Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Your Call 123108 What can we learn from the transformation of our oceans?

What can we learn by paying attention to the transformation of our oceans? On the next Your Call, we'll revisit a conversation we had with Sylvia Earle, one of the most accomplished oceanographers of our time. She's recognized by the Library of Congress as a living legend, called "Her Deepness" by the New Yorker, and is Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. She's out with a new book called Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas. Join us on the next Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guest: Sylvia Earle, world-renowned oceanographer

Click to Listen: What can we learn from the transformation of our oceans?

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Your Call 123008 Why can't animals find their way?

Why is it becoming so difficult for animals to find their way? On the next Your Call, we'll replay a conversation we had with David Wilcove, author of No Way Home: The Decline of the World's Great Animal Migrations. A Princeton biologist, Wilcove warns that because of the growing human population and our insatiable demand for resources, the phenomenon of migration is disappearing. What can we do to make sure animals get to where they are going? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: David Wilcove, author of No Way Home: The Decline of the World's Great Animal Migrations

Click to Listen: Why can't animals find their way?

Monday, December 29, 2008

Your Call 122908 Who Controls Space?

Who controls space? On the next Your Call, we'll revisit a show we did as part of our series on the commons. Control of space is at the crux of the debate about the future of U.S. military space policy. What rules apply? Do military and commercial uses of space threaten its status as a shared resource? Is it time for a new space treaty? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Mike Moore, author of Twilight War: The Folly of U.S. Space Dominance  

Kim Alaine Rathman, member of the Society for Philosophy and Technology 

Click to Listen: Who controls space?

Friday, December 26, 2008

Your Call 122608 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our final Friday Media Roundtable of the year. Where did the media shine in 2008, where did it fail, and based on what we're dealing with today, what's in store for 2009? We'll be joined Craig Aaron, communications director of The Free Press, an organization working to reform the media, Robert Mahoney, deputy director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Alan Mutter, longtime newspaper reporter, and soon-to-be journalism professor at UC Berkeley's journalism school. Join us on the next Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Craig Aaron, communications director of Free Press

Robert Mahoney, deputy director of the Committee to Protect Journalists

Alan Mutter, longtime newspaper reporter, and soon-to-be journalism professor at UC Berkeley's journalism school

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Your Call 122508 How do we save seeds?

What's the best way to go about preserving seeds and crop diversity? On the next Your Call, we'll replay a conversation we had about seeds and the Global Seed Vault. The vault was designed to protect the seeds that are essential to food production, but critics say the only way to truly preserve seeds in their natural form is to involve farmers. How can we guarantee that the food we eat today will be available for future generations? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Brewster Kneen, farmer, scholar, and publisher of the Ram's Horn, a monthly journal of food systems analysis

Claire Hope Cummings, author of Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds

Click to Listen: How do we save seeds?

Your Call 122408 Why shouldn't we tax churches?

Should churches be taxed and if they were, how does that affect small churches? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the tax exempt status of churches since they are considered charities providing public benefits. But in the wake of Proposition 8's passage, some argue churches, which supported the ballot measure, violated their tax-exempt status. So what are the laws? What's the history behind tax exemption for churches? And should churches be treated as non-profits? It's Your Call, with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Sarah Posner, author of God's Profits: Faith, Fraud, and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters

Steven Waldman, editor-in-chief of Beliefnet

David Belden, managing editor of Tikkun magazine

Click to Listen: Why shouldn't we tax churches?

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Your Call 122308 The downturn hits home

How is the economic crisis coming home for you? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the impact of recession on ordinary people. The state's unemployment rate has jumped to 8.4 percent its highest rate since the summer of 1994. Bay Area food banks and charity groups are being overwhelmed by huge jumps in requests for help as they are trying to cope with lack of resources. What unexpected effects is recession having on the way you or your neighbors live? Are you finding ways to cope? And what is in store for the future? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Ken Jacobs is the Chair of UC Berkeley's Labor Center

David Knego, Executive Director, Curry Senior Center

Rev. Cecil Williams, Founder of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church. Glide is one of San Francisco's largest nonprofit agencies helping the poor and homeless.

Larry Sly, Executive Director of Contra Costa and Solano Food Bank

Click to Listen: The downturn hits home

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Your Call 122208 Commons: Who owns human cultural heritage?

Who owns the artifacts of our human cultural heritage? On the next Your Call, we continue our series on the commons with a conversation on antiquities. Whether antiquities should be retuned to the countries where they were found is one of the most controversial issues in the art world today. For the past two centuries, the most powerful nations of the West have taken treasures of other countries to display in their museums. Who is the ultimate owner of the antiquities? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: McGuire Gibson, Professor in the Oriental Institute and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at University of Chicago.

Sharon Waxman, journalist and author of Loot: The Battle Over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World.

Click to Listen: Commons: Who owns human cultural heritage?

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Your Call 121908 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. Chrysler has announced the closure of its 30 factories for at least one month and G.M. needs $4 billion this month to stay afloat. We will talk about continuing crisis in the auto industry with McClatchy's Kevin Hall. The shoe episode has put Iraq back in the headlines but what is not getting enough attention? We will be joined by independent journalist Dahr Jamail and ProPublica's T. Christian Miller. Where did you get the context you needed to make sense of the week's news? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Dahr Jamail, independent journalist
T. Christian Miller, investigative reporter for ProPublica
Kevin Hall, economic reporter with McClatchy

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Your Call 121808 Starving Arts Budgets

As public arts budgets shrink, what should we save? On the next Your Call, we will have a conversation about funding of the Arts during the economic downturn. San Francisco and Oakland are among many cities across the country proposing massive cuts to Arts budgets, and also threaten many cultural and artistic institutions with closure. How are the cuts going to impact the vibrant and diverse arts and cultural scene of the Bay Area? And what should be done to support the Arts? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Marco Barricelli, Artistic Director Shakespeare in Santa Cruz

Nancy Gonchar, Deputy Director San Francisco Arts Commission

Thomas DeCaigny, Executive Director of Performing Arts Workshop

Click to Listen: Starving Arts Budgets

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Your Call 121708 Getting off the Gadget Treadmill

As the gift giving frenzy gets into relatively full swing, what happens to the discarded cellphones, computers and televisions? On the next Your Call we're talking all about the joys of holiday e-waste, and what we can do to reduce it. Electronic waste is only 2 percent of America's trash in landfills, but 70 percent of overall toxic waste. But most of the 100 million cellphones and 47 million computers thrown out each year are shipped to the poorest countries. Can you really fix the run down computer? Where can you recycle that extra television? Could someone else use your old cellphone? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Casey Harrel in Oakland
E-waste expert for Greenpeace International. He has been campaigning for over 10 years in the environmental field on toxic chemical reduction and energy issues, both for Greenpeace and other organizations in the Bay Area and Washington DC.

Jim Pucket in Seattle
Executive Director of the Basel Action Network, an international NGO working to end the global trade in toxic eWaste products.

Emy Tseng
Project Director for the Digital Inclusion Programs for the San Francisco Department of Technology. The digital inclusion program works with Goodwill and ReliaTech to collect used computers from City Agencies and businesses, refurbish them and place them in the community for people in need and distributes used cellphones in women's shelters

James W. Kao
Founder, President & CEO of GreenCitizen, a Bay Area eWaste recycling company.

Click to Listen: Getting off the Gadget Treadmills

Monday, December 15, 2008

Your Call 121608 Eating the Sun

As we attempt to design a sustainable world, what can we learn from plants? On the next Your Call, we welcome Oliver Morton, editor of Nature and author of Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet. Morton argues that photosynthesis is not only the key to humanity's history; it is also vital to confronting and understanding contemporary realities like climate change and the global food shortage. How can understanding the history of science help us change what we're facing today? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest: Oliver Morton in San Francisco
Author of Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet. He is also the Chief News and Features Editor at Nature, the world's leading interdisciplinary science journal.

Click to Listen: Eating the Sun

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Your Call 121508 The Global Footprint

Would simply knowing how much we individually consume be enough to change the way we act? On the next Your Call we welcome Mathis Wackernagel, the executive director of the Global Footprint Network. Based in Oakland, but working around the world, the Global Footprint Network helps governments monitor how much nature we have, how much we use, and who uses what as closely as they monitor the stock market. Could ecological budgets and resource bank accounts make sustainable living more than a dream? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Mathis Wackernagel in San Francisco
Executive Director Global Footprint Network and co-creator of the concept of the Ecological Footprint.

