Today on AirTalk, we analyze public attitudes towards socialism and the impact the ideology is having on this year's presidential race. Also on the show, we look back on the history of the Negro League in honor of their centennial and discuss a rental data tracking bill being reintroduced in the state legislature.
How Are Americans Feeling About Socialism These Days?
Sen. Bernie Sanders has a current edge in the field of candidates hoping to be the face of the Democratic party come November. According to NPR News, he’s rising in the polls among Democrats. But other polls show most Americans aren’t that into the idea of socialism, which is something Sanders identifies with.
Nearly 60 percent of adults said they have an unfavorable impression of socialism, according to the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. Positive opinions of socialism decline with increased age, yet even half of millennials and Gen Z weren’t thrilled with the idea. But progressive Democrats do see socialism in a favorable light.
Today on AirTalk, we take a look at the evolution of public attitudes toward socialism. Also, what does socialism really mean and how has the meaning changed over time? We want to hear your thoughts? Has your opinion of socialism changed over time? Do you look at favorably or unfavorably? Could it hurt Sanders in his bid for president? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Lydia Saad, a researcher at Gallup where she writes extensively about U.S. public opinion; she tweets
Sheri Berman, professor of political science at Barnard College who specializes in the history of social democracy
Zachary Courser, visiting assistant professor of government at Claremont McKenna College and co-director of the CMC Policy Lab; he tweets
Looking Back At the Negro Leagues Centennial
This February, Black History Month coincides with an milestone for the history of baseball: the centennial of the Negro National League.
In the 1910s, African-American baseball teams often drew huge crowds, but white bookers controlled the profits and dictated when teams could play. That changed when pitcher Rube Foster organized the Negro National League in February 1920. Beginning then, African-American teams were able to compete against each other on their terms, nearly 30 years before Jackie Robinson broke the color line.
We’ve invited experts on the Negro Leagues to talk about what has changed in the 100 years since the Negro National League was founded.
Do you have questions about the history of African-Americans in baseball? Join the on-air conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
EVENT:
Exhibitions in celebration of the Negro Leagues Centennial are going on all this month at Whittier College’s Wardman Library as well as La Pintoresca Branch Library in Pasadena. Phil Dixon will also be speaking at two upcoming local events in celebration of the Negro Leagues Centennial:
Saturday, February 22, 2:00 p.m. at La Pintoresca Branch Library 1355 N Raymond Ave., Pasadena
Monday, February 24 7:00 p.m. at Whittier College’s Warman Library
For more on Phil Dixon’s presentations, click here. For information on the Negro Leagues Centennial Exhibitions, click here.
Guests:
Joe Price, professor emeritus of religion studies and co-director of the Institute for Baseball Studies at Whittier College
Phil Dixon, baseball historian, member of the Board of Governors for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, MO and author of six books on the Negro Baseball leagues; his latest is “The Dizzy and Daffy Dean Barnstorming Tour: Race, Media, and America’s National Pastime” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019); he tweets
After KPCC Investigation ‘Stuck,’ CA Rental Data Tracking Bill Reintroduced
A state assemblywoman wants to collect new data on rental housing in California.
Introduced Tuesday, the new bill from Oakland lawmaker Buffy Wicks, AB 2406, would track rents, vacancies, ownership and more for landlords with at least 5 units.
Wicks pledged to re-introduce the bill after KPCC broadcast our special report, "Deceit, Disrepair and Death Inside a Southern California Rental Empire", which shined a light on the lack of public information about landlords in California. She said the data will help California figure out how to address its housing crisis.
Read more on LAist.
We follow up with Assemblymember Wicks about what she hopes to achieve with this legislation and what makes it different from the bill that failed last year.
Guest:
Buffy Wicks (AD-15), California Assemblymember representing the 15th District, which encompasses the cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, Richmond, and parts of the City of Oakland in the East Bay; she is the author of AB 2406; she tweets
FilmWeek: ‘The Call of the Wild,’ ‘Standing Up, Falling Down’ ‘Emma.’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Christy Lemire and Lael Loewenstein review this weekend’s new movie releases.
"The Call of the Wild" in wide release
"Standing Up, Falling Down" at Laemmle’s Monica Film Center
"Emma." at Arclight Cinemas Hollywood & The Landmark
"Brahms: The Boy II" in wide release
"Premature" at Laemmle’s Monica Film Center, Laemmle’s NoHo & Laemmle’s Playhouse
"Seberg" at ArcLight Hollywood & The Landmark
"The Times of Bill Cunningham" at Arclight Cinemas Hollywood, Laemmle’s Royal, Laemmle’s Playhouse & Laemmle’s Town Center
"The Woman Who Loves Giraffes" at Laemmle’s Monica Film Center, Laemmle’s Claremont, Laemmle’s Playhouse & Laemmle’s Town Center
"Goldie" at Lumiere Music Hall
"Once Were Brothers" at Arclight Cinemas Hollywood & The Landmark
Critics' Hits:
Christy: "Emma." "Premature" & "Goldie"
Lael: "Standing Up, Falling Down" "The Woman Who Loves Giraffes" & "Once Were Brothers"
Mixed Feelings:
Christy: "The Call of the Wild"
Misses:
Christy: "The Times of Bill Cunningham"
Lael: "Seberg"
Guests:
Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of the ‘Breakfast All Day’ podcast; she tweets
Lael Loewenstein, KPCC film critic and film columnist for the Santa Monica Daily Press; she tweets
New Book Explores A Century Of Change In American Documentary Filmmaking
It’s hard to imagine how the sprawling, ambitious IMAX documentaries of today could be descendants of films like the silent and largely staged documentary “Nanook of the North,” released nearly one hundred years ago.
In a new book on American documentary film, author Jon Wilkman explores how the form radically formed and evolved over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries into its widely popularized, politically salient contemporary state. “Screening Reality: How Documentary Filmmakers Reimagined America” traces more than a century of change, from prototypical documentaries to the use of film in both World Wars, on to today’s multifaceted documentary styles that have helped propel technological change. Wilkman writes about the inventors, journalists, entrepreneurs, artists, and activists that historically helped to hone documentary’s potential as a source for subjective American truth-telling. He also discusses the unsteady relationship that documentary has with fact and fiction, and how documentary can be used as a form of persuasion even when (and often because) it appears to depict objective truth.
Today on AirTalk, we sit down with Jon Wilkman to discuss his new book and the history of documentary filmmaking in the United States.
Guest:
Jon Wilkman, writer, director and producer for both film and television. He is the author of the book “Screening Reality: How Documentary Filmmakers Reimagined America” (Bloomsbury Publishing)