Twitter Wartime Presidents
Historian Julian Zelizer says President Obama’s decision on Afghanistan will mark him as a wartime president. Zelizer says presidents Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson and George W. Bush were also weakened by war and Obama could be too. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School.
Chicago Youth Violence
Nadashia Thomas, a cousin of Derrion Albert, at Fenger High School in Chicago, Sept. 28, 2009. (AP)
The September beating death of 16-year-old Derrion Albert focused the nation’s attention on the problem of violence among teenagers in Chicago.
Last year a record 36 Chicago school students were murdered and more than 200 were wounded by guns, mostly as they walked to and from school.
We speak with a Chicago teenager who is trying to turn his life around, but who recently got into a street brawl; Rev. David Kelly, who counsels troubled youth at the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation in Chicago; and Lisa Rivera, charter member of the group Mothers for Peace, which is trying to reach out to troubled kids.
The End of a Streak
Smith Center, Kansas’ high school football team went more than 6 years without a defeat until this year’s state championship. The Smith Center Redmen’s coach’s unusual philosophy included having the boys take to the field holding hands and discussions about how caring for one another off the field translates into on-field victory. New York Times sports writer Joe Drape penned the book “Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains With the Smith Center Redmen” about the team. He attended the losing championship game and joins us to discuss the team.
Eminent Domain, No Day at the Beach
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow over whether a 7-mile stretch of beach in Florida’s panhandle is public or private. The state extended the beach in that area to prevent erosion, and then claimed the new space belonged to the public. The beachfront property owners say that amounts to illegally seizing their land and devaluing their property. Our guest is, Michael Allan Wolf, a professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Author Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Horowitz is one of Britain’s most popular children’s book authors. His Alex Rider series, about a 14 year old schoolboy who is a spy for British intelligence, has sold millions of copies in both Britain and the United States. Here and Now’s Emiko Tamagawa caught up with Anthony Horowitz when he visited the Wellesley Middle School in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Music from the show
- Radiohead, “Morning Bell”
- Sigur Ros, “Nybatteri”
- Steve Earle, “Transcendental Blues”
- Christian McBride, “Theme for Kareem”
- Monty Norman, “James Bond Theme” (From Dr. No) performed by the John Barry Orchestra
