Pope Francis wasted no time diving into U.S. politics when he addressed a joint session of the United States’ Congress on Thursday morning. Then, immigration rights groups this morning are protesting a new policy allowing agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement access to inmates in LA County jails. Also, the first-person singular is a powerful voice and they’re all over the Internet these days.
What we learned from the Pope’s politically-charged speech to Congress
Pope Francis wasted no time diving into the maelstrom that is U.S. politics when he became the first sitting Pope to address a joint session of the United States’ Congress on Thursday morning.
Speaking in slow, deliberate English, a language he has admitted he isn’t very comfortable speaking, Pope Francis called on members to heal the planet’s “open wounds,” and made a point to specifically address issues like immigration and climate change.
He also took the opportunity to indirectly allude to several social issues, possibly referring to the recent legalization of same-sex marriage when he said “Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family.” He also may have been taking on abortion when he said of the Catholic Church’s do-unto-others ‘Golden Rule,’ “[It] also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development.”
The historic event was 20 years in the making for House Speaker John Boehner, who petitioned in the 1990s to have Pope John Paul II give a speech to Congress, but the invitation was never accepted.
What did you think of Pope Francis’ address to Congress? Did he neglect to bring up any issues you would have liked him to address? What, if anything, did we learn about Pope Francis from his speech? What does the Pope’s speech tell us about the direction of the Catholic Church?
Guest:
Jason Berry, religion writer who has is in DC covering the Pope’s visit for GlobalPost. He is the author of “Render unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church” (Broadway Books, 2012)
Impact of Sheriff McDonnell greenlighting ICE agents in LA county jails
Immigration rights groups this morning are protesting a new policy allowing agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement access to inmates in LA County jails.
In a letter to the county's governing board, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said deputies in county jails would continue to abide by California’s Trust Act when determining how they cooperate with federal immigration agents who seek to deport men and women who don't have legal immigration status and are found guilty of crimes.’ AirTalk will debate the new policies’
For more on this story from KPCC, click HERE.
Guest:
Melissa Keaney, Staff Attorney, Los Angeles office of the National Immigration Law Centre
Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies
A print renaissance as e-book sales dip
As more and more people turn to Netflix and iTunes for movies and music, one may be concerned about the staying power of books.
However, last year's e-book sales saw a sharp decline, surprising many in the industry.
A few years ago analysts were projecting that print was on its way out with reports that e-books would overtake print by 2015, but that has not been the case. Instead e-book sales have been slowly decreasing.
It turns out people still want the real thing. Lorraine Shanley president of Market Partners International joins us to discuss what's behind this surprising resilience of print.
Guests:
Lorraine Shanley, President of Market Partners International a consulting firm that caters to the needs of traditional and digital publishing based in New York
Len Vlahos, is in a two year transition with his wife to become the owners of Tattered Cover Bookstore, an iconic, multi location indie bookstore in Denver, Colorado. He was the former executive director of the Book Industry Study Group, a nonprofit research group that tracks the publishing industry
Preview of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s DC visit
China’s President Xi Jinping heads to Washington D.C. today after spending the first part of his week-long visit to the U.S. in Seattle.
During his visit he is expected to discuss a number of issues from economic reform to human rights and commercial theft to cyber attacks.
The Obama Administration believes that Chinese espionage is behind one of the worst U.S. government data breaches in history, the theft of the personnel and security clearance records of millions of government employees.
Earlier this week Xi came under a great deal of criticism over China's treatment of U.S. technology companies operating in China, and the need for regulatory transparency. Xi is scheduled to meet with Obama to discuss relations between the U.S. and China, ending his visit with an address at the United Nations.
Will Xi’s visit help improve business relations between the U.S. and China?
Guests:
Robert Daly, Director of Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Damien Ma, fellow at the Paulson Institute, an independent Chicago-based think tank focused on US-China issues, and author of “In Line Behind a Billion People: How Scarcity Will Define China's Ascent in the Next Decade” (Pearson FT Press, 2013)
Latest PBS ‘American Masters’ documentary profiles the women who shaped modern American culture
When you think of some of the most influential women in American history, no doubt names like Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, and Eleanor Roosevelt come to mind.
But what about contemporary American history? Who are the women who have defined our culture over the last 50 years?
PBS’ latest American Masters documentary, titled ‘The Women’s List’ is the newest in filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ ‘List’ series, which has already features ‘The Boomer List,’ ‘The Black List,’ and ‘The Out List,’ to name a few.
Profiled in the film are some names you’ll likely recognize, like singer/songwriter Alicia Keys, actor Edie Falco, and U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, as well as some you may not, like commercial airline pilot Nia Wordlaw, entrepreneur Sara Blakely, or artist Laurie Anderson. And those are just a few of the people whose contributions to contemporary American culture are recognized in the documentary.
PBS’ ‘American Masters: The Women’s List’ premieres Friday, September 25, at 9p PT. You can watch it locally on KOCE-TV.
Guests:
Gloria Allred, civil rights attorney and founding partner of the law firm of Allred, Maroko, & Goldberg, featured in the PBS documentary ‘American Masters: The Women’s List’
Nia Wordlaw, pilot for United Airlines featured in the PBS documentary ‘American Masters: The Women’s List’
TMI or claiming your narrative? The rise of the first-person exposé
The first-person singular is a powerful voice and they’re all over the Internet these days.
From pieces with titles like “I’m a pedophile, but not a monster” to “No One to Rescue Me From My Drinking”, first-person essays have gone from a navel-gazing niche to a full-fledged genre in the clickbait age.
A recent think piece in Slate has taken issue with these essays, in particular the publishing industry that has enabled their proliferation.
Are these essays exploitative? Or empowering to write and to read? What are the factors that have led to their rise?
Guests:
Natasha Rose Chenier, a writer based in Montreal, Canada. Her personal essay that described her sexual relationship with her father earlier this year in the online magazine, Jezebel
Karen North, Clinical Professor of Communication and Director of the Digital Social Media Program at USC