Podcast #148

Stem Cell Clinical Trials; Commentary on Kagan Confirmation; movie review: Mother and Child. Dr. Eva Feldman of the University of Michigan has exciting news on clinical trials of stem cells on ALS (Lou Gherig's disease) patients. States like California and Michigan bypassed Bush-era restrictions on stem cell research, and we are seeing real promise for halting deterioration in ALS patients. Dr. Feldman is quite impressive, and explains the science and procedures simply and vividly. Please share this interview with families struggling with ALS and other diseases like Parkinson's and diabetes. Prof. Marjorie Cohn offers smart comments from a progressive perspective on Elena Kagen and the "vapid" process (Kagan's words) of Supreme Court confirmation. Most troubling to Prof. Cohn is almost-Justice Kagan's brief to deny habeas corpus rights to prisoners at Bagram in Afghanistan, even those not picked up in Afghanistan. And Gary Chew has a summer movie review of Mother and Child and a song from the movie, Little One by Lucy Schwartz. For easy access, the Kagan segment starts at 31:00 and the Chew-review is at 56:00.