Click to Listen: The Global Footprint

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Your Call 121208 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday media roundtable where we bring in reporters from the mainstream, alternative and international press to discuss the week in American media. This week was all about firing: the Illinois governor was charged with soliciting bribes for a certain vacant Senate seat and trying to get reporters he didn't like fired; a factory was taken over by fired workers; the parent-company of the Chicago Tribune filed for bankruptcy and NPR canceled two shows and fired dozens of reporters including some old familiar names. We'll speak with Alden Loury, Editor and Publisher of the Chicago Reporter; Lee Sustar, of the Socialist Worker and Barbara Ciara, President of the National Association Of Black Journalists. Where did you see the best reporting this week and where did it fall short? It's Your Call with Ben Temchine and you.

Guests: Alden Loury
Editor and Publisher of the Chicago Reporter, an investigative newsmagazine that has been covering Chicago's race, poverty and culture for 36 years. The Reporter is a project of the Community Renewal Society.

Lee Sustar in Chicago
Lee Sustar writes for the Socialist Worker and is a frequent contributor to CounterPunch and the International Socialist Review on labor issues.

Barbara Ciara in Norfolk
President of the National Association Of Black Journalists, which represents over 4,100 journalists and media professionals; Ms. Ciara is also managing editor at WTKR NewsChannel 3 in Norfolk, Virginia.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Your Call 121108 Beyond Prisons

After 30 years of "lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key", does California's fiscal crisis mean prison reform's time has come? On the next Your Call we'll discuss the financial and moral problem posed by prisons. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation consumes about 1 of every $10 in state general fund spending and our prisons are at double capacity. What other models are there for maintaining the peace? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Raquel Marisqual in Watsonville
Sr. Consultant for Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative Site Development for the Annie E. Casey Foundation

Elaine Enns
Mediator & educator about restorative justice and conflict transformation. She has worked most recently at the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies at Fresno Pacific University and the Center for Restorative Justice Works in Los Angeles.

Fernando Geraldo in Santa Cruz
Director of the Juvenile division Santa Cruz Probation department. Not the expert in the adult world.

Click to Listen: Beyond Prisons

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Your Call 121008 60th Anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights

What difference does a treaty make? On the next Your Call we mark the 60th Anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights. Are human rights better respected after a country signs on to the Declaration? Does internal change for the better come from within and lead to signing, or do these agreements change the country? And as we leave the dark days of the Bush Administration behind us, what international human rights treaties are waiting for a willing president? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Connie De La Vega in Oakland
Professor at University San Francisco Law School. Worked at the UN for more than three decades representing human rights advocates and written extensively on national and international human rights law. Each year Professor De La Vega takes a student delegation to watch the commission on the status of women and the human rights council in Geneva, Swizerland.
 
Jamil Dakwar in New York
Director of the ACLU's Human Rights Program. He has more than 10 years experience in human rights litigation and advocacy in the U.S. and abroad.

Click to Listen: 60th Anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights

Your Call 120908 Crisis in Gaza

What is the International Community doing to help the people of Gaza? On the next Your Call, we'll take a look at the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency has warned that its warehouses in Gaza will be totally empty in two or three days if Israel does not open the crossings to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies. Eighty percent of the population depends on humanitarian aid. What is daily life like for people in Gaza? Who is helping? And who has access to Gaza? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Paul LaRudee, the Northern California head of the International Solidarity Movement

Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights to the Palestinian Occupied territories

Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace laureate and co-founder of the Community of Peace People

Karen Abu Zayed, the commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza

Click to Listen: Crisis in Gaza

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Your Call 120808 Global Commons -- Whales & Sharks

How is the environment for whales and shark changing? On the next Your Call, we continue our series on the global commons, with a discussion about the state of whales and sharks. According to the United Nations about ten million sharks are killed each year for their valuable fins. Whales are also facing ever-increasing dangers despite the 20-year ban on commercial whaling. So what's been done to save these sacred and precious creatures? And can we save them? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: David McGuire, conservation filmmaker, a field associate of the California Academy of Sciences and a shark advocate.

Douglas Long, Chief Curator, Natural Sciences at Oakland Museum of California. formerly chair of the Department of Ornithology and Mammalogy at the California Academy of Sciences, he is currently teaches in the Department of Biology at Saint Mary's College in Moraga.

Stan Minasian, a naturalist with the Oceanic Society.

Click to Listen: Global Commons -- Whales & Sharks

Friday, December 5, 2008

Your Call 120508 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday Media Roundtable when we host a conversation with journalists from the mainstream, alternative and international press about the way the news was reported. This week we'll be joined by Sreenath Sreenivasan, president of the South Asian Journalists Association to talk about coverage of the attack on Mumbai, both here and around the world. We'll also be joined by Mark Hertsgaard, environmental correspondent for The Nation. Where did you see the best reporting this week? It's your call with me, Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Sreenath Sreenivasan in New York
Dean of student affairs & professor, Columbia journalism school. He is also the tech reporter for WNBC-TV in New York and he is the co-founder and former president of SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association

Mark Hertsgaard in Marin
Environmental correspondent for The Nation and the author of many books, including Earth Odyssey: Around the World In Search of Our Environmental Future.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Your Call 120408 Understanding the Collapse

Have global efforts to resuscitate our economy done any good? On the next Your Call, we'll discuss what we know about the ongoing financial, consumer and economic crises. By now, most Americans folks have at least a generally accurate understanding of how we got into the mess. Are the agencies crafting a response getting the details right? How have hard times hit your house? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: John Schmitt in Washington
Senior economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC. He has also worked with the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, the Global Policy Network and the International Labor Organization.

Chris Carey
Editor of BailoutSleuth.com, an online publication monitoring the government's purchase, and eventual sale, of bad mortgages and other distressed assets, tracking and analyzing deals and providing information about the companies and people involved in them.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb in Greece
Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at New York University & visiting professor of marketing at London Business School. He is the former managing director and head trader at Union Bank of Switzerland. His most recent book is The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.

Click to Listen: Understanding the Collapse

Your Call 120308 Obama's Foreign Policy Team

Will President Obama usher in a new era of American foreign policy? On the next Your Call we welcome Andrew Bacevich, author of The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. This week President-elect Obama announced his foreign policy team including Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. What do his choices tell us about how he plans to use American military, economic and soft power? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guest: Andrew Bacevich in Boston
Professor of international relations at Boston University and author of The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism

Click to Listen: Obama's Foreign Policy Team

Monday, December 1, 2008

Your Call 120208 A community-based water policy

What should a community-based water policy look like? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the growing push to privatize water. This week, multinationals, including Coca-Cola and Nestle Water, are meeting in San Francisco for a conference called "Corporate Water Footprinting." Environmentalists are having a gathering of their own to challenge corporate control of water. What needs to happen to ensure water remains a fundamental human right and stays in public hands? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests: Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food and Water Watch
Caleen Sisk-Franco, Chief, Winnemem Wintu Tribe
Amit Srivastava, Coordinator, International Campaign Against Coca-Cola

Click to Listen: A community-based water policy

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Your Call 120108 Movie Talk

What's the big news at the box office this Holiday Season? On the next Your Call we'll take a break from the economic, environmental, financial and every other kind of meltdown, mess or catastrophe to sit back, grab some popcorn and be entertained. What are you thankful for at the movie theater? Share your pick, old or new, on the next Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest: Carina Chocano, former film critic with the LA Times

Click to Listen: Movie Talk

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Your Call 112708 Louise Erdrich, renowned author

How does a novel mixed with history, magic and mystery get stitched together? On the next Your Call, we will replay our conversation with Louise Erdrich about her latest novel The Plague of Doves, a story built around the native communities in North Dakota where she grew up. Why are novels that replay and recreate our history important to understanding it? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Louise Erdrich, author of The Plague of Doves

Pre-recorded

Your Call 112608 Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

What's behind the continued violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo? On the next Your Call, we'll talk about the longest and deadliest war since WWII. More than five million people have died. Many millions more have been made refugees and there is no end in sight. Why has fighting flared up again? What role do global consumers play in Congo's civil war? What's the U.S. role? What can we do to stop it? It's Your Call, with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Adam Hochschild, lecturer, Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley and author of King Leopold's Ghost & Bury the Chains

Thomas Turner, Amnesty International USA country specialist on the Democratic Republic of Congo and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University

Click to Listen: Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Monday, November 24, 2008

Your Call 112508 Hard Questions about Wildfires

Is California asking the hard questions about wildfires? On the next Your Call we'll discuss how the environmental and economic climates are forcing hard choices on the state. How should fire-fighting be balanced with other state priorities in the budget? If we cut the budget for fighting fires, how should the priority list for those resources change? Is the urban core of the state building enough housing to relieve population pressures in high danger areas? It's Your Call with Ben Temchine and you.

