushima facility at fault? Are domestic nuclear facilities prepared for unknowable disasters?
Guest:
Jim Walsh, International Security Expert at MIT
CA budget vote – deal or no deal?
Today, California lawmakers are scheduled to vote on Governor Jerry Brown’s budget plan in both houses of the legislature. But that doesn’t mean there’s a deal. It’s looking unlikely that Republicans will agree to a key provision: a special election to let voters decide on $11 billion dollars worth of tax extensions. And five key GOP lawmakers are holding out for big changes in state environmental law. Even so, Democrats may agree to pass something like $12 billion dollars in spending cuts to help tackle the state's $26 billion dollar budget deficit. Is this a legitimate vote or just a drill?
Guests:
Julie Small, KPCC's State Capital Reporter
H.D. Palmer, Deputy Director of External Affairs, California Department of Finance
Family pet strife – does Fido bring us together or tear us apart?
Whether you call your family dog, cat, guinea pig or gold fish, a “pet” or a “companion animal,” one thing is clear – our individual relationships with these creatures have a major impact on family dynamics. Pets not only alter a family’s routines and relationships, but hierarchical structures as well. Sometimes, they’re peace makers – “stop fighting, you’re upsetting the turtle!” Surprisingly, this approach can work. Other times, the pets themselves become a serious point of contention. Hence your boyfriend calling your beloved cat not by her real name, but by the unforgivable nickname he coined for her - “The Wedge.” It turns out scientists are learning more about how animals impact families, for better and for worse, and most of it has very little to do with the pets themselves. (READ: we’re the crazy ones.) Who’s the top dog in your household? Do animalia bring your family together? Or tear it apart? We talk with an expert in the field of human/animal bonds and take listener calls.
Guest:
Froma Walsh, Psychologist and Professor Emerita at the University of Chicago; Co-Director of the Chicago Center for Family Health
Getting the most bang for donated bucks – Japan, Africa, or?
If there’s any upside to natural disasters, it’s the outpouring of compassion and generous desire to help that usually follows. In the case of Japan’s devastating 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami, thousands of well-intentioned donors are already sending money to help the country rebuild. Many nations including The United States, Australia, Britain and China have pledged millions in aid and are helping with search and rescue, care for survivors and damage control. Even poverty-stricken Bangladesh has offered help. Often times, millions of dollars are sent by businesses and individuals, sent in $10 increments via cell phone. Remember “text HAITI to 90999” to help the American Red Cross relief effort? Now you can text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation to help the Japanese. But not all aid organizations are created equal. And given Japan’s wealth, it’s possible that some of the donated cash will end up in leftover funds that might be better utilized elsewhere, say, Africa for example. So what’s the best way to ensure that our donations are spent wisely and received by those who need it the most?
Guests:
Annie Lowrey, reports on economics and business for Slate, including the recent article “Japan Doesn’t Need Your Money: Why donations for disaster relief in Japan may not be the best way to help recovery efforts there.”
Ken Berger, President and Executive Director, Charity Navigator
Margaret Arbini, Public Support Officer for the American Red Cross, greater Long Beach region
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes
Does practice really make perfect? Or is perfection a mythical, unattainable goal? These are some of the questions author Alina Tugend explores in her new book, Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong. Also a columnist for the New York Times, Tugend once made a mistake in one of her articles, ultimately resulting in a dreaded public correction. Before ‘fessing up, she agonized over her error. She tried to ignore it. She contemplated keeping quiet about it. She even went so far as to rationalize that she was actually correct. Eventually, however, journalistic ethics won out and she told her editor. The internal struggle she experienced at the presence of a singular, superficial mistake led her to investigate further the nature of human error and how it’s perceived on both a personal and societal level. With the zeal of a recovering perfectionist, Tugend delved into how mistakes are dealt with from the dynamic of errors between parents and children, to those between corporations and consumers. Are mistakes really deserving of humiliation and punishment? Or should they be accepted – even revered – for their powerful learning potential?
Guest:
Alina Tugend, author of Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong (Riverhead Books), journalist for the New York Times