Nations around the world have been affected by terrorist attacks this year, forcing world leaders to take precautionary measures to prepare for future attacks; hundreds of new California laws will go into effect beginning tomorrow; and as the final episode of "Downton Abbey" approaches, we revisit parodies and its cultural significance.
From Charlie Hebdo to San Bernardino: How the new state of terrorism will play out in 2016
The year 2015 is bookended by two terrorist attacks: the Charlie Hebdo killing spree in January, and the San Bernardino shooting in December.
In between, the world saw the rise of ISIS as global terrorism’s public enemy no. 1.
Patt Morrison speaks with counterterrorism expert and USC professor Erroll Southers about the state of terrorism and what the world could expect in 2016.
Guests:
Erroll Southers, Director of Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies at USC. He is also managing director at the international security consulting and risk management firm Tal Global, specializing in counterterrorism and infrastructure protection
Bruce Hoffman, Director of the Center for Security Studies and a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He is the author of “Anonymous Soldiers, The Struggle for Israel, 1917 - 1947” (Knopf, 2015)
Political scientist looks at forces behind turning breastfeeding into a quasi-religion
Political scientist Courtney Jung experienced the phenomenon she’d end up writing a book about firsthand when she became pregnant -- what she calls a kind of“zealotry” toward breastfeeding.
Jung did end up breastfeeding her child, but she also started digging into research looking at the health benefits of the practice. What she found shocked her. Despite the unquestioned wisdom in our culture that breastfeeding is good for both mothers and babies, lots of research have actually found that the health advantages are overstated.
That discovery led Jung to pen her new book, “Lactivism,” which looks at the cultural, sociological, and medical forces that have turned breastfeeding from a personal choice to a mandate.
Patt Morrison speaks with Jung about her new book.
Guest:
Courtney Jung, author of the book, “Lactivism: How Feminists and Fundamentalists, Hippies and Yuppies, and Physicians and Politicians Made Breastfeeding Big Business and Bad Policy” (Basic Books, 2015). She is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto
New year, new laws: What California residents should expect in 2016
The new year is right around the corner, and with it brings new policies and politics.
California is expected to see a range of new laws from restrictions on carrying guns, a higher minimum wage, vaccination requirements for students, reproductive service notifications, as well as new laws regulating hoverboards and boozy bike rides.
In 2015 Governor Jerry Brown signed 807 bills into law. California gained national attention for its death dignity law that allows doctors to prescribe terminally ill patients with lethal doses of drugs.
New actions moved forward to regulate medical marijuana in the state and a controversial law passed that requires more children to be immunized before starting school.
How will the new laws change the everyday lives of California residents?
Guest:
John Myers, Sacramento Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times
‘Artisanal,’ ‘hipster,’ ‘millennial,’ and other terms that have to go in 2016
As the final hours tick down, many of us are leaving the past where it belong and looking ahead to what’s coming in 2016.
In this spirit, the editors at CityLab have put together a list of terms, words and phrases that they feel need to be nixed in the new year. “Whether they’re overused, misunderstood, or wrongfully deployed, sometimes good words and concepts go bad,” the editors write.
So, what kinds of words and terms are we talking about?
For starters, the fact that the editors want to get rid of "millennial" should surprise no one. “Uber for X” is another phrase they’d like to see forgotten. They suggest that some of the startups they’ll write about in 2016 might be more creative than Uber copycats for different industries.
“Sharing economy” also made the final cut, because as the editors say, “whether you applaud these companies for the flexibility they offer or bemoan them for the job security they don’t, you should call them what they are: businesses with a bottom line.”
What are some terms, words or phrases you’d like to see society forget in 2016?
Guest:
Sommer Mathis, editor of CityLab, which has put together the list of terms, words, phrases that they feel should be retired
The end of ‘Downton Abbey’: A look at the pop culture parodies inspired by the series
As it enters its sixth and final season, The PBS Masterpiece Classic, "Downton Abbey," has garnered a huge following, and even inspired some spoofs of the 1920s British drama.
Parodies such as "
," "Sesame Street's" "Upside Downton Abbey" and the "Colbert Report’s"
" are just a few examples of the series’ effect on American popular culture, even with its subject matter dating back almost a century ago in England.
So why has the show had such a massive effect on pop culture? What about this story keeps viewers coming back for more and willing to create comical content in homage to its plot and characters?
As a precursor to "Downton Abbey’s" final season, Patt Morrison weighs in with pop culture junkie and KPCC web producer, Mike Roe, on "Downton’s" mainstream influence and how it’s been the trigger for satire.
Guest:
Mike Roe, pop culture expert and KPCC web producer