Sound Off with Sasha

Raj Patel - The Cost of the BP Oil Spill / Larry Korb - Military Budget

Friday, 13 August 2010

The oil well in the Gulf is capped, but are things back to normal?

Author Raj Patel, Ph.D., talks about his Nation magazine article titled We have yet to see the biggest costs of the BP spill.

Later, addressing the recently announced military budget cuts is former Assistant Secretary of Defense, Larry Korb, who administered 70% of the Defense budget in the Reagan administration. He is Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Barbara Ehrenreich - Bright-Sided – How Positive Thinking is Undermining America

Friday, 06 August 2010

Can positive thinking conquer the world’s ills? Or, can being  bright-eyed optimists prevent us from recognizing and dealing with realistic challenges?

Barbara Ehrenreich, author of sixteen books, including the bestsellers Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch talks about her latest book, Bright-Sided – How Positive Thinking is Undermining America.  

Does positive thinking make bad situations worse in Consumerism, Business Failure, Unemployment and even in the Healthcare industry?

Dr Randy Frost - "STUFF, Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things”

Friday, 30 July 2010

Are you running out of room for all your possessions? Do you cringe at the thought of getting rid of some?  

Saving and collecting possessions can be a harmless hobby, but over six million Americans, their families and friends are affected by a compulsive disorder called hoarding.

Discussing  its symptoms and treatment is Dr. Randy Frost, professor of psychology at Smith College, and author of STUFF, Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things.

Ashley Merryman - “The Creativity Crisis”

Friday, 23 July 2010

America’s renowned leadership in creativity and innovation is more vital today than ever, but is America losing its innovative edge?

Journalist and author Ashley Merryman, talks about her Newsweek Magazine article, titled The Creativity Crisis, on America's declining creativity and how to fix it.

Can creativity be taught?  What are other countries doing in making creativity development a national priority?

Robert Weiss - Sexual Addiction

Thursday, 15 July 2010

How does living in an era of in-your-face sex, - being exposed to sexual messages from magazines, commercials, internet porn, to performance enhancing drugs, - affect sexual addiction? Founding Director, Robert Weiss, of the Sexual Recovery Institute discusses the programs from diagnosis to treatment, designed for patients, their partners, and for the training of recovery professionals.

Dr. Douglas Bremner - “Does Stress Damage the Brain?”

Friday, 09 July 2010

In addition to the steadily growing cases of depression recorded by mental health organizations, there is a growing number of people who appear to have symptoms of depression from watching the news.  Are they afflicted by an undiagnosed news-induced-depression?

Discussing  the causes, symptoms and treatment of depression and PTSD is Dr. Douglas Bremner, Professor of Psychiatry and Radiology, Director of the Emory Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit at Emory University School of Medicine, and Director of Mental Health Research at the Atlanta VA Medical Clinic.  He is the author of several books, including "Does Stress Damage the Brain?"

Encore - Dr. Shannon O’Neil “The Real War in Mexico, How Democracy Can Defeat the Drug Cartels”

Friday, 02 July 2010

The escalating lawlessness and drug related violence on our Southern border, prompted former CIA chief to claim that Mexico could become “more problematic than Iraq”. Addressing the challenges to U.S.-Mexican relations is Latin American Expert, Dr. Shannon O’Neil of the Council on Foreign Relations, author of the study titled “The Real War in Mexico, How Democracy Can Defeat the Drug Cartels”

Preventing Future Oil Spills - Karla Walter / Afghanistan War - Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski

Friday, 25 June 2010

Should regulators have seen the BP disaster coming? Can we prevent them in the future? Senior Policy Analyst Karla Walter with American Progress calls for strengthening the review process on present and future contracts and reining in irresponsible oil drillers.

Also, reviewing recent developments in Afghanistan and the replacement of General Stanley McChrystal with General David Petraeus is retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski, Ph.D. who writes on defense issues for Military Week. 

Rabbi Michael Lerner / Mark Levine - Is criticizing Israel anti-Semitic?

Friday, 18 June 2010

Is criticizing Israel anti-Semitic?

A long overdue discussion on this question is conducted between Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the Interfaith Publication “Tikkun”, a Middle East Peace advocate, and a critic of some Israeli policies, --  and Mark Levine, former Congressional attorney, radio talk show host, a firm supporter of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish State, and a critic of some of Israel’s critics.

Does criticism harm or strengthen Israel?

Improving Education - Linda Darling-Hammond, Philissa Cramer

Friday, 11 June 2010

Improving education has long been the stated goal of the United States.  What was accomplished? Author, and Stanford University Professor Linda Darling-Hammond talks about her article published in Nation Magazine, on Restoring our Schools, and what high achieving Nations are doing.

Later, Philissa Cramer,  Assistant Editor of Gotham Schools, discusses “Bright Ideas”, how innovation in education is going on in unexpected places.