Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder, purchased the Washington Post. Do you think this is a good move? Next, should planes change the way they take off at the John Wayne airport to reduce noise? Then, the FDA is now regulating gluten-free labeling. Will this lead to more self-diagnoses? Next, US embassies are closing in several countries, but is this the proper response to Al Qaeda chatter? Then, we're talking about the fractured GOP. How should the republican party change? Last, we're talking with author Michael D’Antonio about the abuse in the Catholic church.
Bezos’ Washington Post purchase: Philanthropy or good business?
Jeffrey Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon.com has agreed to buy the Washington Post for $250 million. The announcement of the mutli-billionaire’s purchase came yesterday, surprising many who didn’t expect the tech native’s interest in newspapers and publishing. Some people have written off the deal as another of Bezos’ eclectic investments. Along with Amazon, he’s taken on projects like recovering Apollo 11’s rocket engines from the sea floor and trying to build a clock that keeps time for 10,000 years. But others say the tech-savvy Bezos may be able to help the paper, which, like the newspaper industry as a whole, has struggled to draw in readers and advertisers.
How will the credibility of the Washington Post hold up following the sale? Will Bezos breathe new life into the paper or just bring it down? What are some of the consequences of taking a publicly traded company private?
Guests:
Brad Stone, Senior Tech Writer, Bloomberg Businessweek; Author of the forthcoming book, “The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon” (Little Brown, October 2013) Articles by Stone: Why Is Jeff Bezos Buying the Washington Post? and Amazon's Jeff Bezos Buys the Washington Post, Boggles Minds.
Gabriel Kahn, professor at USC Annenberg Journalism School and co-director of the Media, Economics and Entrepreneurship program
Weighing noise versus safety at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport
Residents of the Dover Shores neighborhood of Newport Beach can tell you exactly how much noise a Boeing 737 makes on take off...a lot. They’ve been listening to it for decades, as their homes lie directly below the takeoff pattern at Orange County’s John Wayne International Airport, and they’ve fought tooth and nail to restrict the deafening sound of those jet engines.
Their protestations have led John Wayne to institute a unique takeoff procedure that passengers don’t quickly forget, in which pilots of commercial flights climb steeply before powering down the engines to reduce noise as the plane coasts over the city of Newport Beach, then, as it get’s past the beach and over the Pacific, pilots gun the engines again and complete the climb. It’s a bit like a rollercoaster, and occasionally on an outbound flight the person sitting next to you may gasp in fear, but it does reduce noise pollution on the ground.
Local residents also won a curfew, so no flights can take-off before 7:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m., and that, too, has made the noise more tolerable. But if the FAA approves a new take-off procedure called Required Navigation Performance, which uses computers and GPS to guide a plane on a precise takeoff or landing route, flights taking off at John Wayne could be guided not only through that steep take off, but also on a series of banking maneuvers to guide planes over the local wetlands, where birds and squirrels are less likely to complain to their city council members. The upshot here would be less noise in the upscale Newport neighborhoods, but the down side could be a complicated take-off that’s both scary for passengers, and potentially dangerous if a mechanical malfunction were to occur as a jet climbed and banked.
Have you flown out of John Wayne recently? Does the take off scare you? Do you think adding some twists to the steep climb to lessen the noise for Newport residents is a fair trade? Does the idea of computers being relied on more and more in commercial aviation make you nervous, or do you think tech has a place how you get from the OC to NYC?
Guests:
Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts and former United Airlines pilot
Dave Kiff, city manager of Newport Beach, which lies directly below the flight path of departures from John Wayne International Airport
FDA requires gluten-free labeling
The Food and Drug Administration has set a standard for what food companies can label "gluten free." Gluten is the protein in wheat, barley and rye that gives breads and pastries their texture and chewiness. The labeling decision has taken the FDA six years to reach. Within that time period, gluten-free diet went from being something of a health necessity to a full-blown lifestyle choice that celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Gwyneth Paltrow espouse.
It has also become a multibillion-dollar business, driven by the proliferation of specialty gluten-free foods, as well as fast food players like Dunkin' Donuts and Domino's Pizza that want in on the action.Only an estimated three million Americans suffer from celiac disease, an autoimmune condition triggered by the consumption of gluten, that's about 1 out of 133 people.
RELATED: Do you live with food allergies?
While celiac is easy to test for, gluten sensitivity is much harder to detect. At the same time, more and more people are diagnosing themselves as gluten-intolerant, half-treating it as the latest weight-loss scheme but potentially robbing their bodies of important nutrients.
Would the FDA labeling requirement lead to more self-diagnoses? Would it, ironically, lead to more confusion about why someone should go gluten-free?
Guest:
Dr. Joseph Murray, professor of medicine and consultant in gastroenterology and immunology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota
Larry Finkel, Food & Beverage Director at MarketResearch.com, which publishes the Packaged Fact research on gluten-free food.
