Conversation

The new draft of Seattle’s Master Bike Plan is out today. Erica Barnett, news editor at Publicola, joins David Hyde today to talk about what that means for Seattle’s bicyclists.

 From 2000 to 2009, the number of people diagnosed with skin cancer increased nearly two percent according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Doctors say much of the rise can be attributed to the mislabeling and misuse of sunscreen. Joining Ross Reynolds to answer your questions on sunscreen and other skin matters is dermatologist Dr. Andrea Kalus, Medical Director of the UW Dermatology Center at Roosevelt.

 Today Sergeant Robert Bales admitted to killing 16 Afghan civilians. How will Afghanis react if Bales does not get the death penalty?  What will that mean for the US troop withdrawal strategy? Patricia Murphy reports live from the trial, and Ross Reynolds interviews Larry Goodson, South Asian Specialist at the US Army War College; plus Kate Clark, a senior analyst with the Afghanistan analysts network, and President Hamid Karzai's brother Mahmood.

 Taxi cabs have a new breed of competitors. New companies like Lyft, Uber and Sidecar give smartphone users the ability to reserve a ride through an app on their phone. Some of the companies use private car owners as their main drivers. Will traditional taxis fall by the wayside? How are these new companies regulated? Ross Reynolds talks with KUOW’s transportation reporter, Derek Wang.  

 Last year the secular Swedish Medical Center stopped performing elective abortions after affiliating with a Catholic health care provider, Providence Health & Services. Now some organizations in Washington state are calling for a moratorium on similar contracts between secular, publicly funded hospitals and religious providers. They fear patients in the state could see a reduction in access to services.

What happens when faith and health care mix? Should the state do anything about it? Ross Reynolds talks with Peter Adler, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Catholic provider Peacehealth, and Kathleen Turner, head of the ACLU of Washington.

 You may know that Jean Godden has served on Seattle’s City Council for the last 10 years. Before that she worked as a journalist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Seattle Times. But you may not have heard that before age 17, Godden lived in over 100 different towns. As part of The Conversation’s feature interview series, Ross Reynolds chats with Godden about her life and work. 

You are under surveillance when you go online. The information gatherers include the government, advertising companies and brokers who sell your data. Christopher Soghoian, chief technologist for the national ACLU, explains that the constantly updating world of technology has  also changed the government's ability to spy Internet communications and mobile telephones.  

There are only five master sommeliers in Washington state, and Ross Reynolds sits down with one: Thomas Price of The Metropolitan Grill. Plus, he interviews Jason Wise, who is the director of "Somm," a documentary on the rigorous process it takes to become a master sommelier. 

It’s public radio’s 11th most popular news quiz! This week’s qualifying contestant is a school teacher.

Republican State Senator Michael Baumgartner tells Ross Reynolds about a bill he’s proposed this week to try to prevent future bridge collapses. It would ban trucks that are too tall from traveling on certain bridges.  Senator Baumgartner represents the 6th Legislative District in Spokane.