AirTalk discusses the future of jury selection in California after the state Supreme Court overturned three convictions because the prosecutor removed 10 prospective jurors who were Latino. We'll also look ahead to ex-FBI Director James Comey's testimony Thursday; what exactly is Bitcoin?; a one-on-one interview with two-time GRAMMY Award winning jazz musician Marcus Miller; and more.
What to expect when former FBI head James Comey testifies on Thursday
The eyes of the nation will lock in on the District of Columbia this Thursday for a Senate hearing that some have even taken to calling “Washington's Super Bowl.”
That’ll be when former FBI director James Comey testifies in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. It will be the first time Comey has testified publicly since his firing.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, there was some talk that President Trump would use executive privilege to block Comey’s testimony. But Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that Trump won’t stop the former FBI director from speaking at the hearing.
What kinds of questions will James Comey face from Senators on Thursday? Will Senators stay on topic or will they use the hearing as an opportunity to ask Comey other questions? How forthcoming do you think Comey will be with information?
Guests:
Kevin Whitelaw, congress editor for Bloomberg News; he tweets
Justin Levitt, professor of law at Loyola Law School and former deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department under President Obama
How a recent California high court decision may be a harbinger for change on the bench
In a decision that many are calling a watershed for California, the state’s Supreme Court last week overturned three convictions - two for attempted murder - after finding that race played a factor in the selection of jurors in these cases.
The decision by the seven judges was unanimous.
The decision will have wide-ranging implications for how a criminal case is tried in the state. But it also points to how the California Supreme Court’s attitude toward weighing criminal cases might be changing and what role Gov. Jerry Brown’s appointees have had and are having on the court’s rulings.
Appellate attorney Kirk Jenkins, who studies the California Supreme Court, says that a recent rise in favorable rulings for criminal defendants suggests that Brown’s more liberal appointees may be causing the conservative justices to look harder at criminal cases.
Today on AirTalk, Mr. Jenkins joins Larry to talk about what the decision means for how appellate attorneys will approach jury selection moving forward and the implications this ruling has on future rulings from the California Supreme Court.
Guest:
Kirk C. Jenkins, chair of the Appellate Practice at Sedgwick LLP, a law firm with offices across the country, and author of California Supreme Court Review
It’s the cryptocurrency that could rule the world, but what exactly is Bitcoin?
The recent spate of ransomware attacks on companies like Disney and Netflix, as well as the torrential spread of the malware WannaCry, have put the spotlight on the cybercurrency Bitcoin, the preferred payment form of hackers around the globe.
We’ve heard your questions during our recent ransomware segments and we’re taking a step back to the basics – what, exactly, is Bitcoin?
Host Larry Mantle sits down with Nathaniel Popper, who writes about the intersection of technology and finance for the New York Times, to get some answers.
How does it work? Is it truly untraceable? What’s the appeal of cybercurrency? Why is it considered revolutionary? Will it last?
Call in with your Bitcoin questions: 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Nathaniel Popper, journalist who covers the intersection of technology and finance for The New York Times; his recent article for the New York Times is “What is Bitcoin? All about the Mysterious Digital Currency;” his book is "Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money”
A look at meme culture after Harvard rescinds admission offers over offensive memes
Harvard revoked admission offers to at least ten potential students after discovering that they shared racist, sexually graphic and offensive memes in a private Facebook group chat.
The group chat itself was an offshoot of an offshoot. The official Harvard College Class of 2021 Facebook group spawned a large messaging group for general pop culture memes, and a few of those members formed their own, darker group for offensive memes. One of the requirements for getting into this group chat was to post a provocative meme onto the more general meme chat group.
This was leaked to Harvard administrators in mid-April and the school revoked at least ten students’ admissions. Harvard has had to deal with an iteration of this last year, with students who wrote offensive messages online, but didn’t discipline the students involved.
Meme culture is as old as the internet – and the creation and sharing of memes, both general and offensive, often used by the alt-right (remember Pepe?), is a regular staple of the online world, especially in elite colleges. According to Buzzfeed’s Ryan Broderick, this story is a microcosm of the collision of a broader meme culture with the provocative, shock value memes of darker corners of the web.
Against the backdrop of this story, we take a deeper drive into memes. Who creates and shares them? What’s their intent? How do schools deal with less-than-savory memes?
Guests:
Katie Notopoulos, senior editor for BuzzFeed News, where she writes about tech and internet culture; co-host of the Internet Explorer podcast; she’s been following this story; she tweets
Ryan Broderick, reporter for BuzzFeed News and co-host of the Internet Explorer podcast; he tweets
Looking back, and to the future, on the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War
It was less than a week long, but 50 years later, the Six-Day War between Israel and surrounding Arab states is still making an impact.
The war of June 1967 ended in victory for Israel, which still controls the highly disputed ownership of the West Bank. Tensions prior to the initial airstrikes had been bubbling up since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Though the events leading up to the Six-Day war have been a subject of debate, one thing is clear: It has and continues to shape the political landscape of foreign relations today.
Larry speaks to an expert on the Six-Day War to find out how history will shape the future of the Middle East.
Guest:
Aaron David Miller, vice president for new initiatives and distinguished fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; he was an advisor on Arab-Israeli negotiations to Republican and Democratic Secretaries of State (1978-2003) and has written numerous books including "The End of Greatness: Why America Can't Have (and Doesn't Want) Another Great President" (St. Martin's Press, 2014) and “The Much Too Promised Land: America’s Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace" (Bantam, 2008)
It’s fun. It’s exciting. It’s nuclear physics!
What does nuclear science have to do with a tree changing genders? Why do we have nuclear subs but not airplanes? Is it possible to answer those questions in a fun and approachable way?
Author James Mahaffey’s latest book "Atomic Adventures" makes it easy. An acclaimed nuclear engineer and bestselling author, Mahaffey digs into the bizarre and quirky past of nuclear science - uncovering a trove of fascinating and funny anecdotes about the atom and its fission.
Guest:
James Mahaffey, retired senior research scientist at Georgia Tech for 25 years in the field of nuclear engineering, nuclear physics and nuclear weaponry, and author of his latest book “Atomic Adventures: Secret Islands, Forgotten N-Rays, and Isotopic Murder – a Journey into the Wild World of Nuclear Science” (Pegasus Books, 2017)
AirTalk ‘One-on-One’ interview special: Marcus Miller
You may have heard his film scores or one of his countless collaborations with artists such as Eric Clapton, Jay-Z and Aretha Franklin, or maybe you’re a fan of his SiriusXM Real Jazz show, “Miller Time.”
Today, AirTalk is joined by the two-time GRAMMY Award winning bassist, composer, producer and jazz musician Marcus Miller himself.
Miller is one of the headliners in this year’s annual Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He talks to host (and faithful “Miller Time” listener) Larry Mantle about the festival and upcoming projects, as well as his experiences working with various jazz, R&B, rock and pop Greats.
Marcus Miller will be one of the headliners at the 39th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, June 10. For more information, click here.
Marcus Miller will be one of the headliners at the 39th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, June 10. For more information, click here.
Guest:
Marcus Miller, jazz composer, instrumentalist and producer; he’s the host of the SiriusXM Real Jazz show, “Miller Time;” his latest album is “Afrodeezia”