October 4 – The Presidential Debate and the Failure of Journalism; Venezuela’s Presidential Election; From the Current Gilded Age to the Last

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Part 1	We begin with an analysis of the first presidential debate in terms of whether the American people are well served by these few debates that are controlled and circumscribed by both parties and where the role of journalists in probing candidates is limited and lacking. Jay Rosen, a Professor of Journalism at New York University and the author of “What Are Journalists For?” joins us. His award-winning blog, PressThink offers critical analysis of journalism and the press.
Part 2	Then we go to Venezuela to get an assessment of where the candidates stand in the last days before Sunday’s presidential election. Virginia Lopez, a Caracas-based journalist who covers Latin America and Venezuela for the UK Guardian joins us to discuss the conflicting polls that give Hugo Chavez a lead between 5 and 10 points and others that give his challenger Henrique Capriles a 4 point lead.
Part 3	Then finally, since we appear to be living in the new Gilded Age, we look back into a fascinating character from the last Gilded Age with Janet Wallach the author of a new book “The Richest Women in America: Hetty Green in the Gilded Age”. We discuss similarities between the current Gilded Age and the last and comparisons between the plutocrats of today and those that the thrifty Quaker Hetty Green despised in her day.