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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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Jump to
- Anti-Islam rhetoric 25 years after 9/11
- Charlie Kirk’s legacy revisited 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's show: AirTalk host Larry Mantle discusses anti-Islam rhetoric in the decades after 9/11, Charlie Kirk's legacy and the impacts on social media, how our brain influences us, this week 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, as politicians and media outlets have associated the populace of Muslims with extremism for decades, with hate speech against Muslim Americans surging in recent times. As we approach the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we take a look at how anti-Islamic rhetoric in the country has shaped much of the American perception of Muslims in the U.S.
Sharia-Free America: As Muslim populations continue to grow around the nation, Islamic tradition in Texas has become a hotbed issue, particularly for Republicans as some of the state’s lawmakers have tried to use Texas law to regulate cultural practices and other decisions governed by religious rules. Despite this, legal experts and civil rights groups concur that legislative initiatives — like those promoted by the Sharia-Free America Caucus violate the U.S. Constitution because the government cannot favor one religion over another or show hostility toward a specific faith.
Join the conversation: Are you of Islamic faith or do you have a Muslim cultural background? How has your experience been in America as a Muslim, and what have you observed? Give us a call at (866) 893-5722 or email at atcomments@laist.com
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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
Charlie Kirk’s legacy revisited one year following his assassination
Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
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Tess Crowley
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The Deseret News
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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. Some saw the act of political violence as something that could galvanize the Republican Party. Although it certainly has grown his profile among younger generations, it hasn’t necessarily been of benefit to Republicans and has created a complicated Kirk’s legacy.
What it’s meant for Republicans: Kirk’s legacy and the Republican Party have now been mixed up within a feud between Candace Owens and Turning Point USA. Kirk’s death has also become a notable talking point for Vice President J.D. Vance ahead of the midterms and a potential 2028 presidential bid.
Social media: With many Republicans policing the criticism of Kirk, it led many to ironically post about him on social media, including his face in various memes. Often referred to as a ‘Kirkification,’ the social media trend has continued for the last year. Another part of the broader memeing of the political figure is We Are Charlie Kirk, an AI-generated gospel track that’s been used in many Kirk-related memes.
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Guest:
- 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’s not always easy, but it is possible to tell when someone is trying to influence you. But what about when your own brain is 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.
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.
Guest:
- Owen Fitzpatrick, social psychologist and author of Inner Propaganda: Leading Hearts and Minds Through Turbulent Times
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.
Safety concerns: An AI researcher who had previously worked for OpenAI quit his job at rival Anthropic this week, and laid out his reason in a thread on X: he believes both AI companies are racing towards super intelligence at a rapid, unsafe pace. His tweet has raised a stir not just online, but also in Washington and the wider culture, with lawmakers weighing in.
Also: 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: Leading AI companies have long touted claims that their AI products were dangerous in some regards, going back to before ChatGPT launched to the public four years ago when OpenAI head Sam Altman called the nascent product too dangerous to release. But new AI models that are publicly available and internally used at AI companies have been shown to exhibit dangerous behavior, suggesting that future models could pose 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.
But: 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.
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Guest:
- Benjamin Guggenheim, author of the Washington Post Al & Tech Brief newsletter
New Caltech president Ray Jayawardhana
New incoming Caltech president Ray Jayawardhana speaks during an 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.
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.
Join the conversation: Do you have a question for Caltech president Ray Jayawardhana during the program? Give us a call at (866) 893-5722 or email atcomments@laist.com.
Guest:
- Ray Jayawardhana, president of California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
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.
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)
Guests:
- Dominic Patten, executive editor at Deadline Hollywood
- Saloni Gajjar, staff writer covering TV at the A.V. Club
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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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