Friday, July 24 2009

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Friday, July 24, 2009

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Keeping Score with the Week's News

The Takeaway is taking a look at the news scorecard for the week including Obama selling his embattled health care plan, Secretary of State Clinton taking aim at North Korea, and a Harvard professor facing down police from inside his own home. Here to help tally who's up and who’s down is friend of The Takeaway Marcus Mabry, the international business editor at The New York Times, and Reihan Salam, fellow at the New America Foundation and co-author of "Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream."

"Right now the Republicans don't have to do anything other than let the train wreck happen as the Democrats debate with the Democrats."
—Marcus Mabry of the New York Times on the health care debate

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Just for Laughs: Montreal's Comedy Festival

Montreal, Canada, hosts the annual "Just For Laughs" festival this weekend. A swarm of comedians from around the world descends on the city for hundreds of shows. Joining The Takeaway from Montreal to talk about the festival is Steve Heisler, a contributor to The Onion's A/V club, and Andy Kindler, a writer and comedian and a veteran of the festival.

Watch a clip of Andy Kindler performing below.

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Jobs, the Minimum Wage, and Unemployment Insurance

The Dow posted its highest closing since last November, topping the 9000 mark for the first time since January. And the minimum wage goes up today from $6.25 to $7.25. But some say this will create more joblessness, pushing the nation’s unemployment-insurance system into a severe and long-term test. To talk about all of this is Peter Morici, economist and business Professor at the University of Maryland, and Jason DeParle, a reporter for The New York Times.

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Baseball Hall of Fame Inducation at Cooperstown

This weekend, Cooperstown holds its induction ceremony for the Baseball Hall of Fame—days after White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Takeaway talks with Dave Zirin, who writes about sports for The Nation and is author of "A People's History of Sports in the United States."

Watch the final out in Mark Buehrle's perfect game below.

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Sarah Palin: Former Governor, About-To-Be-Author

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin officially hands over power to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell on Sunday. What’s next for her and what is her legacy as Alaska's former governor? (One thing we do know: her autobiography is scheduled to come out next spring from Harper Collins.) Joining The Takeaway is Libby Casey, reporter for the Alaska Public Radio Network, to talk about Palin's legacy in Alaska, and Bernadette Malone, former editor at Sentinal, an imprint of Penguin Publishers, to talk about the autobiography.

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Hyundai Cashes in with the Clunkers Program

The Federal “Cash for Clunkers” program officially kicks off today. It allows Americans to trade in cars with bad gas mileage and receive up to $4,500 towards fuel efficient vehicles. Some dealerships already began offering it and The Takeaway talks to Mary Dubois from Oklahoma City who traded in her clunker for a new, more fuel efficient vehicle. And we talk with Dan Neil, auto critic for the Los Angeles Times about the clunkers program and why Hyundai is doing so well right now. Also joining the show is Rick Halstead, a Hyundai factory worker. He's going to be talking to us from the factory in Alabama before starting his shift working on 4-cylinder engines.

"One of the problems of making cars that last 20 years, is that cars last 20 years. The rollover rate is so slow."
—Dan Neil of the Los Angeles Times on the Cash for Clunkers program

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The Henry Louis Gates Jr Case: Massachusetts's View

Last Thursday Henry Louis Gates Jr, one of the nation's pre-eminent African American scholars, was arrested for breaking into his own home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Charges were dropped but the debate goes on. To find out how this story is playing locally, The Takeaway turns to Joe Sciacca, the Deputy Managing Editor of the Boston Herald. Also joining the discussion is Boston-based TV and radio commentator Callie Crossley.

"From the black perspective it's, 'oh my God, I have to once again remind my young son how to interact with a cop because he will not be Henry Louis Gates, and if it can happen to Henry Louis Gates then it can happen to anybody.'"

—Boston-based TV and radio commentator Callie Crossley

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A Conversation with Secretary of Energy Steven Chu

Steven Chu, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, is reaching out to developing nations like China to negotiate on climate change. (He also reaches out to average Americans through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.) Steven Chu joins The Takeaway's guest host Katherine Lanpher to talk about the task of creating real progress in the fight against global warming.

You can connect with Secretary Chu through his Facebook page and see photos of what the Department of Energy is working on through the department's Flickr and Youtube pages.

"When I was in China, we signed an agreement that we were going to be cooperating on three areas in particular: Building efficiency, transportation — more efficient vehicles and electrification of vehicles — and finally, cooperating on how we can learn to use coal in a clean way, including the capture and storage of carbon dioxide."
—Secretary of Energy Steven Chu


Click through for a transcript of this interview.

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Real-life Sopranos: NJ's International Conspiracy

A 10-year federal probe uncovered an international conspiracy involving money laundering, corruption of local and state governments and synagogues in New Jersey. Three mayors ended the day in handcuffs; five rabbis are accused of funneling $3 million through religious non-profit organizations, and 44 people are heading to court. Is this just business as usual in the Garden State? Joining The Takeaway is Bob Ingle: he's the Trenton bureau chief for Gannet news service and co-author of the book, "The Soprano State: New Jersey's Culture of Corruption."

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Movies: Summer's Anti-Blockbusters

The Takeaway talks to two movie critics about the anti-blockbuster movies of the summer, particularly foreign films. We talk about the British film "In the Loop," described as a combination of the West Wing and The Office, and "A Woman in Berlin," about a rape victim during the Red Army occupation. The two film critics joining The Takeaway this morning are A. O. Scott, film critic for The New York Times, and Wesley Morris, film critic for the Boston Globe.

Watch the trailer for In the Loop below.



And here's the trailer for A Woman in Berlin.

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