Guests: Bill Stewart in Berkeley
Forestry Specialist at the University of California at Berkeley. Before joining the university two years ago, Bill was the Director of the research unit at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, where he studied resource economics issues.

Andy Stahl in Portland, Oregon
Executive Director of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, national organization of government employees holding the Forest Service accountable for responsible land stewardship.

Click to Listen: Hard Questions about Wildfires

Your Call 112408 The Road Ahead for the Big Three

Is the crisis in Detroit an opportunity to get the car industry we want? On the next Your Call we'll have a conversation about the struggling US auto industry. The heads of three Detroit automakers flew down in their corporate jets to make a case for federal aid to stave off bankruptcy. Skeptical lawmakers were unmoved. So what is ahead for future of auto industry? Is saving the Big Three an opportunity or just a big problem? It's Your Call, with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Michael Brylawski, vice president of Rocky Mountain Institute. He heads its Mobility/Vehicle Efficiency (MOVE) Practice.

Kelly Erin O'Brien, Vice President, and host of "Life in the Fast Lane" on KUSP, Central Coast Public Radio, 88.9 FM

Chelsea Sexton, co-founder of The Lightning Rod Foundation and an advocate for Electric Transportation

Click to Listen: The Road Ahead for the Big Three

Your Call 112408 The Road Ahead for the Big Three

Is the crisis in Detroit an opportunity to get the car industry we want? On the next Your Call we'll have a conversation about the struggling US auto industry. The heads of three Detroit automakers flew down in their corporate jets to make a case for federal aid to stave off bankruptcy. Skeptical lawmakers were unmoved. So what is ahead for future of auto industry? Is saving the Big Three an opportunity or just a big problem? It's Your Call, with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Michael Brylawski, vice president of Rocky Mountain Institute. He heads its Mobility/Vehicle Efficiency (MOVE) Practice.

Kelly Erin O'Brien, Vice President, and host of "Life in the Fast Lane" on KUSP, Central Coast Public Radio, 88.9 FM

Chelsea Sexton, co-founder of The Lightning Rod Foundation and an advocate for Electric Transportation

Click to Listen: The Road Ahead for the Big Three

Friday, November 21, 2008

Your Call 112108 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday media roundtable where we examine the week that was in American media. U.S. stocks have plunged; the unemployment rate is its highest in 16 years. And the auto industry bailout is stalled in Senate. How does the media continue to cover the economic crisis? Seven years after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan the country faces an increasingly uncertain future. How is Obama's presidency going to change U.S. foreign policy? And who has Obama's ears? It's Your Call with Ben Temchine and you.

Guests: Pratap Chatterjee, investigative journalist and executive director of CorpWatch
Linda Feldmann, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Kevin G. Hall, economics reporter with McClatchy Newspapers

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Your Call 112008 Leaving Guantanamo

On the next Your Call, we're going to be talking about what to do with the approximately 250 people imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay. Only 23 have been charged with any official crime. President-elect Obama vows to restore America's moral stature in the world, but how easily will that be done in Guantanamo Bay? On the next Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Jennifer Daskal, Senior Counsel, Terrorism/Counterterrorism, Human Rights Watch. Jennifer was deeply involved in the discussions over US detention policy taking place in Congress during 2007 and is a leading voice in the ongoing efforts to limit the effects of counterterrorism legislation on refugee and asylum seekers.

Nadia Asancheyev, Fellow, Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law, Georgetown University Law School. Nadia has extensive experience working on Guantanamo detainee issues, including work on Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the case that challenged the policy of military trials at Guantanamo Bay.

Click to Listen: Leaving Guantanamo

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Your Call 111808 Suburban Blight

Will the mortgage crisis finally make us rethink suburbia? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with author, social critic, and blogger James Howard Kunstler. He is out with a new book entitled World Made By Hand. The ongoing financial crisis and foreclosures have forced many people to give up their homes in the suburbs. How will the economic meltdown change our lifestyle? And what will the future hold for the suburbs? It's Your Call with guest host Ben Temchine, and you.

Guest: James Howard Kunstler, social critic, blogger, and author of World Made By Hand

Click to Listen: Suburban Blight

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Your Call 111708 Iraq Update

How is Obama's victory changing life in Iraq? On the next Your Call we'll broadcast a pre-recorded conversation about the future of the occupation. From the streets to the halls of power, what do Iraqis face each day and what do they believe is possible with the Democrats in charge? Now that Obama is about to take ownership of Bush's war, what forces are constraining what he can do? On the next Your Call with me, Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Jabran Mansoor in Amsterdam
Former Administrative Coordinator of the International Institute for the Rule of Law in Iraq, which worked with the government of Iraq, and before that the coalition authority, to establish an independent judiciary. Mr. Mansoor left Iraq in left Iraq since September 2007; and is looking for work in the Netherlands.

Leila Fadel in Baghdad
McClatchy's Baghdad Bureau Chief, where she has been, on and off, since June 2005.

Juan Cole in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan and author of InformedComment.com

Nabil Al Tikriti in Fredericksburg, Virginia
Assistant Professor of History at the University of Mary Washington

Click to Listen: Iraq Update

Friday, November 14, 2008

Your Call 111407 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday Media Roundtable when we look at the week that was in the mainstream, alternative and international press. This week the beneficiaries of the federal bail-out morphed again, President-elect Obama began setting a national policy agenda and the political activists the Yes Men distributed a million copies of fake New York Times announcing the end of the war in Iraq. We'll talk with the editor of BailoutSleuth.com, John Nichols from The Nation and Ken Silverstein from The Atlantic on the next Your Call with me, Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests: Ken Silverstein in Washington
Washington Editor and author of the Washington Babylon column for Harper's Magazine

John Nichols in Madison Wisconsin
Washington correspondent for The Nation magazine

Chris Carey in St. Louis
Editor and president of Sharesleuth.com and bailoutsleuth.com. He specializes in digging through SEC filings, court records and other documents to find information that companies try to bury, and in tracking the activities of known securities-law violators.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Your Call 111308 Fair Trade Holiday Preview

How can you buy gifts without selling your soul? On the next Your Call we'll talk about how you can make your family and friends happy without supporting industries that make their workers miserable or the planet uninhabitable. This weekend is the 7th annual Green Festival from Global Exchange. How can you be generous this holiday season while also buying sustainable, local and sweatshop-free gifts? Can you make people happy without buying anything at all? What does your ethical shopping list look like? It's Your Call with me, Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests: Emily Main in New York
Senior Editor of National Geographic's The Green Guide and thegreenguide.com. She joined National Geographic's The Green Guide's editorial team in 2005.

Meaghan O'Neill in Newport Rhode Island
Editor-in-chief of TreeHugger and PlanetGreen.com. She and her team are putting the finishing touches on TreeHugger's annual holiday guide called, "Give Green to Save Green."

Tex Dworkin in San Francisco
Independent Fair Trade Consultant and Director of Marketing for Global Exchange


Click to Listen: Fair Trade Holiday Preview

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Your Call 111208 Her Deepness

What can humanity learn by paying attention to the transformation of our oceans? On the next Your Call we welcome Sylvia Earle, one of the most accomplished aquanauts of our time. Earle was recognized by the Library of Congress as a Living Legend, called "her deepness" by the New Yorker and is Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society. We'll talk with Earle about her new book, Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas. As climate change transforms our oceans, how can we transform our relationship with the oceans? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Sylvia Earle in Washington DC
Oceanographer recognized by the Library of Congress as a Living Legend. Her new book is Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas.

Click to Listen: Her Deepness

Monday, November 10, 2008

Your Call 111108 Who voted?

Voter turnout was a big story in Election 2008 -- so what do we know about who really turned up at the polls? On the next Your Call, we'll take a look at voting blocks, including young voters, African-Americans and Latinos and find out who played a crucial role in the presidential election. Five southern states set records for voter turnout and we saw second largest youth vote in history. So what kind of lasting impact could these new voters have on the future of politics? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Peter Levine, Director of Research and Director of CIRCLE, the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University

Mark Lopez, Associate Director of the Pew Hispanic Center

Brendan McGarry, Deputy News Editor at Army Times

Click to Listen: Who voted?

