AirTalk for February 3, 2014

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The CA Senate voted for a ballot measure that would allow colleges to consider race and gender in admissions. What's best for California students? Then, we reflect on the career and life of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman--who passed away yesterday at 46. Next, corporate sponsors of the Sochi Olympics are taking some heat from protesters--will it have any lasting impact? Later, a look at car-to-car communication technology and a review of yesterday's Super Bowl commercials.

AirTalk for February 3, 2014

The CA Senate voted for a ballot measure that would allow colleges to consider race and gender in admissions. What's best for California students? Then, we reflect on the career and life of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman--who passed away yesterday at 46. Next, corporate sponsors of the Sochi Olympics are taking some heat from protesters--will it have any lasting impact? Later, a look at car-to-car communication technology and a review of yesterday's Super Bowl commercials.

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The CA Senate voted for a ballot measure that would allow colleges to consider race and gender in admissions. What's best for California students? Then, we reflect on the career and life of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman--who passed away yesterday at 46. Next, corporate sponsors of the Sochi Olympics are taking some heat from protesters--will it have any lasting impact? Later, a look at car-to-car communication technology and a review of yesterday's Super Bowl commercials.

Ballot measure aims to allow college admissions to consider race and gender

The California senate voted to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot which would allow colleges to consider race and gender in student admissions. The ballot measure, SCA 5, would repeal a 1996 bill prohibiting the consideration of race and gender as a factor in college admissions.

Senator Ed Hernandez, the author of SCA 5, says repeal of the 1996 law is long overdue, and the percentage of minority students in California schools is declining at an alarming rate.

Opponents of the bill, including Senator Bob Huff (R) of Diamond Bar, disagree, saying that the consideration of race and gender could be used to discriminate against students.

Should California schools consider race and gender in college admissions? Is this a way to protect students, or might it cause discrimination in higher education?

Guests: 

Democratic California State Senator Ed. Hernandez, O.D., State Senator representing California District 24, author of SCA 5

Republican California Assemblymember Kristin Olsen, Assemblymember representing the 12th Assembly District, Vice Chair of the Education Committee

Jody Armour, Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at the University of Southern California

The range and depth of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman

by Hillel Italie, Associated Press

He was only 46, busy as ever and secure in his standing as one of the world's greatest actors.

There were no dissenters about the gifts and achievements of Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose death Sunday in New York brought a stunning halt to his extraordinary and unpredictable career.

An Oscar winner and multiple nominee, Hoffman could take on any character with almost unnerving authority, whether the religious leader in command of his every word in "The Master," a trembling mess in "Boogie Nights," or the witty, theatrical Truman Capote in "Capote." Fearless in his choices, encyclopedic in his preparation, he was a Shakespearean performer in modern dress, bringing depth and variety to charlatans, slackers, curmudgeons and loners.

Besides his Oscar win for "Capote," the stage-trained Hoffman received four Academy Awards nominations and several nominations for theater awards, including three Tonys. He was equally acclaimed and productive, often appearing in at least two to three films a year, while managing an active life in the theater. He had been thriving for more than 20 years and no one doubted that a long, compelling run awaited him.

Hoffman's family called the news "tragic and sudden."

"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone," the family said in a statement.

Hoffman is survived by his partner of 15 years, Mimi O'Donnell, and their three children.

Guests:

Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today

Scott Foundas, chief film critic, Variety

McDonald's and Coke feel the heat over support for Sochi Olympics

Activists are targeting Coca Cola and McDonald's, two of the biggest sponsors of the Olympic Games starting this week in Sochi, amid growing concern about Russia's gay rights record. Russia has been heavily criticized for a federal law against "homosexual propaganda" that's widely seen as anti-gay.

Last week, Janet Napolitano, Head of the US Olympic Delegation, spoke out against protests saying, “My view is that we’re going there for the athletes and for their performances and I think that’s where the focus ought to be. And I’m not sure this is an appropriate place or time for political protests of that sort.” 

At least two colleges have banned Coke products from their campuses in protest. Activists took over a McDonald's social media campaign by hijacking their #CheersToSochi hashtag to rant against the corporation's support for the Games.

Coke was forced to shut down an Olympic-related feature that allowed people to put names and messages on virtual soda cans after the company banned the word "gay". The famous "buy the world a Coke" commercial from 1971 was taken over and re-edited by a group called Queer Nation NY to add scenes of gay rights protesters in Russia being attacked.

The companies are defending their support of Sochi Olympics where they're paying big money to have their brands associated with the world's best athletes.

Why are the protesters targeting the corporate sponsors? Do social protests against large corporations have any lasting effect? Should Coke and McDonald's be concerned at all about an gay rights backlash?

Guests:

Michelangelo Signorile, editor-at-large of Huffington Post Gay Voices and author of Queer in America

Suzanne Shu, assistant professor of marketing at UCLA's Anderson School of Management

How soon could car-to-car communications transform traffic safety?

Would roads be safer, if cars could alert drivers when they were about to hit another car or pedestrian?

Today, the Department of Transportation will announce whether it will require automakers to install car-to-car communication technology, which would transpond the vehicle’s position, location and speed about 10 times a second and communicate it to other cars on the road.

If another car was approaching another car too quickly, the driver would be alerted and in advanced versions of the system, a car would automatically brake to avoid a crash.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  officials say the next 50 years of road safety won’t be focused on surviving crashes, but rather on avoiding them. Some estimate show up to 80 percent of accidents that don’t involve impaired driving or mechanical issues could be avoided.

It may take years for all cars on the road to be equipped, but cell phone technology could help bring the technology to cars that don’t have built in equipment. How effective is this technology? What is the critical mass to making

Guest:

Damon Lavrinc, Transportation Editor, WIRED magazine

Super Bowl ads: The postmortem

Super Bowl Sunday is as much a big deal for U.S. pro sports as it is for the ad industry. Ad airtime costs a record $4 million per 30 seconds this year. Still, some 35 advertisers signed up to air about 60 spots during the game for an estimated 100 million viewers.

The competition to stand out is bigger than ever, and advertisers have in the past few years taken to releasing teasers--think of them as trailers for the commercials--of their Super Bowl ads online before their debut. This year represented a bigger sea change. As of last Thursday, more than 20 ads slotted for the game were posted in full online.

What are the Super Bowl ads that everyone is talking about this year? Does debuting these ads online first take away any of the buzz?   

Guest: 

Brian Steinberg, senior TV Editor, Variety

AirTalk listeners: What is your terrible time-suck?

How many times have you logged on to Facebook or Instagram and, before you know it, blown two hours reading and looking at things that don’t necessarily benefit your life?

Facebook turns 10 this week. And to show the impact (or detriment) that the social networking site has had on our lives, TIME released a calculator that allows you to add up how many days you've lost on the site. (Share your results in comments.)

It's no surprise that social media is a time-suck, but losing yourself in these activities is certainly something that predates the dawn of technology.

AirTalk wants to hear from you. What's your online obsession? Is wasting time always a bad thing? Here's what our listeners had to say Monday on the show: 

What's the biggest time-suck for you? Let us know in comments, on Facebook or