Required reading for today's broadcast:  EconomicMeltDownFunnies.org...

President Obama has just signed a 787 billion dollar stimulus package into law. So what does it all mean and what can we hope for? Locus Focus Resident Economist Chuck Collins joins Locus Focus host Barbara Bernstein to discuss the political and psychological implications - as well as economic - of the struggle to get this package enacted. Is it big enough to really have any impact? What else is needed to turn the economy around?

Hosted by Bill Resnick, this show features Afrobeat music by Fela Kuti and a conversation about Kuti's life and work.  The show leads off with a critique of the economic stimulus plan: "insufficient, ineffective, ill-conceived" are the words of economist Michael Perlman.  Well-read Red Frann Michel reviews how people of color and immigrants are faring in, and even being blamed for, the economic crisis.  We hear from another economist about urban agriculture in Havana and other Cuban cities.  To hear the whole show, use the arrow above.  To hear individual pieces, and for more information and links, follow the links below.

1.  The understimulating economic stimulus.

There is no way the stimulus package now being negotiated in congress is going to plug the leaks in the rapidly sinking economy.  Economist Michael Perlman explains why in this coversation with the Old Mole's Bill Resnick. 

The day after Barack Obama's historic inauguration as president of the United States we'll look at how much has changed in the United States and what still needs to change in the days, months and years ahead.

Locus Focus host Barbara Bernstein is joined by guests John Cavanagh, director of the Institute for Policy Studies, and Ajamu Baraka, executive director of the US Human Rights Network.

A preview of today's 24th Annual Tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Keep Alive the Dream."

The celebration airs live until 7:00pm when Hard Knock Radio will provide more coverage.

Listen to the live audio stream here

Also Yugen Rashad speaks with local people who are in Washington for the Inauguration of Barack Obama as President. They'll talk about the meaning of today's holiday in light of the Inauguration.