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The Takeaway Podcast by John Hockenberry

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What the Mortgage Settlement Means for the Housing Market

listenerservices@thetakeaway.org (Public Radio International and WNYC Radio)Author: Public Radio International and WNYC Radio
Fri, Feb 10, 2012

On Thursday the government approved a $26 billion settlement for homeowners who’ve been foreclosed upon or are currently at risk. Approximately two million Americans will get a $1,800 settlement check, which is a lot of people but not a whole lot of money: the Joint Economic Committee of Congress found that the average foreclosure in 2008 cost $7,200. This money also won't cover losses accrued by local governments who lost tax revenue, or neighbors whose own property values fell.

Paul Kiel is reporter at ProPublica. Gordon is a resident of Davie, Florida who lost his home in December of 2008. He currently lives in a mobile home.

The 39th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) began on Thursday with speeches from Jim DeMint, Stephen Halbrook, Michele Bachmann, Anne Coulter, and President Eisenhower’s granddaughter Susan Eisenhower, among others. With invocations of Reagan and cries for party unity, the three-day event could help give focus to what has been a lukewarm GOP race.

Todd Zwillich, Takeaway Washington correspondent, reports on the division among conservative voters when it comes to supporting Mitt Romney.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a jack of all trades — and a master of each. During his 20 year NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, he won six NBA championships and a record six regular season MVP Awards. He also made a big splash as an actor, debuting in Bruce Lee's "Game of Death" and making notable cameos in films like "Airplane!." And now, he's the author of "What Color Is My World?," a book for children about African-American inventors.

Boxing has been a staple of the summer Olympics since 1904. But for the first time ever, women will step into the ring and compete for the gold in this year's London games. And the lead-up to the main event promises to be just as intense: there are 24 contenders but only three spots on the U.S. Women's Olympic Boxing Team.

Bertha Aracil is a female boxer and competing for a spot on the U.S. Women's Olympic Boxing Team. Sue Jaye Johnson is a photographer and creator of the multimedia project, "Women Box."

This week’s big releases offer up some variations on Hollywood's most beloved genres: "Safe House," a CIA mole-thriller with Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds; "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," a kid-friendly sci-fi adventure starring The Rock and Michael Cain; and the tear-jerking amnesia romance "The Vow" starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum.

Rafer Guzman is film critic for Newsday, and co-host of the Takeaway’s Movie Date Podcast. Kristen Meinzer is culture producer for the Takeaway and also co-hosts the Movie Date podcast.

Approximately one-third of adults and 17 percent of children in the U.S. are obese. While this public health crisis has spawned a billion dollar diet industry, reality shows dedicated to weight loss, and the First Lady's "Let's Move" program, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta didn’t think these were enough to discourage children from making unhealthy choices. The hospital launched a billboard and digital campaign featuring obese children with derogatory narration and captions. The ads are powerful, but they’ve also been criticized for stigmatizing overweight children.

Dr. Mark Wulkan is surgeon-in-chief at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, who served as a consultant on the ads. Abby Ellin is the author of “Teenage Waistland: A former fat kid weighs in on living large, losing weight, and how parents can (and can’t) help.�

At least two dozen people are dead, 175 wounded in the Syrian city of Aleppo as explosions struck outside security forces' compounds. Earlier we spoke to the BBC's Jim Muir about today's attacks.

It's Friday, the time we spend time with our most valuable minds here on The Takeaway to look at the week's stories. Is the Conservative Political Action Conference a right-wing Star Trek convention? How will the gay marriage issue play out? And why has contraception become a political issue? Our panel tackles these stories and more.

Ron Christie is a Takeaway contributor and Republican political strategist. Jeff Yang writes the Tao Jones column for The Wall Street Journal and blogs for our co-producer WNYC's It's a Free Country. Farai Chideya is a journalist and blogger at Farai.com.

Less than one month away from the anniversary of the Fukushima-Daiichi disaster — the world's largest since Chernobyl — the Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted a license to build and operate two reactors at a nuclear plant in Georgia. These will be the first reactors built in the U.S. since 1978. 

Matt Wald is a reporter for our partner The New York Times who has covered nuclear power for 30 years.

