Today on AirTalk we'll discus the health benefits of circumcisions even after a decline in numbers, the science behind flip-flopping, a check in with the proprietors of Eva restaurant after our story on the cell phone discount, whether the cartels are the reason behind the drop in murder rates in Ciudad Juarez, the 90 million registered voters who won't be voting and a conversation with actor and comedian Harry Shearer. Plus, the latest news.
Study claims decline in circumcision will lead to increase in STDs
As the debate over whether or not to circumcise rages on, the number of circumcisions continues to drop. Only three decades ago, roughly 80 percent of boys born in the U.S. were circumcised by hospital professionals or religious personnel.
Fast forward to 2010, and that number dipped to about 55 percent. While parents are increasingly choosing not to have their children circumcised, part of this reduction is due to the fact that eighteen states, including California, no longer pay for the procedure through Medicaid. Many physicians believe the choice is cosmetic in nature, so several states stopped covering it as a cost-saving measure.
But now a research team from John Hopkins University has released a new study that shows the savings could cost everyone a lot more money in the long run. The foreskin of the penis has increasingly been shown to be particularly susceptible to the contraction and transmission of STDs, including HIV, HPV and herpes simplex. The treatment of diseases associated with these viruses incur several procedures, tests and medicines, all of which cost money which gets spread out through the entire healthcare system.
If the circumcision rate stays the same, the team from Johns Hopkins determined that costs for all babies born in one year would rise by $211 million. And if the rate drops as low as 10 percent? That number shoots up by $505 million. What evidence is this study pointing to for the projected costs? If they’re right, who should be paying for circumcision? Despite the perceived good of the whole, is this still a personal, ethical decision for parents first and foremost?
Guests:
Dr. Aaron Tobian, Assistant Professor of Pathology, Medicine, and Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health; senior author of the study
Joel W. Hay, Professor of Health Policy and Economics, Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics and Professor of Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy, USC School of Pharmacy
The science of flip-flopping
What causes Mitt Romney, Barack Obama and you or me to change our minds? Let’s assume that our political leaders aren’t just looking to pick up votes or campaign cash when they change positions on an issue. What causes a person with well-defined beliefs to make a change? A column in Sunday’s New York Times looks at the factors that cause us to change our minds.
The research shows it’s not a well-reasoned argument or the dispassionate presentation of data, but personal stories and emotion that cause us to change. And when it occurs, that’s not a mere flip-flop, but a genuine shift in belief.
What causes that to happen? When – and why—do we convince others to take up our position on an issue? Hint: it ain’t easy.
Guests:
Timothy Wilson, psychology professor at the University of Virginia and author of the forthcoming book, Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change
Jonathan Haidt, professor of psychology at the Stern School of Business at New York University and author of The Righteous Mind
LA restaurant offers discount for dining without your phone (updated)
Update: Last week, Eva restaurant owner Mark Gold joined AirTalk to discuss his new policy of giving customers who check their phones at the door a 5 percent discount on their bill. Interesting concept, but it didn’t seem that groundbreaking. That is until the Interwebs got a hold of it.
The Associated Press put the story out on its wire and the story went viral. The next day Gold woke up with an inbox full of media requests and calls from his mother who said CNN was looking for him.
"I was shocked ... Quite frankly, I didn't have any expectations. We were running for two months, and then, being slow in the summertime at the restaurant here, I figured I'd send it to the local paper," said Gold on AirTalk. "Never did I think it would go this far."
Since the KPCC interview last week, Eva Restaurant owner says he’s done about 40 interviews with major outlets including Marketplace, CNN and Good Morning America.
German, Irish and Indian radio stations have requested interviews and his Twitter feed has seen tweets from all over world, including Afghanistan.
"I've gotten numerous emails from restaurant owners, shop owners from all over the world saying, 'What a great policy' and 'Thank you so much,' and 'We're going to implement something like this.'" said Gold. "It seems like every five minutes there's somebody calling, and it's still going on. This is a week later and we just got German radio calling us right now, and something from India, it's just crazy."
