Friday, September 19 – Friday, September 26

Posted

Rev. David Beckmann

Dan Tynan

Dr. Jay Kaufman

Julie Coons

Mike Lupica

Helaine Olen

Liam Bailey

Chris Tomlinson

George Johnson

 The poverty rate in the United States dropped slightly in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but there are still more than 45 million Americans living in poverty. Rev. David Beckmann, president of the advocacy organization Bread for the World, analyzes the newly released figures.

In an article titled “401(k)s Are a Sham”, journalist Helaine Olen says the popular self-funded retirement accounts could lead to staggeringly low living standards for the elderly in years to come. She joins us with details.

Dan Tynan, author of the Modern Family blog for Yahoo! Tech, looks at two stories that dominated the technology world in recent weeks – the release of several new products by Apple, and the hacking scandal that spread nude photos of celebrities all over the Internet.

Singer-songwriter Liam Bailey made his mark on the British music scene when the late Amy Winehouse heard his music and recorded two songs with him. Now, Bailey is poised to make his mark in America with his new CD, “Definitely Now”. He joins us to talk about the project.

The racial gap in life expectancy is shrinking, but there remain places in the U.S. where African Americans live considerably shorter lives. Dr. Jay Kaufman of McGill University, one of three researchers who wrote a recent paper, “Trends in the Black-White Life Expectancy Gap Among U.S. States, 1990-2009”, joins us to discuss their research.

Journalist Chris Tomlinson, a descendant of slave owners on a Texas cotton plantation, explores his family’s dark history of racism in his new book, “Tomlinson Hill: The Remarkable Story of Two Families Who Share the Tomlinson Name – One White, One Black”. Tomlinson joins us to share the tale.

Julie Coons, president and CEO of the Electronic Retailing Association, joins us with “Five Things You Should Know About… Infomercials”.

Sports commentator George Johnson weighs in on the National Football League’s responses to the continuing controversies over domestic violence among players.

Syndicated sports columnist Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News joins us to discuss “Fantasy League”, his latest book for young adults, and offers his take on the NFL scandals and the upcoming retirement of New York Yankees star Derek Jeter.