As part of The Takeaway's week-long focus on Syria, Ayat Shukairy, a listener from Detroit, joins the program to share updates from her family and friends currently living in Damascus, Homs, and Hama. Syrian government forces have reportedly stepped up their attacks on the besieged city of Homs. Roads in and out of parts of the city have been blocked and a week-long bombardment of tanks helicopter and artillery fire has reportedly killed hundreds.

Ayat Shukairy, a Takeaway listener from Detroit, has family and friends in Syria.

The Pentagon announced new rules this week that would allow women to serve closer to the front lines and will be implemented later this summer. The changes would allow women to serve in non-infantry battalion jobs, such as radio operators, intelligence analysts, medics, radar operators and tank mechanics. This could open up 14,000 new jobs to female troops, largely in the army and marine corps.  

Military analyst Paula Broadwell served for a decade in the U.S. military and has spent nearly two decades working in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency. Former Marine Anu Bhagwati is the executive director of the Service Women’s Action Network. 

Greece has more homework to do to avoid default and global economic tremors. Eurozone finance ministers considered the latest austerity package and asked for more. First, Athens must find another $ 430 million in savings by Wednesday when the finance ministers meet again. Then Greece’s parliament must approve the terms of the full package of cuts and reforms.

February is Black History Month, and comedian Baratunde Thurston wants you to know that it's the perfect time to buy his new book, "How to Be Black." "The odds are high that you acquired this book during the nationally sanctioned season for purchasing black cultural objects, also known as Black History Month," he writes. "If you're like most people, you buy one piece of black culture per year during this month, and I'm banking on this book jumping out at you from the bookshelf or screen." Baratunde Thurston joins Celeste Headlee to discuss his new book: part-memoir, part-satire, part-political commentary.

Baratunde Thurston is the author of "How to Be Black" and the digital director of The Onion. 

The Takeaway continues its series where we talk with voters to see what the political and economic situation feels like on the ground. With the annual Conservative Political Action Conference kicking off Thursday night, we gathered Republican voters to give their opinion on the current state of the GOP. Joining the roundtable discussion are Karen Martin, organizer of the Spartanburg Tea Party; Brad Cranston, pastor at Heritage Baptist Church and member of Iowa Baptists for Biblical Values; William Smith, a conservative blogger for FirstInTheNation.US; and Lisa, a Ron Paul Supporter out of Michigan.

A massive settlement has been reached between the government and five of the nation's biggest banks over foreclosure abuses and relief. Our partner The New York Times says the $ 26 billion deal will be doled out to 2 million homeowners. It's part of a broad national settlement aimed at halting the housing market's downward slide and holding banks accountable. Joining the program is Nelson Schwartz, business reporter with our partner, The Times.

The Takeaway devoted a full hour this morning to the ongoing situation in Syria. With reports from the ground, a history of the country from David Sanger, Russia's influence in the region, a take from the pro-democracy movement in the U.S., and even the pro-Assad outlook on conflict. The following is our full first hour of coverage in its entirety.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon says the Arab League mission to Syria may be revived after the Security Council failed to act. Russia with China blocked the U.N. resolution last week and Syrian forces are continuing to pound opposition strongholds, including the city of Homs.

Dr. Ayman Haidar is an internist and founding member of the Syrian American Forum. He explains the pitfalls of what could happen without the rule of the Assad Regime, such as concerns about the country falling into the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

The 11-month-old Syrian uprising has been making headlines especially after the government onslaught on Homs on Wednesday. The revolt has turned deadly with many civilians losing their lives in the struggle for regime change. But who are the people behind the opposition? The Takeaway gets a perspective on the ongoing violence in Homs, Syria.

Ramita Navi is a freelance journalist who reported for the PBS documentary, "Syria Undercover." Ilhan Tanir is a correspondent for the Turkish daily Vatan and a columnist for Hurriyet Daily News.

The uprising in Syria is the most serious threat the ruling Assad dynasty has faced since it first came to power more than 40 years ago. With the violence against civilians in Homs, the Syrian government is being criticized by much of the international community. The exception is Russia who has long been an ally of Syria in the Arab Middle East.

Nikolas Gvosdev, a professor of national security studies at the U.S. Naval War College, spells out the relationship between Russia and Syria and the ties that bind them.

