USC Smog Study; Anne Garrels; Judge Rules Cardinal Mahoney Turn Over Files in Sex Abuse Scandal; E-Voting Survey; The Hunt for Osama bin Laden and the War on Terror
USC Smog Study
Scientists from USC's Keck School of Medicine tracked the effects of major pollutants on the lungs of southland children in grades 4-12. The study is the longest one ever conducted, looking at air pollution and children's health. The study, published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, concludes that "by age 18, the lungs of many children who grow up in smoggy areas are underdeveloped and will likely never recover..." The California Air Resources Board, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Hastings Foundation supported the research. Dr. James Gauderman, lead author of the study, joins Host Larry Mantle to discuss its findings.
Anne Garrels
NPR correspondent, Anne Garrels, earned international recognition in 2003 by being one of 16 U.S. journalists to remain in Baghdad during the initial invasion of Iraq. Her vivid, around-the-clock reports from the city under siege gave NPR listeners remarkable insight into the impact of the war on Baghdad and those left in the city.
Judge Rules Cardinal Mahoney Turn Over Files in Sex Abuse Scandal
A state judge ruled that Cardinal Mahoney does not have the right to keep personnel files private and must turn them over to the state as part of an ongoing grand jury investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by two former priests. The Archdiocese plans to appeal the decision, possibly delaying the file handover for many more months. Lead counsel for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Mike Hennigan, and President and Founder of SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests), Barbara Blaine join Host Larry Mantle to discuss the issue.
E-Voting Survey
Larry Mantle talks with Caltech political science professor, Michael Alvarez about his just-released national survey on American attitudes about electronic voting.
The Hunt for Osama bin Laden and the War on Terror
Larry talks with experts about the value of finding the elusive leader of Al-Qaeda and how important it is to capture him, dead or alive. He talks to Peter Bergen, fellow at the New America Foundation and an adjunct professor at the School of Advanced International Studies, at Johns Hopkins. Bergen wrote an article in October's Atlantic Monthly called "The Long Hunt for Osama." He also speaks with Dr. Larry Goodson, Director of Middle East Studies at the US Army War College, and he takes your calls.