Gold's new cell-phone policy may have gone viral worldwide, but has it translated to an increase in business? Not so much, says Gold.
"We've seen a little bit of an increase, but not as much as we expected," he said. "I think it's still summertime, school gets back into session in a week or so. I think once school starts, we're going to see a big increase."
Original Story from Aug, 14, 2012:
It’s become part of the restaurant table setting: knife, fork, napkin and cell phone.
Distracted dining is the new norm with customers constantly texting friends, tweeting an Instagram photo of the meal they’re about to chow down or emailing the boss. For many smart-phone users, it’s hard just to focus on the meal and company at hand.
Now, one restaurant in Los Angeles is giving diners a reason to turn off the digital world, by offering customers willing to check their phones at the door a 5-percent discount on their bill. Owner/chef Mark Gold of Eva Restaurant, located on Beverly Boulevard near N. Gardner Street, hopes this gives customers a way to truly sit back and relax, enjoy their meal and actually talk to with friends and family in-person.
"For us, it's really not about people disrupting other guests. Eva is home, and we want to create that environment of home, and we want people to connect again," he explained. "It's about two people sitting together and just connecting, without the distraction of a phone, and we're trying to create an ambience where you come in and really enjoy the experience and the food and the company."
Gold said instating the suggestion reminds him to keep cell phone usage at bay, too. "I'm guilty of it as well. When [my wife and I] go to dinner it seems like the cell phone is part of the table setting now. Every table you look at, it's a wine glass, the silverware and the cell phone," he joked.
The husband and wife team runs Eva, a 40-person space with European flair. Gold said a little less than half take advantage of the deal, and no one has gotten upset about it.
"I think once the server approaches the table and they're presented with the offer, they like the idea of actually talking to each other again," he said.
Weigh In:
Is distracted dining a pet peeve of yours? Would you be willing to check your phone at the door? Should more restaurants crack down on cell phone use?
Guest:
Mark Gold, Owner/chef of Eva Restaurant in West Hollywood
Sharp drop in the murder rate in Juarez, thanks to the cartels?
Once the epicenter of violent spillover from Mexico’s drug wars, Ciudad Juarez has seen a precipitous drop in the number of homicides.
Officials in Mexico’s federal government are proudly touting the improved crime statistics. But, as a long analysis in the Washington Post points out, that may not all be thanks to massive deployment of money and troops. The Sinaloa cartel has secured the region surrounding Juarez as its territory, causing many fewer conflicts between rival drug gangs. As with every development in Mexico’s shadow economy, it’s hard to know what exactly accounts for the change.
One expert counters, it’s the exodus of 200,000 frightened citizens out of Juarez that explains the drop; there are simply fewer people in the city to be affected by the violence. Yet another expert says local law enforcement has played an important role – not in getting the cartel capos, but in cracking down on the local thugs they sometimes associate with, who terrorize their own neighbors through carjackings and extortion.
What’s really behind the drop in violence? How much peace can Mexican border residents expect– and for how long?
Guests:
Molly Molloy, Latin American specialist at the New Mexico State University Library and co-author of El Sicario: The Autobiography of a Mexican Assassin
Eric Olson, Associate Director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC
Are you among the 90 million Americans who won’t vote in November?
Two thirds of them are registered to vote, and an overwhelming majority says the government plays an important role in their lives.
But come November you won’t see this crowd at the voting booth. They’re the unlikely voters, and there are 90 million Americans who fit the description, according to a USA Today poll. Even well-informed citizens who are passionate about the issues may sit out an election now and again. Many say they’re too busy, or think their vote doesn’t matter.
Yet, the poll found that unlikely voters aren’t apathetic: they favor President Obama 2-1 over Mitt Romney. Some have spouses who are fully on board with one of the candidates. A big turn out of these unlikelies could turn a close contest into a landslide.
So, why are they sitting on the sidelines? We want to hear your stories of civic disengagement. If you aren’t voting this November, why not? Do you face pressure from your family or friends to get involved? And what would change your mind?
