Your Call

On today's Your Call, we’ll have a conversation with Paul Buhle and Sharon Rudahl, author and one of the illustrators of the new graphic novel, Robin Hood: People’s Outlaw and Forest Hero.  Buhle writes: “Robin Hood and his companions were called into existence by popular desires for social revenge and social justice.  Whether they “existed” or not does not matter: they existed and exist in the hearts of rebels everywhere.”  So what has Robin Hood’s story meant over time?  How is he as powerful a symbol today as he was in the 14th century?  It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and You.

On today's Your Call, we’ll rebroadcast a conversation we had with Peter Van Buren, author of "We Meant Well: How I  Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People."  US taxpayers have spent $63 billion dollars on so-called reconstruction in Iraq, a plan that Van Buren says is “riddled with waste and inefficiency. Now that the last of US troops have withdrawn from Iraq, what do we need to know about who will remain in Iraq and what their intentions are?   It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you. 

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On today's Your Call, it’s our Friday media roundtable. This week, we’ll discuss coverage of the US withdrawal from Iraq. We'll also talk about veterans returning with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. We’ll be joined by Al Jazeera English's Dahr Jamail, NPR’s investigative reporter Daniel Zwerdling, and McClatchy’s Roy Gutman joins us from Baghdad. What's your assessment of media coverage of Iraq? Join us at 10 or email tofeedback@yourcallradio.org. Where did you see the best reporting this week?

On the next Your Call, we’ll talk about the year in democracy.  It has been one full year since Tunisian fruit vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire--setting off a domino chain of revolts and revolutions in the Arab world and around the globe.  Now there are 150 cities with Occupy movements in California alone.  What’s the moment from the 2011 grassroots uprisings that will stay with you?  Join us at 10 or email us at feedback@yourcallradio.org.  What does democracy mean to you today?  It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and You.

On the today's Your Call, we’ll ask Green Apple Books, Kevin Hunsanger, and Booksmith’s, Christin Evans, to share  their recommendations for the best books of the year.  Do you have friends or family you’d love to give a book to if only you had a recommendation?  What’s your book gift idea and what are you reading?  It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:

Kevin Hunsanger, co-owner of Green Apple Books

Christin Evans, owner of Booksmith

Resources:

On today's Your Call, we’ll have a conversation with Nomi Prins, author of Black Tuesday, a historical novel set during the 1929 stock market crash. How do lessons from the Depression era help us understand today's economic crisis? Join us at 10 or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. Unemployment is high, the social safety net is shrinking, and half of Americans are poor or scraping by. Where is US economy heading in 2012? It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.

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On today's Your Call, we’ll talk about who is living on food stamps and how they are making ends meet.  Over 46 million Americans receive food stamps, which allocates an average of $4 per day.  The number of people relying on food stamp programs has risen with the recession.  So how does the system work?  Can you stay healthy on $4 a day?  Join us at 10 or email us at feedback@yourcallradio.org.  If you’re on food stamps, how are you meeting your needs?  It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and You.

Guests:

On today's Your Call, it’s our Friday media roundtable. This week, we’ll discuss media coverage of the payroll tax extension, and the renewal of unemployment benefits, which both expire at the end of the month. We’ll also discuss coverage of the eurozone crisis. We’ll be joined by The Huffington Post’s Arthur Delany, ProPublica's Dafna Linzer, and the Globe and Mail’s Eric Reguly joins us from Rome. Join us  at 10 or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. Where did you see the best reporting this week?

On today's Your Call, we’ll talk about how the Occupy movement can continue to be effective.  On Monday, several west coast Occupiers shut down their ports, while other movements attempted to halt operations at Walmart headquarters.  What do you think the targets should be? And what are the most effective methods? Are there ways the movement can be more inclusive?  Join us at 10 or email us at feedback@yourcallradio.org. What should Occupy 2012 look like? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.

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Can people from different political backgrounds come together to work for prison reform? On today's Your Call, we'll have a conversation about various efforts to reform the prison system in the US. Today, 2.3 million prisoners are in US jails, costing more than $44 billion. In California, more money is spent on prisons than education. What will it take to reform the system? How are groups with different political backgrounds joining forces? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you. 

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On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the climate change conference in Durban, South Africa. Two years ago at the UN talks in Copenhagen, an attempt to secure a global treaty and cut greenhouse gas emissions ended in failure. What is the outcome of the latest negotiations in Durban? Join us live at 10 or send an email tofeedback@yourcallradio.org. How is climate change affecting economies around the globe? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you. 

On the next Your Call, we'll talk about the role of community colleges in higher education. A "student task force" is considering plans to restructure community colleges to be geared more towards increasing transfer rates to 4-year colleges. But some students and faculty worry these changes will actually make higher education less accessible. So what do community colleges mean to you? And how do we maximize the potential of this great resource? Join us at 10 or email us at feedback@yourcallradio.org. It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.

On the next Your Call, we'll talk to Ron Schmidt, author of Once Removed, about his journey from life as a closeted gay student in Catholic schools, to marriage and single-parenting, through alcoholism and psychotherapy, to working as a teacher in CA public schools and starting organizations to support LGBT youth. Are schools safer for queer students and families today? Join us at 10 or email us at feedback@yourcallradio.org. What's the best way to help LGBT youth feel safe and supported? It's Your Call with guest host, Angie Coiro, and you.

How should the US engage with the governments emerging from the uprising in the Arab world?  On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation about the emergence of Islamist parties in elections in Egypt and Tunisia. What do they stand for?  Why are they so popular?  And should the U.S. embrace them?  Join us live at 10 or send an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org . It’s Your Call, with Matt Martin and you. Guests Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan.

On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation with Elizabeth Grossman about her book"Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health and the Promise of Green Chemistry."  Consumers are becoming more aware of the potential health and environmental hazards of plastic products.  Grossman argues that green chemistry could offer a new manufacturing process that is “benign by design.”  So could we get away from plastic entirely?  Join us at 10 or email us at feedback@yourcallradio.org.

How is the Occupy movement encouraging creative activism around economic inequality?  Activists are staging occupations at foreclosed homes across the country to raise awareness about the crisis and help families keep their homes.  There is also talk of creating state or municipal banks as one solution to the corruption of the banking system.  What other ways are you seeing the occupy movement galvanize people to support innovative strategies for turning our economy around?  Join the conversation with host Rose Aguilar by calling (415) 841-4134, or email feedback@yourcallradio.org.