Today, on AirTalk, we'll discuss the controversies surrounding the Boy Scouts of America and look at the practice of freezing eggs for future fertilization, which the American Society for Reproductive Medicine has recently said should no longer be considered experimental. Frank Stoltze talks politics at Carolyn's Cafe in Redlands, and for FilmWeek, the critics consider erotic films past and present.
Boy Scouts of America release files naming suspected molesters
Lately the Boy Scouts of America has been having to put out more fires than it’s been building. The latest media blaze for the over 100-year-old institution is the release of the Boy Scouts Ineligible Volunteer Files.
The files, over 14,500 pages of previously confidential materials containing allegations against thousands of volunteers over many decades, were published as part of a $20 million civil suit against the Scouts on behalf of sexual abuse victims. This development is the latest in a string of concerns surrounding the institution and its management following debate about unfriendly policies towards LGBT members and volunteers and court battles over the BSA’s failure to protect scouts who had been sexually abused.
The BSA’s website espouses its mission of building character, training young people in citizenship and promoting personal fitness, and for generations of boys, those values have held true. How will these controversies change the perception of an organization that has established such a prominent place in American culture? How can the Boy Scouts adapt and move forward? Do new disclosures about problems within the institution affect your memories of the Boy Scouts? If you’re a parent, have your feelings changed about enrolling your child in scouting?
Guest:
Paul Mones, children’s advocate and sexual abuse attorney and co-counsel on the 2010 case that led to the release of the Boy Scouts Ineligible Volunteers Files.
Freezing eggs for older women’s pregnancies is becoming more commonplace
Statistics show that women who get pregnant over the age of 35 face increased risk of complications, but these statistics are at odds with a growing number of American women who decide to wait to start their families. There are many reasons for women to choose putting off having a baby: Americans are living longer, women are making different career choices that mean they may be reluctant to be sidelined with a pregnancy while climbing the company ladder, or maybe they opted to wait longer to marry and start a traditional family. Whatever the case, technology has facilitated these important life choices.
The freezing of eggs is one controversial infertility practice that is becoming so commonplace that the American Society of Reproductive Medicine will announce Monday that the technique should no longer be considered “experimental.” The change in position was prompted by a report that reviewed 1,000 published studies about egg freezing and determined that developing technology has made the procedure safe and more effective. But not everyone is heralding this change. Some women’s health advocacy critics cite that the studies were based on pregnancies rather than healthy births and that more study is necessary.
So why the change? Is there enough information to warrant an increase of egg freezing? How can technology safely give more reproductive freedom to women?
Guest:
Dr. Richard J. Paulson, MD; Director of USC Fertility; Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
Guest:
Marcy Darnovsky, PhD, Associate Executive Director, Center for Genetics and Society based in Berkeley
KPCC reporter Frank Stoltze dishes politics at Carolyn’s Cafe in Redlands
As part of KPCC’s continuing online project That’s My Issue, political reporter Frank Stoltze heads east to Redlands to take voter temperature in the Inland Empire. KPCC and WNYC are gathering stories about how voters came to care about the issues that matter to them. We’ll check in with Frank to find out what he discovered by talking with a variety of voters today.
What issues in this year’s election are most important to you? Do you know your props and representatives?
Guest:
Frank Stoltze, KPCC Reporter
FilmWeek: Alex Cross, The Sessions, For Ellen and more
Larry is joined by KPCC film critics Henry Sheehan of dearhenrysheehan.com and Wade Major from boxoffice.com to review the week’s new films, including Alex Cross, The Sessions, For Ellen and more. TGI-FilmWeek!
Guests:
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and for dearhenrysheehan.com
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and for boxoffice.com
Is there a place for erotic films on the silver screen?
Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel, best known for her work in the "Emmanuelle" erotica films, passed away this week.
Kristel became pigeonholed in the erotica film genre, which lies somewhere between R-rated movies and hardcore pornography. Some say the more recent NC-17 rating was developed as a direct result of erotica films.
Today, we’re discussing the titillating and often taboo films in terms of how they fit into the history of cinema and film culture.
Which erotica movies have been the biggest turn ons and which ones were laughably bad? How difficult is it to make high-quality films that are also erotic?
Guest:
Maitland McDonagh, film critic and author of many books including "The 50 Most Erotic Films of All Time”