Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep interviews President Obama in the Oval Office on Dec. 17. Inskeep's new book is called "Jacksonland" and it explores a 19th century political battle by focusing on its two principals: President Andrew Jackson and Cherokee chief John Ross.; Credit: /Kainaz Amaria/NPR

Tens of thousands of Native Americans were removed from their homelands following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The episode is often referred to as the “Trail of Tears.”

In his new book “Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Chief John Ross, and a Great American Land Grab” Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep explores the political battle by focusing on its two principals: President Andrew Jackson and Cherokee chief John Ross.

Inskeep details the two men’s struggle over the land of the Five Civilized Tribes and how later as president, Jackson seized tens of millions of acres known as “Jacksonland” located today in the America’s Deep South. It also gives readers a glimpse into the less reported on John Ross who was a politician and diplomat who used the United States’ legal system to oppose Jackson.

Inskeep joins us to discuss the story behind “Jacksonland” and how early Native-American relations in the U.S. set the tone for events like the Civil War as well as modern-day politics.

Guest:

Steve Inskeep, co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition and author of the book, “Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Chief John Ross, and a Great American Land Grab” (Penguin Press, 2015)

Protesters hold a pro-gay rights flag outside the US Supreme Court on April 25, 2015, countering the demonstrators who attended the March For Marriage in Washington, DC.; Credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

The Supreme Court is expected to issue decisions on two major issues this month, and while their rulings may be groundbreaking, the big topics at hand (same sex marriage and healthcare) are issues that the nine justices have gone over time and time again.

Unfortunately, despite the High Court’s experience dealing with both issues, there’s still a good bit of skepticism about the Supreme Court’s ability to handle these two landmark decisions.

According to a new CNN/ORC poll, a majority of Americans, 52 percent, approve of the way the Supreme Court is handling its job, while 41 percent disapprove. But when asked about their confidence in the Supreme Court’s ability to handle specific issues, only 50 percent said they have at least a moderate amount of trust on healthcare, and 49 percent on same-sex marriage.

How confident are you in the Supreme Court’s ability to do its job? To handle specific issues like same-sex marriage and healthcare? Why do public attitudes shift like this before major Supreme Court rulings?

Guests:

David Savage, Supreme Court reporter for the L.A. Times’ Washington Bureau

Adam Liptak, Supreme Court reporter for The New York Times

Members of the 'Black Lives Matter' alliance stage a protest outside the residence of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as they try to force him to fire LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck, in Los Angeles, California on June 7, 2015. ; Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

We get the latest from reporters inside and out of the police commission meeting about what prompted the stop of Ezell Ford by police, what the relationship is like between the police commission and Chief Charlie Beck, and reaction from the crowds outside.

Read the full coverage here.  

Guest:

Sharon McNary, KPCC reporter outside the police commission

McKinney Police Corporal Eric Casebolt has been placed on administrative leave and some are calling for him to be fired after drawing his gun and pinning down a teenage girl.; Credit: Brandon Brooks/Youtube

Officials in Texas are poring over details surrounding a pool party bust Friday night in McKinney, Texas after viral video showed a police officer drawing his gun and pinning down a teenage girl.

McKinney Police Corporal Eric Casebolt has been placed on administrative leave and some are calling for him to be fired. Use-of-force experts say Casebolt failed to de-escalate the situation, should not have drawn his weapon, and used excessive force on the young woman. Area residents told local news outlets that the teens were antagonizing the police. McKinney is an affluent, primarily white community.

The police department said many of the black youths did not have guest access to the pool.  The ACLU of Texas released a statement saying "[I]n too many cities, there are two kinds of policing and we saw both in this incident: one serving and protecting the white community and one criminalizing and controlling communities of color." If you've watched the seven-minute video on YouTube, what's your takeaway?

ADVISORY: This video contains profanity and violence.

Guests:

Robert Taylor, Professor of Criminology and use-of-force expert, University of Texas at Dallas; Taylor has worked with the McKinney police department

Satinder Singh, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Texas

Corinthian operated colleges and training programs under the names Everest College, Heald, WyoTech, and QuickStart Intelligence. This location is in Milwaukee.; Credit: Jeramey Jannene/ Flickr

In the wake of allegations of fraud, one of the nation’s largest for-profit universities is closing its doors to tens of thousands of students, and fortunately for them, the U.S. Department of Education says it’s going to forgive those students’ federal loans and the loans of any student who has been defrauded by his or her college.

