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The Leonard Lopate Show

Thursday, July 24, 2008
  • Rudy Giuliani
    (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

    Crackdown

    In the 1990s, then-mayor Rudy Giuliani instituted his zero-tolerance campaign in New York City. We look into how that crackdown continues to affect New Yorkers. Also: a new documentary about Mobile, Alabama's segregated Mardi Gras celebration. States of the Union is all about Connecticut. And on Underreported: how former Liberian girl soldiers are adapting to life after that country’s long war.

    We're hosting another FREE Lopate Show film screening on Monday, August 4! We'll be watching the 1972 film "The Candidate." Seats are limited, so RSVP soon. Find out more.

Giuliani’s Quality of Life Campaign

In the 1990s, then-mayor Rudy Giuliani instituted his zero-tolerance campaign in New York City – to very mixed reviews! Alex S. Vitale, the author of City of Disorder: How the Quality of Life Campaign Transformed New York Politics, says that even before Giuliani's crackdown, City Hall was more likely to use tax dollars to subsidize the wealthy than aid the poor.

Segregated Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama

The city of Mobile, Alabama’s Mardi Gras celebrations is even older than New Orleans – and they’re also segregated into a black Mardi Gras and a white Mardi Gras. A new documentary, "The Order of Myths," investigates the ongoing segregation in Mobile, and whether its black and white residents are interested in integration. Margaret Brown is director; two of the film’s subjects are Joseph, the black Mardi Gras king; and Brittan, who was in the white Mardi Gras court. It opens July 25 at the IFC Center (323 Sixth Avenue).

States of the Union: Connecticut

We find out whether Senator Joe Lieberman’s support will help John McCain in the Constitution State. Also: a look at the close race in the state’s 4th Congressional District, where Republican Chris Shays is fighting to keep his seat. Christopher Keating, Capitol bureau chief for the Hartford Courant, explains which issues matter most to Connecticut’s voters.

States of the Union fact of the week: Before 1875, Hartford and New Haven alternated as capitals of Connecticut.

Underreported: Women in Post-War Liberia

Many women in post-war Liberia are jobless and lack decent housing and medical care. Compounding the problem are the more than 30,000 women and girls who served with fighting forces in Liberia’s recent wars. They were constant targets for rape and sexual violence. Find out how former female Liberian soldiers are struggling to piece together their lives again.

Jackie Redd served in Charles Taylor’s forces throughout her teens and early 20s; Florence Ballah worked as a cook and porter in Liberia’s rebel group ULIMO. Both were abducted in their early teens and subsequently joined fighting forces. Tania Bernath is Liberia researcher for Amnesty International.

Events:
Amnesty International's documentary "Women of Liberia: Fighting for Peace"
will be shown

Thurs., July 24
92nd St. Y Tribeca
7pm-9pm
Screening, Debate and Discussion
200 Hudson Street

and

Sun., July 27
Riverside Church
11 AM service, After Service Program, 1pm-4pm
Screening, Liberian lunch, Liberian live music and DJ
490 Riverside Drive

Gov. Sarah Palin and Alaska Politics

The Leonard Lopate Show

August 08, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is Sen. John McCain’s VP running mate. To find out more about Gov. Palin and Alaska politics, check out our States of the Union: Alaska segment from Aug. 8, 2008.

Sen. Joe Biden on the Lopate Show

The Leonard Lopate Show

Sen. Obama has chosen Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware to be his running mate. To find out more about his personal and political life, listen to Leonard’s Aug. 2007 interview with Sen. Biden. At the time, the Senator from Delaware was still a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Barack Obama, Circa 2004

The Leonard Lopate Show

As the Democratic Convention is underway in Denver, listen to Barack Obama on the Leonard Lopate Show in November 2004. He had recently won a seat in the U.S. Senate, and only a few months before, his rousing speech during the 2004 Democratic National Convention catapulted him into the national spotlight.

John McCain in 2000

The Leonard Lopate Show

Sen. John McCain spoke with Leonard in September 2000 about his memoir, Faith of My Fathers. He discussed his family's naval background, his time in POW camps, as well as his own presidential ambitions for the 2000 election.

States of the Union

The Leonard Lopate Show

Why is New York a blue state, Wyoming a red, and Ohio a shade of purple? Looking ahead to Election Day 2008, Leonard talks to journalists, scholars, and activists from each of the 50 states to find out what motivates voters from Maine to California.

Guest Picks

The Leonard Lopate Show

Find out surprising facts about some recent guests on the Leonard Lopate Show. Check out our Guest Picks section! Did you know that football star Herschel Walker loves Judge Judy, Laurie Anderson is a big fan of agility training for dogs, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi likes Johnny Depp?