Your Call 111008 America's Arab and Islamic Roots

How much have Arab and Islamic traditions influenced American culture? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle staff writer and author of Al' America. According to Curiel, from its beginning, America intersected with Arab and Muslim culture, borrowing from it, admonishing it, fearing it and coexisting with it. So how do these common traditions challenge stereotypes about Arabs and Muslims? And can this shared history change hearts and minds? It’s Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest: Jonathan Curiel, author of Al' America: Travels Through America's Arab and Islamic Roots.

Click to Listen: America's Arab and Islamic Roots

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Your Call 110708 Friday Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday media roundtable where we examine the week that was in American media. Barack Obama had a convincing victory at the polls Tuesday night. How is the story of that vote recounted, developed, spun and manipulated through the national media? As the country chews over the realignment, who gets a seat at the table of that conversation and who is being left out? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Mark Danner in Florida
A contributing writer for the New York Review of Books

Betsy Reed in New York
Managing Editor of the Nation.

Click to Listen: Friday Media Roundtable

Your Call 110608 Physics for Future Presidents

Can we make smart decisions about renewable energy, global warming, terrorism or sustainable agriculture without understanding the science that drives them? On the next Your Call we speak with Richard Muller, Berkeley professor of Physics and the Macarthur Genius award winning author of Physics for Future Presidents. Muller teaches 1,000 undergrads a course of the same name, exploring scientific concepts underlying political questions. Now it's our turn. Can we build a better democracy through chemistry and physics and math? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Richard Muller in Berkeley
Professor in the Department of Physics at UC Berkeley, and Faculty Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in the Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics. Author of Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines.

Click to Listen: Physics for Future Presidents

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Your Call 110508 Now What?

Now what? The votes are cast and the spin has begun about what it all means. What kind of change do you expect for your vote? How can the hopeful energy the Obama campaign has generated continue into the reality of governing? How do the people who've given the energy to the Obama campaign many of whom are well to his left politically stay engaged without becoming disillusioned? After 8 years in the opposition, can the left build an effective movement that supports progressive change? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Karen K. Narasaki in DC
Executive Director of Asian American Justice Center

Chris Kromm in North Carolina
Executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies

Sujatha Jahagirdar in Washington DC, normally in LA
Program director for the New Voters Project of the Student Public Interest Research Group.

Maya Rockeymoore in DC
President and CEO, Global Policy Solutions and author of The Political Action Handbook: A How to Guide for the Hip-Hop Generation

Vida Benevides in DC
Executive Director of Asian Pacific Island American Vote

Click to Listen: Now What?

Monday, November 3, 2008

Your Call 110408 Election Day Reports

What is happening at polling stations across the country? On the next Your Call, we'll check in with voters nationwide and we want to hear from you. Voter turnout has already surpassed the expectations. On Election Day, we expect long lines, electronic voting machine malfunctions and ballot shortages in several swing states. So what was your experience like at the polling booth? And how did it feel to finally vote? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Suzanne Gravette Acker, Communications and Development Director of Coalition on
Homeless and Housing in Ohio

Bob Hall, Executive Director of Democracy North Carolina.

Tomas Garduno, the statewide organizer for the SouthWest Organizing Project, a
non-partisan, non-profit group in New Mexico

Bob Schaeffer, with Florida's Center for Civic Participation

Joe Szakos, Executive Director of Virginia voting project

Carmen Rhodes, executive director of Front Range Economic Strategy Center
(FRESC) in Colorado

Click to Listen: Election Day Reports

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Your Call 110308 Judging Pelosi

How effective has Nancy Pelosi been as Speaker of the House? On the next Your Call, we will have a conversation about Congresswoman Pelosi and her voting record. Her seat is about as safe as they get. So, how should San Francisco voters weigh their decision to endorse or protest the role she has played in Washington? What is her position on issues such as Iraq, the environment and the economy? Has she adequately represented her district as Speaker of the House? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: David Hawkings, Managing Editor Congressional Quarterly Weekly

Marc Sandalow, political analyst and author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi's Life, Times, and Rise to Power.

Click to Listen: Judging Pelosi

Friday, October 31, 2008

Your Call 103108 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday media roundtable where we discuss how the news of the week was covered. This week was the final full week before Election 2008. We'll have a look back with British reporter Andrew Gumbel and Gail Chaddock from the Christian Science Monitor. The monitor shuttered their printing presses and went fully electronic this week. How many other papers are likely to follow? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Joshua Holland in San Francisco
Senior Writer & Editor for AlterNet

Gail Chaddock in DC
Congressional Correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor

Andrew Gumbel in LA
Former U.S. correspondent for the London newspaper The Independent. He has been writing stories this election season for the Nation.

Click to Listen: Media roundtable

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Your Call 103008 The Future of Nuclear Power

Where does nuclear energy fit into our future? On the next Your Call we'll look at where Senators John McCain and Barack Obama stand on the future of nuclear. Many people have a vision of nuclear power frozen decades in the past by the disaster at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Has nuclear energy technology advanced as much as boosters say? Should nuclear compete in the market of ideas alongside coal, solar and wind, or is it a special case? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Jim Riccio in Washington
Greenpeace's Nuclear Policy Analyst. He has worked for the Nuclear Information Resource Service as well as the Critical Mass Energy Project at Public Citizen.

Michael Mariotte in Washington
Executive Director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service

Peter Schwartz in San Francisco
Chairman and cofounder of the Global Business Network. Previously headed scenario planning for Royal Dutch/Shell in London and directed the Strategic Environment Center at SRI International; he is the author of Inevitable Surprises and The Art of the Long View.

Click to Listen: The Future of Nuclear Power

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Your Call 102908 The Shadow Factory

When you start a secret program to spy on everyone, how can you ever be sure it's been unplugged for good? On the next Your Call we'll be joined by James Bamford, who has done more to pull back the curtain on the ultra-secret National Security Agency than anyone else. Bamford's new book The Shadow Factory recounts how the Bush Administration transformed epic failures by American intelligence agencies into arguments for massively increasing their power. How does the NSA skim the emails, faxes, phone calls and Internet traffic of the entire world? What is the NSA listening to right now? It may be Your Call, with me, Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: James Bamford in DC
Our nation's chronicler of the dark side. He's a regular contributor to the New York Times Magazine, Harpers and his article in Rolling Stone "The Man who Sold the War" won the National Magazine Award for Reporting. Mr. Bamford joins us from DC.

Click to Listen: The Shadow Factory

Your Call 102808 California Budget's Greatest Hits

Who took the hit in the long-delayed California budget? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the 2009 California budget. Last month Governor Schwarzenegger signed the budget, almost three months into California's new fiscal year. The $143 billion spending plan includes $7.1 billion in spending cuts. At a time that most people are hurting financially, who is being affected the most? And how is the international financial crisis affecting state and local government? It's Your Call, with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Lenny Goldberg, Executive Director of the California Tax Reform Association

Frank Russo of California Progress Report

Allison Pratt, Director of Policy & Services with Alameda Community Food Bank

John Laird, Assembly Budget Chair (D-Santa Cruz)

Click to Listen: California Budget's Greatest Hits

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Your Call 102708 Tax policy and the economy

What does tax policy have to do with the economy? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the impact of taxes on economic growth. Based on a Congressional Budget Office study, President Bush's tax cuts have offered the biggest benefits to people at the very top. With economic recession, how would McCain's and Obama's tax proposals affect the economy? How does our tax structure contrast Europe's? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Joel Slemrod, the Paul W. McCracken Collegiate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Ross School and director of its Office of Tax Policy Research

Jeff Madrick, editor of Challenge Magazine, visiting professor of humanities at The Cooper Union, and director of Policy Research at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, The New School

Lee Farris, Senior Organizer on Estate Tax Policy with United for Fair Economy

Click to Listen: Tax policy and the economy

Friday, October 24, 2008

Your Call 102408 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday media roundtable, the day we discuss coverage of the week's news. This week, we'll talk about the election and the economic meltdown with Martin Wolf of the Financial Times and Carolyn Said of the San Francisco Chronicle. We'll also be joined by longtime foreign correspondent Mort Rosenblum. He's out with a new book called Dispatches: Beyond Iraq. The journal goes beyond the "what" and "who" to the more crucial "why" and "what can be done?" Where did you get the context you needed to make sense of this week's news? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Carolyn Said of the San Francisco Chronicle

Martin Wolf of the Financial Times

Mort Rosenblum, longtime foreign correspondent, with a new book called Dispatches: Beyond Iraq

Click to Listen: Media roundtable

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Your Call 102308 New Voters, New Politics

How will new voters from immigrant and ethnic communities change the Democrats? On the next Your Call we'll discuss the deeper impacts of these new voters on American politics. A record 130 million voters are expected to cast ballots this year, up from nearly 126 million in 2004, and many of those new voters are not part of the white majority. What are the issues and values that are attracting Asian-American and Latino voters to the Democrats? How will the politics of social issues like same-sex marriage and parental notification about abortion shift? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Roberto Lovato in New York
Contributing Associate Editor with New America Media and a frequent contributor to The Nation and the Huffington Post. Roberto was the Executive Director of the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), then the country's largest immigrant rights organization.