While former Corinthian students may be celebrating, the cost to taxpayers of the government forgiving these loans could be huge. The Department of Education that the cost could be $3.5 billion if all 350,000 Corinthian students over the last five years apply for and get the debt relief.

Is Corinthian just the first domino to fall? Have we seen patterns of fraud or high tuition/low academic standards in other for-profit colleges and universities? What other for-profit schools have been investigated?

Here’s more info on what Corinthian Colleges students need to know about debt relief, from the U.S. Department of Education.

Guest:

Osamudia James, professor of law at the University of Miami where she writes and teaches about education, race, and the law. She recently wrote an op-ed in the New York Times, titled “When For-Profit Colleges Close, Student Debt Should Be Forgiven.”

Jerry Seinfeld speaks onstage at the 2015 Hulu Upfront Presentation at Hammerstein Ballroom on April 29, 2015 in New York City.; Credit: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Hulu

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld said in a recent radio interview that political correctness is hurting stand-up comedy.

He said that comedians he knows have told him that they stay away from playing at college campuses because students are too "PC."

"I don't play colleges, but I hear a lot of people tell me, 'Don't go near colleges. They're so PC,'" Seinfeld told ESPN's Colin Cowherd.

Seinfeld's comments reopen the age-old debate on whether comedians should be given carte blanche to do what they do best: be funny. And it's a question that feels more relevant than ever. On the one hand, American comedy is experiencing a Golden Age of sorts. On the other, we’ve become more aware and sensitive over issues like gender inequity, the wealth gap, the disenfranchisement of ethnic minorities.

Where's the line? Does stand-up comedy have an ethical responsibility to not offend?

Guests:

Alonzo Bodden, comedian and winner of the third season of the reality television series, Last Comic Standing. He'll performing at the Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank on June 26 and 27 

A.O. Scott, chief film critic for the New York Times. His think piece on the state of American comedy, titled “Adjusting to a World That Won’t Laugh With You” was published in Friday’s paper

Daniel Dominguez, TV writer for Nickelodeon and comedian

Maz Jobrani, comedian, his new book is “I’m Not a Terrorist, But I’ve Played One on TV: Memoirs of a Middle Eastern Funny Man” (Simon & Schuster, 2015)

One of the most famous headlines of all time - "Headless Body in Topless Bar"; Credit: --

The man behind what some have called the greatest newspaper headline ever has died. He was 74.

Vincent Musetto was a longtime news editor and film critic at the New York Post, where he cranked out countless headlines and pieces.

But five words stood out, which Musetto penned to encapsulate the gruesome murder of a bar owner in Queens. “Headless Body in Topless Bar” screamed the front page headline of  the April 15, 1983 edition of the New York Post.

Nodding to those iconic words, AirTalk looks at the art of crafting a snappy newspaper headline. What makes a great headline? How has that changed in the age of search engine optimization and social media?

Guests:

Barry Levine, executive editor and director of news of the National Enquirer

Roy Peter Clark, Vice President and Senior Scholar, Reporting, Writing & Editing Faculty at Poynter Institute for Media Studies. He is the writer of a number of books on writing. His latest is “How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times” (Little, Brown and Company, 2014)”

Eric Zassenhaus, Assistant Managing Editor of digital content at KPCC

Soccer: World Cup, USA Brandi Chastain victorious after scoring winning penalty kick as teammates celebrate in final vs CHN, Pasadena, CA July 10, 1999.; Credit: Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

After coming up just short in 2011 against Japan, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team are back on the pitch in Canada, trying to bring another World Cup back stateside.

So far, things are looking good for the Americans, who pulled out an easy 3-1 win over Australia in their first game of group play. They will face Sweden on Friday and Nigeria next Tuesday, and with solid play in both of those games, should be one of the 16 teams who advance to the elimination rounds.

If you’ve never watched the U.S. Women’s team play, you’re missing out on quite a spectacle. They’re a perennial powerhouse and always a favorite to be in the final stages of World Cup competition. Yet despite the ladies’ prowess on the pitch and a recent increase in American’s interest in the beautiful game, women’s soccer (and women’s sports in general) are vastly under-covered when it comes to the media.

