OpenAI shutters Sora: What’s next for artificial intelligence in entertainment?

OpenAI shutters Sora: What’s next for artificial intelligence in entertainment?

OpenAI is shutting down its social media app Sora, which went viral last fall as a place to create and share artificial intelligence-generated short-form but also raised alarms in Hollywood and elsewhere. OpenAI said in a brief social media message Tuesday that it was “saying goodbye to the Sora app” and that it would share more soon about how to preserve what users already created on the app. The Hollywood Reporter also reported Disney would be exiting its previously announced $1 billion dollar investment into OpenAI. Is this the first signal that AI is a bubble? Or is OpenAI’s realignment a step on its path to dominating our worklives? Joining us today to discuss their reporting is Dominic Patten, executive editor at Deadline Hollywood.

With files from the Associated Press.

New Pew research breakdowns how society in the U.S. has changed over the last 50 years

With the United States’ 250 anniversary fast approaching, Pew Research released a report analyzing what has changed about the nation in the past 50 years. The findings were separated into four categories: demographic changes, family lifestyle changes, work force changes, and economic changes. Not surprising, the U.S. has become more racially and ethnically diverse over the past five decades, with the percentage of foreign-born people in the U.S. almost triple its share in 1970. Marriage rates have declined and the share of the middle class has shrunk. Today on AirTalk, we delve into Pew’s findings with Richard Fry, senior researcher at Pew, and Kim Parker, director of Social Trends Research at Pew.

What questions or stories do you have about parenting a new baby?

Parenting is full of ups and downs, and it seems like a lot of those downs happen in a child’s first year — that is, when they are a tiny baby. From year 0 to year 1, babies are entirely reliant on their parents for just about everything. So how do you become a good parent when you’re also sleep deprived and juggling so much? Joining us this morning to share what to know about parenting in year 0 is Dr. Lena Claire van der List D.O., general pediatrician with UC Davis Health. Of course, we want to hear from you! What stories stick out about your first year as a parent? What questions do you have about your first year with a baby? Give us a call at 866-893-5722 or you can email us at atcomments@laist.com.

What are the short and long term effects of the Iran war on the prices we pay for everything?

As the war with Iran continues on in its fourth week, economic indicators at the macro level have been erratic. Oil plunged and stocks surged early this week after President Donald Trump posted that discussions were underway with Iran to end hostilities, discussion Iran denied having occurred. Still, the price of oil remains well above what it was before the war broke out, leading to a gallon of gas being about a buck more than it was a month ago. This not only has an impact on consumer’s wallets, but also their view of the economy — both in the short and long term. With the price of oil directly impacting the price of just about everything in the economy, we’re looking at how the economy of tomorrow, the weeks, ahead, and months ahead may treat consumers with Ryan Cummings, chief of staff at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policymaking (SIEPR).

Analysis: City Hall leaves a big chunk of homelessness funds on the table

Over the last decade, Los Angeles has gained a reputation as an “epicenter of homelessness” as the city has spent tens of billions of dollars over the years in an effort to address the seemingly expanding crisis. The city’s large-scale initiatives have aimed their focus on housing first, with a priority to keep people sheltered. But, the appropriation of these large fundings has not come without its own internal turmoil, as L.A.’s main homeless services agency is at risk of blowing a federal audit’s deadline approaching next week after executives were far behind schedule in providing necessary documents. This week, the office of the city controller released its own analysis of its homelessness funds that found at least $473 million in expenditures were left on the table after accounting for fiscal year 2025. Joining us to talk through the potential missed opportunities is Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, and Kenneth Mejia, City Controller of Los Angeles.

It’s not just hot on land — a marine heatwave is hitting the Pacific Ocean

While Southern California saw a number of high temperature records shatter over the last few weeks, another heatwave continued brewing just off the coast. Marine heatwaves occur when the expected temperature of an area of the ocean is much warmer than anticipated. In our era of changing climate, they have become more common. As they have become more common, research into their effects has too. A number of large marine heatwaves in the Pacific Ocean occurred during 2019 through 2024, beginning around spring and ending in late winter. However, this season’s heatwave, dubbed NEP25A, regained steam in December and has led to some of the warmest coast sea surface temperatures on record. For more on marine heatwaves and their impact on not just the sea, but the world is Andrew Leising, research oceanographer with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries and Clarissa Anderson, director of the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System and also director of the Cooperative Institute for Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Systems.