Today on AirTalk we discuss if the tragedy in West, Texas, could have been avoided by stricter regulations. Also, we'll look at how Stanford's branding may be attracting more students than Harvard, our Orange County journalists discuss recent events, and we examine how the U.S. should respond if Syria has used chemical weapons. Then, will Burger King's delivery service attract more customers, and is "big data" overhyped?
Did Texas’ low-regulation mindset contribute to the tragedy in West?
As people of West, Texas gather to mourn today, grief will be much more palpable than blame. Despite reports that the owner of the West Fertilizer Plant failed to report vast amounts of explosive chemicals, multiple residents have described events as the cost of doing business. Federally, security questions are being raised. Ammonium nitrate can be used to make explosives, so it's not know why the plant owner failed to report information to the Department of Homeland Security. It's also not know why ten firefighters were so close to the blast site a full 26-minutes after the initial fire started.
Were local inspectors aware of the plant's contents? Were preventative measures ever discussed? How much policing is needed of businesses?
Guests:
Rick Rojas, Staff Reporter, Los Angeles Times
Neil Carman, PhD; Former investigator for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; Currently clean air program director, Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter in Austin
Chuck DeVore, Vice President of Policy, Texas Public Policy Foundation; Former California State Assemblyman (2004-2010) representing coastal Orange County, including cities of Irvine, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach
More students identify Stanford as their 'dream school' than Harvard
Once upon a time, the question used to be “Harvard or Yale” when it comes to which is the more prestigious university in the nation. But in the past few years, the question seems to have been changed to “Harvard or Stanford?”
A new Princeton Review survey supports that switch. It finds that, when asked about their “dream school,” high-school students and parents overwhelmingly chose the West Coast school over its East Coast rival. Both, of course, are top-notched schools academically, and anyone would happy to go to either school. But the change in perception might have more to do with the different “brand” each school projects.
Is the Harvard brand losing its shine? Is the Stanford brand ascending? What are the reasons behind the shift?
Guest:
Elizabeth Scarborough, CEO of SimpsonScarborough, a market research firm that specializes in looking at higher-education brands
OC Journalists Roundtable: Fire ring controversy continues to burn
We convene our monthly gathering of esteemed Orange County reporters and editors to discuss the latest in the controversy over the proposed removal of fire rings from county beaches, the OC Register’s ad deal with local universities that put the paper’s credibility under scrutiny, charges against former UCI professor Tatsuya Suda regarding conflict of interest in his academic funding, a grand jury’s claim that Orange County has a culture of corruption, and the story of former OC CEO Tom Mauk’s car crash Sunday night which killed two Anaheim residents.
Guests:
Ben Bergman, KPCC’s Orange County reporter
Norberto Santana, Voice of OC
Teri Sforza, OC Register reporter
If Assad is using chemical weapons against opposition forces, should the U.S. intervene in Syria?
Defense secretary Chuck Hagel announced on Thursday that the US has a "varying" amount of confidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons in its ongoing civil war. President Barack Obama has repeatedly said that if Syria ever used chemical weapons it would cross a "red line". The White House sent a letter to Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., on Thursday. saying that the Syrian government likely used the chemical agent sarin gas "on a small scale".
If the use of chemical weapons can be proved, does it justify US intervention in Syria? What type of proof should be required after faulty intelligence about the use of chemical weapons in Iraq? What should the "red line" be to justify US involvement?
Guests:
Danielle Pletka, Vice President of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute
Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress
Poll: Would you use Burger King's new delivery service?
The fast food giant Burger King announced that it’s expanding their limited delivery service to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. One local Burger King in Glendale has been delivering Whoppers and fries since earlier this month.
The new push for delivery is one way that the fast food chain is trying to hold on to customers in an increasingly competitive industry. A trend toward healthier eating and competition from newcomers like Chipotle and Panera are encroaching on fast food’s territory.
Will offering delivery help Burger King keep its market share? What else are fast food chains doing to hold on to customers who are more concerned about the health effects of fast food? Are you more likely order a Whopper if it were delivered to you?
Guest:
Sam Oches, editor of the fast food industry publication QSR Magazine
Apps, ‘big data,’ and the ‘folly of technological solutionism’
Are you tired of hearing, “There’s an app for that?” In today’s technologically-savvy world, there seems to be an app to solve everything. This has many techies expectant of a promising future. As technology develops, it’s presenting solutions for problems as big as education reform and as basic as forgetting something.
Not so, says Evgeny Morozov. In his new book, “To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism,” Morozov unabashedly attacks “solutionists” and the ideas coming out from the Silicon Valley. Morozov criticizes solutionists, those who try to solve problems with technology, for their utopian ideals because technology could never provide a solution to complex human problems. Rather, its solution can even make issues worse. With education, Morozov argues that technology can limit teacher-student interactions, which hinders development through discussions. In politics, online transparency discourages political activism because individuals want to keep their privacy.
Is Morozov right? Are we so caught up with “big data” hype that we believe in an unrealistic Utopia? Can the internet cause more problems than find solutions?
Guest:
Evgeny Morozov, author of “To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism” (Public Affairs) and “The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom” (Public Affairs, 2012)