In “Chinatown,” the film reveals corruption behind constructing the Los Angeles Aqueduct. We discuss the how much of it truly reflects the California water wars of the early twentieth century. We also examine the gas tax; analyze the MoviePass business model; and more.
The morning tweet: President Trump calls on Jeff Sessions to end Mueller probe
President Trump took to Twitter this morning to call on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end the Mueller investigation into Russian meddling of the 2016 election this morning.
..This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!
Sessions recused himself from involvement in the Russia investigation. Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller as Special Counsel. The President continues to call the investigation a witch hunt. How are Republicans responding? We’ll find out, right after the news.
President Trump’s tweet came as the Paul Manafort trial enters its second day in Virginia. Manafort, who is facing charges on tax and bank fraud, is the first person to be tried as part of the Mueller probe.
Guest:
Kyle Cheney, congressional reporter for POLITICO; he tweets
Will the woes of MoviePass birth a more successful subscription model elsewhere?
It was a risky business model from the start, banking on an attractive $9.95 monthly fee to watch almost any movie at any theater in the hopes that enough popcorn-buying customers and their precious data would become the next best thing for the movie biz.
MoviePass has been around since 2011, but after lowering their subscription fee one year ago (even offering a $6.95 special at one point), it’s suffered enormous profit losses and angered millions of customers who haven’t been able to use the app due to constant glitches, title exclusions and just last week — an entire shutdown of the service.
But despite its woes, other theaters groups are catching on to the subscription model, which could lead to new forms of audience services and local subscriptions that actually churn out a profit for the industry. Whether you’re a casual movie-goer or film addict, what services would you be willing to pay for? Call in at 866-893-5722 or comment below.
We reached out to MoviePass for this segment and received a comment from CEO Mitch Lowe:
Over the last several days, we’ve begun making the necessary changes to our service that will help us continue to offer our members a high-value, low-cost, in-theater movie experience. These are essential steps to continue providing the most attractive subscription service in the industry. Our community of more than 3 million members has shown an immense amount of enthusiasm over the past year, and we trust that they will continue to share our vision to reinvigorate the movie industry.
Guests:
Ryan Faughnder, entertainment business reporter for the Los Angeles Times; he tweets
Greg Laemmle, president of Laemmle Theaters; he tweets
If you’re waiting to stumble upon your passion, don’t hold your breath – a new study says you have to develop it
Students are often told that if they choose a job they love, they’ll “never have to work a day” in their lives.
Though that concept is full of good intentions, it can lead to some unrealistic expectations for young professionals.
A new joint study from psychology professors at Yale-NUS College in Singapore and Stanford suggests that students who believe their passions are predetermined are less likely to explore subjects outside of their identified core interests – and in doing so, fail to notice a different field of study that may intersect or overlap with those interests. It also can lead some students to give up on a subject they had interest in as soon as the going gets tough, believing that if it were truly their passion, their motivation and interest would never wane.
The researchers argue this train of thought is detrimental to students who assume they’re missing a major epiphany to point them in the right direction, because in reality, interests can be cultivated over time and often include elements of less desirable work.
AirTalk wants to hear from you. What is your experience with “finding your passion”? Did you think you had one and then decide otherwise after learning more? Are you still looking for it? And what role has it played in your career, if any? Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Gregory M. Walton, co-author of the study “Implicit theories of interest: Finding your passion or developing it?”, forthcoming in journal, “Psychological Science”; associate professor of psychology at Stanford University
‘Your tax dollars at work’: Are road construction signs that mention gas tax politicking or transparency?
If you’ve driven past a construction site on the road, you may have seen a sign that says “Your tax dollars at work. Rebuilding California,” which is meant to alert drivers-by that the project was paid for by the gas tax increase.
But considering that a gas tax repeal is on the November ballot, are these signs illegitimately swaying public opinion? That’s the argument being made by Sen. Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) who wants transportation officials to take down the signs, as reported by the L.A. Times. Transportation officials have responded that these signs are nothing new and that they show residents how their tax dollars are being spent.
Do you think these signs are unduly swaying public opinion on a political matter? Or are they a measure of transparency that reflects how tax dollars are being put to work?
Guests:
Raphe Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University Los Angeles
Matt Rocco, spokesman for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
Susan Shelley, vice president of communications at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA), a California nonprofit policy organization that advocates against tax increases
A mission to Mars may drive us crazy – but if we can’t terraform it then does it even matter?
It’s hard to describe the overwhelming power of space better than when Carl Sagan did for Time magazine: “There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.”
Though he was referencing Voyager 1’s 1990 “Pale Blue Dot” image of Earth, a tiny blue blur taken from 6 billion kilometers away, the general feel of human insignificance is often a theme when discussing space exploration. During long journeys into the cosmic unknown, astronauts not only tackle external stressors, but must also push through internal challenges as well. Isolation, depression, claustrophobia – all of these feelings can bubble to the surface and affect the mental morale of a mission.
In order to study and prep for these circumstances, NASA funds a multitude of months-long simulations that aspiring astronauts can volunteer for, including the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) mission. HI-SEAS participants spend up to a year in Mars-like circumstances, where their team behaviors and communications are observed and documented.
But as psychologically difficult as a Mars mission may be, it’s still possible that we may make it there one day – but for what? Though Elon Musk thinks otherwise, the future for humans on Mars is murky. To many space daydreamers’ disappointment, a recent study calculated CO2 levels on the red planet and determined it to be impossible to terraform with current technology.
So what next? Is there still a possibility for making Mars habitable? And how to we make it there without falling into a space version of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?”
Guests:
Christopher Edwards, professor of planetary science at Northern Arizona University; co-author of the paper “Inventory of CO2 available for terraforming Mars”
Kim Binsted, professor at the University of Hawaii and founder of the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS), an annual NASA-funded Mars mission simulation
Brian Ramos, former crew member of HI-SEAS Mission 5 (2017)
‘Chinatown’ was inspired by the California water wars, but how much of it is true?
In “Chinatown,” a private investigator is hired to look into an infidelity case, and instead finds himself in the midst of a web of corruption behind the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
Robert Towne’s script was fiction, but it was loosely inspired by the engineering of the aqueduct that delivers waters to Los Angeles from the Owens Valley. So how much of the film is made up, and how much of it truly reflects the California water wars of the early twentieth century?
Larry sits down with unofficial historian and retired municipal water engineer of the LADWP Fred Barker to discuss what “Chinatown” got right and how L.A.’s controversial water system actually developed.
For tickets to the Saturday, August 4 screening of “Chinatown” and post-film discussion with screenwriter Robert Towne at the Ace Hotel, click here.
Guest:
Fred Barker, retired municipal water engineer at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power where he worked for over 30 years; self-identified unofficial historian of the LADWP