Laura Knoy

We explore the economic philosophy of John Maynard Keynes. His ideas of government spending “priming the pump” during bad times have  been applied by American leaders from FDR to Obama. But Keynsian  theory continue to spark fierce debate – some feel it’s still the best way out of a slump – but others believe this distorts the free-market and that these ideas have run their course.

Guests

A new law allows parents who object to certain classroom materials to request alternative coursework for their child.  Governor Lynch vetoed the bill last year, but the legislature recently overrode that veto.  We’ll look at arguments for and against this law, and how school districts may adapt.   

Guests:

• J. Scott Moody, Vice President of Policy at Cornerstone Policy Research and Cornerstone Action
• Rhonda Wesolowski, President of NEA-NH.

We'll also hear from:

We sit down with NPR Media correspondent David Folkenflik. He’s the guy who covers the latest from the news business from the New York Times and Fox News to individual bloggers and small-town papers. And, at times, Folkenflick’s had to report on the blemishes at his own organization.

Guest:

• David Folkenflik: NPR Media correspondent.

Next week on the Exchange, we start off with a favorite from the Exchange vault, our interview with NPR's Media Correspondent, David Folkenflick. Then we discuss the realities of a new state law that would allow parents to block material in schools that they found objectionable.  Wednesday we explore the economic philosophy John Keynes. His ideas have been applied by American leaders from FDR to Obama, but some say that in twenty twelve the Keynesian way has run its course.

Former New Jersey Governor and EPA head Christie Todd Whitman is now leading a national effort to expand nuclear power, calling it the best clean energy source to replace fossil fuels. But her efforts come at a difficult time for the nuclear industry,  given fears stoked by the Fukushima disaster in Japan last spring and criticisms from some suggesting that danger it can bring is not worth the energy it can provide. 

Guest

After nearly a  year of speeches, rallies, political ads and debates, New Hampshire's First in the Nation Primary ended pretty quickly tonight with Mitt Romney taking gold.  Ron Paul finished a strong second with John Huntsman, who put all his cards into the Granite State, finished a respectable third.  Today we'll we'll look back at last night's contest, see who the big winners and loser were and where the race to be the Republican Presidential candidate goes from here. 

Guests: 

No matter how much you love a candidate's jobs plan, their ideas around health care, their environmental platform or their views on immigration, if you want a Republican in the White House and they can't beat the President, it may not be the best choice.  Some of that has to do with familiarity of the candidate, some has to do with money, and some has to do with those platforms and how they not only counter the President's but fall in favor with many independents who may be on the fence.

"Skating on thin ice" is the way one New Hampshire economist describes the current state of our economy.  New Hampshire is still out performing other states in terms of its unemployment rate and the stability of its housing market, but economic troubles in Europe could mean bad news for the Granite State which relies very much on exports.  Also some worry that if the national economy doesn't gain a lot of momentum, New Hampshire's economy could be compromised.  Today we look at the New Hampshire economy, examine the good news and not so good news and ask whether 2012 may be the turnaround y

Next week on the Exchange we culminate our Issue Tuesday's series on a Monday as we look at the Republican Presidential candidates and how the topic of how electable they are may play into who the voters choose at the ballot box.  Then on Primary Day, we talk to author Colin Woodard on his new book "American Nation" and explore how  he says, our political differences as Americans are not determined by red states and blue states but 11 distinct cultural North American regions that's histories have formed our true divisions.

Two recent reports examined the impact of this Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative or RGGI on New Hampshire. One touts the energy savings that have come from the program, the other suggests that the Granite State may not be benefiting as much as other participating states. We’ll look closer at these two studies and how they may play into bills aimed at repealing or revising RGGI this year in the legislature.  

Guests

It was a nail-biter at last night's Iowa Caucuses. After a year of campaigning, debating, promises and political ads, voting began for the twenty twelve Republican presidential candidate.  A too close to call race went well into this morning with Mitt Romney squeaking out an 8 vote victory from Rick Santorum.  Ron Paul came in a healthy third and Newt Gingrich a disappointing fourth. Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann will both re-evaluate their campaigns.  We’ll look at the results and how they may affect the discussion in New Hampshire’s primary and other contests down the road.  

Our issue Tuesday series continues with the Republican Presidential Candidates and their fiscal policies.  The soaring national debt has been a rallying cry among republicans, who see it as a top economic threat.  We’ll examine what the candidates are saying about government spending, debt and deficits…as well as entitlement reform, programs like Social security and Medicare.

Guests

In a new book, author Charles Mann explores what happened in the years after Columbus’s famed voyage to the Americas.  He says it altered everything:  sparking a new era of globalization and not just in commerce:  but radical changes in crops, cultures, and politics.  We’ll talk with Mann about this expansive look at this new era and how the world changed after Columbus.  

Guests

• Charles C. Mann - Author of 1493:Uncovering the New World Columbus Created