Today on AirTalk, we break down the latest COVID-19 news. Also on the show, we discuss Biden's move to withdraw troops in Afghanistan by Sept. 11; talk about Facebook's move to create a kid-friendly Instagram app; and more.
DOC AMA: Vaccine Eligibility Expansion, J&J Vaccine Latest, Breakthrough Cases And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, we speak with UCSF’s Dr. Peter Chin-Hong.
Today’s topics include:
Vaccine appointments open to all over 16 in California
Plus, when will vaccines be determined safe for those under 16?
A CDC committee has extended the pause on the J&J vaccine
Who’s most affected by the pause? Likely it’s underserved communities
Breakthrough cases: The CDC found that a small group of patients got COVID even after vaccination - including 12 people in L.A. County
A research project led by the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health determined that neighborhoods with the worst air quality in L.A. County had the highest rate of COVID deaths
How worried should we be about the variants
The Staples Center is reopening at limited capacity today with the Lakers playing the Boston Celtics - so, it’s a good time to review best practices for moving about in the world
Some are experiencing social anxiety as COVID restrictions ease
With guest host Austin Cross
Guest:
Peter Chin-Hong, M.D., infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the UCSF Medical Center; he tweets
Children’s Groups Push Back Against Instagram App In Development For Young Children
Anyone that has spent time around young kids and cell phones probably knows how adept children are at using social media apps.
That’s part of the reason why executives at Instagram announced last month that they are developing a new version of the app for children under the age of 13. They say it will keep children safer from bullying and sexual predation. But a coalition of 35 children’s and consumer groups are pushing back on that idea, saying that 10- to 12- year olds will be unlikely to switch to the kid’s app, and it could hook even younger children into the more toxic aspects of Instagram’s culture. “While collecting valuable family data and cultivating a new generation of Instagram users may be good for Facebook’s bottom line,” the groups, led by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood in Boston, said in the letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “it will likely increase the use of Instagram by young children who are particularly vulnerable to the platform’s manipulative and exploitative features.”
Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about the controversy around Instagram’s potential children’s app. Are you the parent of a young child? What are your thoughts? Give us a call at 866-893-5722 or comment below.
Guests:
Ryan Mac, senior technology reporter at Buzzfeed News; he tweets
Yalda T. Uhls, adjunct professor of child psychology at UCLA and founder of The Center for Scholars & Storytellers, a think tank dedicated to bridging the gap between academia and the entertainment industry; she is also the author of "Media Moms & Digital Dads: A Fact-Not-Fear Approach to Parenting in the Digital Age" (Routledge, 2015); she tweets
A Police Officer Was Fired For Intervening In Colleague’s Chokehold In 2006. Why It Matters Today And What It Means For How We Look At Excessive Force
A judge has ruled that the firing of a police officer, who’s black, in 2006 was wrong. Cariole Horne intervened when she saw a fellow officer put a man in a chokehold. Horne was fired soon after the incident, but she didn’t give up the fight.
According to the New York Times, the court ruling rewrites the ending of Horne’s career in the police force, giving her access to back pay and other benefits. Today on AirTalk, we talk with a reporter who’s been following the latest on Horne’s case and discuss why it’s taken so long to get to this point. Plus, we discuss what it means for the future of reporting excessive force behaviors in the police force, all as eyes are on Minneapolis during the trial of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd. Do you have thoughts or questions? Call 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Jonah E. Bromwich, a courts reporter for the New York Times, his latest piece is “Court Vindicates Black Officer Fired for Stopping Colleague’s Chokehold;” he tweets
Tommy W. Tunson, retired chief of police in California with 30 years experience in law enforcement in cities including Calexico, Coachella, South Gate and Arvin; he's now a criminal justice professor at Bakersfield College
What US Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan Means For International Politics, The Future Of Afghanistan’s Government, And U.S-Afghan Relations
President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will withdraw remaining U.S. troops from the “forever war” in Afghanistan, declaring that the Sept. 11 attacks cannot justify American forces still being there 20 years after the deadliest terror assault on the United States.
His plan is to pull out all American forces - numbering 2,500 now - by this Sept. 11, the anniversary of the attacks, which were coordinated from Afghanistan. The drawdown would begin rather than conclude by May 1, which has been the deadline for full withdrawal under a peace agreement the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year. The decision marks perhaps the most significant foreign policy decision for Biden in the early going of his presidency. He’s long been skeptical about the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. As Barack Obama's vice president, Biden was a lonely voice in the administration who advised the 44th president to tilt towards a smaller counterterrorism role in the country while military advisers were urging a troop buildup to counter Taliban gains. Biden has also made clear he wants to recalibrate U.S. foreign policy to face bigger challenges posed by China and Russia.
Withdrawing all U.S. troops comes with clear risks. It could boost the Taliban's effort to claw back power and undo gains toward democracy and women’s rights made over the past two decades. It also opens Biden to criticism, mostly Republicans and some Democrats, even though former President Donald Trump had also wanted a full withdrawal. While Biden’s decision keeps U.S. forces in Afghanistan four months longer than initially planned, it sets a firm end to two decades of war that killed more than 2,200 U.S. troops, wounded 20,000, and cost as much as $1 trillion.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk about what the troop withdrawal means for the future of U.S.-Afghan relations and for the U.S. presence and influence in the Middle East, and look back on what has happened in the two decades since American troops first landed in Afghanistan following 9/11.
We reached out to the State Department to request that someone be made available, but they were not able to provide a representative for us at the time we requested.
With files from the Associated Press
With guest host Austin Cross
Guests:
James Schwemlein, senior director at the Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategic advisory and commercial diplomacy firm, and a nonresident scholar in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; he is a former senior advisor to the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. State Department; he tweets
Col. (ret.) Arnold V. Strong, retired U.S. Army colonel and public affairs officer, and former chief of Training and Operations Mentor at Kabul Military Training Center in Afghanistan from 2006-2007, where he trained members of the Afghan National Army; he currently serves as a senior partner at the Long Beach office Global Vantage Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm based in New York City; he tweets
In New Book, The ‘Mothers’ Of NPR Get Their Due
Just in time for NPR’s 50th birthday, a new book spotlights the four so-called ‘mothers’ of NPR: Susan Stamberg, Linda Wertheimer, Nina Totenberg and Cokie Roberts.
“Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie” looks at how these four influential voices helped the organization—celebrating its 50th birthday this year— become the major power player it is today. Journalist Susan Stamberg co-hosted All Things Considered and became the first woman to host a national news broadcast. Linda Wertheimer still reports as a senior national correspondent, as does Nina Totenberg, an award-winning legal affairs correspondent. Cokie Roberts passed away in 2019, and prior to her death she spent decades as a political reporter and analyst for NPR and ABC News.
Today on AirTalk, we discuss the early years of NPR with Lisa Napoli. Questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
With guest host Austin Cross
Guest:
Lisa Napoli, author of many books including her latest, “Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie” (Abrams Press, 2021); former reporter at Marketplace, The New York Times and other outlets; she tweets