On The Glenn Show, Glenn talks to Roland about education reform. How would an economist tackle the racial achievement gap? Does it work to pay kids to learn? Roland reflects on the hardest part of improving schools in New York City, and reveals the five habits of highly effective schools. Glenn asks Roland about the surprising results of his educational experiments in Houston. Finally: Have we found the solution to the problem of underperforming schools?
On Foreign Entanglements, Rob speaks with Toshi about the new Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea. Toshi discusses the significance of the ADIZ for military and civilian flights from the US, Japan, and South Korea. They consider how China will enforce the zone. Why here, and why now? Toshi argues that if America recognizes the zone, we might as well pack up and go home. Rob and Toshi debate whether the declaration was a bureaucratic error or came from the top. They conclude by discussing China’s new aircraft carrier, which is deploying to the South China Sea.
On Rational Actors, Kevin and David delve into the debate over race and conservatism sparked by Jonathan Chait’s blog post on 12 Years a Slave. Kevin says the distinction between structural and overt racism blinds conservatives, and David notes the trouble of disentangling racially and politically motivated attacks on Obama. How does the whiteness of the elected GOP affect this debate? Have conservatives gone backwards on race in the Obama era? Next, they consider Martin Bashir’s resignation from MSNBC and whether liberals have been sexist toward Sarah Palin. Plus: The real reason Alec Baldwin was fired from the network.