We check in with Phil Washington, head of LA's Metro, on all the latest public transit news. We also ask – "What's going on with Elon Musk?"; get an update from today's Aliso Canyon gas leak press conference; and more.
A California lawmaker wants to subsidize local journalism. Here’s his plan
As newspapers financially struggle and mass layoffs have become the norm, a Bay Area legislator wants the state to help.
Assemblyman Marc Levine is looking at state tax relief for papers, and bans on layoffs. But does a state government intervention compromise journalistic independence?
Guests:
Marc Levine (D-San Rafael), California state assemblyman representing the 10th State Assembly District, which encompasses the communities of Marin and Southern Sonoma
Al Tompkins, senior faculty for broadcast and online journalism, Poynter Institute
From multiple line extensions to public showers, Metro’s CEO updates us on the latest in public transit
Phil Washington returns for his recurring visit with AirTalk to discuss the city’s MTA news. Topics include:
Upgrades to the Orange Line and how they will affect car traffic in the area
Pasadena pulling out of the Metro bike share program
And how the remaining bike share programs are competing with electric scooters
The steps public transit is taking to accommodate the city’s homeless population, including public showers and temporary housing
The implications of a new bus driver assault bill
Metro’s decision to replace some trains’ upholstery seats with vinyl
West Hollywood’s push for the Crenshaw Line extension to finish by 2028
Prepping the 210 freeway for the Gold Line’s extension to Montclair
The proposed routes for the new West Santa Ana Branch line, set to run from downtown to southeast Los Angeles
Information on Metro’s new board chair and the creation of a transportation school
Have a question for Phil? Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Phil Washington, CEO of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)
LA city, county reach tentative settlement with SoCal Gas over Porter Ranch gas leak
The city and county of Los Angeles have reached a tentative settlement with SoCal Gas over the Porter Ranch gas leak in 2015.
The leak at the Aliso Canyon gas storage field started after a natural gas well broke open near Porter Ranch and quickly became the country’s largest natural gas leak.
Joining Larry to talk about this latest settlement is KPCC’s correspondent Sharon McNary, who is in Downtown LA for announcement
And go to this handy LAist explainer to find out everything you need to do about the Porter Ranch gas leak in 2015 and what has happened since.
Guest:
Sharon McNary, infrastructure correspondent for KPCC who’s in Downtown LA for the settlement announcement
‘Funding secured’: the legalities of Musk’s announcement that Tesla might go private
On Tuesday, Elon Musk announced that he was making moves to take Tesla private, with this tweet that made stocks for the company shoot upwards:
Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.
Later that day, Tesla publicly put out an email that Musk had sent to his employees,which had alerted them to this move. Meanwhile, legal questions have been raised about the way Musk went about this takeover bid and whether it may have violated the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In 2013, the SEC rules that companies are allowed to announce big news through social media with forewarning to their investors and announcement to the larger public.
But is Twitter the place to announce a $72 billion deal? Could Musk’s statement be considered fraudulent or misleading? That may be contingent on further information – where the funding is coming from and exactly how much of it is “secured.”
We discuss with Columbia law professor John Coffee.
Guest:
John Coffee, professor of law at Columbia Law School where he specializes in corporate law, securities fraud and white collar crime
Are psychological techniques keeping kids online? And if so, are psychologists to blame?
Children's advocates want the American Psychological Association to condemn the tech industry's practice of using persuasive psychological techniques to keep kids glued to their screens.
The advocates, citing research that links excessive use of social media and video games with depression and academic troubles, say it's unethical for psychologists to be involved in tactics that risk harming kids' well-being. Skeptics say the research is inconclusive, and they note that psychologists have been involved in other industries' marketing and advertising for decades.
The group seeking intervention includes 60 U.S. psychologists, researchers, children's advocates and the Children's Screen Time Action Network, a project of the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. The network was publishing a letter Wednesday to the American Psychological Association, coinciding with the association's annual meeting in San Francisco.
"There are powerful psychology principles and technology that are being used against kids in ways that are not in their best interests," said Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. That technology uses computers to help figure out what motivates people and influence their online behavior. It's built on age-old tenets of behavioral psychology that marketers and advertisers have long used to get people to buy their products.
The difference is smartphones are ubiquitous and unlike human marketers, they don't get tired, said B.J. Fogg, a behavioral scientist at Stanford University who has been called the technology's pioneer. Fogg said he has aimed to use persuasive tech to enhance people's lives. But he also said he has long warned that it has a "dark side," including potential loss of privacy and the potential for encouraging behavior that isn't in users' best interests.
So do those psych techniques enhance kids’ lives as well? We examine the role of psychology in the development of technology and how it affects children.
With files from the Associated Press
AirTalk invited the American Psychological Association to participate in this discussion or provide comment, but they have yet to respond to our request. We will update this segment if we receive a response.
Guests:
Richard Freed, child and adolescent psychologist based in Walnut Creek, California, who focuses on children’s use of technology; author of the book, “Wired Child: Reclaiming Childhood in a Digital Age” (Create Space, 2015)
Kit Yarrow, consumer research psychologist, professor at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, and author of “Decoding the New Consumer Mind: How and Why We Shop and Buy” (Jossey-Bass, March 2014)
The greatest energy challenge of our time? Let’s look at our history first.
For more than four centuries humans have been able to stay out of the dark, adapting to a new energy resource each time a previous source waned.
From wood to coal, coal to oil, oil to electricity and its very latest renewable forms — entire countries have either thrived or collapsed as a result of energy challenges.
But in 2018, where do we go from here? What’s the greatest energy challenge of the 21st Century? And how does our track record of acquiring different resources every 100 years dictate our future?
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes offers a rich examination of our epic energy transitions in his latest book, “Energy: A Human History.”
Host Larry Mantle talks with Rhodes about the making of the book and his most enlightening findings.
Guest:
Richard Rhodes, author of the book, “Energy, A Human History” (Simon and Schuster 2018); historian, journalist, and writer and editor of many books including “The Making of the Atomic Bomb" (Simon and Schuster 1987), which won a Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction and a National Book Award