Data suggests that there’s been a decline in the tendency to portray female athletes as sexualized objects, and that the trend has been replaced by a tendency to look at female athletes in their roles as mothers, the vast majority of sports media coverage goes towards the big three: pro and college men’s basketball, football, and baseball.

How are women represented in sports today? Do the media give enough attention to women’s sports? How much has women’s soccer grown in popularity in the last 20 years?

‘‘It’s Dude Time!’’: A Quarter Century of Excluding Women’s Sports in Televised News and Highlight Shows

Looking for a spot to watch your favorite team? Check out KPCC’s guide to where to watch the Women’s World Cup:

Guests:

Kavitha A. Davidson, sports columnist at Bloomberg View. Her latest article is titled “Reform FIFA? Treat Women Fairly First.”

Cheryl Cooky, associate professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Purdue University. She’s also co-author of the report  "It’s Dude Time!” A Quarter Century of Excluding Women’s Sports in Televised News and Highlight Shows."

Brandi Chastain, retired soccer player and former member of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. Her game-winning penalty kick during the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final led the U.S. to a win over China. Chastain is now a coach for the varsity soccer team at Bellarmine College Preparatory School in San Jose.

Tritobia Ford, the mother of Ezell Ford, LAPD headquarters on June 9, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.; Credit: Irfan Khan/LA Times via Getty Images

Ezell Ford’s family rejoiced at the finding of The Los Angeles Police Commission Tuesday that one of the officers' actions were improper across the board. The commission is now calling on the District Attorney to file charges.

Los Angeles seems to be one of the few cities where a civilian oversight committee has rendered a decision that the victim’s family feels was justified. We take a bigger picture look at how Ezell Ford fits into the national narrative of police use of force and where Los Angeles stands.

Read the full story here.

Guests:

Jim Newton, Editor of Blueprint, a new magazine for CA, covered the LAPD for the LA Times from 1992-1997

Francisco Ortega, Senior Policy Analyst, City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission

Nana Gyamfi, a human rights lawyer based in Los Angeles

A heavily armed Iraqi Shiite fighter from the Popular Mobilisation units flashes the V for victory sign in front of graffiti of the Islamic State (IS) group in the town of Baiji, north of Tikrit, as allied Iraqi forces fight against the jihadist group to try to retake the strategic town for a second time, on June 9, 2015.; Credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images

President Barack Obama ordered the deployment of up to 450 more U.S. troops to Iraq on Wednesday to advise and assist local forces in an effort to reverse the recent gains of the Islamic State.

Under the plan, the United States will open a fifth training site in Iraq, with the goal of integrating Iraqi Security Forces and Sunni fighters. The immediate objective is to retake the city of Ramadi, seized by the Islamic State last month.

Obama made the decision at the request of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and based on advice from Pentagon leaders, the White House said. The U.S. troops will not be used in a combat role.

A year ago today , Islamic State (IS) fighters achieved a significant, foreboding victory: the capture of Iraq's second largest city, Mosul. The militants have maintained their momentum in Iraq and Syria despite U.S. and coalition airstrikes which officials claim have killed more than 10,000 fighters in the last 10 months. The death toll at the hands of IS militants is less certain, but a spray of a humanitarian crises spreads across the Levant including seizure of Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus where IS has blocked delivery of food and aid from reaching thousands.

On Monday, speaking at the G-7 in Germany, President Barack Obama had said the U.S. still lacks a "complete strategy" for training Iraqi forces to fight the IS, but that U.S. presence there would remain around 3,000 troops for train-and-assist missions. He continued to say the IS remains "nimble, aggressive and opportunistic." In other related news, Senator Joe Manchin (D-W. VA.) today suggested the world community should consider supporting splitting Iraq into three separate states to quell sectarian violence between Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. 

What would that mean for oil resources throughout the country? Would Arab states support that move? Is Obama’s authorization for new troops today an about-face from his earlier position and how does it align with what Pentagon leadership envisions?  How will the current U.S. strategy for dealing with IS play into the presidential campaigns?

With files from the Associated Press.

