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2013 Program Archive
October 22 - The Benefits of Obamacare Hang in the Balance; The Private Contractors Behind Healthcare.gov's Woes; "The Benghazi Hoax"
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We begin with an analysis of whether the benefits of the Affordable Care Act will emerge in time to overcome the growing concerns about the healthcare.gov website that is feeding into the perception shaped by decades of conservative propaganda that the government is the problem and private enterprise is the solution.Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of Social Medicine and Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina joins us to discuss the birth pangs of Obamacare. |
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Then we examine the role of private contractors in the train wreck of website woes that are stymieing the launch of the new healthcare insurance exchanges. Scott Amey the General Counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, who investigates federal spending on goods and services, joins us to look into the contractors responsible – Serco, Equifax and CGI, who have already spent over three times the amount of their original bid, and whether the tech “surge” Obama has promised will overcome the already negative perceptions of healthcare reform. |
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Then finally we look into “The Benghazi Hoax”, the title of a new book by Ari Rabin-Havt, Vice President of Research and Communication at Media Matters for |
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October 21 - Are Glitches Impeding Enrollment in the New Insurance Exchanges?; We Need Choice in Healthcare Providers, Not Insurers; The Destructive Innovation of the Education "Reform" Movement
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We begin with the president’s vow to fix the website launching the Affordable Care Act and assess the damage to the already battered initiative known as Obamacare that has been under relentless assault since it narrowly passed into law. Kevin Lucia, Research Professor and Project Director at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Initiative joins us to discuss how much the technical glitches are impeding enrollment in the new health insurance exchanges.
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Then we hear from a physician Dr. Philip Caper who is a founding board member of Maine Allcare, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group committed to making health care in Maine universal, accessible and affordable for all. We will explore his contention that the Affordable Care Act is far too complicated and that the choice people really want is a choice of healthcare providers, not insurers and discuss his article “The High Costs of Complexity in Health Care Reform.” |
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Then finally we speak with former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch about her new book “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools”. We discuss the destructive innovation pushed by billionaires and Wall Street hedge-fund managers who are leading the charge to de-fund public education in the name of “reform” while propagating myths about miracle charter schools and claims that public education is broken and beyond repair. |
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October 20 - Toby Miller sits in for Ian Masters
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with guest host Toby Miller |
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We begin with William Black, a professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missourri, Kansas City, and discuss his latest article, "The Tea Party's Tactical Brilliance and Strategic Incompetence." Then we discuss major issues that are left unaddressed in Washington such as high unemployment, cutbacks to social programs, and global warming. Gerald Epstein, Professor of Economics and Director of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massusechessets, Amherst, joins us. |
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Then we discuss farm labor in the U.S. with Margaret Gray, Professor of Political Science at Adelphi University. She has a new book titled Labor and the Locavore: The Making of a Comprehensive Food Ethic |  |
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Finally, we are joined by Ben Carrington, a Sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin, to clarify the hype over mega sporting events and to discuss his new book, Race, Sport and Politics. |  |
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October 17 - Toby Miller sits in for Ian Masters
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with guest host Toby Miller |
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We begin and speak with Mehdi Semati, a Professor of Communcations at Northern Illinois University, and discuss current nuclear talks with Iran and improvements in diplomatic relations with its new president. |
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Then we are joined by Mexico-based journalist Jennifer Collins and examine attempts to reform the Mexican economy as well as resistance to such initiatives. |  |
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We finish with Alan Tomlinson of the University of Brighton to discuss the World Cup and sport as a means of “soft power". |  |
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October 16 - Toby Miller sits in for Ian Masters
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with guest host Toby Miller |
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We begin with Jonathan Cohn of the New Republic where he just wrote the article, "The Republicans May Lose but So Will You". We discuss progress towards reopening the government, bringing an end to the two week shutdown.
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Then we are joined by Andrew Ross, a Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University. We look at alternatives to debt in terms of personal and student debt as well as his new book, "Creditocracy and the Case for Debt Refusal". |
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Finally, we speak with Sara Ayech, a climate and oil campaigner at Greenpeace UK, to examine the seizure and imprisonment of the Arctic 30 by Russia. |
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