The National Institutes of Health is now able to fund experiments that combine human stem cells and animal embryos - experts outline the ethical debate that's brewing; a marketing professor explains what'll happen to Trump's steaks, water, and wine after November; plus, actor and nerd icon Wil Wheaton lists his top new board games in advance of this weekend's Gen Con.
The ethics of creating part-human, part-animal embryos
A ban will be lifted on federal funding of experiments that use human stem cells to create part-human, part-animal embryos.
The embryos, known as chimeras, include sheep, pigs and cows, and would use stem cells to create human organs that could be used as transplants or to study diseases inside the animals. But this has some critics worried about the ethical implications of these experiments.
Though the NIH has put forth restrictions such as closely watching and reviewing cases on embryos that develop human brain cells, there is a chance that human reproductive organs could also develop and precautions would have to be taken to keep the chimeras from breeding.
Patt Morrison speaks to two experts today, to weigh in on the ethics of creating chimeras. What do you think of these experiments? Have these experiments gone too far?
Guests:
Ronald Bailey, Science Correspondent at Reason magazine and Reason.com; Author of the new book "The End of Doom: Environmental Renewal in the Twenty-first Century”
Stuart A. Newman, Ph.D, Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy at New York Medical College
Deactivating social media accounts at law enforcement’s request
Citizen journalism, including live tweeting and even more recently, live streaming, has given the public the option to document events from their perspective.
But live streaming wasn’t an option for Korryn Gaines on Monday, when she was shot dead Monday by Baltimore County police. What began as a live stream quickly ended after law enforcement requested that her Facebook and Instagram accounts be deactivated.
Law enforcement can request that accounts be suspended via the Law Enforcement Online Request System, but is it legal or ethical to do so? Activists claim this is another way to silence the public’s narrative. When should Facebook or other live streaming services be deactivated?
Guests:
Baynard Woods, Covers Baltimore, Maryland for The Guardian, and has written about Facebook deactivating Korryn Gaines’ account per the request of the Baltimore Police Department; he tweets from
Charlie Warzel, senior writer for BuzzFeed News who writes about the intersection of tech and culture. He’s been reporting on Facebook and its livestreaming service after a couple instances of police-involved shootings were livestreamed on the social media site
Forget the Fed, Silicon Valley steps in to regulate artificial intelligence
From the telephone industry to the internet, history has shown time and again that when it comes to regulating new technology, the federal government has always been playing catch up.
Most of the time, inventors and technologists have taken advantage of this policy limbo, seeing regulation more as a roadblock than an enabling force.
But not so with artificial intelligence. OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research startup founded by Elon Musk, works to promote the field by giving away their open source findings. But it also sees the potential for its research to fall into the wrong hands. So what it’s started to do is to recruit vigilantes of sorts -- think of them as AI cops -- that can suss out malicious codes and bad actors in the nascent and rapidly developing field.
Guest:
Matthew Scherer, an attorney and legal scholar in Portland, Oregon who writes on the intersection of law and artificial intelligence; he is also the editor of the blog, Law and AI
Why some voters simply won’t cast a ballot for a woman
Few times in the history of the United States, if ever, have we seen a presidential election with two more polarizing candidates.
We hear over and over again from voters who say they simply can’t stomach the thought of a Trump White House, and there are equally loud voices saying the same for Hillary Clinton. But while some voters won’t vote for Hillary because they don’t like here, there are others who won’t vote for Hillary or any female candidate simply because she’s a woman.
Rapper T.I. said late last year that he “can’t vote for the leader of the free world to be a woman” because a woman president might make “rash decisions emotionally.” And, of course, the arguments of Evangelicals and other religious voters against a woman as president are well-documented, often using Bible verses to explain why they don’t believe a woman is fit to be president.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll examine from a political, religious, and psychological point of view why some voters won’t vote for women and look at how this might impact the 2016 election.
Guests:
Julie Zauzmer, religion reporter for the Washington Post; she tweets
Nichole Bauer, assistant professor of political science at the University of Alabama
Can Trump’s business brand survive the presidential race?
Donald Trump’s latest headlines have been as much about business as the election.
Some could say this entire race has been one big business ad for Trump. But has the campaign had a positive effect on his brand?
While pushing Trump Steaks at speaking engagements may seem like a perfect business opportunity, the Republican presidential nominee may not be getting the response he had hoped for. And what if it ends without “the Donald” in the Oval Office? A lost election could have devastating effects on his business.
How do you think Trump’s campaign has affected his brand? Has the presidential race given you a positive or negative image of Trump’s business? What could he do to bounce back if he loses the presidency?
Guest:
Sasha Strauss, founder and managing editor at Innovation Protocol, a management consulting firm focused on brand marketing; professor at UCLA & USC
GenCon 2016: Nerd icon Wil Wheaton wants you to play board games
Today kicks off Gen Con -- the largest board game convention in North America.
This year, some 60,000 plus attendees will gather to design, publish, and, most importantly, play thousands of newly launched tabletop games.
The popularity of the convention paints a picture of an expanding industry. According to ICv2, a market research firm, the board game market is set to become a billion-dollar industry in the coming months. Big box retailers are carrying once obscure publications next to popular picks such as Scrabble, Operation, and Stratego. Indeed, gaming has come a long way since your grandfather’s worn copy of Monopoly.
Technology, instead of undermining old-fashioned tokens and pawns, is actually providing tangible games new platforms to flourish. Crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter are making board game releases easier and more accessible than ever.
In advance of Gen Con, guest host Patt Morrison checked in with “The Big Bang Theory” actor Wil Wheaton, who also hosts a web-based board game-themed show called “TableTop.”
He told AirTalk his top titles in gaming and recommended a favorite spot to play here in the Southland.
Wil Wheaton’s top tabletop games:
- Pandemic: “[It’s} introduced this idea this idea of ‘we’re all playing against the game itself.’”
- Dead of Winter: “One person is secretly working against everyone else in the game. It’s kind of a zombie horror survival game with a really heavy theme.”
- Fury of Dracula: “One player is Dracula, and the other players are trying to find him.”
- Misspent Youth: “An amazing role playing game...that we featured on ‘TableTop’ this upcoming season that I’m really excited about.”
On where to play in Southern California:
There is a wonderful boardgaming cafe in Glendale called Game Häus. When you walk in, you can grab a stand like you would see at a big banquet hall, and you can put a little sign in it that will say, “I’m looking for one player, two players, three players. I’m willing to teach a game. I want to learn a game. I want to play a strategy game. I want to play a minis game.” You put it at a table, and that way people who might be a little awkward or a little shy or not know who to go talk to can use that as an icebreaker to find people to sit down and play games with.
Gen Con runs through Sunday at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Guest:
Wil Wheaton, actor and host of Tabletop, a popular web series on all things board games; he tweets at