Vida Benevides in Washington DC
Executive Director of Asian Pacific Islander American Vote, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit that promotes civic participation of APIA community in national, state and local politics.

Josh Norek in New York
Deputy Director of Voto Latino, is voter registration and get out the vote organization, founded by in 2004 by the actress Rosario Dawson.

Karen K. Narasaki in San Francisco
President and Executive Director of the Asian American Justice Center, a national organization defending and advancing the civil and human rights of Asian Americans.

Click to Listen: New Voters, New Politics

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Your Call 102208 Picking winners in the Green Economy

Should the state play a primary role picking winners in the green economy? On the next Your Call we'll discuss who should take the lead creating the new jobs and new technologies that will reverse the damage of the oil-based economy. Measures on November's ballot in California would boost high-speed rail, natural gas cars, and certain kinds of renewable energy. Should the state favor specific technologies, like cars that use natural gas? Should the state just set general rules and leave the rest to the market? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Huey Johnson in San Francisco
Founder and president of the Resource Renewal Institute (RRI), a nonprofit organization that incubates ideas and practices for environmental sustainability. From 1976-1982, Mr. Johnson served as Secretary of Resources for the State of California where he conceived and implemented "Investing for Prosperity," a hundred-year plan for managing the state's natural resources.

Bernadette Del Chiaro in Sacramento
Clean energy advocate with Environment California, a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization. They are urging a split vote on the fall ballot's clean energy propositions.

Professor David Orr in Oberlin, Ohio
Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College. He is author of many books including Ecological Literacy and Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect.

Click to Listen: Picking winners in the Green Economy

Monday, October 20, 2008

Your Call 102108 Is voter suppression widespread?

How widespread is voter suppression? On the next Your Call, we'll have a discussion about tactics used by political parties to discourage or prohibit eligible voters from casting their votes. From voter purges to electronic voting, thousands of voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering. What are voters doing to fight back? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests: Adam Skaggs is counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice and an attorney for the voting rights organizations challenging Florida's "no match-no vote" law.

Bob Schaeffer with Florida's Center for Civic Participation

Tomás Garduño, the statewide organizer for the South West Organizing Project, a non-partisan, non-profit group in New Mexico that educates minority citizens.

Brian Rothenberg, Executive Director of Progress Ohio

Click to Listen: Is voter suppression widespread?

Your Call 102008 The Power of Conversation

Does public dialogue change minds? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Ros Atkins, host of the BBC call-in show, World Have Your Say. Listeners from all over the globe engage in conversations about a variety of topics. How do people from different parts of the world react to important issues of the day? Does public dialogue change minds or at least open minds? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest: Ros Atkins, host of World Have Your Say

Click to Listen: The Power of Conversation

Friday, October 17, 2008

Your Call 101708 Friday Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday media roundtable, the day we connect you with reporters to dissect the news of the week. This week, we'll speak with the editors of publications with viewpoints outside of the economic orthodoxy. How does coverage of the economy in the Socialist Worker newspaper and the libertarian magazine Reason differ from the New York Times? Will the mainstream media continue to cover banking only from the view of the banker? Where's coverage of the working poor? It's Your Call with me, Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests: TBD

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Your Call 101608 Van Jones

Can we overhaul our economy to save both the people and the planet? On the next Your Call we speak with the visionary activist Van Jones, author of The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems. In his book, Jones lays out his plan to rescue the world from environmental catastrophe and transform the American economy at the same time. What will create the political circumstances to ensure our liberation from lousy energy and lousy jobs? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest: Van Jones in San Francisco
Civil rights and environmental advocate in Oakland, California, working to combine solutions to social inequality and environmental justice. Jones is the president and founder of Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and author of the new book The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems. Jones lives in Oakland with his partner Jana and his two little boys Cabral and Mattai.

Click to Listen: Van Jones

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Your Call 101508 Wildlands Philanthropy

How can we save the wilderness for public use? On the next Your Call, we'll be joined by philanthropist Kristine Tompkins and Tom Butler, author of Wildlands Philanthropy: The Great American Tradition. The book celebrates natural landmarks by introducing us to the people who transferred privately owned land to the public trust and made much of our park system possible. These are extraordinary people who simply loved the land. How can we work together to carry on their legacies? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Tom Butler in Colchester, Vermont
Author of Wildlands Philanthropy and editorial projects director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology.

Kris Tompkins in San Francisco
During college she began to work for Chouinard Equipment, the California rock and ice climbing equipment maker that became the global apparel giant Patagonia. In 1979 she became CEO of Patagonia, and 8 years ago she cashed out and used the money to found and endow Conservacion Patagonica. Its goal is the protection and restoration of critical habitats in the Patagonia region of the Southern Cone in South America.

Click to Listen: Wildlands Philanthropy

Monday, October 13, 2008

Your Call 101408 Antonia Juhasz, author of 'Tyranny of Oil'

How did oil companies become so big and powerful? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Antonia Juhasz, author of Tyranny of Oil. ExxonMobil is the most profitable corporation both in the world and in world history. Its profits are larger than the entire economies of ninety-three of the world's nations ranked by GDP. What can citizens do to take the power back? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest: Antonia Juhasz, author of The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry, and What We Must Do To Stop It.

Click to Listen: Antonia Juhasz, author of Tyranny of Oil

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Your Call 101308 Can Obama fix the economy?

Does Barack Obama have the political will to really fix the economy? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Robert Kuttner, author of Obama's Challenge: America's Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency. Kuttner argues that if Obama wins, he will radically transform America's direction but only if he rejects tired centrist policies of the past and inspires citizens to forge new progressive paths. Do you agree? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Robert Kuttner, author of Obama's Challenge: America's Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency.

Click to Listen: Can Obama fix the economy?

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Your Call 101008 Friday Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. The financial crisis is deepening and many states are running out of money. California needs $7 billion in emergency loans to fund day-to-day government operations. Violence has decreased across Iraq in recent months, but four Iraqi journalists were killed over the weekend. We'll be joined by freelance writer Max Wolff, LA Times Baghdad bureau chief Tina Sussman, and The California Progress Report's Frank Russo. Where did you get the context you needed to make sense of the week's news? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Tina Sussman, Los Angeles Times Baghdad bureau chief

Max Fraad Wolff, an economist and freelance researcher/writer. His work regularly appears in Asia Times and Huffington Post.

Frank D. Russo, publisher of The California Progress Report

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Your Call 100808 The View from the Purple States

What did the second McCain-Obama debate look like from the most contested states in this year's election? On the next Your Call we'll speak with voters in Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, Virginia and Pennsylvania. New voters, old voters, single moms, and immigrants, we'll hear how the election is shaping up where the outcome is likely to be decided. What does Election 2008 look like from the purple states? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests: Bob Schaeffer in Florida
Florida director for the Center for Civic Participation, a national non-profit that organizes non-partisan voter registration drives in swing states. They work for groups like the League of Women Voters, ACORN and the NAACP.

Brian Rothenberg in Columbus
Executive Director of ProgressOhio, Founded In 2006, ProgressOhio is like a local MoveOn.

Joanie Rabinowitz in Pittsburgh
Co-Director of Just Harvest, A Center For Action in Pittsburgh.

