The Sound of Ideas: June 2007

Summer Air Nightmare
Friday, June 29
The bags are packed, you're ready to go - but the airplane isn't. Another delay, another cancelled flight. If you're flying this summer, better pack a good, thick book. Flight delays are up 91 percent compared to the start of last summer and the delays are longer. Blame the weather, computer glitches, labor shortages or fellow travelers but one thing is clear - air travel is up and so is customer frustration. Call us with your air travel stories Friday morning, on The Sound of Ideas.

Regional Reporter Roundtable
Thursday, June 28
Ohio's governor gets his budget approved, complete with a tuition freeze and tax break. The Ohio legislature moves towards agreement on eminent domain, while the Department of Development dangles big bucks in front of Continental Airlines on Cleveland's behalf. Meanwhile, Cuyahoga County's commissioners find a way for Cleveland to afford a new convention center and a medical mart - raise taxes. Join us for the regional reporters roundtable on The Sound of Ideas, Thursday morning at nine on 90.3.

…And His Lovely Wife
Wednesday, June 27
Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz was at the top of her game in 2006. She had a Pulitzer Prize under her belt. And then her husband former congressman Sherrod Brown made a run for the Senate, and that reduced her identity a bit. She told ideastream's Eric Wellman, "I'm really proud of Sherrod, but I wasn't hired to be a senator's wife... My job is not to be his wife. That's a role I've chosen. I'm Sherrod's wife, and my job is to be a newspaper columnist." After spending months being introduced with the words "...and his lovely wife," Connie Schultz took that as the title of her memoir of life on the campaign trail. She'll join Dan Moulthrop and take your calls on the Sound of Ideas, Tuesday morning at nine on 90.3.

Cleveland Schools CEO Eugene Sanders
Tuesday, June 26
It's been a full year since Cleveland Schools CEO Eugene Sanders began to challenge the status quo with his ideas for reinvigorating the largest school system in Ohio. What's been accomplished thus far? Has the revolution been successful? And why should it matter to people who have no child enrolled in a city school? Eugene Sanders will be in studio for the entire hour to talk about the present and future of a system he insists will one day be regarded as premiere. Join us for The Sound of Ideas Tuesday morning at nine on 90.3.

Time for Tax Talk
Monday, June 25
Three hours of each work day - regardless who signs your paycheck - you're really working for some form of government. Yeah, we're talking about taxes. Taxes here are said to be among the nation's highest. And now there's talk of increasing the sales tax another quarter percent! Advocates say its necessary to pay for a new convention center and a new convention center is needed to attract a medical mart. We'll talk taxes on The Sound of Ideas Monday morning at nine on 90.3.

Radio Lab: Mortality
Friday, June 22
Is death a fact of life or a disease that can be cured (as some scientists claim)? When Dr. Leonard Hayflick discovered in 1962 a phenomena known as the 'Hayflick Limit' - that cells have a natural limit to their reproduction - the study of longevity was born. We hear from Dr. Cynthia Kenyon, whose tinkering with worm DNA brings her face-to-face with a grim reaper gene. We filter the modern search for the fountain of youth through personal stories of witnessing death... the death of a cell, the death of a loved one... and the aging of a society.

Radio Lab: Memory and Forgetting
Thursday, June 21
According to the latest research, recall is an unstable and profoundly unreliable process. It’s easy come, easy go as we learn how true memories can be obliterated and false ones added. And Oliver Sacks joins us to tell the story of an amnesiac whose love for his wife and music transcend his 7-second memory.

Radio Lab: Zoos
Wednesday, June 20
In a cruel trick of evolution, humans can stand just three feet from a ferocious wild animal and still be perfectly safe. What's with humans' need to get close to "wildness?" We started with the Romans and end in the wilds of Belize, staring into the eyes of forest jaguar.

Radio Lab: Sleep
Tuesday, June 19
Every creature sleeps - from giant hump back whales all the way down to fruit flies. Yet, science still can't answer the basic questions: Why do animals sleep? What is it for? We eavesdrop on the uneasy dreams of rats in search of answers.

Radio Lab: Placebo
Monday, June 18
Could the best medicine be no medicine at all? With new research demonstrating the startling power of the placebo effect, Radio Lab examines the chemical consequences of belief and imagination - from the symbolic power of the doctor coat to the very real stash of opium in your mind.

Solutions for a Safer Summer
Friday, June 15
Drive down the streets of Hough and the signs of gangs are everywhere. The names of gangs - Hough Heights, 7-all, Down the Way - are spray-painted all over abandoned houses. The impact of the gangs stands out, too. Teddy bear shrines to the dead, yellow crime tape dangling from porches, drug dealers clustered on corners. City leaders are now saying enough is enough. The mayor has launched a campaign of zero tolerance. With help from the feds, Cleveland is moving to clear the streets of violence and drugs, gang by gang. The city wants to give youth other options and hopes to attract 3,000 kids to a youth summit next week. Solutions for a safer summer, Friday morning on The Sound of Ideas.

