LA City Council to vote on capping rent control

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Today on AirTalk: LA City Council votes on rent stabilization; the cultural significance of Zohran Mamdani; how to write a joke; Bill Gates' comments on climate; and an interview with Susan Orlean.

LA City Council to vote on capping rent control

Today on AirTalk: LA City Council votes on rent stabilization; the cultural significance of Zohran Mamdani; how to write a joke; Bill Gates' comments on climate; and an interview with Susan Orlean.

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LA City Council to vote on capping rent control

The Los Angeles City Council will vote today on whether to lower the cap on rent increases to 3% on rent-stabilized units built before 1978. Should it pass, this would be the first time since 1985 that the city has made major changes to its rent-stabilization ordinance. As it stands, the current cap sits between 3% and 8%, dependent on inflation. Right now, approximately 42% of LA city residents live in units built before 1978. Joining us to discuss is LAist housing reporter, David Wagner. Are you a renter or landlord living in Los Angeles? We want to hear from you! How might the change in rent control impact you? Give us a call at 866-893-5722 or email us at atcomments@laist.com.

What’s the cultural significance of NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s win?

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The New York City mayor’s election held a lot of emotions for Americans keeping up with the race. With islamophobia having been ingrained in much of American life following the September 11 attacks– internationally leading to the war on terror and domestically seeing a spike in Anti-Muslim hate crimes – the win by now New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani meant a lot to those who’ve faced discrimination over these last decades. Although the election happened on the opposite side of the coast, the international coverage Mamdani’s win garnered resonated reasonably with Southern Californians. So today on AirTalk, we’re going to open up the phones and hear from listeners on the cultural significance this win had. Joining us to kick this conversation off is LAist reporter Yusra Farzan.

Anatomy of a joke: a new book breaks down the pieces of comedy writing

Is there any dependable way to write a joke? Is there a formula that guarantees a laugh? In his new book “Joke Farming: How to Write Comedy and Other Nonsense”, writer and comedian Elliott Kalan breaks down the anatomy of a joke. Those elements? Structure, premise, voice, tone, wording and audience. Okay, so a lot of things. But if all those elements are there, they can be applied to any comedic genre. Joining us today on AirTalk is author of the new book and four-time Emmy award winner, Elliott Kalan.

Resetting the discussion around climate crisis

Bill Gates released a lengthy memo on his website expressing his concerns on how the current climate crisis is being framed and addressed. One of Gates’ main points is that the climate crisis will not destroy humanity, as global warming is often framed. The climate crisis will drastically affect a handful of poorer countries, and minimally affect those living in nations like the U.S. Therefore, Gates argues, funds we have funneled into ineffective solutions for the climate crisis are better spent toward improving current hunger and poverty crises. Over the last couple weeks, environmental scientists have responded to Gates’ memo to varying degrees of disagreement. Most agree with Gates that climate change will not end the human race, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of us shouldn’t do our part to stave off the damage global warming will do to those who will be affected. Critics of Gates also agree that poverty and hunger are issues that need to be addressed, but that climate change will only worsen these issues. So, how should we talk about the climate crisis moving forward? And does Gates raise questions about the climate policy that we should interrogate? Joining us to discuss is Kim Cobb, Director of the Institute of Environment and Society at Brown University, Bjorn Lomberg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, and Stephen Lezak, researcher at University of California Berkeley and University at Oxford, where he studies the politics of climate change.

A new memoir highlights the work of journalist and author Susan Orlean

In order for a memoir to work, there has to be some underlying uniqueness to the subject. It’s something of a surprise then that renowned author and journalist Susan Orlean hasn’t crafted one sooner. In Joyride: A Memoir she captures her own life through a series of moments, and presents them to the reader in a digestible and insightful way. Today on AirTalk, New York Times staff writer and author Susan Orlean joins the program to talk about her memoir, and the life that inspired it.

Susan will be appearing virtually at the Barnes and Noble location at The Grove mall south of West Hollywood tonight, Nov 12 at 7 p.m to talk about her book. More information is available here.