When does a public apology backfire? One Olympian may have just found out
In a live post-race interview, a Norwegian Olympian took a very public moment to disclose some private details of his personal life. The bronze medalist shared that he’d been unfaithful to his girlfriend, “the love of [his] life,” and that it was the biggest mistake of his life. He had hoped to share his Olympic victory with her. The story has gone viral, and now, the athlete whose name is Sturla Holm Laegreid, is wondering if he made the right decision. How do you interpret this mea culpa? If you were in his position, would you try to make this sort of grand gesture? If you were his ex-girlfriend, how would this public admission of guilt make you feel? Call us at 866-893-5722 or email us at atcoments@laist.com.
The evolving landscape of Marijuana in the United States
A recent editorial from the New York Times editorial board made the case that marijuana legalization, in its current state, has gone too far and that the drug needs less normalization. With Cannabis still regulated on a state-by-state level, the board also calls for more federal regulation specifically. The piece marked a stark reversal from the board’s previous position for widespread legalization, with the board citing widespread use and rising evidence of addiction-related issues as reasons for their change of mind. So does the board have a point? How has our understanding of how marijuana affects our bodies changed in recent years? And as the industry continues to face economic headwinds with grey market operators still in the background, is it in a spot to accept more stringent oversight? Joining us to help answer these questions is Robin Goldstein, director of the Cannabis Economics Group and an economist in the department of agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Davis, and Deepak D’Souza MD, professor of psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and a staff psychiatrist at VA Connecticut Healthcare System.
A check in on California’s trucking industry
In the robust infrastructure of California’s central valley trucking industry, aging drivers have contributed heavily to the growing shortages in employment. This has led to a community of Sikh immigrants, picking up most of the jobs over the last 20 years. Although estimates of the number of Sikh truckers vary, California is home to half of the Sikh population in the US, which includes tens of thousands of truckers who can link their heritage back to the region of Punjab, India. Many truck drivers of South Asian descent, particularly those who are seeking asylum, rely on California’s special licenses called 'domicile licenses' or more commonly 'non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses' that are issued to individuals, including foreign nationals, who do not have a legal residency status in the state or country at the time of issuing the license. That all changed when the Trump administration’s focus on immigrant truckers intensified after two fatal crashes involving Sikh truck drivers caught national attention. The Department of Transportation has since threatened to pull 160 million dollars in funding for the state, forcing California to cancel non-domiciled commercial driving licenses altogether. Along with the immigration crackdowns, the trucking industry also may get hit with additional regulations this year, as a loophole in California state law that allows trucking schools to operate with little oversight has raised concerns about the quality of training for the state’s truck drivers. Here with us to talk about it is Gagandeep Singh, freelance journalist following the Sikh trucking workforce in the Central Valley for CalMatters and Adam Echelman, CalMatters higher education reporter.
Fewer 16-year-olds are on the road; what’s factoring into it?
A recent piece on Business Insider contextualized 2022 data from the Federal Highway Administration, which found that fewer 16-year-olds are getting their drivers licenses. This trend has gone on for some time, with the New York Times having reported on this in 2008, and there seems to be little suggestion that the numbers will ever come back up. With most teenagers at this point being Gen-Z, the story does offer insight into the psychological factors that may be at play, with the generation having been associated with relatively higher levels of anxiety. With there also being reported social differences in drinking and sex habits, it does offer some more context as to why driving may be another thing that the younger generation is doing less of. Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk about this reported decrease with Julia Pugachevsky, senior health reporter for Business Insider. Join the conversation: Are you a parent whose teenage child doesn’t seem interested in driving? Are you finding it difficult to help them get a car, or are insurance costs too high at this time? Give us a call at 866-893-5733 or email atcomments@laist.com.
