University of Washington
Professor of History and International Relations at the University of Washington
PROFILE
Kenneth Pyle
Guest
FROM Kenneth Pyle
To the Point
The Nuclear Danger Escalates in Japan As workers battle to cool spent fuel rods and damaged reactors, Japan's nuclear safety agency raised the assessment of danger to 5 on a scale of 7. That makes the crisis comparable to the partial meltdown at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island reactor in 1979, but not to the total meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986. In the only country ever struck by atomic bombs, is there residual fear of radiation — even for medicine? What must it be like for the workers trying to control one of history's worst nuclear calamities? We speak with former inspector who blew the whistle on the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, a Hiroshima survivor and others.
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KCRW Features
Two Camp Fire survivors share their stories KCRW speaks with two residents of Paradise, Calif., where the Camp Fire destroyed thousands of homes and killed dozens of people. Susan Fort’s home still stands. Natalie Carmichael was able to escape with her dogs but lost everything else.
The Mixer
California catastrophe The fires rage on in our own backyard, and in Northern California, encompassing tens of thousands of acres each. In L-A and Ventura Counties, the Woolsey Fire has scorched everything in its path. To the north, in Butte County, the Camp Fire has charred and destroyed even more acreage, of trees, brush and everything else, north of Sacramento, and the town of Paradise is a scene of utter devastation and heartbreak.
Zócalo's Connecting California
The roofs above our heads What do our houses reveal about us – and what do they say about living in California?
To the Point
The Voting is Over, but the Campaign Continues Women had a major impact on the midterm elections. So did $5 billion in campaign spending. Meantime, Democrats now lead the House while Republicans dominate the Senate, and the politics of division continues on Capitol Hill. We’ll hear how former House Speaker Newt Gingrich helped start an era of gridlock and perpetual campaigning.