Harvard Lunch Club Political Podcast

Taped on Tuesday, March 24 with Mike Stopa in Japan and Todd Feinburg in Boston (and Marisa DeFranco not with us), here are our topics for show number 5: The Confederate Cruz 1 - Sometimes you have to get a little bloody says Mike Stopa in support of Ted Cruz and his bombast as Cruz becomes the first official candidate for president in the 2016 cycle. Todd argues that Cruz is no better than Barack Obama. 2 - The past week has been quite an embarrassment for Starbucks, lambasted for asking its Baristas to discuss race relations with customers racing through the store as part of a #RaceTogether social media campaign. Are Millenials that easily played? It seems not, as Starbucks backed off the directive to employees but says it will keep the rest of the effort alive. 3 - Should the supreme court force Texas to allow license plates that include the confederate flag in the name of free speech, as 9 other states do, or should speech be limited to protect some against being offended? The Sons of the Confederate Veterans were denied their special license plate on the state level, then lost a lawsuit challenging the decision. Arguments were heard this week in Washington. Plus - our Shower Thoughts... and... In our Hidden Gem song of the week we feature 80's singer Marti Jones, for whom Mike Stopa is an honorary groupie.

Here are our topics for show number 4: Robert Durst's Bathroom Bill 1 - Robert Durst may pay a heavy price for one trip to the bathroom, as it sure sounded like he was confessing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcZwe7OjbGc) as he went to the bathroom and mumbled to himself (and a still live wireless mic), "There it is, you're caught," and "You killed them all, of course." And he's now being held for a murder (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/03/17/letter-not-recording-led-authorities-to-arrest-robert-durst-for-friend-murder/) committed back in 2000. But is this a true "confession" that will make it into court? 2 - Changes in the federal school lunch program, blamed on FLOTUS Michelle Obama, are grossing kids out and leading to tons of waste and declining sales (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/school-adds-ice-cream-nutritional-lunches-sell/story?id=29443068), say many. Some school districts are even forgoing (http://wbay.com/2015/03/10/green-lake-schools-opt-out-of-national-school-lunch-program/) the free federal program! Is the government's desire to control our calories a healthy trend? 3 - Former Heavy Weight Champ Mike Tyson (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/will-jamie-foxx-play-mike-tyson-in-martin-scorsese-film/) will be the focus of a Martin Scorsese film, perhaps with Jamie Foxx playing the lead. And he's been all over the media lately, being fawned over by program hosts. But Tyson served time for rape. Shouldn't he be shunned?(http://harvardlunchclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/HarvardLunchClub-150x150.jpg) In our Hidden Gem song of the week, we'll feature the Eels "Fresh Blood," (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4Qp1TEKswQ) that's been featured in the Roberts Durst documentary The Jinx on HBO. It seems to have captured a mood!

Here's Political Podcast (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Harvard-Lunch-Club-Political-Podcast/689264687862468?ref=hl) #003 for March 10, 2015 Topic 1 - Hillary's Blurred Lines: Does the media attention fit the crime on Hillary's emai (http://www.frontpagemag.com/2015/matthew-vadum/hillarys-damage-control-isnt-working/)l scandal? Topic 2 - The first move at the University of Oklahoma was to close the SAE fraternity (http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/03/13/reports-ous-sigma-alpha-epsilon-fraternity-plans-to-sue-the-university/) after a short video clip showed members chanting a vile, racist song. What further punishment is appropriate? Topic 3 - 47 GOP senators sent a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader advising that any deal made with President Obama won't be worth the paper it's written on. We ask the panel whether republicans are out of line, and isn't this bad politics? (http://www.newsweek.com/47-republican-senators-letter-iran-treason-no-its-just-political-theater-313889) Hidden Gem Song of the Week - We compare Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-blurred-lines-classical-notebook-20150314-column.html) and Marvin Gaye's Got to Give it Up so you can decide whether a rip-off occurred.