Daniel Chirot is professor of international politics at the University of Washington, and author of "Modern Tyrants."

At a time of turmoil and unrest, the future of the Syrian government and its people are at stake. Farid Ghadry, the Syrian-born co-founder and president of the U.S. based Reform Party of Syria, predicts the outcome of the uprisings and what Syria will look like if the Assad regime does indeed fall. As a lobbyist for regime change in Syria, Ghadry talks about how the international community can help the Syrian people in their battle for political reform.

David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times and contributor to WQXR's The Washington Report, explores the history of Syria from the Ottoman Empire to the present day dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. At a time where civilians are under attack by Assad's oppressive regime, Sanger explains the president's rise to power and his family's 40-year reign. He goes in-depth about the complicated relationship with Israel and Syria's ties to Hezbollah.

Sarab Al-Jujakli is the co-founder of the National Alliance of Syria, a pro-democracy group.

It's taken more than a year, but state and federal officials have reached a settlement with five of the biggest U.S. banks over foreclosure abuses and relief. Our partner, The New York Times, pegs the deal at $ 26 billion dollars — money that could help nearly 2 billion homeowners.

Rick Santorum's campaign team is waking up this morning after landing a big hit last night. He won the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses plus the non-binding Missouri primary. You can be sure Santorum will use this latest twist to try and persuade more conservatives to rally around him as the most credible alternative to Mitt Romney. 

Nathan Heffel is a reporter with KUNC public radio in Greeley, Colorado. Jim Rutenberg is a national political correspondent for our partner The New York Times.

Sunday's Chrysler Super Bowl ad caused some political reaction, but maybe America needs a pep talk from America's outlaw and tough guy Clint Eastwood. Host John Hockenberry looks at the Eastwood speech in the context of his epic career and America's need for some tough love in these troubled times. Half time in America? Maybe, but we could sure use some encouragement from Clint.

On Superbowl Sunday, Clint Eastwood appeared in a two-minute ad that has been dubbed "Half Time in America." Sponsored by the Chrysler car company, it shows a Detroit that escaped the jaws of defeat to become a model for American recovery. Eastwood's narration goes on to suggest that America is in similarly dire straits: “This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again and when we do the world is gonna hear the roar of our engines. It’s half time America, and our second half is about to begin.�

To hear more about our nation’s metaphorical match is James Warren, Chicago columnist for our partner The New York Times, Chicago news cooperative, and is a correspondent for The Atlantic.

 

Alan Huffman and Michael Rejebian have spent the past 18 years doing "oppo" work: the tedious and delicate task of going through public documents about political candidates. The two have co-authored a new book titled "We're with Nobody: Two Insiders Reveal the Dark Side of American Politics," which is peppered with anecdotes about wrangling these files from obstructionist clerks — but never reveals the names of any of their clients.

In order to help close the financial gap between his campaign and its republican contenders, the Obama campaign reversed its long-standing opposition to super PACs. The reversal marks the beginning of a new phase in the presidential race both in terms of strategy and ideology, and is yet another sign of the huge role that these largely unregulated fundraising groups will play in the 2012 election cycle.

Joe Hagan is contributing editor for New York Magazine, and recently wrote the article, "The Coming Tsunami of Slime."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower is most commonly remembered as a vocal opponent of communism and a leader who ushered in one of America's most prosperous eras. But a new national memorial in Washington D.C. offers a different image: designed by famed architect Frank Gehry, the proposed monument features Eisenhower as a young, barefoot boy in Abilene, Kansas, gazing on images of his adult accomplishments. This has been met by criticism, mostly from Eisenhower's family.

Susan Eisenhower is one of President Eisenhower’s granddaughters. She’s also the president of the Eisenhower Group, and a leading expert in international security and international relations.

Opponents of same-sex marriage are planning to appeal a ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A three judge panel says California's ban on same-sex marriage is in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has taken issue with the Obama administration's healthcare bill, which requires all university and hospital insurance plans to cover contraception. Archbishop Timothy Dolan wrote in a Wall Street Journal editorial that this provision infringes on personal freedoms, "coercing religious ministries and citizens to pay directly for actions that violate their teaching." However, two new recently released polls reveal that American Catholics are more supportive of contraception coverage in employer-provided insurance than non-Catholics.

