In the aftermath of Monday's shooting at North Park Elementary School, questions are being raised about how to identify suspicious individuals on campus and what protocols exist to ensure safety - we hear from two different experts; we also cover why filing taxes in the U.S. is so complicated; the rise of super fandom in business marketing models; and more.
In wake of another school shooting, what’s campus protocol for suspicious individuals?
Questions about school safety are looming in the aftermath of Monday morning’s North Park Elementary School shooting.
The incident occurred when a 53-year-old man shot and killed his estranged wife Karen Elaine Smith, who was teaching a special education class at the San Bernardino school. The man also fatally shot an 8-year-old student before turning the gun on himself. Another student was wounded, but is in stable condition. The shooter reportedly had a history of domestic abuse and he was able to enter the school by checking-in at its front office.
So what is school protocol when a suspicious individual enters a campus? What rules are there to ensure student safety?
Guests:
Pedro Noguera, Ph.D., distinguished professor of education at the UCLA Graduate School of Education
Kenneth S. Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, a national school safety consulting firm
How to bridge the divide in a hyperpolarized world
The 2016 election has shown that we live in an increasingly polarized world. Months after that divisive political battle, the split seems to have only solidified.
AirTalk regulars and law experts Jody Armour and Eugene Volokh join Larry to discuss. What are you experiencing? With family members, colleagues, political adversaries?
Guests:
Jody Armour, professor of Law at the University of Southern California
Eugene Volokh, professor of Law at the UCLA
Moscow reporter, Russia expert lay out Secretary Tillerson’s game plan during visit to Kremlin
As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives in Moscow to meet with Russian foreign officials, including President Vladimir Putin, the White House is elevating its rhetoric on the recent chemical attack in Syria, in which Turkish investigators recently confirmed sarin gas was used.
The White House said Tuesday that the Russian government tried to cover up the chemical attack and create confusion about it through spreading misinformation to try and shield the Assad regime.
Shortly before he boarded a plane for the Russian capital, he cautioned that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is coming to an end. The White House has at times echoed that sentiment, as did UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, though Tillerson himself on several of the Sunday talk shows downplayed the idea that the U.S.’s Syria strategy was changing to focus on Assad, saying instead that it would remain the removal from ISIS.
What can we expect Tillerson to get out of this meeting? What should the U.S.’s role be moving forward in terms of foreign policy? How should it work with allies on sanctions?
Guest:
Greg White, government editor for Bloomberg’s Moscow bureau; he tweets
Edward Fishman, nonresident senior fellow with the Eurasia Center at The Atlantic Council and former member of the policy planning staff for the U.S. State Department from 2015-2017
Why America’s tax system is ‘A Fine Mess’
If you’re still scratching your head trying to figure out which tax forms and exemptions to file before April 18, it’s not your fault.
Author T.R. Reid says our U.S. tax system is so complicated that navigating a 1040NR-EZ, or struggling to understand what counts as charitable deductions, leaves Americans both bewildered and stuck in an obscure process subject to misuse.
Reid, a former Washington Post foreign correspondent, compares the tax systems of other countries to our own in a quest to find a structure more “simple, fair and efficient,” all of which can be found in his new book “A Fine Mess” before the big Tuesday.
At a time when the Trump administration is also pushing to reform America’s tax code, host Larry Mantle speaks with Reid about his book and its most prominent findings.
Guest:
T.R. Reid, longtime Washington Post correspondent and author of numerous books including his latest, “A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System” (Penguin Press 2017)
How zealous fans are creating a new type of business and marketing model
Defined as a community or subculture united by its obsession with some aspect of pop culture, fandom has also become a driving force for modern marketing.
In their new book “Superfandom: How Our Obsessions are Changing What We Buy and Who We Are,” co-authors Zoe Fraade-Blanar and Aaron Glazer explore how fandom bends the traditional separation between consumer and creator.
In some ways, the advent of digital platforms give creators incredible power over their audience, but it also puts them in a more delicate position than before, pressured to adjust to the demands of consumers whose zeal is the key to profit.
From the popular game "Cards Against Humanity" to the resurgence of the Polaroid camera, “Superfandom” uses the lenses of history, psychology and sociology to explore fandom-business relationships, as well as why some fan engagement strategies succeed, while others crash and burn.
Guests:
Zoe Frade-Blanar, faculty member of New York University and NYU Journalism, co-founder and CCO of crowdsourced toy company Squishable and co-author of “Superfandom: How Our Obsessions are Changing What We Buy and Who We Are” (W. W. Norton & Company, 2017)
Aaron M. Glazer, co-founder and CEO of Squishable and co-author of “Superfandom: How Our Obsessions are Changing What We Buy and Who We Are” (W. W. Norton & Company, 2017)