"The Real State of the Union" Town Hall Discussion
18 February 2004 ATTENTION: Political and Economic editors, writers	Contact: Kathleen Maclay (510)643-5651 ckm@pa.urel.berkeley.edu

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WHAT
"The Real State of the Union," a town hall discussion and question-and-answer session at the University of California, Berkeley, with authors from The Atlantic Monthly, fellows of the New America Foundation independent think tank, and UC Berkeley faculty.

The event is modeled after the January/February 2003 issue of The Atlantic Monthly, in which more than a dozen writers examined this nation's domestic health.

WHEN
7-9 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 24.

WHERE
Wheeler Auditorium, near the center of the UC Berkeley campus, just northeast of Sather Gate.

WHO
Michael Kingsley, founding editor of Slate magazine, will moderate.

Participating in the discussion will be:

James Fallows, a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, chair of the New America Foundation and author of "National Defense" and "Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy." He will talk about Iraq.

J. Bradford DeLong, a UC Berkeley professor of economics, and deputy assistant secretary for economic policy in the U.S. Treasury Department from 1993 to 1995, will discuss the economy.

Shannon Brownlee, New America Foundation senior fellow and a former writer with Discover magazine and U.S. News & World Report, will discuss health care.

Ted Halstead, New America Foundation president, will offer "an intellectual audit of the Democrats and the Republicans."

DETAILS
TICKETS: Free tickets can be obtained by visiting the Cal Performances box office at Zellerbach Hall or calling (510) 642-9988. Working members of the press should reserve tickets by contacting UC Berkeley Media Relations at ckm@pa.urel.berkeley.edu. A press table will be set up in the lobby of Wheeler Hall at 6:30 p.m. the day of the event. Media tickets can be picked up there until 7:30 p.m.