Amnesty International issues a report showing the use of torture by police and military in Mexico is on the rise.; Book Critic David Kipen joins the show to discuss the Nobel Prize in Literature and the finalists in the National Book Awards.; Betting on the Nobel Prize.; Hollywood's quest to appeal to the Latino population.; How strong is Catholicism this election cycle?; Marketplace's Bob Moon talks about his experiences covering the shuttle program.; Fifty years ago Rachel Carson single-handedly started the environmental movement with her book "Silent Spring".; Issa Rae, creator of the web series 'Awkward Black Girl,' joins the show to talk about her sudden fame, and what’s next for her.; Twitter and real-time political opinions.
Use of torture by Mexican government on the rise, Amnesty International says
Today Amnesty International issued a report about the Mexican government under outgoing President Felipe Calderon.
The human rights group said that the Mexican government has, "effectively turned a blind eye" to dramatic increases of torture and abuse by police and the military.'
Vice-presidential debate shines light on political division among Catholics
Tonight Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan take to the stage in Danville, Kentucky for the one and only vice-presidential debate. The debate gives the two a chance to highlight their many differences in policy, but the two have one fundamental thing in common: their faith.
This is the first time two Roman Catholics have faced off in the quest for the White House. And though it may be a historic moment for American Catholics, neither candidate can count on winning the Catholic vote.
For more on this we're joined by John Kenneth White, he is a professor of Politics at Catholic University in Washington DC.
Junot Diaz, Mo Yan win big awards for literature
If you put your money on Chinese author Mo Yan to win the Nobel prize in literature, you probably made out pretty well. He was announced as the winner earlier today, beating out favored big-name writers like Haruki Murakami and Philip Roth.
Here to give us an introduction to the work of Mo Yan is our book critic David Kipen. He's also the founder of the bookstore slash lending library - Libros Schmibros in Boyle Heights.
We also discuss the winner of the National Book Awards, Junot Diaz, who is also the recipient of the 2012 MacArthur Genius Grant.
Betting on Nobel Prize winners
This week the Nobel Prize for Literature will be awarded, but for weeks, economists, gamblers and laymen have laid their money on the line in hopes they can guess the tomorrow's winner.
We look into the world of Nobel betting: how it works, what it cost and, most importantly, who wins and loses?
Hollywood eager to appeal to movie-loving Latino population
These days it's not just politicians courting Latinos; Hollywood is also very eager to reach this growing demographic.
According to the Motion Picture Association of America, Latinos go to the movies more often than any other minorities, and they're more likely to see a film on opening weekend.
From the MPAA website:
"Latinos make up 25 percent of moviegoers even though they’re only 16 percent of the population. The average Latino moviegoer makes it to 5.3 movies a year, compared to 3.7 movies per year for African Americans and 3.5 movies per year for white moviegoers."
But Latinos hardly a unified crowd, and targeting them can be tough.
Here with more is Octavio Marin, program director of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, and Pamela McClintock of The Hollywood Reporter.
More details emerge from the Lance Armstrong doping investigation
Today, more information on the thousand pages of evidence that took down Lance Armstrong.
The United States Anti Doping Agency released the report yesterday, which details a doping program that they call, "More extensive than any previously revealed in professional sports history."
In the report, eleven of Lance Armstrong's former teammates give details on how they transported, used and hid performance enhancing drugs.
Here with more is Juliet Macur a sports reporter from the New York Times.
The space shuttle Endeavour starts its trip to its LA home
Late tonight the space shuttle Endeavour starts its to its new home at the California Science Center.
The end of the shuttle program has special meaning for Marketplace reporter Bob Moon.
He covered more than 50 shuttle missions over a twenty-year span, as a radio correspondent for The Associated Press.
Bob Moon is senior business correspondent for Marketplace. You can find all of our coverage of Endeavour at kpcc.org/shuttle.
Report: For the first time majority of California schools reach API goals
Today the California Department of Education releases scores of how schools are performing academically, in what's known as the Academic Performance Index, which is a composite of several measures, including the results of standardized tests.
California education officials say that for the first time, a majority of schools reached the coveted 800-point goal.
KPCC's Adolfo Guzman-Lopez spoke with a couple of school principals to find out what's working.
Last year, Benito Juarez Elementary School in Cerritos landed four points short of the 800 API goal. It scored 815 this year. There’s no stopping now, says principal LuAnn Adler.
"Well, we just keep moving our goal up. So our new saying is ‘850 is nifty,’" she said.
Adler says getting to 800s been hard. The school sets aside 90 minutes each week for teachers to talk about best practices, and the district has provided consultants.
"We moved our lunch hour back in the school day so we had a larger chunk of time in the morning where we felt that the children were fresher," said Adler.
In recent years the API’s turned education in California into a numbers game. Charlene Greene, principal at Ritter Elementary School near Watts, says the non-profit that runs her school has provided important training to examine test results. It even administers tests to prepare for tests.
