Oil Spill in San Francisco; Augustus Hawkins; Freeways - Numbers or Names?; UCLA Imaging Study Shows What Swing Voters Really Think About 2008 Candidates; Race, Identity, And The DNA of the Chosen People
Oil Spill in San Francisco
It's being called the worst oil spill in the San Francisco Bay in some 20 years. The black slick has spread outward from the Oakland Bay Bridge, and is harming wildlife throughout the area. Recriminations are now surfacing about exactly how the Cosco Busan cargo vessel hit the bridge. Initial reports indicated it was due to a language difficulty between the American harbor pilot and the Chinese crew. There are also reports that the ship's radar wasn't working, leaving it blind in the dense fog. Whatever the reason, some are now taking the Coast Guard to task for focusing so much on security issues that their ability to respond to environmental disasters has suffered. And for Southern California it brings up an obvious issue: how prepared are our ports? Larry gets an update from Bret Burkhart of KGO Radio in San Francisco, and takes a look at precautions in the ports at Long Beach and San Pedro with Lt. Andrew Munoz, spokesman for the Coast Guard in Los Angeles.
Augustus Hawkins
Former California Congressman Augustus Hawkins has died. He was 100. Hawkins was a Democrat, and was the first African American from California to serve in Congress. He represented South Los Angeles for more than half a century, first starting off in the state Legislature in 1935 and then advancing to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1962. While in Congress Hawkins sponsored the equal employment section of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act, and he helped create the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971.
Freeways - Numbers or Names?
Larry is joined by KPCC Program Director, Craig Curtis, and Morning Edition host, Steve Julian, for a discussion on whether we should refer to Southern California's freeways by name or by number.
UCLA Imaging Study Shows What Swing Voters Really Think About 2008 Candidates
A recent study at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience revealed that so-called "swing voters" have conflicting emotions about the 2008 presidential candidates, regardless of which candidate they claim to support. Larry talks with Marco Iacobani, of the Semel Institute, about what these findings reveal about human decision making and the political process.
Race, Identity, And The DNA of the Chosen People
In his new book, Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People (Grand Central Publishing), Jon Entine delves into the controversial world of genetics and race, exploring what it means to be "genetically Jewish." Entine's own family history of breast cancer-linked to genetic mutation common among Jews, inspired him to explore the genetic aspects of Judaism. Following the argument of his previous book, Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We're Afraid to Talk About It, Entine presents evidence that racial stereotypes may have a legitimate genetic basis, and that understanding racial differences may help us to better combat genetically-linked diseases. Larry talks to Entine about the implications of such research in an increasingly multicultural world.