WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show

While New York can't be redesigned from scratch to be entirely powered by renewable energy, like Masdar, we can take our cues instead from Juneau. When an avalanche forced Alaska's capital to switch from hydro to diesel power, its citizens cut their energy demand by 30% -- and it's still down by 15-20%, months after hydro was restored. We talk to deputy mayor Randy Wanamaker about the city's new culture of conservation.

The city of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, is flush with oil revenues -- and investing billions in an audacious experiment in renewable energy: Masdar, a city they are building from scratch to be completely solar-powered with zero carbon emissions. We talk to the CEO of the Masdar initiative, Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber, about whether solar can scale up to power an entire city.

We take your calls on summer-reading tips. Your Suggestions Do you have a book you're dying to recommend? Post it on our comments page!

Ken Belson, New York Times Metro Utilities reporter, talks about off-peak pricing for electricity.

As Barack Obama’s trip to Afghanistan, the Middle East and Europe winds down, Josef Joffe, editor and publisher of Die Zeit, a weekly German newspaper, a fellow at the Hoover Institute and the author of Uberpower: The Imperial Temptation of America, then Rami Khouri, editor-at-large at The Daily Star in Lebanon, then Karen Tumulty, Time national poltical correspondent, discuss the trip.

Billionaires Mayor Bloomberg and Bill Gates announced this week that they will contribute a total of $500 million to reduce tobacco use worldwide. Heather Wipfli, project manager for the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, explains where all that money is going.

Jane Mayer, staff writer for the New Yorker and the author of The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals (Doubleday, 2008), is following the war crimes trial of Salim Hamdan, underway in Guantanamo Bay.

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, and Mohamed "Mido" Ibrahim, organizer of Wikimania 2008 in Alexandria, Egypt, talk about the importance of creating Arabic content on Wikipedia. Plus, The New York Times' Noam Cohen explains how Egyptian youth are using Facebook to organize protest movements.

WNYC Reporter Ilya Marritz and WNYC Political Director Andrea Bernstein follow up on the proposal to drill for natural gas in New York.

The first ever New York Mexican film festival is taking place this week. Samuel Douek, director of the Hola Mexico Film Festival, and Sergio Umansky, director of the film Mejor Es Que Gabriela no Se Muera discuss the festival's impact.

Recent statistics show crime is movin’ on up to the Upper East Side, Greenwich Village, and other wealthy Manhattan neighborhoods. Senator Tom Duane of District 29 Manhattan, Eugene O’Donnell, Professor of Law and Police Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Brad Hoylman, Community Board 2 Chairman, talk about Manhattan’s crime spike.

Relations on the social networking site Facebook have moved far beyond the college demographic it was created for. David Carr, columnist and reporter for the New York Times talks about the relations between adults on the site. Plus Danny Dumas, Associate Products Editor for Wired.com, gives us his take on the interactions between adults and their children on the site.

Adam Davidson, NPR correspondent for International Business and Economics, talks about the housing assistance bill just approved by the House and expected to be enacted next week. Then Sarah Gerecke, chief executive officer of Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City, talks about the local impact of the legislation.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the statistical value of a life is estimated at $6.9 million -- that's 11 percent less than a few years ago. Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, and Peter Coy, economics editor at BusinessWeek, talk about the new estimate and how it affects the environment.

Elaine Berg, President and CEO of the New York Organ Donor Network, talks about the change in New York's organ donation registry.

Daniel Rosenblum, Vice President and Director of Corporate & Policy Programs at the Japan Society, discusses karoshi and the Japanese work ethic.

Jennifer Merritt, Career Journal Editor at the Wall Street Journal, offers practical advice on how companies can cope with inflation. A question for the Bored At Work Network: What’s the smartest thing your company is doing to cope with inflation? And what’s the dumbest? See past comments HERE.

Drew Tignanelli, president of The Financial Consulate, offers practical advice on the very first steps to take if you're laid off.

Taylor Lincoln, Research Director at Public Citizen, breaks down who is giving to Obama's and McCain's campaign and how much.

Is narcissism underrated? New York Times reporter Jan Hoffman talks about the benefits and detriments of the double edged sword of selfishness.

Ross Douthat, senior editor at the Atlantic Magazine, and Reihan Salam, associate editor at the Atlantic and senior editor at New America, discuss their book Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream.

Murray Weiss, Criminal Justice Editor for the New York Post, talks about how the Brooklyn manager of Blue Pig, a Brooklyn Heights ice cream parlor, was busted for double-charging customers' credit cards. Robert Siciliano, CEO of ID Theft Security, talks about how to protect your credit.

Assemblyman (D-86th District) Richard Brodsky discusses a proposal by the M.T.A to raise fares and tolls for next year to offset a budget gap of $900 million.

The New York Times' Marc Santora and Village Voice senior editor Wayne Barrett comment on former mayor Rudy Giuliani's recent foray into the world of real estate - and what it may mean for a potential gubernatorial bid.

WNYC, in a joint investigation with ProPublica, a non-profit investigative news organization, recently discovered that New York State legislators have been aggressively promoting the exploration of natural gas in New York's Macellus Shale, a type of gas-rich sediment. WNYC reporter Ilya Marritz, who investigated the practice, and ProPublica reporter Abrahm Lustgarten discuss the environmental controversies of natural gas exploration.

Starchild, sex worker activist for the Erotic Service Providers Union and Outreach Director for the Libertarian Party of San Francisco, supports the proposal in San Francisco to decriminalize prostitution.

Want to join the Bored at Work Network? Well, it's most likely that you're already a member. Jonah Peretti, founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, explains how the most influential information network on the planet works. A question for the Bored At Work Network: What’s the smartest thing your company is doing to cope with inflation? And what’s the dumbest? Comment below! Pass this link to your friends, relatives and colleagues in the workforce. We’ll do a radio segment on it on Wednesday. (By the way, don’t get yourself fired: be anonymous or evasive about your identity or your employer’s if needed to protect yourself!)

Con Edison spokesman Michael Clendenin talks first about the heat wave's effects on energy consumption and the blackouts in Brooklyn then City Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens) talks about his proposal to have Con Ed provide “smart meters” to all NYC customers by 2011.

Last week, listeners submitted their photos to the Brian Lehrer Show flickr pool under the theme "Change for the Better, Change for the Worse." There were over almost 350 entries - 25 or so of which will be selected to be part of the Slideluck Potshow presentation at McCarren Park on August 2nd. Today, author, musician and New Yorker James McBride discusses the submissions, and a look at the stories behind some of the photographs from the BL Listener-Photographers.

Jeffrey Young, a staff writer at The Hill newspaper, analyzes McCain's recent “no” vote on the Medicare bill.