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Anti-Islam rhetoric, Charlie Kirk's legacy, this week in AI, new Caltech president and more
The Dome of the Rock on the Al-Aqsa compound before Friday prayers during Ramadan in Jerusalem.
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Ayman Oghanna
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NPR
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- Anti-Islam rhetoric 25 years after 9/11
- Charlie Kirk’s legacy one year following his assassination
- New book looks at how our minds influence themselves
- This week in AI: Anthropic researcher quits over safety concerns
- New Caltech president Ray Jayawardhana
- TV Talk: ‘NFL,’ ‘Colin From Accounts,’ ‘The Paper’ and more!
Today on AirTalk: Anti-Islam rhetoric, Charlie Kirk's legacy, how our brain influences us, latest in AI, new Caltech president and TV Talk.
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Anti-Islam rhetoric 25 years after 9/11
The topic:
Anti-Islamic rhetoric in the United States has become one of the most prevalent forms of hate speech in the country. With the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks tomorrow, we take a look at how anti-Islamic rhetoric has shaped how some Americans perceive Muslims in the U.S.
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15:15
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Guest: Nazita Lajevardi, associate professor at the University of Michigan and author of 'Outsiders at Home: The Politics of American Islamophobia.'
A closer look at Islamophobia in the U.S.: Texas conservatives have been prominent players in attempts to limit the practice of Islamic traditions. Legal experts say legislative initiatives — like those promoted by the Sharia-Free America Caucus — violate constitutional protections that prohibit the the government from favoring one religion over another or show hostility toward a specific faith.
Charlie Kirk’s legacy one year following his assassination
Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, shortly before he was shot and killed.
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Tess Crowley
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The Deseret News via AP
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The topic:
Today marks one year since Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political figure and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University. Kirk's profile has since grown among younger people, but it's also complicated.
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17:40
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Guest: Samuel Benson, national politics at POLITICO, and Brady Brickner-Wood, contributor to The New Yorker.
Why it's complicated: Candace Owens, Turning Point USA's former communications director and prominent conservative commentator, has been at public odds with current Turning Point USA leadership. Kirk’s death has also become a frequent talking point for Vice President JD Vance ahead of the midterms and a potential 2028 presidential bid.
Kirk's enduring presence on social media: When Kirk was killed, some Republicans led a charge to punish anyone who posted what they viewed as disparaging remarks about Kirk. There's what's called "Kirkification," a trend of switching out Kirk's face in memes. We Are Charlie Kirk, an AI-generated gospel track has been used in many Kirk-related memes.
More about our guests:
- Samuel Benson, national politics at POLITICO
- Brady Brickner-Wood, contributor to The New Yorker and author of the piece The Kirkification of Our Troubled Times
New book looks at how our minds influence themselves
How does your brain influence you?
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stockphotodirectors
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iStockphoto
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The topic:
It is possible to tell when someone is trying to influence you — although it's not always easy. What if it's your own brain that trying to influence how you think about and interpret the world? A new book looks at how we can understand our brain’s inner influencing operation and attempt to harness it.
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16:30
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Guest: Owen Fitzpatrick, social psychologist and author of 'Inner Propaganda: Leading Hearts and Minds Through Turbulent Times.'
The book: Inner Propaganda: Leading Hearts and Minds Through Turbulent Times (Ideapress Publishing, 2026) explores our brain’s internal mechanisms and offers insights on how to make use of them.
This week in AI: Anthropic researcher quits over safety concerns
Pages from the Anthropic website and the company's logo are displayed on a computer screen in New York on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.
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Patrick Sison
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AP
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The topic:
There’s seemingly a new AI headline just about every day, if not every hour. Each week on AirTalk, we set aside some time to catch you up on the biggest stories and developments of the week.
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Listen
15:26
Listen to the conversation:
Guest: Benjamin Guggenheim, author of the Washington Post Al & Tech Brief newsletter.
What happened this week An AI researcher at Anthropic quit his job at rival Anthropic this week with a bang. The researched, who'd previously worked for OpenAI , said on X that he believes both AI companies are racing towards super intelligence at a rapid, unsafe pace. His post has raised a stir not just online, but also in Washington and the wider culture, with lawmakers weighing in.
Broader safety concerns: Anthropic’s lead for “alignment” — the industry term for getting AI models to behave in ways humans would deem acceptable — responded to the the former researcher’s tweet by echoing his concern, saying he thinks there is a greater than 10% chance AI kills us all within the next decade.
Vibe check: Leaders of AI companies themselves have warned before that their AI products came with dangers. Before ChatGPT launched to the public four years ago, OpenAI head Sam Altman called the nascent product too dangerous to release. Now, new and publicly available AI models have been shown to exhibit dangerous behavior, suggesting that future models could pose even more serious risks.
Millennium problem controversy: Also this week, OpenAI announced that a 10,000 agent swarm of one of their internally-used models had solved one of the seven millennium math problems, which are a set of problems propped up by the Clay Mathematics Institute in the year 2000 to encourage advancements in math.
Pushback on that claim: Two mathematicians, Tristan Buckmaster and Levent Alpöge, were working on a related problem, with Buckmaster using OpenAI’s Codex tool for his work. Buckmaster has questioned publicly whether OpenAI somehow used his work to solve the problem.
New Caltech president Ray Jayawardhana
New incoming Caltech president Ray Jayawardhana at his announcement ceremony at Caltech in Pasadena on January 6, 2026.
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Christina House
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Getty Images
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The topic:
Earlier this year, Ray Jayawardhana, astrophysicist and former provost of Johns Hopkins University, was named the 10th president of Caltech. Along with being the face of the school's operations, he is also set to oversee NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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22:22
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Guest: Ray Jayawardhana, president of California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Challenges universities face: Given the federal government cutting its funding for scientific research, many university researchers have been in limbo. At least as far as California is concerned, that could change, with a 2028 ballot measure in the works to offer $7.5 billion in funding.
TV Talk: ‘NFL,’ ‘Colin From Accounts,’ ‘The Paper’ and more!
What are you watching over the weekend?
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Pituk Loonhong
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iStockphoto
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The topic:
Have you felt completely overwhelmed when deciding what new show to watch these days? Us too. There’s just so much content out there between network TV and numerous streaming platforms. This week, listeners will get the latest scoop on what’s worth watching.
Listen
11:46
Listen to the conversation:
Guests: Dominic Patten, executive editor at Deadline Hollywood, and Saloni Gajjar, staff writer covering TV at the A.V. Club.
TV Shows:
- 2026 NFL Season
- 60 Minutes (CBS)
- Colin From Accounts [Season 3] (Paramount+)
- The Paper [Season 2] (Peacock)
- Diarra From Detroit [Season 2 FINALE] (BET+)
- The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards (NBC)
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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