Today on AirTalk, we update you on the latest COVID-19 news answer your questions. Also on the show, we look back at the impact the pandemic has had on the restaurant industry and what they expect to face next year; what to look out for next year in national politics; and more.
DOC AMA: LA Hospitals in Crisis Mode, Low Oxygen Supply & More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, guest host Austin Cross speaks with Dr. Shruti Gohil from UC Irvine’s School of Medicine.
Today’s topics include:
LA hospitals retrofitting gift shops and conference rooms for extra space
Oxygen supply running low in SoCal hospital facilities
LA County Department of Health require 10-day quarantine for folks who left the area during the holidays
Novavax becomes fifth vaccine to reach final stages of testing
Small number of COVID-19 survivors experiencing psychosis
Air travel sees its highest volume of passengers since mid-March
With guest host Austin Cross
Guest:
Shruti Gohil, M.D., professor of medicine and associate medical director for epidemiology and infection prevention at UC Irvine’s School of Medicine
After A Tough Year, We Check In On The SoCal Restaurant Industry
This year has been an incredibly difficult one for the restaurant industry, which has had to weather various shutdown orders, indoor and outdoor dining bans and a patchwork of city, county and state regulations.
For restaurants with razor-thin profit margins, this has meant shuttering and for many others, the prospect of going out of business still looms. All restaurants in Southern California have had to adapt and get creative in these strange times.
If you are in the restaurant industry, we want to hear from you. What were this year’s biggest challenges? How have you adapted? And what are you anticipating as you look ahead to 2021? Call us at 866-893-5722.
With guest host Austin Cross
Guests:
Elina Shatkin, food editor at LAist; she tweets
Jot Condie, president and CEO of the California Restaurant Association, an advocacy organization for the restaurant industry
What Workplace Trends Do You Want To See Post-Pandemic?
Surveys have shown that, generally, people want to continue working from home once the coronavirus pandemic subsides. According to a piece in the Washington Post, fewer than 9 percent of employees surveyed in a recent report didn’t want to work from home hardly at all. Most people preferred a flexible hybrid option.
Although it’s unclear what work trends will be long lasting as a result of the pandemic, employers are considering various options. According to Vox, right now most employers aren’t forcing their workers back into the office. Some might even consider ditching their traditional office space for something more flexible.
Today on AirTalk, we talk with a reporter who’s been following workplace trends. But we also want to hear from you. What’s your preference and why? Do you want to go back to a traditional office space, do you want to work remotely or do you want to see something in between? Are you an employer? Are you concerned about lack of oversight or lack of productivity? Tell us your thoughts by calling 866-893-5722.
With guest host Austin Cross
Guest:
Rani Molla, senior data reporter for Recode, Vox’s tech vertical, who’s been following workplace trends; she tweets
What To Watch For In National Politics in 2021
After a tumultuous 2020 that will forever be remembered as the year of the coronavirus pandemic, it might seem ill-advised after the last 12 unpredictable months to even try to forecast what 2021 might look like. But we’re going to try to do so today on AirTalk, through the lens of national politics.
It won’t be long into the new year before we have big political news. The new Congress will be seated on January 3rd, runoff elections to determine who will hold Georgia’s two Senate seats and the balance of power in the Senate will be January 5th, and on January 6th there will be a special joint session of Congress where members of the House and Senate meet to count electoral votes.
Also in sharp focus as we begin 2021 will be the transition from the Trump administration to the Biden administration, and maybe more pointedly, how Biden’s response to the pandemic will differ from his predecessor’s. With the vaccine rollout in its early stages across the U.S., the Biden administration’s oversight of this will undoubtedly be a major talking point at the start of the year. But some public health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci say despite the vaccine becoming more widely available, it could be mid to late 2021 before the country returns to a level of normalcy similar to what life was like before the pandemic.
There’s also the question of how Congress will work with the Biden administration, specifically what the relationship between the president and the currently Republican-led Senate will look like, though that conversation could change if Democrats are able to win both Georgia Senate seats in the runoffs. With President Trump transitioning out of office, many are speculating on what will come next for the soon-to-be former president. There has been talk about him possibly starting his own media network as an alternative to other conservative media outlets that he believes don’t cover him fairly, in the hopes of laying the rhetorical groundwork for a 2024 presidential run.
Today on AirTalk, guest host Austin Cross will talk with national political watchers to find out what they expect the biggest stories to be in 2021.
With guest host Austin Cross
Guests:
Sudeep Reddy, managing editor at POLITICO; he tweets
Eliza Collins, national political reporter at the Wall Street Journal; she tweets