WEIGH IN
As election season nears, KPCC political reporters want to know what makes you go to the polls or stay away. Here's the link to our questions on SCPR.org
Harry Shearer can’t take a hint
Harry Shearer, who made a name for himself in “Spinal Tap” and “The Simpsons,” is lending his many talents to a new album.
“Can’t Take a Hint” is a collection of Shearer’s musical comedy sketches, the likes of which appear on his podcast “Le Show.” Whereas his past albums, both of where were nominated for Grammys, had a singular theme, Shearer chose to cover a broader swath of topics on his latest effort.
For instance, Shearer tackles Sarah Palin, the war in Iraq, Joe the Plumber, Rupert Murdoch and more through his humorous recordings. And Shearer doesn’t hog the spotlight here; he calls upon Jane Lynch, Fountains of Wayne, Jamie Cullum and his wife, Judith Owen, to help round out the vocals and music.
Interview Highlights:
On why he's been focusing on his music career:
"About 3 years ago about this time of year I realized, oh my God, everything I've done that year up til then had been in music and I've never been happier. Even though I love doing all this other stuff, I drift back to it because musicians are the greatest people to hang with for one thing, and there's always so much to learn about record making and about music making, so its really satisfying."
On why he prefers musicians to actors:
"I end up spending a lot of my time with actors, who are wonderful people, but the ego of actors and the egos of musicians tend to be differently shaped. There are a lot of actors whose attitude is summed up by, and I'm cleaning it up as I formulate it, as the show business version of an actors reading a script, "BS, BS, my line, BS BS" There are a lot of actors that I am lucky enough to work with like in the Christopher Guest improvisational movies who are trained and love listening to each other, that's a ball to be with. But musicians just by nature have to listen to each other and so there's just more of that give and take."
On whether today's political climate is ripe for satire:
"Certainly the raw material is great. People like Todd Akin keep popping up, Joe the Plumber, as you said. The gold of Joe The Plumber, who ran for Congress this year, is that his name is not Joe and he's not a plumber, aside from that everything's good. With stuff like that and on both sides of the aisle. The stuff you were talking about earlier, as voter being frustration with the system, can be translated into ridicule pretty easily now when you have the liberal guy, the largest contributor to his campaign in 2008 was Goldman Sachs, so that's the left. So in many ways it's a world that was foretold by the great satirist Mort Saul a number of years ago . I used to cavil at his depiction of liberals and i thought it was off base. It may not have been true then it sure seems true now."
On his London-based TV show, Nixon's The One:
"I don't think this has been done before, but my writing partner Stanley Cutler, who is an expert on the Nixon tapes, and I take some of the scenes from Nixon's tapes verbatim that are not about Watergate, not about Vietnam, not about politics, but just the crazy conversations that went on in that White House. We perform them as if Nixon had hidden not just microphones in the White House, but cameras, so they're all from weird hidden positions, and we do them absolutely verbatim, listening to the rhythms and the intonations. Thats why I have to do it in England because it sounds crazy here. I figured out why it may appeal to Brits more than it appeals to Americans. Because Brits grow up listening about their country's history through basically this gallery of insane characters that had crowns on their heads, so Nixon fits into that gallery, he's just another one of those ... Americans, we learn our history and learn about our presidents almost as Hagiography, as lives of the saints. It's very different.
On what makes "The Simpsons" such a success:
"I will say to me the great secret of 'The Simpsons' success, unrecognized by most observers, probably unknown by most observers, is that as a condition of doing the show, James L Brooks, who was a very successful movie director when Fox approached to be part of the making of the show, his condition was that there would be no network creative interference. So 'The Simpsons' is unique among American entertainment television shows in that regard. Given that as this is a society that loves to say that it emulates success you'd think that somebody along the 24 years would have said, 'hey let's try that at our network.' So far no."
Weigh In:
What spurred Shearer to record another album? What is his creative process? Was it harder to go beyond a singular topic for this record? What other projects are on the horizon for the talented actor, voice actor and musician?
Guest:
Harry Shearer, actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author and radio host well known for his work on TV (The Simpsons), film (This is Spinal Tap, A Might Wind) and radio (Le Show) whose new new musical album is “Can’t Take a Hint”