To the Point

Reporter's Notebooks Redux

On this Labor Day edition of To the Point, we-re revisiting some serious topics from our recent archives. Segment #1: What is the Pentagon-s Controversial DARPA? Recently, a Pentagon agency known as DARPA proposed a futures-market program for betting on the next terrorist attacks. The idea bombed politically despite DARPA-s mandate to think outside of the box. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency had earlier promoted an anti-terror plan to look at medical records and credit card bills of American citizens, an idea that also bombed. We hear more about DARPA and its conventional ideas from William New, senior writer at National Journal-s Technology Daily. (This segment was originally broadcast August 1.) Segment #2: Kobe Bryant Case and Rape Shield Laws LA Laker basketball star Kobe Bryant remains at the center of a media circus in the sports world, but the sexual assault charges against him do raise important questions. We hear from a reporter who concludes that efforts to reform America-s rape laws have -created a system that is bad for everyone,- and an attorney who's written about athletes and crimes against women. (This segment was originally broadcast August 7.) Segment #3: Prop 54 Shares Ballot with California Recall Besides the name Schwarzenegger and the recall of a Governor, one other ballot measure will draw California voters to the polls. "Classification by Race, Ethnicity, Color or National Origin," authored by the same controversial figure who pushed through a ban on race preferences in California seven years ago, an effort that spread to a number of other states. Supporters call it the Racial Privacy Initiative. We hear from UC Regent Ward Connerly, author of Prop 54, and opponent Mike Feuer, a former Los Angeles City Councilman. (This segment was originally broadcast August 21 on Which Way, L.A.?.) Segment #4: Putting on Our Town in Compton, South LA In crime-ridden Compton, California, impoverished black and Latino kids go to Dominguez High School, which has a pretty good basketball team but hadn-t had a school play in 20 years. Catherine Borek decided to end the drama drought by staging Thornton Wilder-s Our Town. We hear from Borek and the play-s narrator, Ebony Starr Norwood-Brown, about how the play came to Compton and was then documented in the film OT: Our Town, which is playing in New York, Los Angeles and several other cities around the country. (This segment was originally broadcast August 13.)

By Warren Olney • Sep 1, 2003 • 1 min read

On this Labor Day edition of To the Point, we-re revisiting some serious topics from our recent archives.

Segment #1:
What is the Pentagon-s Controversial DARPA?
Recently, a Pentagon agency known as DARPA proposed a futures-market program for betting on the next terrorist attacks. The idea bombed politically despite DARPA-s mandate to think outside of the box. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency had earlier promoted an anti-terror plan to look at medical records and credit card bills of American citizens, an idea that also bombed. We hear more about DARPA and its conventional ideas from William New, senior writer at National Journal-s Technology Daily. (This segment was originally broadcast August 1.)
Segment #2:
Kobe Bryant Case and Rape Shield Laws
LA Laker basketball star Kobe Bryant remains at the center of a media circus in the sports world, but the sexual assault charges against him do raise important questions. We hear from a reporter who concludes that efforts to reform America-s rape laws have -created a system that is bad for everyone,- and an attorney who's written about athletes and crimes against women. (This segment was originally broadcast August 7.)
Segment #3:
Prop 54 Shares Ballot with California Recall
Besides the name Schwarzenegger and the recall of a Governor, one other ballot measure will draw California voters to the polls. "Classification by Race, Ethnicity, Color or National Origin," authored by the same controversial figure who pushed through a ban on race preferences in California seven years ago, an effort that spread to a number of other states. Supporters call it the Racial Privacy Initiative. We hear from UC Regent Ward Connerly, author of Prop 54, and opponent Mike Feuer, a former Los Angeles City Councilman. (This segment was originally broadcast August 21 on
Which Way, L.A.?.)
Segment #4:
Putting on Our Town in Compton, South LA
Our Town. We hear from Borek and the play-s narrator, Ebony Starr Norwood-Brown, about how the play came to Compton and was then documented in the film
OT: Our Town, which is playing in New York, Los Angeles and several other cities around the country. (This segment was originally broadcast August 13.)

DARPA

Prop 54: Classification by Race, Ethnicity, Color or National Origin

Racial Privacy Initiative (pro-Prop 54 website)

Vote No! on Prop 54

Coalition for an Informed America

Prop 209 (1996)

OT: Our Town

Warren Olney
former KCRW broadcaster

News

National

Politics

Reporter's Notebooks Redux

On this Labor Day edition of To the Point, we-re revisiting some serious topics from our recent archives. Segment #1: What is the Pentagon-s Controversial DARPA? Recently, a Pentagon agency known as DARPA proposed a futures-market program for betting on the next terrorist attacks. The idea bombed politically despite DARPA-s mandate to think outside of the box. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency had earlier promoted an anti-terror plan to look at medical records and credit card bills of American citizens, an idea that also bombed. We hear more about DARPA and its conventional ideas from William New, senior writer at National Journal-s Technology Daily. (This segment was originally broadcast August 1.) Segment #2: Kobe Bryant Case and Rape Shield Laws LA Laker basketball star Kobe Bryant remains at the center of a media circus in the sports world, but the sexual assault charges against him do raise important questions. We hear from a reporter who concludes that efforts to reform America-s rape laws have -created a system that is bad for everyone,- and an attorney who's written about athletes and crimes against women. (This segment was originally broadcast August 7.) Segment #3: Prop 54 Shares Ballot with California Recall Besides the name Schwarzenegger and the recall of a Governor, one other ballot measure will draw California voters to the polls. "Classification by Race, Ethnicity, Color or National Origin," authored by the same controversial figure who pushed through a ban on race preferences in California seven years ago, an effort that spread to a number of other states. Supporters call it the Racial Privacy Initiative. We hear from UC Regent Ward Connerly, author of Prop 54, and opponent Mike Feuer, a former Los Angeles City Councilman. (This segment was originally broadcast August 21 on Which Way, L.A.?.) Segment #4: Putting on Our Town in Compton, South LA In crime-ridden Compton, California, impoverished black and Latino kids go to Dominguez High School, which has a pretty good basketball team but hadn-t had a school play in 20 years. Catherine Borek decided to end the drama drought by staging Thornton Wilder-s Our Town. We hear from Borek and the play-s narrator, Ebony Starr Norwood-Brown, about how the play came to Compton and was then documented in the film OT: Our Town, which is playing in New York, Los Angeles and several other cities around the country. (This segment was originally broadcast August 13.)