Lisa Miller is religion columnist at Washington Post and contributing editor at New York Magazine.

A big night for Rick Santorum as he takes a clean sweep of the Colorado and Minnesota caucuses as well as the Missouri primary. The former Pennsylvania senator took all three contests with at least 40 percent of the vote, even beating Mitt Romney in Missouri by 30 points. After many pundits declared his candidacy dead on arrival, Santorum told supporters, his campaign is back.

Since early 2007, 4 million families have lost their homes to foreclosure. Only now have state officials around the country begun to finalize a multi-billion dollar settlement with the biggest mortgage-providing banks that engaged in abusive or misleading practices, like robo-signing. Some critics, including those who have already had their homes go underwater, worry that it may let the banks off too easily.

Shaila Dewan is a reporter for our partner The New York Times and will explain more about the upcoming deal.

Gordon is a Takeaway listener on WLRN in South Florida who spent much of his life savings in an attempt to save his home, but ultimately had to short-sell it.

Named for Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow who was allowed to play sports at his local high school during his home-school days, a new bill could give Virginian home-schooled students the chance to play sports with their peers. While some are applauding the opportunity for these students to have a chance to participate, others say it's unfair to taxpayers.

Patrick Foss is a home-schooled soccer player heading to the University of Virginia in the fall to play college soccer.

Ken Tilley is the executive director of the Virginia High School League.

Whether or not you buy into the idea of American exceptionalism, the U.S. constitution is an exceptional document: the way in which it was crafted, how it secured the rights of citizens, and how 94 percent of nations have modeled their own charters after it. But if you ask Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the constitution is exactly that: historically exceptional, but now a tad out of date. In a recent interview in Egypt, she stated: "I would not look to the U.S. Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012."

In line with her comments, a new study has found that fewer and fewer nations are modeling their constitutions after ours.

Here to explain the trend are Adam Liptak, Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times, and Carne Ross, author of "The Leaderless Revolution."

A day of Great Expectations for fans of Charles Dickens. Today's marks the 200th birthday of the writer who gave us "A Tale of Two Cities," "A Christmas Carol," "David Copperfield," among many others. Joining us now from the BBC's studio's in Cambridge England is Dr Jan-Melissa Schramm a Dickens fan, a lecturer in Victorian literature at Trinity Hall of Cambridge University.

In 1961 Malcolm X came to Brown University to publicly rebut an article published in the school newspaper that criticized the Nation of Islam. Fast-forward to 2011. A Brown University student was assigned to create a historical narrative using anything in the school library and stumbled across one of the oldest recordings of Malcolm X in existence, heard by virtually no one since its initial taping.

Malcolm Burnley and Katharine Pierce The Takeaway to talk about the twists and turns that brought this rare recording to the public. Katherine Pierce wrote the article that first attracted Malcolm X's attention, and Malcolm Burnley is the student who found it.

After more than 20 years of drilling through two miles of glacial ice Russian scientists have reached the surface of Antarctica's largest sub-glacial lake. The lake hasn't been touched by light in millions of years and may be home to cold-loving organisms that have been left to their own evolutionary devices for millennia. Joining us now is Richard Black, science correspondent for our partner the BBC.

Nationwide confidence in our lawmakers is at an all time low. And this news isn't like to change that. More than 30 members of Congress have used over $ 300 million in earmarks and other spending to fund many public projects close to their own properties. That's the finding of an extensive investigation published in today's Washington Post. The Post also found 16 lawmakers who had sent tax dollars to places where members of their families work or serve on boards.

David Fallis is one of the Washington Post reporters who wrote the story.

With an increasingly sophisticated crop of small, inexpensive digital cameras — in addition to those built into the tops of computer monitors and cell phones — more people are making movies than ever before. Equally significant, these little vignettes are reaching a greater audience than ever before. But not everyone's filmmaking skills have caught up.

Filmmaker Roger Sherman, author of "Ready, Steady, Shoot: The Pocket Posh Guide to Great Home Video," offers a lesson in how to make a great amateur video. He even came in early to make one in our studios.

The Takeaway 10 Shot Video

This Author: John Hockenberry

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