Schwarzenegger's final State of the State address; Dodd and Dorgan will retire from the Senate; a preview of the Consumer Electronics Show; and physicist Sean Carroll presents his theory of time.
State of the State
Governor Schwarzenegger is hoping to stimulate California's economy in his last year in office. In today's State of the State address, he is expected to announce plans for a $500 million program to create new jobs, as well as proposals to extend a tax credit to first-time home buyers and to reduce sales taxes for the green technology sector. AirTalk broadcasts Governor Schwarzenegger's final State of the State speech, with reactions from legislators on both sides of the aisle.
Guests:
Julie Small, KPCC State Capital Reporter
Sen. George Runner, R, 17th district (Antelope Valley)
John Perez, State Assemblymember (D-46)
Senate upheaval: Dodd and Dorgan to retire
Two Democratic Senators—Connecticut’s Chris Dodd and North Dakota’s Byron Dorgan—will retire rather than seek reelection later this year. Dodd played a central role in shaping the economic bailout and crafting the language of the Senate health bill. Will the Dems lose both seats, and their filibuster-proof majority? Or, with an eye on polling numbers, will Dodd and Dorgan’s departure allow stronger Democrats to surface?
Guest:
Ron Elving, Senior Washington Editor, NPR
Gadgets galore -- Consumer Electronics Show preview
The International CES in Las Vegas is the world's largest annual tradeshow for consumer technology. This year's show starts on Thursday, with some previews tonight. What's new? The Google phone. Cloud computing. And the big news: 3D-TV. ESPN and Discovery are going to offer 3D programming. Is 3D the next big thing in TV? Skeptics say, hey, this has been tried before. Believers say the technology is greatly improved and will really dazzle viewers. Either way, Larry gets the latest on this year's new gadgets.
Guests:
Brian Cooley, CNET, Editor at Large
Bryan Burns, vice president, strategic business planning and development for ESPN
Jason Oxman, Senior Vice President, Consumer Electronics Association
John Honeycutt, chief media tech officer for Discovery Communications
Finding the ultimate theory of time
It seems obvious that time runs in one direction- people don't grow younger and an egg can't be unscrambled, for example. But why is this so? In his book "From Eternity to Here," physicist Sean Carroll seeks to create a better understanding of time. According to Carroll, time's one-way arrow is due to conditions before the Big Bang. He argues that our universe is part of a larger family of universes- and that in sibling universes, time runs in the opposite direction. He touches on subjects from entropy and quantum mechanics to time travel and the meaning of life. Carroll joins Larry Mantle to explain the mind-boggling concepts of time.
Carroll will discuss "From Eternity to Here" at Skylight Books in Los Feliz on Saturday, February 6 at 5pm.
Guest:
Sean Carroll, Ph.D., author of "From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time" (Dutton). He is a theoretical physicist and senior research associate at the California Institute of Technology. He writes regularly for the Discover blog Cosmic Variance.