Should You Have the Right to be Forgotten on the Internet? | An Interview with Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket

Broadcast on 28 March 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KOMY AM 1340 and KSCO.com Live Stream.

'It's A Question Of Balance' balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world.

For more info on Ruth and the show go to www.itsaquestionofbalance.com

HOUR 1: Talk With Listeners' Views

This week we consider ‘Should you have the right to be forgotten on the internet?’ Last year, the Court of Justice ruled that Europeans have the right to ask Internet search engines like Google to remove links from their name to information that is inadequate, irrelevant, no longer relevant or excessive. Removal is not automatic, the decision is reached by weighing the person’s privacy against the public’s right to know. This ruling has become popularly known as the right-to-be-forgotten. Americans do not currently have this right. How do you feel about that? Would you like to be able to control what information about you can be accessed through internet searches? Is it a problem our past follows us so closely now? Or are there benefits to society from this? Should you have the right to be ‘forgotten’ on the internet? What do you think? 

For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com

Hour 2: Begins at 0:53 minutes Interview with Daniel Handler

This week as Ruth Copland’s special guest from the arts she is pleased to be interviewing internationally renowned, best-selling writer and musician Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket. Born in San Francisco, Daniel is the author of five novels under his own name and as Lemony Snicket, has written numerous highly popular books including the best-selling series All The Wrong Questions as well as A Series of Unfortunate Events, which has sold more than 60 million copies, was the basis of a feature film starring Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, and Jude Law, and is to be produced as a Netflix original series. In addition, Daniel has written with artist and author Maira Kalman Why We Broke Up, which won the Michael J. Printz Honor and has worked with Kalman on the book Girls Standing on Lawns and the soon-to-be-released Hurry Up and Wait. Daniel also works extensively in music, serving as the adjunct accordionist for the music group The Magnetic Fields and collaborating with composer Nathaniel Stookey and songwriter Stephin Merritt. His latest book for adults We Are Pirates is in the opinion of Neil Gaiman “the strangest, most brilliant offering yet from the mind behind Lemony Snicket”.

For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com

*Images by Meredith Heuer.