Director of the New Politics Institute
Director of the New Politics Institute, a think-tank on politics, technology and media, based in San Francisco, California
PROFILE
Peter Leyden
Guest
FROM Peter Leyden
To the Point
Democratic Heavy Hitters Court Bloggers at Kos Conference Four years ago, just one presidential candidate showed up at the convention of liberal bloggers called by Daily Kos.com . At this week's convention , which is sold out with 1500 registered guests and 250 credentialed reporters, there will be seven, including Hillary Clinton , who's been defending Daily Kos against attacks from the right wing. Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean told the opening session , "What you have done… is to set this country on the path of restoring the democracy that George Bush and the Republicans have tried to undermine." Peter Leyden, director of the New Politics Institute , is attending the convention.
To the Point
Will YouTube and Web 2.0 Change American Politics? CNN hyped last night's Democratic presidential debate at The Citadel in South Carolina as "revolutionary" because real people got to ask questions on video. Some students of politics and the media said the event would do for interactive Web 2.0 what the Kennedy-Nixon debates did for TV. Others called it just a tiny step forward, because CNN got to decide which questions the candidates had to respond to. Some 3000 thousand people submitted amateur videos that tackled everything from serious policy questions to sophomoric humor, including a question on global warming that came from an animated snowman. Did the format make for entertaining TV? Were the candidates more authentic? Did it finally come down to politics as usual?
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To the Point
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
To the Point
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.