Regional Reporter Roundtable
Thursday, June 14
In the news this week, the Cleveland City Council considers restricting streetside shrines to shooting victims. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson looks for a compromise in the future of the flats - in the form of an adult entertainment district. At the Board of Elections, Interim Director Jane Platten is sworn in as permanent director. Those stories, and a few others on The Sound of Ideas regional reporter roundtable - Thursday morning at nine on 90.3.

Meet Dexter - the Robotic Car
Wednesday, June 13
A research team at Case Western Reserve University is preparing their robotic vehicle Dexter for the next competition in the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) 2007 Urban Challenge, and they appear to have some pretty good odds. Their vehicle has passed a few of the early hurdles (avoiding a parked car back in March). In the November competition, Dexter and his competitors will have to find their way around four-way intersections and avoid not just parked cars but traffic and pedestrians, as well. What's the point of all this? Congress has mandated that by 2015, one-third of the military's combat vehicles will be unmanned. So, this research could directly affect the safety of U.S. soldiers. And, maybe one day, we'll be able to commute in our robotic cars... while we nap.

Alcoholics Anonymous Anniversary
Tuesday, June 12
From diabetes to impotence, we have pills for everything these days. But when it comes to treating one of the world's most widespread diseases, there's no pill - just meetings, steps and a big book. As Alcoholics Anonymous marks its 72nd anniversary, we'll talk about how the program continues to work for millions and some of the other treatment options for alcoholism, including some new drugs in the testing phase and other medical solutions a long time coming. Join the conversation on The Sound of Ideas Tuesday morning at nine on 90.3.

The Entitled
Monday, June 11
The Cleveland Indians and the world of major league baseball provide the backdrop for Frank Deford's new novel, "The Entitled." Frank Deford, whose commentary you hear weekly on NPR, will be here in studio with Dan Moulthrop to talk about his book, the things he finds troubling in sports, and he'll take your questions. It's a rare chance to chat with one of the nation's pre-eminent sportswriters, Monday morning at nine on 90.3.

A Perfect Storm of Secrecy
Friday, June 8
It sounds like a joke. A man walks into the Library of Congress and asks for a list of everything he's not allowed to see. What's on the list? Shh. The government doesn't want you to know. Secret wiretaps, intercepted emails, confidential phone records. What does the government have on you? Ted Gup's new book Nation of Secrets examines the growing culture of secrecy. The award winning investigative reporter, and Case Western Reserve University professor, says the nation faces the "perfect storm" of secrecy that threatens to engulf democracy and alter the landscape of America. Join Regina Brett and find out what the government doesn't want you to know Friday morning on The Sound of Ideas.

Regional Reporter Roundtable
Thursday, June 7
The Lieutenant Governor comes in for criticism for apparent nepotism. The Secretary of State demands the return of bonus money her predecessor handed out before he left office. And in the legislature, lawmakers debate tuition freezes and divesting from companies doing business in Iran and Sudan. Also, a new challenge for Ohio's smoking ban. It's a political correspondents' roundtable this week, with The Plain Dealer's Mark Naymik, Bill Hershey of the Dayton Daily News, and Bill Cohen of the Ohio Public Radio Statehouse News Bureau. The conversation begins Thursday morning at nine on 90.3.

Life and Death
Wednesday, June 6
It's not something most of us want to think about until we have to, but a good hospice can be more about life than death. Wednesday morning, a very special Sound of Ideas live from the Hospice of the Western Reserve. We'll talk about modern end-of-life care from the perspective of those who deal with it every day: the caretakers, counselors, and patients. When a loved-one enters hospice, what are the issues, and what are the emotions? We'll take your calls as well.

Rating the Suburbs
Tuesday, June 5
If you take all the Cleveland suburbs and rank them according to schools, safety, housing, services and taxes, which one comes out on top? Cleveland Magazine's annual suburb ranking says the number one burb has 50% growth in home values over ten years and some top notch schools. So which is it? How do the rest of them stack up? How does Beachwood compare with Bay Village, or Painesville with Parma? Answers on The Sound of Ideas, Tuesday morning at nine on 90.3.

Slam Dunk!
Monday, June 4
History was made in Cleveland Saturday night. Not even a malfunctioning scoreboard and game delays could stop LeBron James and Daniel Gibson from bringing the Cleveland Cavaliers their first Eastern Conference Championship win in franchise history. Monday morning on The Sound of Ideas, join the celebration as Dan Moulthrop takes your calls and talks with top sports journalists. We'll relive the game, the celebration, asses the Cavs chances in the NBA finals and consider what this means for long-suffering Cleveland sports fans.

Protecting the Mentally Ill
Friday, June 1
Officer down - this time, it was a bullet and an untreated mental illness. The man accused of killing a Cleveland Heights police officer had stopped taking his medicine. The death of Officer Jason West has sparked debates on how far the police, the courts and mental health agencies can go in treating those with severe mental illness. Ohio closed its mental hospitals decades ago. Hospitals are limited in how long they can keep patients in psychiatric care. How to protect the severely mentally ill from themselves and others - Friday morning on The Sound of Ideas.