Guest:

Christopher Harmer, Senior Naval Analyst, Institute for the Study of War - a described as a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization dedicated to advancing an informed understanding of U.S. military affairs.

Eric M. Davis, Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University and past director of the University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies. He keeps the blog, The New Middle East and has written extensively about IS, Iraq, and Syria.

Hussein Ibish, Senior Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington - a non-profit institution focused on bridging the U.S. and Arab Gulf countries; Ibish is a long-time policy analyst and advocate based in D.C. focusing on Middle East issues;  Ibishblog.com

Police officers relax while monitoring the situation near a CVS pharmacy that was looted and burned by rioters on Monday after the funeral of Freddie Gray, on April 29, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. When should officers appropriately use profanity?; Credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

As last week’s video of a McKinney, Texas police officer throwing a 15-year-old girl to the ground continues to circulate, a larger discussion is forming around the use of profanity in professional settings.

The officer, Eric Casebolt, used profane language in front of and at teenagers after tensions arose at a pool party. While the incident allegedly started because two white women told the black teens to “go back to their Section 8 homes,” the situation continued to escalate as the officer cursed at the teens.

Daniel Malenfant, lodge president of the McKinney Fraternal Order of Police, stated that police cursing at juveniles or citizens “diminishes the professional image which is expected” yet qualified that by saying it may happen in situations when officers try to “gain control of unruly subjects who are not complying with officer demands.” McKinney Police Department Chief Greg Conley called Casebolt’s actions as “out of control” and “indefensible.” Officer Casebolt has resigned.

Is there ever an appropriate situation for police to use profanity at the scene of the crime? Does it make a difference that the suspects were juveniles? What are police trained when it comes to using profanity on the job?

Guest:

John Crank, author of “Understanding Police Culture” (Routledge, 2004) and retired professor at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska, Omaha

Shoppers walk past a clothing store going out of business in Los Angeles on September 28, 2010. ; Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

Democratic state senators Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) and Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) have introduced a measure aimed at reforming Proposition 13, which has been called the "third rail" of California politics.

The latest proposal concerns commercial and industrial properties only. Under the measure, offices, factories and other buildings would be reappraised periodically to make sure that they are taxed at current market value. Right now, commercial buildings are reassessed only when they are sold.

The measure needs a two-thirds vote in the Legislature before it'd qualify for the 2016 ballot. A previous, albeit narrower, attempt to overhaul Prop. 13 never made it out of the Legislature last year.

Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 5

Guests:

Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), state senator representing District 9, which include the cities of Richmond, Berkeley, and Oakland. She is a co-sponsor of the measure.

Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, an organization dedicated to the advancement of taxpayers’ rights

A fan is seen with a beer and barbequed sausages during the Northern Football League Grand Final match between Heidelberg and Greensborough at Preston City Oval on September 20, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. ; Credit: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Climate change, a lack of investment in agricultural infrastructure and food wastage are a few reasons behind the persistence of global hunger.

But more and more research is pointing to the world's insatiable hunger for meat as another factor. In her book "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows," psychology Melanie Joy named three ways carnivores justify their meat consumption: that eating meat is normal, natural, and necessary. A team of researchers behind a new study published in the journal Appetite has added another N to the list: that eating meat just feels nice.  

Here to talk about the new research is one its coauthors Henne Watkins, and Melanie Joy, whose book provided the foundation for the new work.

Rationalizing meat consumption. The 4Ns

Guests:

Hanne Watkins, co-author of the new study, “Rationalizing meat consumption. The 4Ns” published in the journal Appetite. She is a PhD candidate in social psychology at The University of Melbourne in Australia

Melanie Joy, author of “Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism.” She is a professor of psychology and sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

"My Lego Calendar-2006/12." What does the month of your child's birth say about his or her risk for certain diseases?; Credit: P via Flickr

Babies born in July and October have a higher risk of asthma than babies born in other months.

This is just one of the findings of a new study published in the Journal of American Informatics Association, in which researchers say they’ve found a computational method to explore the relationship between birth month and risk of disease.

