Larry checks in with KPCC reporter Sharon McNary, who’s been hitting up several polling stations in Orange County and Los Angeles County, as well as Registrar of Voters for O.C. and L.A. We also examine the “right-to-try” bill; discuss whether CA should require corporations to have at least one woman on board of directors; and more.
It’s Election Day, AirTalk checks in from polling stations, and voter turnout so far
Happy California primary.
Larry checks in with KPCC reporter Sharon McNary, who’s been hitting up several polling stations in Orange County and Los Angeles County, as well as Registrar of Voters for O.C. and L.A.
Guests:
Sharon McNary, KPCC reporter who’s been hitting several polling places in Orange and LA County today; she is currently in the City of Commerce; she was in Garden Grove, Little Saigon, and Fullerton earlier this morning
Dean Logan, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk for Los Angeles County, California
Neal Kelley, Registrar of Voters for Orange County, California; he’s been visiting various polling locations in the county
New LAPD Chief Michel Moore: background, bio, and reax
After being a finalist for LAPD chief in 2009 only to see the job go to Charlie Beck, Michel Moore has been selected to succeed Beck by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Moore, a 37-year veteran of the force, runs the LAPD's day-to-day patrol operations as first assistant chief, the number two at the department behind Beck, who's stepping down June 27. Moore, 54, has held nearly every top job at the department, overseeing everything from the budget to personnel to special operations.
To read the rest of Frank’s story, click here
Guests:
Connie Rice, civil rights lawyer and co-founder of the Urban Peace Institute, an advocacy group that works towards community safety and fair policing; she is on the board of KPCC trustees
Frank Stoltze, KPCC criminal justice and public safety issues correspondent who’s been following the search for the new LAPD Chief; he’ll be speaking to Moore and Mayor Eric Garcetti later today on the new appointment
Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents LAPD officers
As President Trump signs the ‘right-to-try’ bill into law, we debate if patients will be better off
President Donald Trump signed the “right-to-try” bill into law on Wednesday, a measure that gives terminally ill patients access to experimental drugs that have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The law permits the use of drugs that are still in clinical trials and "have passed Phase 1 of the Food and Drug Administration's approval process," according to reports. Under the “right-to-try,” patients will be able to choose to follow doctors’ recommendations and drug companies while sidestepping the FDA. Some proponents say this move will be particularly helpful for patients who go from country to country trying to seek a cure when they can get help right here at home.
Meanwhile, some critics call this a questionable privilege given that such drugs have passed only preliminary safety testing and only a small fraction of these treatments will get approved.
What do you think, will you be willing for a loved one or yourself to experiment with medicines of questionable safety that may or may not work? Call us at 866-893-5722
Guests:
Christina Sandefur, executive vice president of the Goldwater Institute, an Arizona-based libertarian think tank; she is the co-author of the original right to try law; she tweets
Alison Bateman-House, assistant professor in the Division of Medical Ethics at New York University Langone Medical Center; she testified before a House Energy and Commerce Committee on examining patient access to investigational drugs; she tweets
Substance over style? The new Miss America tries for a makeover
The Miss America pageant is dropping the swimsuit competition, saying it will no longer judge contestants on their appearance but on “what makes you you.”
The pageant began nearly 100 years ago as a bathing beauty contest to keep tourists coming to this seaside resort after Labor Day. But in recent decades, women’s groups and others have complained that making contestants parade across the stage in bathing suits and high heels is outdated, sexist and more than a little silly.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Wayne Parry, reporter for the Associated Press who has been following this story; he tweets
Kimberly Hamlin, associate professor of history and american studies at Miami University of Ohio; she is the author the article “Beauty Pageants and American Politics” in the publication Origins; she tweets
Precision: its invention, perfection and rise in the modern world
Humans have a habit of measuring things. Our shoe size. The ingredients in our food. How long it takes to get to work, with or without traffic.
All of these conscious and subconscious calculations rely on accurate measurements. But how do you measure accuracy? What’s the right calculation for precision? Is perfection something that can actually be attained?
In his latest book, “The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World,” New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester follows the history of precision, from its inception, to practice, to domination. Early precision tools used to make guns and glass during the Industrial Revolution paved the way for today’s microchips and gene splicing.
But Winchester also gets to the heart of why precision matters. And in the pursuit of transforming the organic to the manufactured, have we lost the art and freedom of craftsmanship?
Host Larry Mantle speaks with Winchester about the making of the book and our human affection for detail.
Guest:
Simon Winchester, British journalist, broadcaster, and author of many books, including his latest, “The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World” (Harper 2018)