Metrolink workers resist psychological evaluations. A talk with NPR's Pakistan correspondent Julie McCarthy. Headlines from the OC with the Orange County Journalists Roundtable. And from maple bacon doughnuts to sizzling catfish, food critic Jonathan Gold shares the 99 best things to eat in Los Angeles.
Metrolink workers plan to boycott personality tests
Engineer and conductor unions for Southern California's Metrolink commuter rail service are vowing to boycott a new requirement for personality profile testing. The system's management says the evaluations will help prevent incidents like the 2008 Chatsworth train crash, caused by an engineer who was texting at the time. Amtrak takes over Metrolink's operation in July, and already requires such screenings when it hires new workers. Is it suitable to require conductors and engineers to take the tests? And are the evaluations effective in screening them?
Guest:
Fred Oswald, Associate Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Rice University in Houston
Covering Pakistan- NPR-style
When suicide explosions strike Lahore; Pakistan indicts Americans on terrorism charges; or—oops—Taliban arrests derail secret U.N. talks, one woman keeps U.S. audiences informed with in-depth reporting. Julie McCarthy has covered news around the world for NPR, and last year opened the network’s first permanent bureau in Islamabad, Pakistan. She talks with Larry Mantle while stateside from Washington, D.C.
Guest:
Julie McCarthy, NPR foreign correspondent based in Pakistan. In April 2009, McCarthy opened NPR's first permanent bureau in Pakistan
Orange County Journalists Roundtable
Larry Mantle talks about the latest news and developments in Orange County. Top stories include: financial problems at the Crystal Cathedral; a controversial Easter play depicting Jesus as a 1950's gay man; a kidnapping plot involving a Tijuana cop targeting an Orange County family; and the OC district attorney's lawsuit against Toyota.
Guests
Gustavo Arellano, staff writer for the OC Weekly and author of Ask A Mexican
William Lobdell, co-publisher and editor of the Newport-Mesa Daily Voice, an online local paper. He is also a partner in the web venture iBusinessreporting.com
Teri Sforza, Staff Writer for the Orange County Register
Can you hear me now? Why your cell phone sucks
Few things in modern life irritate us as much as our cell phones. Calls drop, but contracts stick around forever. Monthly fees get ever higher, even as reception seems to get poorer. Tomorrow , the New America Foundation and Slate Magazine are hosting a panel discussion to figure out how to address our less-than-steller cell situation. But first, we talk with Wired Magazine’s Nicholas Thompson, about the sorry state of American mobile technology and what can be done about it.
The panel discussion, "Can You Hear Me Now? Why Your Cell Phone Is So Terrible," will take place at the New America Foundation, 1899 L St. NW, Suite 400, Washington, D.C., at 10 a.m. ET on April 2. Slate and New America will stream the event live online.
Guest:
Nicholas Thompson, Senior Editor, Wired Magazine and Senior Fellow, New America Foundation.
99 things to eat in LA before you die
From a maple bacon donut at Nickel Diner to the sizzling catfish at Chinois, food critic Jonathan Gold joins Larry to talk about the 99 best things to eat in Los Angeles. Would you second or strike any of Jonathan's selections? Share your picks here.
Salivate over Jonathan's complete list here.
Guest:
Jonathan Gold, LA Weekly food critic; formerly of Gourmet magazine. In 2007, he became the first food critic to win the Pulitzer Prize.