AirTalk debates California's controversial death penalty measure ahead of the state Supreme Court hearing that will decide its fate tomorrow. We'll also parse through the week's political news; look back at the significance of LA's police reform measure on its 25th anniversary; and more.
Week in politics: What to expect from President Trump’s ‘infrastructure week,’ plus a preview of Jim Comey’s upcoming testimony
President Trump didn’t waste much time making an appearance this week as he announced his plan to overhaul and reform the country’s air traffic control system from the East Room of the White House on Monday.
He says the reforms would take air traffic control out of the hands of the Federal Aviation Administration so it can focus on safety and instead create a private, non-profit corporation to manage the logistical duties of guiding planes and ensuring efficiency. This is part of a larger infrastructure push by President Trump, who is expected to be traveling around the country this week to champion this push.
In Washington, D.C. this week they’re also preparing for the tumult that many are expecting to follow former FBI director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. We’ll preview the hearing and look at whether President Trump could use executive privilege to block the testimony.
Also on the docket: analysis of U.S. response to the London Bridge terror attack over the weekend, how California is fighting back against the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Accord and what several Middle Eastern countries severing ties with Qatar means for the U.S.
Guests:
Bill Burton, Democratic political strategist with the firm SKD Knickerbocker and former deputy White House press secretary for Barack Obama; he tweets
Zachary Courser, research director of the Dreier Roundtable and visiting Assistant Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College; he tweets
As LA’s historic police reform measure turns 25, we look at past and present day relevance
Friday marked the 25th anniversary of Los Angeles city voters approving Proposition F, a police reform measure ensuring civilian oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Driven by former L.A. mayor Tom Bradley and prompted by the videotaped Rodney King beatings, Prop F removed the LAPD chief’s civil service protection and strengthened the civilian Police Commission.
In his recent article for the Daily News, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs Raphael J. Sonenshein wrote that the measure might hold new relevance. In April, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said all federal-local consent decrees on policing would be under review. Those are agreements between local authorities and the federal government that ensure police reforms. If the federal government doesn’t enforce these reforms, L.A.’s example of local, community action will become all the more pertinent.
Host Larry Mantle sits down with Sonenshein to discuss the history of 1992’s Prop F and what we can learn from it going forward.
Guest:
Raphael J. Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles; author of “Politics in Black and White: Race and Power in Los Angeles” (Princeton University Press, 1994)
Does ISIS have the capability of launching a daily attack?
On Saturday, pedestrians on London Bridge were hit by a white van in a terrorist attack that killed 7 people and injured 48 others.
The van attack, which was followed by stabbings, is the third to use a vehicle as a weapon since March, suggesting a new trend in terrorism. The attack was claimed by ISIS, and took place just hours after an Islamic State outlet used an encrypted messaging app to encourage attacks using vehicles.
The simplicity of vehicular attacks makes them easier to carry out and harder to prevent than more elaborate plans. So if ISIS’ reach is so far, why aren’t they happening every day?
Guest:
Brian Michael Jenkins, senior advisor to the president of the Rand Corporation and one of the nation's leading experts on terrorism and homeland security; he tweets
CA Supreme Court to consider the future of death penalty in the state
The California Supreme Court is deciding the fate of the Prop 66 death-penalty measure in a Los Angeles hearing Tuesday.
The measure, which aims to speed up current and future executions in the state, was challenged by a lawsuit and blocked by California’s highest court in December last year. If the court upholds the will of the voters, as precedent suggests it might, it would likely mean resumed executions in California. For context, the state has the largest Death Row in the nation, with about 750 inmates, and our last execution was in 2006.
There’s concern that the five-year requirement would fundamentally alter the role of the high court, forcing it to give preference to capital cases. But it’s possible for the justices to reject certain provisions of Prop 66, like the five-year deadline, while upholding others, such as the curtailing of prisoners’ appeals.
On the eve of the hearing, we debate Prop 66. Should the Court uphold all the provisions in the death-penalty measure? Would that alter the function of the Court for years to come?
Guests:
Michael Rushford, president and CEO of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, an organization advocating reduced rights for accused and convicted criminals
Elisabeth Semel, law professor and director of the death penalty clinic at UC Berkeley School of Law
How the Internet is changing the definition of what it means to be a public intellectual
Once upon a time there were people in the public eye who used their personal philosophies to write about a range of topics affecting the world.
Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, Mary Midgley, Isaiah Berlin...the list goes go on and on - but it starts to thin out the closer you get to modern day. So what happened to the public intellectual?
Daniel W. Drezner’s new book “The Ideas Industry” investigates the modern shift away from an “intellectual scene” and a new trend in what he calls “thought leaders” - people with big ideas on a certain topic, the kinds of people on a TED Talk stage. What caused this shift? And how does it impact how our society filters information? Do we need “great thinkers” for this generation?
Guest:
Daniel W. Drezner, professor of international politics at Tufts University in Massachusetts, and Washington Post contributor; he is author of the book, "The Ideas Industry: How Pessimists, Partisans and Plutocrats are Transforming the Marketplace of Ideas" (Oxford University Press, 2017)
AirTalk ‘One-on-One’ interview special: Alan Alda
You probably know Alan Alda, he’s been killing it in Hollywood for decades - from “M*A*S*H” to “The Aviator” - picking up nominations and awards left and right.
In the middle of all that he was also the host for PBS’s acclaimed series “Scientific American Frontiers.” For eleven years, Alda travelled the world interviewing scientists in his humble and humorous way. In that time he worked with thousands of scientists and found ways to break down their breakthroughs so the audience could understand and engage with their discoveries. But scientists aren’t the only people who might want a hand becoming more relatable. In his new book, “If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?,” Alda shares the lessons he learned in the field so more people can benefit from becoming better communicators.
AirTalk is launching a special one-on-one interview series for this week. Today’s guest: Alan Alda.
Alan Alda will be discussing his new book next Monday, June 12, at 7:30 PM, as part of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles’s ALOUD Series. The event will be at The Wallis, at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills.
And next Tuesday, June 13, at 6:00pm, Alda will be at the Norman P. Murray Community & Senior Center in Mission Viejo to talk about his new book.
Guest:
Alan Alda, Emmy-winning actor, director screenwriter, and author of many books, including his newest, “If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating” (Random House, 2017)