Thursday evening marked the kick off of soccer’s World Cup and South Africa is booming with excitement, celebrating their first time hosting the largest sporting event in the world. The opening ceremony last night featured performances from Shakira, John Legend, Alicia Keys, and Hugh Masakela who all played a variety of African to enthusiastic throngs. The first match between South Africa and Mexico began early this morning. What matches are you most excited to see? Which team will be the final victor? And the perennial Southern California question—will Mexico do better than the U.S.?

What are the current unemployment figures for California? How are home prices doing in SoCal? What about retail sales and manufacturing? And, do any of these indicators mean anything for your job search? AirTalk crunches the numbers to determine how the economy’s doing overall.

Are two moms better than one? The United States National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study, published this week in the journal Pediatrics, is the longest study of lesbian mothers and their children ever conducted in this country. It’s based on 78 children who were all born to lesbian couples through donor insemination, and who were interviewed at age 17. It turns out these kids out-score their “gold standard” peers on academic and social tests and have fewer difficulties with aggressive behavior and rule-breaking. Is this a no-brainer, or a threat to hetero marriage? And how might gay activists—and opponents—use the study in political advocacy and fundraising?

Democratic voters chose Gavin Newsom to go head-to-head with Republican Abel Maldonado for Lieutenant Governor in Tuesday’s primary. Newsom, mayor of San Francisco, dropped out of the Governor’s race earlier this year citing lack of funds. Meanwhile, former state Senator Maldonado from Santa Maria was appointed Lieutenant Governor this April. How will the candidates try to shake up the largely ceremonial office? Are they better off trying to influence the legislature or the Governor him- (or her-) self?

Larry Mantle and critics Andy Klein of Brand X and Wade Major of boxoffice.com discuss the week’s new film releases including The A Team, The Karate Kid, Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky, and Winter’s Bone, among others. TGI-FilmWeek!

Larry Mantle sits down with Director Debra Granick and actress Jennifer Lawrence to discuss their new film, Winter’s Bone, which portrays the trials and tribulations of a young woman growing up deep in the Ozark mountains. The film was the recipient of the both the Grand Jury Prize and the Screenwriting award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.