Are embassy closures a proper response to Al Qaeda chatter?
The State Department has extended the closure of a number of embassies in the Middle East and North Africa until August 10. An intercepted message between senior Al Qaeda leaders on a possible attack has allegedly brought about the closures.
While many Republicans and security experts applauded the move, not everyone is happy. “Terrorism works — because we’re closing all of our embassies and consulates on one day,” Rep. Ted Poe, the chairman of the House’s terrorism and nonproliferation panel, told Foreign Policy magazine. “We’d rather be safe than have somebody hurt but the long term answer is every time someone gets information, we can’t shut them all down all over the world,” he said.
Is closing these embassies the right thing for the Obama administration to do? Is it an overreaction?
Guest:
Ronald E. Neumann, President, American Academy of Diplomacy; Neumann served three times as Ambassador; to Algeria, Bahrain and Afghanistan from July 2005 to April 2007.
Mark Jacobson, Senior Transatlantic Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Is the GOP so fractured it’s cracking up?
Republican leaders and voters want change, but both are split over the party’s direction. This, according to a recent poll from the Pew Research Center, and evident in all kinds of political mudslinging between GOP insurgents and establishment Republicans is just evidence that the party much change directions. After losing two presidential elections, most republicans feel the party needs to address major problems.
The Pew Research study found that six out of ten republicans believe that messages alone are not enough, but that the GOP has to change some of its core positions. But there is little agreement on the direction of the party’s future policy or strategy. The GOP is divided in their fight over the implementation of Obama’s healthcare law, immigration policies and national security. But one of the biggest problems is lack of leadership. When asked to identity a leader of the party, the Pew poll found that the number one response was “nobody.”
Who should be the leader of the GOP? What changes should the party make to grow? Should the party move in a more conservative or moderate direction on policy?
Guests:
Doyle McManus, Washington Columnist, covering national and international politics, Los Angeles Times.
Reed Galen, Republican Political Consultant
Mortal Sins: A comprehensive look at abuse within the Catholic church
In Early February America’s largest Catholic archdiocese released files revealing more details on how church officials schemed to protect priests who were molesting children. In the last three decades, more than 6,000 priests have been accused of raping or sexually abusing children. For the last three years author Michael D’Antonio has investigated the Catholic sex abuse scandals both in the U.S. and abroad. His book, “Mortal Sins: Sex, Crime, and The Era of Catholic Scandal,” is a comprehensive look at the history of the abuse crisis. It addresses the conflict of American democratic values with the ancient view of the Vatican, and at the same time D’Antonio offers pointed analysis on the church's mishandling of the crisis.
What is the root of this crisis? What was LA’s role and place in it? How does the church redeem its image after these scandals?
Guest:
Michael D’Antonio, Author “ “Mortal Sins: Sex, Crime, and The Era of Catholic Scandal”
Talking with Playboy Jazz Festival artists George Duke and Gregory Porter
Update Aug. 6 11:15 a.m.:
Grammy-winning jazz keyboardist and producer George Duke died on Monday, Aug. 5 in Los Angeles. His sound infused acoustic jazz, electronic jazz, funk, R&B, and soul. George Duke was being treated for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He was 67.
Duke appeared on a number of Frank Zappa's albums, played keyboard for Michael Jackson, and was a producer for music legends like Miles Davis, Smokey Robinson, and Natalie Cole. He also released more than 30 solo albums.
Earlier this year, AirTalk host Larry Mantle asked Duke what draws him to a project:
"For me, it's just the joy of music. I mean, if a musician has the ability to play different styles of music, I don't see any reason they shouldn't be allowed to do that. I think categorization is for people who want to sell the music," said Duke on AirTalk in May. "In terms of a musician, they should be allowed to play whatever they feel led to play, or sing, or whatever. So, I used to consider myself what I call a multi-stylistic artist. What leads me that way? The joy and love of music."
Earlier:
Every year, the annual Playboy Jazz Festival takes over the Hollywood Bowl for two full days of jazz greats, both young and old. Now in it’s 35th year, the festival has become a fixture on the jazz scene, and this year’s lineup, including Sheila E. and Herbie Hancock, is as eclectic as the modern scene itself.
Gregory Porter is a great example of the new generation of jazz. The smooth-crooning vocalist has been a sensation since the release of his 2010 album “Water,” which won a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal album in 2011.
On the other end of that spectrum is living legend, George Duke. A keyboardist by trade, in his 40-plus-year career, Duke has worked in just about facet of music, from soloist to music director. He’s played with Zappa and been sampled by Kanye, and his view of the genre of jazz is as open as his music. Porter and Duke are featured artists in this year’s Playboy Jazz Festival.
The pair of jazz greats join Larry on AirTalk to talk about their long careers in music and the state of jazz in America.
Guests:
George Duke, jazz musician
Gregory Porter, jazz musician