February 25 - Bigotry in the Name of Religious Liberty in Arizona; The Megamerger that could be a Glimpse into the Future of the Internet; "Russians: The People Behind the Power"

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the looming question whether or not Governor Jan Brewer will veto a bill passed last Thursday in the Arizona legislature that allows businesses to deny service to LGBT customers on religious grounds. Stephen Lemons, a columnist for the Phoenix New Times who covers Arizona politics, joins us to discuss the growing opposition to SB 1062 that sanctions bigotry in the name of religious liberty and could cost the state next year’s Super Bowl.

Part 2

Then we examine the consequences of the Comcast-Time Warner megamerger following a deal struck between Comcast and Netflix that could be a glimpse into the future of the Internet. Craig Aaron, the President of Free Press joins us to discuss the intensifying struggle between content providers like Netflix and the owners of the conduit into the home, as we face the prospect of a giant monopoly combining the two largest cable companies, free to charge more for less service as they dominate access to news, information, entertainment and the Internet.  

Part 3

Then finally, with Ukraine’s ousted president on the lam and Russia’s Prime Minister calling the new government in Kyiv a bunch of armed mutineers, the author of a new book “Russians: The People Behind the Power”, Gregory Feifer, a former Moscow correspondent for National Public Radio, joins us to discuss growing tensions between Putin and the West. With Russian State Media praising the arrest of 500 pro-democracy demonstrators in Moscow and St. Petersburg, we examine why an anti-Western posture helps Putin even if it harms Russia.