"Literacy periodic assessments, look at the math periodic assessments, look at the science periodic assessments, we have assessments of our own that we also use, also teachers create their own assessments to help students move along," said Greene.
Greene’s school scored 763 this year, and although that fell short of the 800 goal, her school’s celebrating a 99-point improvement over five years. However, no principal should get too comfortable with this year’s scores, because they rely mostly on multiple-choice standardized tests.
UCLA researcher Joan Herman says that soon, California teachers will teach to a new set of standards known as Common Core. "Those standards bring more reasoning, thinking, communication, and problem solving to the standards that have been there in the past," she said.
State policymakers say the change is supposed to address the longstanding criticism that the API measures rote memorization, not critical thinking skills.
Celebrating the legacy of Rachel Carson and 50 years since 'Silent Spring'
Fifty years ago Rachel Carson single-handedly started the environmental movement with her book "Silent Spring".
We speak William Souder, author of "On a Farther Shore: The Life And Legacy Of Rachel Carson."
Issa Rae on being an 'Awkward Black Girl' and snagging her first TV gig
Issa Rae might not be a household name quite yet, but you're likely to hear a lot more about her in the coming year.
Rae is most well-known and the lead actress, writer, producer, director and creator of the popular web series, "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl," now in its second season.
Rae's web comedy, set in Los Angeles, has a developed a seriously loyal cult following. It's second season premiere episode has already racked up about half-a-million views.
Rae's success continues to television, as ABC recently bought a new comedy she developed with the creator of "Grey's Anatomy." Issa Rae visited the KPCC studios to talk about her web series, her latest projects and
On her web series "Awkward Black Girl":
“The show is essentially about the lead character I play, J, and her efforts to navigate simple life situations. Just life’s simple nuances, what do you do…a lot of people are awkward… the show has helped them to realize it.
On how she came up with the idea for the title/topic of the show:
“As black people, we are expected to be the cool suave sexy types, and there is just the old stigma of being black. It was just a play off of that. I actually wrote that as a Facebook status one day when I realized I was awkward and black. My friend, who plays Nina on the show, the nemesis, wrote three years ago on this status, 'ha ha ha, those are the two worst things anyone can be.' And she meant it that way, not only are you black, but you're not even cool. Do better. I just wanted to put that out there."
On the prevalence of awkward black girls:
"There are so many. I went to Stanford and Stanford is honestly the home of awkward black girls. Immediately the first fan base was Stanford girls and I appreciate them for that. A lot of my friends are awkward, they might not want to admit it, but they are. I've gotten so many emails from people who literally say 'you've stolen my life,' or 'get out the bushes and stop watching me.' I never would have never imagined putting this show together that that would be the case."
On writing about interracial dating:
“I think the interracial dating has always been a subject of controversy. It's always been played to a certain serious extent, and I really wanted to just explore what it would be like if both parties were at fault, both parties made assumptions, the person I cowrote that episode with, Tracy, had been through multiple experiences dating interracially where she, as a black woman would be dating a white guy and she'd walk into a restaurant in 2010 to all these stares in a place like L.A... I think it's a funny subject because it is so touchy, even now."
On the new comedy she developing for ABC:
“I met with [Shonda Rhimes's] executives Betsy and Rachel at Shondaland ... I had this limited idea for “I Hate LA Dudes” and it was just based off of fact … yes that’s the name of the show, "I Hate L.A. Dudes," because I do, they suck. So they could relate to the suckiness of L.A. men and we spent about two hours talking about it and at the end of the meeting they said, 'Hey we would love to develop this with you.'"
On why she hates L.A. dudes:
“L.A. dudes just have it so easy, they don’t have to even try. We are at fault too, women let these guys get away with so much. So much is based on appearance here and I don’t like a guy who is prettier than me."
Season 2, episode 1 of "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl"
WARNING: NSFW — This episode includes strong, adult language not suitable for younger audiences
How social media is making political analysis instantaneous
When it comes to online comedy, tonight's vice-presidential debate may provide some rich fodder. There will be plenty of folks tweeting and updating their Facebook pages while watching the event.
Before the rise of social media, analysis of political events was reserved for the pundits who came on cable news shows immediately after. Not any more. The first presidential debate was the most tweeted event in U.S. political history.
Social media gives new meaning to the phrase "instant analysis", with trigger-happy tweeters poised to comment on every aspect of the debate, and the debaters.
Here with more on how social networks are shaping American politics, we have Cliff Lampe, who teaches at the School of Information at the University of Michigan, and someone who will be thumbing up a storm tonight, actor and avid Tweeter James Urbaniak.
Play along with Take Two's vice presidential debate Bingo game
It's that time again! Tonight, Vice President Joe Biden and VP candidate Paul Ryan face off in their only televised debate.
There will be plenty of talk about familiar topics such as government spending, the economy, Medicare and energy. One way to spice up the experience is to make a game out of it.
Try Take Two's new vice presidential debate bingo game and play along at home.
Click here to access our bingo card generator so you can play along at home!