freelance journalist
Freelance journalist and culture writer, currently writing about the creative class as part of a Salon's series, Art in Crisis; author of Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class; former staffer at the Los Angeles Times
PROFILE
Scott Timberg
Guest
FROM Scott Timberg
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Culture Crash When the recession hit in 2008, it gutted the middle class. Among the hardest hit was the creative middle class: architects, musicians, painters, graphic designers, dancers, and journalists. People like Scott Timberg. He used to cover the arts for the Los Angeles Times, but when the economy tanked, so did his prospects. He lost his job, his house and his confidence. So he wrote a book about it. We talk to him about his experience and what he believes it says about the economy as a whole.
Which Way, L.A.?
Could the Creative Class Be Priced Out of LA? From Santa Monica to Venice to Highland Park — and now the Arts District in downtown Los Angeles — the painters, sculptors, musicians and dancers who made those and other neighborhoods centers of artistic creativity can’t afford to live or work there anymore.
To the Point
Those Old Time Oscars The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is playing up nostalgia in its ads for Sunday's Oscar Awards , "celebrate the movies in all of us." Some call that an excuse for a weak field of pictures chosen by mostly aging white men, out of touch with contemporary audiences. The identity of the 5765 voting members of AMPAS has been a carefully guarded secret, but extensive research by the Los Angeles Times revealed that 94 percent are Caucasian; 77 percent are male; and the median age is 62. But films about the past — and the way movies used to be made — may also reflect real anxiety in a film industry besieged by technical change in the digital age. Can Billy Crystal jack up this year's TV ratings? After all the preliminaries, are there any surprises left?
To the Point
President Obama and the American Jobs Act President Obama challenged Congress last night to shut down the "political circus" in Washington and work together--before next year's election. He said everything in his American Jobs Act had been approved in the past by both Democrats and Republicans. He told them to pass it no less than 15 times. He asked Americans to demand action and today — as promised --he took his $447-billion program out on the road. The first stop is Richmond, Virginia,in the district of the Republican minority leader in Congress, Eric Cantor. Is it "bold" enough for Democrats to rally behind it? Is there any chance for support from the GOP? Will voters decide that the "circus" is still going on?
Recommended
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
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.