The study’s authors say they hope the research will help other scientists identify new disease risk factors. Scientists and looked at data from 1.7 million patients treated at Columbia University Medical Center between 1985 and 2013. Out of the nearly 1,700 disease associations compared, the researchers were able to rule out more than 1,600 of them, uncovered 16 new associations (including nine types of heart disease), and checked that the 55 diseases for which they did find associations didn’t just come about by chance.

Researchers say it’s important not to get too concerned about the study’s findings, because the risk of disease related to birth month is significantly less than the risk of disease related to diet or exercise.

What could this new data mean for doctors and researchers looking to prevent things like heart disease and asthma? Do you think it will cause people to plan out the month in which their child is born? Should this cause for concern for parents?

Birth Month Affects Lifetime Disease Risk: A Phenome-Wide Method

Guest:

Nicholas Tatonetti, Ph.D., senior lead author of the study “Birth Month Affects Lifetime Disease Risk: A Phenome-Wide Method.” He’s also an assistant professor of biomedical informatics at Columbia University Medical Center and Columbia’s Data Science Institute

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MARCH 11: Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch attend The Television Academy's 23rd Hall Of Fame Induction Gala at Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on March 11, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. ; Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

The man who has been at the helm of 21st Century Fox since its founding is apparently planning to begin the company’s transfer of power to his sons.

CNBC broke the story Thursday, reporting that on the agenda at Fox’s next board meeting is the matter of succession in the company. Murdoch’s son James is expected to be appointed the next chief executive at 21st Century Fox, and his older brother, Lachlan, will have a larger role as executive chairman. It is believed that the elder Murdoch will remain an active part of the company as executive co-chairman, alongside Lachlan.

Fox’s chief operating officer, Chase Carey, is also expected to hand over operational control of Fox but still stay on in an advisory role through 2016. This may not sit well with some investors, who have long enjoyed having someone outside the Murdoch family in a senior role at the company.

21st Century Fox, known simply as Fox, is one of two companies created when Fox’s parent company, News Corporation, spun off its publishing arms in 2013. Included in 21st Century Fox’s holdings is Fox Entertainment Group, which owns the film studio 20th Century Fox and the Fox television network.

Does this pending transfer of power signal big changes coming to FOX? Do you think Murdoch’s sons will do business significantly different from their father or will they simply continue his legacy?

Guests:

Steve Hewlett, Presenter of "The Media Show" on BBC Radio 4 and columnist for "The Guardian"

Cynthia Littleton, Television Editor, Variety

A general view of the outside of Delta One as Delta Air Lines Unveils $229-Million Dollar Enhancement Of LAX Terminal 5 at LAX Airport on June 10, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.; Credit: Joe Scarnici

This week, airlines around the world are weighing whether to adopt a new suggested guideline from the International Air Transport Association calling for a new, smaller standard for carry-on luggage.

Major American airlines typically allow bags up to 22 inches tall by 14 inches wide and 9 inches deep. The IATA suggests 21.5 inches by 13.5 by 7.5 would be more optimal for ensuring all passengers' bags find a spot. Several international airlines will adopt the rule soon including Lufthansa and Cathay Pacific.

No U.S. airlines have signed on yet, but Air Canada says it will not adopt the guidelines. That news from Canada's major airline comes after a different kind of clamp down: staff have been stationed at checkpoints at Toronto's Pearson International Airport measuring carry-on bags to ensure compliance.

If more airliners adopt new baggage rules, will you check your old, fat bags, or upgrade to new, skinny ones?  

Also this week, The New York Times reported on a trend by airlines to limit third-party travel sites that show their fares and steer fliers to airliner websites. For instance, last week Lufthansa announced starting in September it would charge passengers about $18 for booking tickets at another website.

Have you noticed fewer choices when browsing travel sites?

Last but least in this travel news round-up, yesterday saw the ribbon-cutting opening of Delta's Terminal Five refurbishment at LAX. The three-year Delta project cost $229-million dollars in partnership with the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). The airline is branding its terminal as "a more premium airport experience, from check-in to take-off" - complete with a service that would help celebrities avoid paparazzi entirely with Porsche pick-ups from the tarmac.

What can less famous Angelenos look forward to at T5?

Guest:

Brian Sumers, Journalist based in LA covering airlines for Aviation Week

Could lowering graduation standards hurt graduates?; Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

This week the Los Angeles Unified School District board unanimously agreed to ease high school graduation requirements, no longer requiring a “C” grade or better in college prep classes.

