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The logistics of Trump’s wall, the CDC’s new quarantine rule & how behavioral economics came to be

CAMPO, CA - OCTOBER 08:  A U.S. flag put up by activists who oppose illegal immigration flies near the US-Mexico border fence in an area where they search for border crossers October 8, 2006 near Campo, California. The activists want the fence expanded into a fully-lit double-fenced barrier between the US (R) and Mexico. US Fish and Wildlife Service wardens and environmentalists warn that a proposed plan by US lawmakers to construct 700 miles of double fencing along the 2,000-mile US-Mexico border, in an attempt to wall-out illegal immigrants, would also harm rare wildlife. Wildlife experts say cactus-pollinating insects would fly around fence lights, birds that migrate by starlight in the desert wilderness would be confused, and large mammals such as jaguars, Mexican wolves, Sonoran pronghorn antelope, and desert bighorn sheep would be blocked from migrating across the international border, from California to Texas.  (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
CAMPO, CA - OCTOBER 08: A U.S. flag put up by activists who oppose illegal immigration flies near the US-Mexico border fence in an area where they search for border crossers October 8, 2006 near Campo, California. The activists want the fence expanded into a fully-lit double-fenced barrier between the US (R) and Mexico. US Fish and Wildlife Service wardens and environmentalists warn that a proposed plan by US lawmakers to construct 700 miles of double fencing along the 2,000-mile US-Mexico border, in an attempt to wall-out illegal immigrants, would also harm rare wildlife. Wildlife experts say cactus-pollinating insects would fly around fence lights, birds that migrate by starlight in the desert wilderness would be confused, and large mammals such as jaguars, Mexican wolves, Sonoran pronghorn antelope, and desert bighorn sheep would be blocked from migrating across the international border, from California to Texas. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
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David McNew/Getty Images
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Listen 1:34:25
Trump signed an executive order to build the Mexico-U.S. wall Wednesday – we dive into the logistics and funding, as well as his executive actions on sanctuary cities; a new CDC quarantine rule has critics fearful for civil liberties; plus, author Michael Lewis explores the friendship behind behavioral economics.
Trump signed an executive order to build the Mexico-U.S. wall Wednesday – we dive into the logistics and funding, as well as his executive actions on sanctuary cities; a new CDC quarantine rule has critics fearful for civil liberties; plus, author Michael Lewis explores the friendship behind behavioral economics.

Trump signed an executive order to build the Mexico-U.S. wall Wednesday – we dive into the logistics and funding, as well as his executive actions on sanctuary cities; a new CDC quarantine rule has critics fearful for civil liberties; plus, author Michael Lewis explores the friendship behind behavioral economics.

Examining Trump’s executive actions on border wall and immigration

Listen 40:01
Examining Trump’s executive actions on border wall and immigration

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders in keeping with campaign promises to boost border security and crack down on immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

The executive orders jumpstart construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, one of his signature campaign promises, and strip funding for so-called “sanctuary cities,” like Los Angeles. He wants local law enforcement to provide more cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

If California cities refuse, how much might it cost them? Building a wall is a multi-billion-dollar project, with huge physical, legal, and funding challenges. We examine the possibility and efficacy of such a proposal.

Guests:

Ted Hesson, immigration reporter for POLITICO Pro; he tweets @tedhesson

Néstor Rodriguez, professor of sociology at the University of Texas-Austin

Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrants’ rights for the ACLU of California and staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California

A closer look at the CDC’s new quarantine rules

Listen 7:36
A closer look at the CDC’s new quarantine rules

According to an op-ed in the New York Times, the dynamics of quarantines are changing nationwide. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a final rule was decided this month to issue federal restrictions on on interstate travel in a health crisis.

This is a sweeping change from the previous way that quarantines were previously enforced--mostly on the state level. Critics of the new rules point out that a clear path to challenge quarantines in federal court are no longer in place, and that a person who may be showing symptoms, but has not been diagnosed may be kept in quarantine for an unspecified amount of time.

But the CDC is hoping that by expanding these new regulations, it will improve and protect people from epidemics like the Ebola outbreak of 2014.

Larry speaks today with James Hodge, director of the Public Health Law and Policy Program at Arizona State University to hear more about these new quarantine regulations, and what they mean in case an epidemic hits.

Guest:

James G. Hodge, Jr., professor of Public Health Law and Ethics and Director, Public Health Law and Policy Program at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law

Writer Michael Lewis on the friendship that gave rise to behavioral economics

Listen 21:30
Writer Michael Lewis on the friendship that gave rise to behavioral economics

Book cover.
Book cover.
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Book cover from WW Norton website.
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Using the discipline of psychology to understand human decision-making seems like a no-brainer nowadays, but that wasn’t always the case.

In 1979, psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman published a groundbreaking paper that would pave the way for the rise of the field of behavioral economics. In this new book, “The Undoing Project,” writer Michael Lewis goes behind the theory to document the lives of the two Israeli scholars and their friendship.

Michael Lewis will be in conversation with Mindy Kaling tonight in Santa Monica at the Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre at New Roads School. The event starts at 8pm. For more information, click here

Guest:

Michael Lewis, author of numerous books, including “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” (W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), and his latest, “The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds” (W.W. Norton & Company, 2016)