Click to Listen: The View from the Purple States

Monday, October 6, 2008

Your Call 100708 A New New Deal

What can we learn from the New Deal now? On the next Your Call, we'll spend the hour looking at the history of the New Deal and the US economy in the 1930s. The phrase New Deal has come to symbolize the sweeping legislation that was introduced to lift the country out of recession. Were there solutions back then that would make sense today? How did people at the grassroots come together to help each other as the Great Depression hit? Can we apply some of those strategies today? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests: Peter Rachleff, Professor of History at Macalester College
Paul Boden, Director of Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP)

Click to Listen: A New New Deal

Event:
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 6:00-9:00 pm
Can we talk about issues that matter?
Delancey Street Club Room
600 Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA

Join the Women's Intercultural Network, Marcus Books, and the California Women's Agenda for a conversation on issues that matter: culture, race, oil, peace, energy, immigration, healthcare, water, gender, the economy, voting machines, Afghanistan, Iraq, and more. Be there with Rose Aguilar, Dr. Raye Richardson, founder of Marcus Books, and a panel with diverse points of view, followed by table conversations with community activists.

Let's get out the vote and frame an agenda for 2009!

Your Call 100608 Can birds and humans coexist?

How can birds and humans coexist? On the next Your Call, we'll explore the adventurous world of bird migration and what role humans play in preserving these seasonal voyages. Each fall, millions of birds travel south compelled by changes in food availability, habitat and weather. Healthy waterfowl habitats are critical for this passage to remain uninhibited. What are the conditions of these habitats and how can we create a world where human activity does not disrupt this natural flow? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests: Beth Huning, Coordinator, San Francisco Bay Joint Venture

Brad Bortner, Chief, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Division of Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs

Click to Listen: Can birds and humans coexist?

Do you have friends in swing states?

If you have relatives or friends in the states that are toss-ups in this election, we want to know what they think. Next Wednesday, after the second debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, we'd love to hear from your swing state friends and relations. So if you know people in Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida who'd give their reaction to the debate drop us an e-mail at feedback@yourcallradio.org so we can either get them on the show, or have you on to let us know what they had to say when you checked in with them.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Your Call 100308 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin squared off in the only Vice Presidential debate of the campaign. Did the coverage you saw focus on issues that actually matter to you? What do you think of the coverage of the few interviews Palin actually did this week? We'll also discuss coverage of the bailout bill and the ongoing economic crisis. Did you get the context you needed to make sense of the week's news? It's Your Call with me, Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest: Peter Waldman in San Francisco
Senior writer at Conde Nast Portfolio;

David Folkenflik in New York
Media reporter for NPR

Shannyn Moore in Anchorage
Host of "Blue State of Mind" on KUDO 1080AM in Anchorage

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Special Request: Do you have friends in swing states?

If you have relatives or friends in the states that are toss-ups in this election, we want to know what they think. Next Wednesday, after the second debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, we'd love to hear from your swing state friends and relations. So if you know people in Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida who'd give their reaction to the debate drop us an e-mail at feedback@yourcallradio.org so we can either get them on the show, or have you on to let us know what they had to say when you checked in with them.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Your Call 100108 Governing through Crime

What would a progressive response to crime look like? On the next Your Call, we'll speak with Jonathan Simon, associate dean at Berkeley's School of Law and author of Governing through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear. After the New Deal coalition fell apart in the 60s, Simon argues that civil rights and economic equality advances were reversed by a national obsession with personal safety. How is that playing out today? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy.

Guest: Jonathan Simon, associate dean at Berkeley's School of Law and author of Governing through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear

Click to Listen: Governing through Crime

Monday, September 29, 2008

Your Call 093008 Global capitalism and its discontents

What is capitalism? And how is the current crisis changing the way you understand the basic structure of our economy? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about economic crisis in the US and its long-term effect on capitalist economies. The current financial meltdown has sparked a debate on whether capitalism is the ideal methodology for wealth creation. What do you think? Is this the end of global capitalism, as we know it? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: Robert Brenner is the director of the Center for Social Theory and Comparative History at UCLA, and the author of The Boom and the Bubble.

J. Bradford DeLong, Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley

Click to Listen: Global capitalism and its discontents

Your Call 092908 Barriers to Democracy in America

How open is the American political system? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Harper's publisher John MacArthur. He is out with a new book entitled You Can't Be President: The Outrageous Barriers to Democracy in America. With Barack Obama and Sarah Palin on the big party tickets, are we closer than ever to a nation where anyone can aspire to be president? How democratic is our presidential politics? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests: John MacArthur, Harper's publisher, and author of You Can't Be President: The Outrageous Barriers to Democracy in America

Click to Listen: Barriers to Democracy in America

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Your Call 092608 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, we'll spend the hour with journalist Ron Suskind, author of The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism. Suskind's explosive charges about the misuse of prewar intelligence and an alleged forgery scheme have received widespread coverage, but has anything changed as a result? Suskind says impeachment should be on the table. Will anyone ever be held accountable? We'll also speak about economic coverage with David Cay Johnston, author of Free Lunch. Where did you see reporting that put the economic crisis in context? It's Your Call with me, Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests: Ron Suskind, journalist and author of The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism.

David Cay Johnston, former investigative journalist for The New York Times and author of Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill).

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Your Call 092508 Big Oil with author Antonia Juhasz

What's in store for the future of big oil? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Antonia Juhasz, author of the forthcoming book, The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry -- and What We Must Do to Stop It. Juhasz investigates the true state of the U.S. oil industry by uncovering its global power, influence over our elected officials, the truth behind $150-a-barrel oil, and the highest profit in corporate history. Who's really controlling the prices? How much oil is even left? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guest: Antonia Juhasz is a policy-analyst, author and activist living in San Francisco.

Click to Listen: Big Oil with author Antonia Juhasz

Your Call 092408 A People's History of Sports

How do sports and politics intersect? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Dave Zirin, author of A People's History of Sports in the United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play. Sportswriter Zirin examines sports as a reflection of the political conflicts that shape American history. He profiles sports stars who have stoked the fires of war, corporate control, racism, sexism, and homophobia. What are the main differences between mainstream sports history and yours? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy.

Guest: Dave Zirin is the author of three books and a regular contributor to The Nation, SLAM, and the Los Angeles Times.

Click to Listen: A People's History of Sports

Monday, September 22, 2008

Your Call 092308 What's ahead for our economy?

What's ahead for the U.S. economy? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with investigative journalist Danny Schechter, author of Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Sub-prime Scandal. Last week, the Treasury Department called for $700 billion to stabilize volatile financial markets. What's in the plan? Is there any transparency? And who's benefiting? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guest: Danny Schechter, a television producer, independent filmmaker, blogger, and media critic.

Click to Listen: What's ahead for our economy?

Your Call 092208 'The Body Toxic' by Nena Baker

How do toxins affect the human body? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Nena Baker, author of The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-Being. Almost everything we encounter, including soap, computers, and clothing, contains a dizzying amount of chemicals. Scientists call it a "chemical body burden." How can we lower our exposures to harmful chemicals? And what's the government's role in protecting the public? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest: Nina Baker, former investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic and The Oregonian and author of The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-Being.

Click to Listen: 'The Body Toxic' by Nena Baker

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Your Call 091908 Media Roundtable with Thomas Frank

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, we're spending the hour with Thomas Frank, the columnist who holds down the left end of the Wall Street Journal editorial page. His new book is called The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule. Frank argues that conservatives have taken pains to enshrine the free market as the permanent creed of state. Could a Democratic victory reverse the damage? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guest: Thomas Frank, author and columnist for the Wall Street Journal's op-ed page.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable with Thomas Frank

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Your Call 091808 Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz

How much is the war in Iraq really costing us? What will be long term consequences of rock bottom lows in the economy? Inflation and unemployment are on the rise while the housing and stock markets are crashing. On Your Call we will speak with Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, about the economy and his latest book The Three Trillion Dollar War. Since 2004, the costs of the war in Iraq have increased by 130 percent. What has made the price tag on the war skyrocket, and how is it affecting our economy day to day? Join us, it's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest: Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winning economist and co-author of The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict

Click to Listen: Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz

Your Call 091708 Paul Ehrlich, author of "The Dominant Animal: human evolution and the environment"

Human beings have now established their dominion over the planet - can we stop ourselves from destroying it? On the next Your Call, we'll speak with renowned Stanford scientist Paul Ehrlich about his latest book, The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment. How can understanding evolution help us move forward? How did our relationship with nature become so distorted? And what can we do to change the trajectory? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Renowned Stanford scientist Paul Ehrlich

Click to Listen: Paul Ehrlich, author of "The Dominant Animal: human evolution and the environment"

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Your Call 091608 Voter Suppression

Will the enforcement - or violation - of voting rights decide a narrow election in November? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about voter suppression. We'll be joined by Steven Rosenfeld, author of Count My Vote: A Citizen's Guide to Voting, and Dorothy Fadiman, producer of Stealing America: Vote by Vote. What are the most pressing issues in the swing states that we should know about? What can we do to ensure that all eligible voters actually cast their votes? And who's looking out for them? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests:
Steven Rosenfeld, author of Count My Vote: A Citizen's Guide to Voting

Dorothy Fadiman, producer of Stealing America: Vote by Vote.