The school board is modifying a commitment made a decade ago to require so-called A-G courses, the classes required to become eligible for University of California and California State University entry, to earn a high school diploma.

Critics reject the idea that a “D” could be a passing grade and say that standard is ultimately failing students. But simply raising the standard to a “C” grade a decade ago didn’t dramatically improve student outcomes: more than 22,000 LAUSD students in the Class of 2017 risked losing out on a diploma they may have been eligible for in a neighboring district or nearby charter school.

Supporters of this week’s move say it’s acknowledging that college isn’t right for everyone and that the LAUSD shouldn’t be penalizing students in the district by holding them to a higher standard than their peers in neighboring districts. Despite that argument, LAUSD has recently cut back on trade school training but is for the first time in several years guaranteeing summer school at every LAUSD school.

What is the value of a high school diploma? And how should LAUSD be preparing students for life after high school?

Guests:

Annie Gilbertson, KPCC education reporter

Steve Zimmer, LAUSD Board Member, District 4

Maria Brenes,  executive director of the advocacy group InnerCity Struggle

; Credit: Voxefx/Flickr

The head of the Spokane, Washington NAACP is in the hot seat after allegations that she has been misrepresenting her racial identity in her professional life.

The City of Spokane is planning to investigate Rachel Dolezal, who is an adjunct professor at Eastern Washington University in addition to heading up the local NAACP chapter, on charges that she violated the city’s ethics code when she applied to be part of the citizen police ombudsman commission, on which she now serves.

Dolezal, whose parents say they are of European descent and identify their (estranged) daughter as Caucasian, said in an interview with Reuters that she identifies herself as black. When confronted about her racial identity by KXLY4 reporter Jeff Humphrey, she said she didn’t understand the question, then walked off camera and ended the interview.

Parents say NAACP leader is "pretending"; she grew up blonde, blue-eyed and freckled-face http://t.co/cAcLGALTABpic.twitter.com/ZQWEsopjKd

— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 12, 2015

Dolezal attended Howard University, a historically black college in Washington, D.C., on a full scholarship, and her father says the university simply took her for a black woman because she applied to study art with a portfolio of “exclusively African American portraiture.”

Does racial identity matter as much to younger generations? What do you see as the case with Rachel Dolezal? Is this a misunderstanding or is this a case of Dolezal being disingenuous?

Guest:

Ann Morning, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology at New York University. Her research focuses on racial self-identification and official classification of multiracial individuals.

The man who started a Kickstarter campaign to produce the game "The Doom That Came To Atlantic City" but never did has settled a refunding dispute with the Federal Trade Commission

When donating to a crowdfunding campaign or a kickstarter there is always a chance the project won’t come to fruition. But should there be stricter regulations or oversight on how the money raised is used if a project fails?

This week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settled charges against a man who raised $122,000 through Kickstarter to produce a board game called “The Doom that Came To Atlantic City.” The game never happened and according to the FTC, the game’s creator Erik Chevalier canceled the project and said he would refund the donations, but used the money instead to pay for personal expenses.

While there is always a chance projects won’t be successful, the FTC says consumers should be able to trust their money will actually be spent on the project they funded.

What role should the FTC play in protecting the public from crowdfunding scams?

Guests:

Jeff Howe, contributing editor at Wired Magazine, coined "crowd sourcing" for Wired in 2006, runs media innovation program at Northeastern University.

Elissa Grossman, Associate Professor of Clinical Entrepreneurship at USC Marshall at the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

"Return of the Mac"; Credit: Tim Snell via Flickr

While a majority of us use the Internet for Facebook, Google and Twitter, there is also a dark side to the World Wide Web that often goes unnoticed by the general public, where illegal drugs, weapons and sex are sold and traded around the world.

Jamie Bartlett, author of “The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld,” explores the dark subculture of the Internet, a place of encrypted Internet browsing, where payments are made using untraceable Bitcoins. Jamie Bartlett is the director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos, a U.K. think tank. He shares his experience with the “dark net” and what’s being done to regulate it.

Guest:

Jamie Bartlett, Author of “The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld” (Melville House, 2015); director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the U.K. think tank DEMOS