Bob Collins
Monday December 3, 2018
(Subject to change as events dictate. This page is updated throughout the day.)
9 a.m. – MPR News with Kerri Miller
The Political Junkie. Ken Rudin previews the week in politics and discusses the death of President George H.W. Bush.
9:30 a.m. – Our country is painfully divided. There was a time when we looked to our leaders to unite us. But what about now? Is there anything or anyone that could unite America?
Guests: Charles McKinney, Professor of History at Rhodes College; Elizabeth Cobbs – Professor of American History at Texas A&M University
10 a.m.- 1A with Joshua Johnson
In 1978, Louise Brown became the first child born after being conceived through in vitro fertilization, or IVF. Time ran a cover playing on Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, with the hands of God and man nearly touching, and a test tube in between them. Brown is widely called the first “test tube baby,” though the devices weren’t used in her conception.
Last week, news broke that a pair of twins whose DNA had been altered were born in China. If true, they would be the first humans born using CRISPR gene-editing technology. The babies were modified to be resistant to HIV, according to He Jiankui, the scientist behind the project. This has been compared to Brown’s birth, but the reaction hasn’t been the same.
The implications of gene-edited babies are quite different from those of IVF. The unknowns with CRISPR are vast. Some worry the children may be more susceptible to other diseases. There are questions about the safety of conceiving edited children. Scientists have largely called He’s work unethical. They question whether it was even medically necessary, and why it was done with such secrecy.
Guests: Carl Zimmer, science columnist, The New York Times.
11 a.m. – MPR News with Angela Davis
So you want to do something new in your 50s or 60s? How can you get started? What are the hurdles? How can you escape your comfort zone? What’s it like to leave — and start — a new job in mid-life? This is a show for people who are curious about making a change.
Guests: Chris Farrell, economics commentator for MPR; Nancy Burke, career coach for people over 50; Connie Sheehan, owner, PUSH Fitness.
12 p.m. – MPR News Presents
NPR’s annual “Hanukkah Lights” special, with new stories for 2018, read by hosts Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz.
1 p.m. – The Takeaway
Dallas cop indicted for killing a man in his own apartment; Brazil will no longer host next year’s United Nations global summit meeting on climate change, a decision that runs contrary to the ambitious goals Brazil set in 2009 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop deforestation; Southwest Key has collected $1.7 billion in federal grants in the past decade, including $626 million in the past year alone. But as it has grown, tripling its revenue in three years, the organization has left a record of sloppy management and possible financial improprieties; Last week, a New York City councilmember proposed new legislation to require retail establishments and restaurants to accept cash; and the beginning of a new series: “America the Kind.”
2 p.m. – BBC NewsHour
More dire warnings at the start of a UN climate change conference. We’ll ask what effect they’ll have on the public; archaeologists in Israel find a hidden trove of 900-year-old gold coins; and we have a report from Iraq on the difficulties of sheltering women who’ve experienced violent abuse.
3 p.m. – All Things Considered
Remembering George H.W. Bush; a spike in measles globally; butterflies on the border; the yellow vest protests.
6:00 p.m. – Marketplace
For many American homeowners, the starter home is becoming the forever home. Why today’s housing market is preventing people from moving on up.
6:30 p.m. – The Daily
George Bush rode the Reagan revolution to the White House, where he had one of the highest approval ratings of any president, and where he successfully oversaw the end of the Cold War. So why was he denied a second term?
Guest: Peter Baker, who covers the White House for The New York Times.
7 p.m. – The World
Paris looked like a warzone over the weekend, with plumes of tear gas enveloping the Arc de Triomphe. So called “yellow vest” protesters torched cars, broke down barricades, and looted banks and stores. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons. We’re trying to get one of the protest organizers to explain how this all happened and why.
Host Marco Werman is also looking into the role former President George HW Bush played in the Middle East, and the legacy of the first Gulf War. We’re also contacting sources in Iraq to find out how Bush Senior was perceived there.
And we take a look at OPEC, following Qatar’s announcement that it plans to withdraw from the oil cartel next month.
Plus – Monday Mood Music and the next installment in the Big Melt, our series on how the Arctic is changing because of climate change.
8 p.m. – Fresh Air
Writer Mark Griffin is the author of the new book: All that Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson. It’s about the actor who was once considered Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor who was also closeted gay man. Rock Hudson was a heart throb in the 1950s and ’60s and acted in melodramas, action movies, and popular romantic comedies. Hudson died in 1985 of AIDS-related complex, the first major celebrity to die of the disease.
9 p.m. – Candles Burning Brightly
APM/MPR classical music host Mindy Ratner’s Hanukkah music special.