Click to Listen: Voter Suppression

Your Call 091608 Voter Suppression

Will the enforcement - or violation - of voting rights decide a narrow election in November? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about voter suppression. We'll be joined by Steven Rosenfeld, author of Count My Vote: A Citizen's Guide to Voting, and Dorothy Fadiman, producer of Stealing America: Vote by Vote. What are the most pressing issues in the swing states that we should know about? What can we do to ensure that all eligible voters actually cast their votes? And who's looking out for them? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests:
Steven Rosenfeld, author of Count My Vote: A Citizen's Guide to Voting

Dorothy Fadiman, producer of Stealing America: Vote by Vote.

Click to Listen: Voter Suppression

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Your Call 091508 Iraqi Reality

Is conversation about Iraq over? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Farnaz Fassihi, the deputy bureau chief for Middle East and Africa for The Wall Street Journal, about her new book, Waiting for an Ordinary Day: The Unraveling of Life in Iraq. What are the realities of Iraq and its future that John McCain ignores and Obama refuses to address? And how should the Iraqi experience figure in the American debate? It's Your Call, weekdays at 11:00, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Farnaz Fassihi, the deputy bureau chief for Middle East and Africa for The Wall Street Journal

Click to Listen: Iraqi Reality

Friday, September 12, 2008

Your Call 091208 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable, the day we discuss how the media covered the week's news. Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and an ally of the United States became Pakistan's newest president. Sarah Palin still dominates the news and blog sphere as the economy continues to suffer. We'll be joined by Anchorage Daily News columnist Michael Carey, Graham Usher, an independent journalist based in Pakistan, and Kevin Hall, McClatchy's national economics reporter. On Friday's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Michael Carey, columnist with Anchorage Daily News

Kevin G. Hall, the former South America correspondent, is now the bureau's national economics reporter.

Graham Usher, a writer and journalist based in Islamabad, is the author of Dispatches From Palestine: The Rise and fall of the Oslo Peace Process

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Your Call 091108 How is our obession with beauty affecting our daughters?

Why is our culture obsessed with the beauty of young women -- and increasingly sexualizing girls? On the next Your Call, we will have a conversation with Darryl Roberts, director of the documentary film America the Beautiful which examines pressures facing women and long time author and social theorist Jean Kilbourne, on her latest book So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids as well as young women who are working to address these issues locally. How do the girls in your life deal with the pressure to seek beauty at all costs? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Jean Kilbourne, social theorist and author of many books, most recently, So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids

Darryl Roberts, screenwriter and filmmaker of recent documentary America the Beautiful which looks at the fashion, advertising and cosmetics industries

Jennifer Berger, Executive Director of San Francisco's About-Face which works to equip women and girls with tools to understand and resist harmful media that affects their self-esteem and body image.

Click to Listen: How is our obession with beauty affecting our daughters?

Your Call 091008 Polar Bears in danger and why we care

How is global warming affecting the polar bear population? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about struggling polar bears. Scientists predict that two-thirds of the world's 25,000 polar bears will disappear by the middle of the century because summertime sea ice is rapidly melting. This summer, vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin opposed polar bear protections. So who is protecting the polar bears? And what is their significance to our environment? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
John Toppenberg, executive director of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance

Rick Steiner, Professor at the University of Alaska and Marine Conservation

Click to Listen: Polar Bears in danger and why we care

Monday, September 8, 2008

Your Call 090908 Will Your Vote Count?

Do you believe your vote will be counted in November? On the Next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Dorothy Fadiman about her new film Stealing America: Vote by Vote, and Richard Hayes Phillips about his new book, Witness to a Crime. Nearly 30 percent of voters will use touch-screen machines in November. Last year, an independent review panel found that California's electronic voting systems were vulnerable to attacks. How are you voting in November? And how can we be sure our votes will be counted? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Richard Hayes Phillips, author of Witness to a Crime: A Citizen's Audit of an American Election

Dorothy Fadiman, producer and director of the documentry film Stealing America: Vote by Vote

Click to Listen: Will Your Vote Count?

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Your Call 090808 John Zogby on Presidential Polling

What will the pollsters focus on for the next two months? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with John Zogby, president of polling company Zogby International. He is also author of, The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream. Polling firms are being commissioned by different media outlets and political parties to gauge the latest opinions in the presidential race. Who is being polled? What questions are being asked? And does any of it matter? It's Your Call, weekdays at 11:00 with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
John Zogby, president & CEO of the polling company Zogby International, and author of The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream

Click to Listen: John Zogby on Presidential Polling

Friday, September 5, 2008

Your Call 090508 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable, the day we discuss how the media covered the week's news. This week all eyes were focused on the Republican National Convention and Sarah Palin. Where was the coverage of protests and mass arrests? What about the corporate donors? We'll be joined by The Nation's John Nichols and LA Times' Iraq reporter, Tina Susman and media critic, Danny Schechter. What did the coverage look like overseas? With all eyes on the convention, what was missing from the front pages? It's Your Call, weekdays at 11:00, with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation
Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Danny Schechter, a television producer, independent filmmaker, blogger, and media critic.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Your Call 090408 Sex and Politics

How will questions about sex play out in the presidential election? On the next Your Call, we'll speak with historian Dagmar Herzog, author of Sex in Crisis: The New Sexual Revolution and the Future of American Politics. Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has the nation talking about her teenage daughter's pregnancy. The news has become part of the political debate. What do the responses on the left say about what they get or don't get about how gender and sexuality works politically on the right? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Dagmar Herzog is professor of History at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and author of several books, including Intimacy and Exclusion and Sex after Fascism. Her most recent book is Sex in Crisis: The New Sexual Revolution and the Future of American Politics.

Click to Listen: Sex and Politics

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Your Call 090308 Being Young and Arab in America

What is it like to be an Arab American in the United States? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with professor Moustafa Bayoumi, author of How Does It Feel To Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America. After 9/11, some 1200 Arabs and Muslims were picked up randomly, many on immigration charges. Government surveillance, workplace discrimination, and the disappearance of friends or family have complicated the lives of many in the Arab community. So how are they dealing with these challenges? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guest:
Moustafa Bayoumi, author of How Does It Feel To Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America

Click to Listen: Being Young and Arab in America

Monday, September 1, 2008

Your Call 090208 Coming Home: Health Care for Veterans

What do veterans face upon returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the VA, healthcare, PTSD, and suicides. What's really changed since the Walter Reed scandal broke last year? Both presidential candidates say they will make healthcare for veterans a priority, but do their voting records match their rhetoric? Is the posturing on Capitol Hill having an effect on services delivered to veterans on the ground? And how has the treatment of recent veterans affected their political allegiances? It's Your Call at 11 with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Aaron Glantz, independent journalist who reported from Iraq from 2003 to 2005 and has been reporting the stories of American veterans since his return. He is author of two upcoming books on the Iraq War: "The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans" (UC Press) and "Winter Soldier Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations," (Haymarket) which he is co-authoring with Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Joe Wheeler served in Iraq from March of 2003 until November of 2003 as a surgical assistant. He is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Tia Christopher, Swords to Plowshares

Joseph A. Violante, National Legislative Director, Disabled American Veterans

Click to Listen: Coming Home: Health Care for Veterans

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Your Call 090108 Labor Resists the Big Squeeze

At a time when wages are down and factories continue to close, who is paying high wages and offering good benefits? On the Next Your Call, on Labor Day, we'll have a conversation with New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse, author of The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker. Times are tough, but a handful of CEOs, including Costco's James Sinegals are taking the high road by providing workers with fair wages, health care and pension plans. What will it take to ensure other businesses to follow suit? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guest:
Steven Greenhouse, the author of The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker

