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Q&A With Medical Expert: New Guidance On Face Masks And More, Plus Have You Experienced COVID-19?

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 03: Mt. Sinai medical workers attends a protest on April 3, 2020 in New York City. Medical workers are protesting the lack of personal protective equipment during a surge in coronavirus cases. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 03: Mt. Sinai medical workers attends a protest on April 3, 2020 in New York City. Medical workers are protesting the lack of personal protective equipment during a surge in coronavirus cases. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
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Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
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Listen 1:43:07
Today on AirTalk, we answer your questions about COVID-19; plus, our FilmWeek critics discuss what they're watching; and more.
Today on AirTalk, we answer your questions about COVID-19; plus, our FilmWeek critics discuss what they're watching; and more.

Today on AirTalk, we answer your questions about COVID-19. Also on the show, we check in with graduating seniors about how they are feeling; our FilmWeek critics discuss what they're watching; and more.

Q&A With Medical Expert: New Guidance On Face Masks And More, Plus Have You Experienced COVID-19?

Listen 43:04
Q&A With Medical Expert: New Guidance On Face Masks And More, Plus Have You Experienced COVID-19?

The guidance from officials up until recently had been to only wear a mask if you were sick or caring for someone who was. 

But on Wednesday night LA Mayor Eric Garcetti took it to the next level and announced that all Angelenos should be wearing one when out in public. The county followed suit. Not the N95 models — save those for the healthcare workers. Garcetti said homemade ones are just fine.

Read more on LAist.

We discuss the new guidelines, and take your questions. 

Plus, if you suspect that you had COVID-19, or have had it - we want to hear from you. How was the experience? What was your interaction with the health care system? How did you self-isolate and keep those around you safe? Call us at 866-893-5722. 

With files from LAist.

Guest:

Kimberly Shriner M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena

A Look At The Life And Legacy Of Soul Musician Bill Withers

Listen 8:10
A Look At The Life And Legacy Of Soul Musician Bill Withers

Bill Withers, who wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time, including “ Lean on Me, ” “Lovely Day” and “Ain’t No Sunshine,” has died from heart complications, his family said in a statement to The Associated Press. He was 81.

The three-time Grammy Award winner, who withdrew from making music in the mid-1980s, died on Monday in Los Angeles, the statement said. His death comes as the public has drawn inspiration from his music during the coronavirus pandemic, with health care workers, choirs, artists and more posting their own renditions on “Lean on Me” to help get through the difficult times. Withers’ songs during his brief career have become the soundtracks of countless engagements, weddings and backyard parties. They have powerful melodies and perfect grooves melded with a smooth voice that conveys honesty and complex emotions without vocal acrobatics. “Lean on Me,” a paean to friendship, was performed at the inaugurations of both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me” are among Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Today on AirTalk, we look at the musician’s legacy. 

With files from the Associated Press 

Guest:

Mikael Wood, pop music critic at the Los Angeles Times; he tweets

FilmWeek: ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always,’ ‘Bacurau,’ ‘Slay The Dragon’ and more

Listen 38:32
FilmWeek: ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always,’ ‘Bacurau,’ ‘Slay The Dragon’ and more

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein, Peter Rainer and Christy Lemire review this weekend’s new movie releases and share their picks for the best movies and TV shows to binge, rewatch or see for the first time while you’re staying at home.

Guests:

Lael Loewenstein, KPCC film critic and film columnist for the Santa Monica Daily Press; she tweets

Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor

Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of the ‘Breakfast All Day’ podcast; she tweets

How Director Eliza Hittman’s Journey To Pregnancy Centers In Rural America Inspired Her New Film ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’

Listen 10:59
How Director Eliza Hittman’s Journey To Pregnancy Centers In Rural America Inspired Her New Film ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’

The film “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” was slated for a theatrical release in March, but due to COVID-19 screenings were postponed. Instead, the film is out on digital this week, currently sporting a 98 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and receiving critical acclaim both here on FilmWeek and nationwide as one of the best films of 2020 so far.

Writer-director Eliza Hittman’s third feature-length film is about two teenage girls Skylar (Talia Ryder) and Autumn (Sidney Flanagan) from rural Pennsylvania who travel to New York City for medical help after an unplanned pregnancy. Hittman says the idea for the film came to her when she read in a book about how some women in Ireland, which up until recently had very strict laws against abortions, would travel from Ireland to London in 24 hours just to get a procedure. It struck her as worthy of a screenplay, and the idea was born. As part of her research for the film Hittman went to a small coal-mining community in rural Pennsylvania and, even though she wasn’t pregnant, visited pregnancy centers, got tested, and talked with women getting treatment and counseling so she could, as she says, “write the scenes with credibility.”

Today on FilmWeek, we’ll air “The Frame” host John Horn’s interview with “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” director Eliza Hittman where the two discuss how Hittman came up with the idea for the film, her journey to rural America to find out what visiting pregnancy centers there is like, and how that informed the way she conceived and wrote the film.

Guest:

Eliza Hittman, writer and director of “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”