California lawmakers are proposing a bill that would ban the use of antibiotics in animal feed. Next, is it too soon to grant Pope John Paul II sainthood? Then, why are big media companies interested in multichannel networks? Later, on FilmWeek, this week's reviews and a look at the career of John Wayne.
California bill would ban antibiotic-fed livestock and poultry product
California Assemblyman Kevin Mullin’s Assembly Bill 1437 is going where the FDA hasn’t -- the bill would prohibit the sale of livestock and poultry product that has been administered non-therapeutic antibiotics.
Critics of antibiotic use have spoken out against the FDA’s lax policies on antibiotics in agriculture, saying that it’s inappropriate the 70 percent of antibiotics are fed to livestock and poultry, frequently to healthy animals.
Stanford University infectious disease specialist Dr. David Relman says that overuse of antibiotics is contributing to the spread of “superbugs,” making people less able to defend themselves against new strains of resistant diseases.
But those opposed to the bill say that rising costs and lack of public demand for antibiotic-free food present barriers to eliminating antibiotics in animal feed. They point to doctors over-prescribing antibiotics as the key problem when it comes to human disease.
Should antibiotic fed livestock and poultry product be banned in California? Will this be effective at a state level, or does the FDA need to intervene? How will consumers be affected?
Guests:
Avinash Kar, health attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council
Tom Talbot, DVM, veterinarian and past president of the California Cattlemen’s Association
Should the church have fast-tracked John Paul II’s canonization?
Pope Francis will grant sainthood to Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II this Sunday. The double canonization is a first for the Roman Catholic Church, and the historic event is expected to bring more than three million people to the Vatican. But the twin canonization has also caused controversy.
Pope John XXII reigned from 1958 until his death in 1963 and was known for his efforts to modernize the church. Pope John Paul II, who led the church for more than 25 years and passed away in 2005, is being declared a saint just nine years after his death and some critics think that's too soon. Furthermore, they question his handling of the sex abuse crisis that swept the church during the twilight of his reign.
Is it too hasty to canonize Pope John Paul II?
Guest:
Jason Berry, GlobalPost religion writer who has been writing about the double coronation for GlobalPost. He is the author of “Render unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church” (Broadway Books, 2012).
What are multichannel networks and why does everyone from Disney to AT&T want a piece of them?
In March, the Walt Disney Co. Offered to buy the Culver City-based Maker Studios for $500 million in cash. Depending on the company's performance, it could get an additional $450 million more from the Mouse House.
So what is Maker, you might ask? The 5-year-old company is a multichanncel network (MCN), meaning a producer and distributor of online video on YouTube. It's responsible for 55,000 YouTube channels with more than 380 million subscribers and 5.5 billion monthly views--hands down the most popular MCN out there.
One problem though: Maker’s not exactly profitable. With the acquisition, Disney is following in the footsteps of a couple big purchases by other companies. In 2013, DreamWorks, threw down $33 million for AwesomenessTV, a competitor to Maker. Last month, Warner Bros. pumped $18 million into the Machinima network, despite the fact that the niche network has been losing viewers.
Media conglomerates aren't the only ones wanting a piece of the pie. AT&T has rolled out plans to create a new MCN.
Is the Maker Studios deal worth close to $1 billion, one of Disney's biggest acquisitions in recent years? What does it give Disney over its competitors? Are we likely to see more of these blockbuster deals in the future?
Guest:
Peter Csathy, CEO of Manatt Digital Media Ventures, a division of Manatt Digital Media, a business consultant and venture capital firm focusing on tech, entertainment and media. His blog is called Digital Media Update.
Filmweek: The Other Woman, Brick Mansions, The Quiet Ones and more
Larry and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein and Wade Major review this week’s releases, including The Other Woman, Brick Mansions, The Quiet Ones and more. TGI-Filmweek!
The Other Woman
Brick Mansions
The Quiet Ones
Guests:
Lael Loewenstein, film critic for KPCC and Variety
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and producer and host for IGN’s DigiGods.com
John Wayne: The Life and Legend
John Wayne was one of Hollywood’s most famous and most successful actors, but he was more than that.
He became a symbol of America itself. He epitomized the Western film, which for many people epitomized America.
He identified with conservative political causes from the early 1930s to his death in 1979, making him a hero to one generation of Americans and a villain to another. But unlike fellow actor Ronald Reagan, Wayne had no interest in politics as a career.
Like many stars, he altered his life story, claiming to have become an actor almost by accident when in fact he had studied drama and aspired to act for most of his youth.
He married three times, all to Latina women, and conducted a lengthy affair with Marlene Dietrich, as unlikely a romantic partner as one could imagine for the Duke.
Wayne projected dignity, integrity, and strength in all his films, even when his characters were flawed, and whatever character he played was always prepared to confront injustice in his own way.
More than 30 years after his death, he remains the standard by which male stars are judged and an actor whose morally unambiguous films continue to attract sizeable audiences.
Guest:
Scott Eyman, author of “John Wayne: The Life and Legend” (Simon & Schuster, 2014) and “Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford (Simon & Schuster, 2012)