Cultured Media

I hate it when a check-out person bags my one item. I know it’s their job to serve me. I usually remove the item and place the bag back on the counter–hopefully it will be re-used.

When I was in Ireland for a week, I had to pay for any bags that I needed. I’d be happy in levying a tax on grocery bags. This would promote re-use.
There are only 3 public places to recycle plastic “grocery” bags in Indianapolis. Several grocery stores and I hear that Wal-Mart have bins that people can return their grocery bags to for recycling.

Several U.S cities may follow San Fransisco’s lead in the effort to ban plastic bags at large grocery and pharmacies checkout counters. We’ll talk about some of the economic, environmental, and logistical challenges of cutting back on the use of plastic bags.

Listen to Banning Plastic Bags on Diane Rehm

President Clinton discussed his causes, his ideas and his wife’s run for the presidency.

Word for Word: July 7 conversation on global warming, global economy, terrorism, and more at the Third Annual Aspen Ideas Festival

Journalist Jeff Gammage and his wife Christine have adopted two daughters from China; now Gammage, a staff writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer, has written a book about the experience. It’s called China Ghosts: My Daughter’s Journey to America, My Passage to Fatherhood.

Fresh Air: American Parents Encounter ‘China Ghosts’

Matthew Parris, Nick Cohen and Bernard Henri-Levy debate the rights and wrongs of spreading democracy.

Intelligence Squared (UK): Democracy isn’t for everyone

Rob Gifford, a self-admitted practicing Christian, preached a short message on John 8:12 at a small rural church in China on request from the local congregations.

Rob Gifford spend 6 years as NPR’s Beijing correspondent. In 2004, he traveled all 3,000 miles of a highway traversing China from the Shanghai to the border of Kazahkstan. He writes about his journey and about the future of China.

Diane Rehm Interview with Rob Gifford

Gilbertson grapples with the day-to-day life in Baghdad–sniped soldiers and dog ravaged human carcasses. He does not condone torture, but states that it has saved lives in Iraq. He also worries that he only photographing the demise of the Iraqi state as it falls apart and into a civil war.

Award-winning photographer Ashley Gilbertson has spent much of the past five years in Iraq, taking incredible photographs for The New York Times and other publications. Born in 1978, Gilbertson has captured some of the world’s most dangerous places on camera. A book of his work, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: A Photographer’s Chronicle of the Iraq War, will be published this fall.

Fresh Air Interview with Ashley Gilbertson

Ambassador Dennis Ross talks about his role as chief Middle East peace negotiator during the Clinton and George H.W. Bush administrations. His new book is Statecraft: And How to Restore America’s Standing in the World.

Fresh Air Interview with Ambassador Dennis Ross

America at a Crossroads?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ series of 11 documentaries is scheduled to launch on Sunday, April 15 and will run nightly through Friday, April 20, 9:00 - 11:00 p.m. (ET). Additional films will air as specials following the premiere.

America at a Crossroads is a major public television event premiering on PBS in April 2007 that explores the challenges confronting the post-9/11 world ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù including the war on terrorism; the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan; the experience of American troops serving abroad; the struggle for balance within the Muslim world; and global perspectives on America?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s role overseas.

Aimed at creating a national dialogue surrounding the crucial issues explored in the series, an extensive media and outreach campaign in more than 25 communities accompanies the series. The campaign features screening events with the filmmakers and their subjects in discussions with United States military personnel, leading policy experts, leaders of the Islamic community, scholars from across the country as well as
members of the public. Integrated Web and educational initiatives further extend the campaign.

SCHEDULE:

Sunday, April 15:
Jihad: The Men And Ideas Behind Al Qaeda, 9:00 - 11:00 P.M.

Monday, April 16:
Warriors, 9:00 - 10:00 P.M.
Operation Homecoming: Writing The Wartime Experience, 10:00 - 11:00 P.M.

Tuesday, April 17:
Gangs Of Iraq, 9:00 - 10:00 P.M.
The Case For War: In Defense Of Freedom, 10:00 - 11:00 P.M.

Wednesday, April 18:
Europe?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s 9/11, 9:00 - 10:00 P.M.
The Muslim Americans, 10:00 - 11:00 P.M.

Thursday, April 19:
Faith Without Fear, 9:00 - 10:00 P.M.
Struggle For The Soul Of Islam: Inside Indonesia,
10:00 - 11:00 P.M.

Friday, April 20:
Security Versus Liberty: The Other War , 9:00 - 10:00 P.M.
The Brotherhood, 10:00 - 11:00 P.M.

And the host is Robert MacNeil! Listen to an interview with him on Diane Rehm.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the U.S. became the world?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s greatest super power. Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor for President Carter, offers an in-depth analysis of how each of our presidents since 1991, George H.W Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, has performed in this unprecedented role.

Listen now to Zbigniew Brzezinski discuss his book, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìSecond Chance?¢‚Ǩ¬ù

Zbigniew Brzezinski, counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, professor of foreign policy at The Johns Hopkins University. His many books include,?¢‚Ǩ¬ùThe Choice,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù ?¢‚Ǩ?ìThe Grand Failure?¢‚Ǩ¬ù and ?¢‚Ǩ?ìThe Grand Chessboard,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù and ?¢‚Ǩ?ìSecond Chance.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù He served as national security adviser to former President Jimmy Carter.