Texas Death Penalty Debate
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Republican Governor Rick Perry of Texas is in the middle of a controversy over the way he’s handled executions in his state. At issue is the case of Cameron WIllingham, a man put to death for killing his children by setting his house on fire. Just before the execution, a new opinion cast doubt on his guilt, and now there are questions as to whether the governor ever reviewed that report before allowing the execution to go through. Lise Olsen, investigative reporter for the Houston Chronicle, helps us look at capital punishment in Texas.
We also speak to democrat Mark White, who oversaw 19 executions when he served as governor of Texas. Now the current debate is making him rethink his position. White says new science has proven that some innocent people have been put to death and he thinks the legislature should revisit capital punishment.
Sweat Lodge Inquiry
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Two people who survived a sweat lodge ceremony in Sedona, Arizona, are coming forward with details about what happened inside the structure. We speak to JJ Hensley who is covering the story for the Arizona Republic and Ted Schmidt, a Tuscon lawyer, who is representing Sidney Spencer, a woman who participated and lost consciousness during the sweat lodge ceremony.
Protecting Consumers and Capping Executive Pay
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A key Congressional committee today approved the creation of a new Financial Protection Agency to protect consumers by regulating mortgages, credit cards, and bank accounts. Also the Obama Administration announced a plan that will cut the compensation of senior executives at firms receiving government bailouts by more than one half. We speak with Lizzie O’Leary, Washington Correspondent for Bloomberg TV.
Controversy Over White Supremacist in Britain
Anti-fascist demonstrators protest outside the offices of BBC in west London, Thursday Oct. 22, 2009. (AP)
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Anti-fascist protesters are rallying outside the BBC’s west London studios today to protest the appearance of a white-supremacist party leader on a popular political debate show. British National Party chief Nick Griffin is scheduled to be a panelist on the TV program “Question Time” – a first for the far-right party. We’ll speak to the BBC’s British Affairs Correspondent, Rob Broomby.
Halloween Science
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Why do we get a chill down our spine when we watch a horror movie? Is there such a thing as a haunted house? A werewolf? Are black cats actually good luck? We speak with award-winning astronomer Stephen James O’Meara, who answers these and other questions in the book “Are You Afraid Yet: The Science Behind the Scary Stuff.”
Music from the Show
- Mike Mills, “Air”
- Sun Kil Moon, “Carry Me Ohio”
- Toru Takemitsu, “From me flows what you call Time”
I was so happy to hear the myth of unlucky black cat’s dispelled. Three years ago, shortly after loosing our beloved cats to old age, we moved to CA. We longed to have pets again, but resisted since it could make finding a rental house more difficult. We were so excited when we rented a home in the country and discovered it came with a resident stray black cat. We named him Bien Suerte (good luck in spanish), for the obvious play against being a black cat, but also because we took him as a sign of good luck and fortune to have found this particular rental. He unfortunately was diagnosed with a tumor a year after he become our good luck charm, but out lived the vets projections to give us yet another year and half of love and good luck. Black cats will forever be Bien Suerte in my book.
Posted by Jessica Munns, on October 22nd, 2009 at 1:03 pmListened to your report about Nick Griffin’s appearance on Question Time. Ron Broomby may have got there early – for the protests. He says about a 100 protesters. Your listeners may want to read Richard Seymour in London. He owns a blog “Lenin’s Tomb” and wrote a report on the protests. He was there: “By the time I arrived, the protest had swelled to several thousand people congregated on the road outside Wood Lane tube station. It was quite noisy and rebellious, and there was an inordinate number of young people there. I hear there was some rumours of violence outside the gates or something. I didn’t see any violence on the part of protesters whatsoever, but the police did pepper spray a couple of kids, a few people were assaulted by coppers not wearing their numbers on their shoulders, one guy was throttled and another fellow did get his head cracked open by a truncheon. Aside from the usual police brutality, it was a straightforwardly militant, multiracial protest in the mainstream antifascist tradition.”
http://leninology.blogspot.com/2009/10/protest-outside-bbc.html
BTW, I’m not much of a fan of my NPR station in Vermont, but I do so much enjoy Robin Young and Here and Now! A vast improvement over the dreadful Day to Day from the west coast! Cheers.
Posted by Jay Vos, on October 22nd, 2009 at 11:17 pmHow can I view a pice shown Oct.22 re a woman with macular degeneration
Posted by Jane Grant, on October 23rd, 2009 at 3:50 pm