Click to Listen: Labor Resists the Big Squeeze

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Your Call 082908 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable – the day we applaud good reporting and scrutinize media bias. This week, the Democratic National Convention dominated the headlines. Fifteen thousand reporters were in Denver. How was coverage? Did you read about protests and corporate donors? We'll be joined by the Denver Post's Susan Green and Al Jazeera English's Richard Gizbert. What did the coverage look like overseas? With all eyes on the convention, what was missing from the front pages? It's Your Call at 11:00, with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Richard Gizbert, host of Listening Post, the media watch broadcast on Al Jazeera English

Susan Green, news columnist with the Denver Post

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Your Call 082808 Democratic National Convention (DNC) and the Democrats' future

What is really happening in Denver? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about DNC and what it says about the future of the Democratic Party and November's presidential election. Some 50,000 delegates, 2,500 FBI and police, and thousands of media are in Denver. The city is spending 18 million dollars for security and the Democratic Party is spending 50 million dollars on the event. What is DNC accomplishing? What do the conventions say about the future of the party? And what are you getting out of this convention? It's Your Call at 11 a.m. with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Michael Tomasky, editor of Guardian America.

John Nichols, Washington Correspondent for The Nation.

Click to Listen: Democratic National Convention (DNC) and the Democrats' future

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Your Call 082708 The State of Educational TV for Kids

What is the state of educational TV programming for children? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the quality of programming and the recent announcement by PBS to stop feeding episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood to member stations this fall. Kids spend approximately three hours a day watching television, with 40 percent of 3-month-olds and 90 percent of 2-year-olds regularly watching TV. So what are they watching? How has the quality of TV changed over the years? It's Your Call at 11:00, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
William H. Isler, Chief Executive Officer of Family Communications

Dade Hayes joined Variety as a film reporter and author of Anytime Playdate: Inside the Preschool Entertainment Boom, Or, How Television Became My Baby's Best Friend

Lisa Guernsey, an education, science, and technology writer who has contributed to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. A former reporter on technology and education for the New York Times

Click to Listen: The State of Educational TV for Kids

Monday, August 25, 2008

Your Call 082608 I.O.U.S.A. and the National Debt Crisis

How bad is the debt crisis? On the next Your Call, we'll examine America's declining financial health. The U.S. budget deficit is over 9 trillion dollars; it's growing by 1.9 billion dollars per day. A new documentary called I.O.U.S.A. warns Americans that this financial crisis could cripple the country. So how bad is this crisis? How did we get here? Have any politicians shown a willingness to confront the reality of the debt crisis? And what can be done to tackle the problem? It's Your Call weekdays at 11, with me, Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Laurence J. Kotlikoff is an economics professor at Boston University and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research

Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)

Click to Listen: I.O.U.S.A. and the National Debt Crisis

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Your Call 082508 Building a Slow Food Nation

How can we create and build a genuine food culture in the midst of an overdeveloped consumer society? On the next Your Call, we'll have a discussion about eating well and responsibly as the Slow Food Nation meeting arrives in San Francisco. For the past two decades, the slow food movement has promised that healthy eating is the key to a healthy planet. With the proliferation of farmers' markets and organic farming, has this promise been proven true? Who can afford it? And how has it changed our food consumption patterns? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Anya Fernald, Executive Director of Slow Food Nation

Christine Adams, manager of the Farmer's Market at San Francisco Civic Center

Click to Listen: Building a Slow Food Nation

Friday, August 22, 2008

Your Call 082208 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday Media Roundtable, the day we applaud good reporting. One of the deadliest suicide bombings in Pakistan claimed 60 lives this week. Presidential hopefuls Obama and McCain sought salvation at the Saddleback mega-church and the Beijing Games are coming to an end. We will speak to Pakistani journalist Zahid Husain, Nation columnist Dave Zirin, and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer's Ray Suarez. Did you see any good reporting this week? It's Your Call, with guest host Ben Temchine and you.

Guests:
Ray Suarez, senior correspondent at PBS's "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer"

Zahid Hussain, the Pakistan correspondent for the Times of London, the Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek. He is also the political correspondent for the Karachi-based monthly Newsline.

Dave Zirin, the first sports correspondent for the Nation Magazine.

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Your Call 082108 Disability and common sense

What do we need to understand about the range of experiences among the disabled? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the myriad of issues facing the disabled population in the US. Currently, there are 50 millions Americans with disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act took effect in 1992; but today, many people with disabilities no longer have protection under the ADA. What needs to be changed? And what are our social attitudes towards people with disability? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Paul K. Longmore, Professor of History and Director, Institute on Disability, San Francisco State
University.

Jan Garrett, Executive Director of Center for Independent Living (CIL)

Alan Fox, The Deputy Director of Arc of San Francisco

Click to Listen: Disability and common sense

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Your Call 082008 Following the Money- Where does your campaign contribution go?

When you give $100 to a political candidate what do they spend it on? On the next Your Call break down the expected $1 billion dollars candidates will have spent before November's election. The FEC is releasing the latest fundraising totals for the presidential race Tuesday. How much of it will go to advertising? Salaries? Mailers and signs? Who wins and who loses in the billion dollar run for the White House? It's your call, with me, Rose Aguilar and you, weekdays at 11.

Guests:
Evan L. Tracey in Washington DC
is the founder and chief operating officer of Campaign Media Analysis Group, a TNS Media Intelligence company. CMAG is the leading custom media-research company for politics and public affairs advertising expenditure data.

Julie Rajan in Sacramento
Executive Director of the California Clean Money Campaign, a coalition building organization building state-wide support for pubic financing of election campaigns.

Ira Teinowitz in Washington
Washington Bureau Chief for Advertising Age

Massie Ritsch in Washington
Communications Director for The Center for Responsive Politics, a national research group that tracks money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy.

Click to Listen: Following the Money- Where does your campaign contribution go?

Monday, August 18, 2008

Your Call 081908 Your Water Footprint

How big is your water footprint? On the next Your Call we'll talk about the surprising amount of fresh water used to support our daily life. This is World Water Week, and we'll be looking at how much water is made unusable in the manufacture and consumption of the goods we all use. On average, says WaterFootprint.org, that adds up to 655,000 gallons of fresh water per year, and most of it isn't from showers or washing off your driveway. To make a single glass of beer, manufacturers use 20 gallons of water; a pound of beef uses nearly 1,000. Do you know how much water you use everyday? It's your call, with me, Rose Aguilar and you, weekdays at 11.

Guests:
Kai Olson-Sawyer in New York
Water project manager for H2O Conserve, a non-profit that promotes water conservation.

Gil Friend in Berkeley
Founder, President & CEO of Natural Logic, a Berkeley-based company that does environmental consumption analyses of businesses.

Click to Listen: Your Water Footprint

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Your Call 081808 Assessing the Georgia-Russian War

What's really happening in Georgia? On the next Your Call, we'll dig beneath the headlines with the New York Times' James Traub, CIA critic Mel Goodman, and the Independent Institute's Ivan Eland. The United States sent advisers to build up the Georgian military, including an exercise last month with more than 1,000 American troops and Israel has sold weapons to Georgia. What is this conflict about? Is it about oil? Disputed territory? Why are the U.S. and Israel interfering in Russia's backyard? It's Your Call, Monday at 11, with me, Rose Aguilar.

Guests:
Mel Goodman
Senior fellow and director of the national security program at the Center for International Policy. He is former professor of international security studies and chairman of the international relations department at the National War College. He was division chief and senior analyst at the CIA's Office of Soviet Affairs from 1976 to 1986. He is author Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA and The Wars of Edvard Shevardnadze.

James Traub in New York
Contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, where he has worked since 1998. On August 10th he wrote the Week in Review article about the Georgia-Russia war, entitled, "Battle Cry- Taunting the Bear." James Traub is author of the forthoming book, The Freedom Agenda: Why America Must Spread Democracy (Just Not the Way George Bush Did).

Ivan Eland in Washington DC
Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty at The Independent Institute. He spent 15 years working for Congress on national security issues, including stints as an investigator for the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Principal Defense Analyst at the Congressional Budget Office. His book The Empire Has No Clothes: U.S. Foreign Policy Exposed has just been updated and re-released.

Click to Listen: Assessing the Georgia-Russian War