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Ford is pivoting away from big EVs and rethinking its electric F-150 truck
The Ford F-150 is on display during the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center on November 21, 2025.
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Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images
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Getty Images North America
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Today on AirTalk:Ford's EV plansGambling or trading?Interview with Jimmy JamDoes marijuana really relieve pain?New tech for monarch butterfly tracking
Ford is pivoting away from big EVs and rethinking its electric F-150 truck
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10:14
Ford Motor Co. is pivoting away from its once-ambitious electric vehicle plans amid financial losses and waning consumer demand for the vehicles in lieu of investment in more efficient gasoline engines and hybrid EVs, the company said Monday. The Detroit automaker, which has poured billions of dollars into electrification along with most of its industry peers, said it will no longer make the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, instead opting for an extended range version of the vehicle. Ford will also introduce some manufacturing changes; its Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center — part of the BlueOval City campus and once the future of Ford’s EVs and batteries — is being renamed the Tennessee Truck Plant and will produce new affordable gas-powered trucks instead. Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant will produce a new gas and hybrid van. The company has lost $13 billion on EVs since 2023 and said it expects to take a $19.5 billion hit largely in the fourth quarter due to the EV business. “This is a customer-driven shift to create a stronger, more resilient, and more profitable Ford,” CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. “The operating reality has changed, and we are redeploying capital into higher-return growth opportunities: Ford Pro, our market-leading trucks and vans, hybrids, and high-margin opportunities like our new battery energy storage business.” Joining us to discuss the current situation surrounding Ford’s EV production is Jessica Caldwell, Head of Insights at Edmunds, an online resource for automotive inventory and information.
With files from the Associated Press.
Gambling and trading. What's the difference?
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17:20
In today’s age, buying stocks, betting on sports, or even wagering on current geopolitical indicators like inflation or elections can all be done by a click of a button on your phone. Technically, the act of buying and selling stocks falls under the definition of an investment. But the gamification of retail investment via apps has undoubtedly blurred the lines between what can be considered gambling and what can be considered investment. Trading apps and prediction markets like Robinhood and Kalshi offer fast, high-risk bets that can pay off in minutes or disappear just as quickly. So what is the line between investing and gambling? And who’s responsible when risk is gamified: the user, the platform, or regulators? For answers to these questions, we’re joined by Christopher S. Jones, chair of the Department of Finance and Business Economics at USC, and Brett Abarbanel, Executive Director at the UNLV International Gaming Institute.
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“The Next Verse” with Jimmy Jam
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22:00
In 1985, musicians banded together to raise funds for the famine in Africa. The result was the charity single “We Are the World" led by Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson. Now forty years later, musicians are coming together again in one recording studio to create “The Next Verse,” a charity single to raise money for global hunger in partnership with the 100 Billion Meals Challenge, co-founded by Tony Robbins. “The Next Verse” song is being produced by the Grammy Award-winning team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the producers and songwriters behind hits for Janet Jackson. Today on AirTalk, Larry Mantle speaks with Jimmy Jam about the charity single and special live experience, and the songwriting process behind it.
New research suggests marijuana may not have the pain-relief benefits we hoped for
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34:12
Is medical marijuana really as effective as we think for treating our pain, anxiety and sleeplessness? A new review of 15 years of research, which included 2,500 papers, has determined that much of the evidence around medical marijuana is “weak or inconclusive.” These findings come as more and more Americans turn to medical marijuana to treat a variety of ailments. But as the researchers who conducted the review point out, there’s a gap in understanding. There are the purported benefits of medical cannabis and the actual benefits. So what are those benefits, if any? Why is the data so inconclusive? Joining us today on AirTalk is Dr. Kevin Hill, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the review, and Ryan Vandrey, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University, where he helps run their Cannabis Science Lab.
New tech is allowing researchers to monitor monarch butterfly populations more closely
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15:30
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One of California’s most iconic species is the monarch butterfly. But, recently, the species has entered into a dangerous decline in population. Estimates suggest that the monarch population has declined by more than 80% since the 1980s. Habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change have impacted them. That, however, has not stopped researchers on the Central Coast from using a new cutting-edge technology to track the endangered species. Biologists have attached tiny, solar transmitters to the monarchs in an effort to help track butterfly movements. The tags connect via Bluetooth to a public app called Project Monarch, allowing researchers and everyday visitors to help track the butterflies’ movements in real time. This breakthrough could provide all kinds of timely data that could help scientists reveal new data about monarch migration. Joining us to talk about this new hi-tech butterfly discovery is Charis van der Heide, senior biologist at Althouse and Meade, Inc., who is leading the research, and LynneDee Althouse, president of Althouse and Meade, Inc.
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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