Researchers have found that feeding peanut butter to allergy-prone infants helps prevent a peanut allergy. Also,a survey from Los Angeles Metro finds that 22 percent of bus and subway riders had experienced "unwanted sexual behavior." Then, with so much tech available, what's the most effective way to learn a new language?
Allergy doctors explain surprising benefit of peanuts for allergy-prone babies
In unprecedented and delicious findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine, feeding peanut butter and peanut puffs to allergy-prone infants helped prevent a peanut allergy, lowering the risk by as much as 81 percent.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the results “have the potential to transform how we approach food allergy prevention." The study was the largest and most rigorous test of its kind. A major caveat: parents should not try this method until a medical professional administers an allergy test on newborns.
What are the implications for the medical community and how soon might changes filter down? How does this apply to other common allergies such as pollen, shellfish, pet dander, and the like?
Guest:
Dr. Maria Garcia-Lloret, MD, Pediatric Allergy & Immunology Physician at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA
VA Secretary’s Special Forces claim
Just over three weeks ago, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald joined us on AirTalk to describe the end of a legal battle over use of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs facility.
Later that day, McDonald was in Downtown LA taking part in the homeless census. News media surrounded him, including a CBS camera crew. CBS captured an exchange between a homeless man on the street and Secretary McDonald in which McDonald claimed to have been in Special Forces.
You can watch a CBS video on counting the homeless here.
But it turned out McDonald wasn't in Special Operations, though he completed the Army Ranger training program.
Yesterday, the VA released a statement from Secretary McDonald. It read, "While I was in Los Angeles, engaging a homeless individual to determine his veteran status, I asked the man where he had served in the military. He responded that he had served in special forces. I incorrectly stated that I had been in special forces. That was inaccurate and I apologize to anyone that was offended by my misstatement."
Was this was a serious effort to deceive, or an offhanded attempt to bond with the man that went awry? Does this compare with the Stolen Valor incidents where people wear unearned military decorations?
Guests:
John Rabe, Host, KPCC’s Off-Ramp, who was with VA Secretary McDonald that night
Leo Shane III, Military Times, Congressional Reporter who’s been following the story. His latest piece looks at how various veteran groups have reacted to the false claims
Updating the Metrolink train crash in Oxnard
Three cars of a Southern California Metrolink commuter derailed and tumbled onto their sides after a collision with a truck on tracks in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles this morning.
Twenty-eight people have been transported to hospitals, according to Captain Mike Lindbery, Ventura County Fire Department PIO.
Guests:
Brian Watt, KPCC reporter at the scene of the crash
Scott Johnson, assistant public affairs officer for Metrolink
Joe Garces, fire investigator and assistant public information officer for the Oxnard Fire Department. He’s been on scene since shortly after the wreck this morning.
How to make LA buses and subway a safer place
A new survey from Los Angeles Metro finds that 22 percent of bus and subway riders had experienced "unwanted sexual behavior including, but not limited to, touching, exposure, or inappropriate comments" over a six-month period.
It’s not a problem unique to Los Angeles. From New York to New Delhi, public transport officials have had to deal with sexual harassment issues facing passengers. What could be done to address the problem? If you ride the bus or the subway, have you ever been a target of unwanted sexual behavior?
Guests:
Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Professor of Urban Planning at UCLA. Her research focuses on public transportation and women’s safety issues
Genevieve Berrick, founder and site leader of Hollaback L.A., which brings attention to harassment of women in public spaces
Linguistic experts explain the best ways to learn a second language in the information age
If you didn’t study any foreign languages in school, picking one up as an adult can be challenging, since the human brain is best-equipped to absorb a new language in the early childhood years.
However, advances in technology and new teaching methods in the last few decades have opened the door for many adults to learn a second or third language without them needing to travel to a country where the language they’re learning is spoken. From the apps for your mobile phone, to software like Rosetta Stone, to classes you can take at your local community college, there are a lot of ways you could learn a language besides your native tongue.
But which way is the best? Statistically, which methods are most successful? Is there any substitute for complete language immersion?
Guests:
Elizabeth Bernhardt, Professor of German Studies and Director of the Stanford Language Center at Stanford University.
Marty Abbott, Executive Director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, a non-profit organization seeking to improve and expand the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction.