July 21, 1995: Ladies Room Lines | Open Lines
Jul 21, 1995
2h 50m
0:00 / 0:00
Art Bell opens a freewheeling Friday night edition with a deep dive into the week's biggest headlines, from NATO's latest futile threats against Bosnian Serbs to the University of California Board of Regents voting to end affirmative action.
The broadcast takes an unexpected turn when Art spotlights a television report about the chronic shortage of women's restroom facilities at public venues, sparking an hours-long debate with callers and faxers over why women visit the bathroom in pairs, whether mirror time is to blame, and whether the real answer is safety. Callers from across the country offer theories ranging from social bonding to self-defense. Between the bathroom debate, Art covers a Dateline story about a widow suing the parents of two young men who beat her husband to death in his gun store, raising the question of whether parents should be financially liable for their children's crimes. Updates on the Roswell autopsy photographs, the Waco hearings, the Susan Smith trial, and the O.J. Simpson defense round out the evening.
A classic open lines broadcast where the trivial and the profound collide across five unpredictable hours.
The broadcast takes an unexpected turn when Art spotlights a television report about the chronic shortage of women's restroom facilities at public venues, sparking an hours-long debate with callers and faxers over why women visit the bathroom in pairs, whether mirror time is to blame, and whether the real answer is safety. Callers from across the country offer theories ranging from social bonding to self-defense. Between the bathroom debate, Art covers a Dateline story about a widow suing the parents of two young men who beat her husband to death in his gun store, raising the question of whether parents should be financially liable for their children's crimes. Updates on the Roswell autopsy photographs, the Waco hearings, the Susan Smith trial, and the O.J. Simpson defense round out the evening.
A classic open lines broadcast where the trivial and the profound collide across five unpredictable hours.
Key Moments
California bill making parents civilly liable for kids' crimes: Art recaps a Dateline NBC story: a 58-year-old California gun-store owner beaten to death by two teens; the widow is suing both families and a bill on the governor's desk would let victims collect from parents without even filing suit. Art frames it as a debate on parental responsibility.
UC Regents end affirmative action; Jackson responds: Art reports the UC Board of Regents voted late the previous night to end all affirmative action, notes about half of the incoming class had been chosen on race or gender grounds, and quotes Jesse Jackson saying America's educational system has been hijacked.