President Obama is announcing today he'll limit the types of surplus military equipment provided to local law enforcement. Also, a coalition of more than 60 Asian-American groups filed a federal complaint last week against Harvard University claiming racial bias in undergraduate admissions process. Then, NPR's Sylvia Paggiolio speaks with Larry Mantle about her long, storied career, and discusses the top stories in Europe.
How the president’s plan to limit military-style equipment could affect local policing
President Obama is announcing today he'll limit the types of surplus military equipment provided to local law enforcement.
This follows criticism of how the Ferguson, Missouri police department used armored trucks and body armor in its confrontation with protestors and rioters.
The ban is expected to include larger-caliber firearms, armored vehicles that run on tracks, grenade launchers, and weaponized aircraft. Some equipment will still be approved, but police won't be able to get it without their city councils okaying the acquisitions.
What are the pros and cons of the President's move? Do you see it as helpful or harmful to local police departments?
Guests:
Jon Shane, Assistant Professor in the Department of Law & Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He’s also a former captain with the Newark Police Department.
Asian-American groups accuse Harvard of racial bias
A coalition of more than 60 Asian-American groups filed a federal complaint last week against Harvard University claiming racial bias in the University’s undergraduate admissions process.
The claim might surprise you, given that Asian-American students are over-represented at top universities. But the complaint alleges that Asian-American students with top one-percent grade point averages, academic awards, and track records of holding leadership positions are more likely to be rejected compared to white applicants.
While Harvard has denied any discrimination, the coalition which represents Chinese, Korean, Indian and Pakistani members wants to see a federal investigation into Harvard’s admissions practices.
Are college admission practices fair? How should colleges base admission qualifications?
Guests:
Alex Chen, President of The Orange Club, a political action committee, which is one of the groups bringing the complaint against Harvard.
Richard Sander, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law, author of "The Evolution of SES Diversity in the Applicant Pool of Highly Selective Universities," 1994-2012. He's legally advising the coalition that's bring the Federal complaint against Harvard
Michael Yaki, member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; he also runs his own consulting firm in San Francisco
Eye on Europe: An in-depth look with Sylvia Poggioli
Sylvia Poggioli has seen a lot in her three decades with NPR; if it happened in Europe, chances are she covered it.
Poggioli joined the NPR foreign desk in 1982 and traveled the continent covering some of the biggest headlines in recent history. From the fall of the fall of the Berlin Wall, to Greek debt crisis, Sylvia has adeptly reported on a breadth of stories that have transformed the world.
NPR’s senior European correspondent in Rome, Poggioli frequently reports on the Vatican. In March of 2013, she covered the selection of Pope Francis for the network.
Most recently, Poggioli covered the Mediterranean migrant crisis. As African refugees endure harsh conditions and human traffickers, she examined the social and economic challenges that are drive thousands to risk their lives for a chance at a new start in Europe.
Sylvia speaks with Larry Mantle about her long, storied career, and discusses the top stories Europe.
Guest:
Sylvia Poggioli, senior European correspondent for NPR
Watching workers: Debating the legality of 24/7 tracking
Myrna Arias had been working for the wire transfer company Intermex for two months when her boss told her to download an employee tracking app to her company-issued smartphone.
She was told to never disable it, but after a joke by a supervisor raised privacy concerns, she deleted the app and was promptly fired. Now, Arias is suing, alleging she was fired after complaining about the app's intrusion into her private life.
Do employers have a right to track their employees at all times, even when they're off the clock? Is that an acceptable demand? And should employees agree to be tracked?
Guests:
Gail Glick, partner at Alexander, Krakow and Glick in Santa Monica and attorney for Myrna Arias
Sue Bendavid, chair of the employment law department for the Lewitt Hackman Law Group in Encino
National Geographic explores the science behind marijuana
There is a lot in the news about the laws surrounding marijuana use and its production, but what about the science behind the cannabis plant?
What exactly does smoking or eating marijuana do to our minds and bodies?
National Geographic Magazine’s June 2015 cover story, High Science looks at what’s going on inside the plant and how marijuana really affects our brains.
The story’s author Hampton Sides shares the history of cannabis, past and present efforts to ban marijuana and how recent scientific findings could lead us to new beneficial pharmaceuticals.
National Geographic Magazine's June issue will be on newsstands May 26.
Guest:
Hampton Sides, frequent contributor to National Geographic and editor-at-large for Outside magazine
Physicist Leonard Mlodinow on how human achievement resulted from stubborn pursuit of simple questions
Did you know that Galileo preferred painting and poetry to medicine and dropped out of university? Or that Isaac Newton stuck needlelike bodkins into his eyes to better understand changes in light and color? Or that Antoine Lavoisier drank nothing but milk for two weeks to examine its effects on his body?
These are just some of the stories physicist and author Leonard Mlodinow recounts in his new book tracing the history of human progress and pivotal moments in the development of science.
He'll be speaking at Vroman's in Pasadena tomorrow at 7 p.m. Click here for more information.
Guest:
Leonard Mlodinow, a former professor of physics at Caltech and the author of “The Upright Thinkers: The Human Journey from Living in Trees to Understanding the Cosmos.” His other books include two co-authored with physicist Stephen Hawking and “The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules our Lives”