Today on AirTalk, we break down the latest COVID-19 news. Also on the show, we preview today's primary for the New York City mayoral race; talk with our LGBTQ listeners about their experiences in team sports; and more.
COVID-19: U.S. Reaches 150 Million Vaccinations, Delta Variant Likely To Dominate The U.S. In Weeks And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, we speak with Dr. Kimberly Shriner from Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.
Today’s topics include:
U.S. hits 150 million people vaccinated
Delta variant could dominate U.S. in weeks
Scientists warn that COVID-19 may shrink parts of the brain
Black Angelenos have highest COVID-19 case rates and deaths
Nearly 4,000 breakthrough COVID infections reported in Massachusetts
Some undocumented immigrant communities turn to unproven drugs to treat COVID-19
Guest:
Kimberly Shriner, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena
On The 50th Anniversary of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue,’ We Reflect On The Album’s Long Lasting Impact
One of iconic musician Joni Mitchell’s most beloved albums, “Blue,” has its 50th birthday this week. According to Ann Powers, NPR’s music critic, it’s an album that has continuously restored itself over the decades, offering new meanings to different listeners.
Love, loss, place and loneliness, all themes of the album that resonate deeply and profoundly. Mitchell in the past has described making the album as bleeding the songs onto the pages. In honor of the anniversary, the artist’s label has also released “Blue 50,” which features previously unreleased recordings from the album. Today on AirTalk, we discuss the importance of the album on its 50th anniversary, how it evolved overtime and its connection to Los Angeles and California. What does “Blue” mean to you? Share your thoughts on the AirTalk Facebook page or
or give us a call at 866-893-5722.
NPR is hosting a listening party to commemorate the 50th anniversary of “Blue.” Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile joins NPR music critic Ann Powers coming right up at 11 am Pacific Time. You can watch that conversation on YouTube.
NPR's Ann Powers wrote a piece celebrating the 50th anniversary of "Blue" and looking at her connection to Miles Davis. You can read that here.
Guests:
David Yaffe, author of “Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell”; he tweets
Jenn Pelly, contributing editor at Pitchfork and writer for the LA Times, her latest piece is “In 1971, nothing sounded like Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue.’ 50 years later, it’s still a miracle;” she tweets
New Yorkers Will Be Using Ranked Choice Voting In Today’s Mayoral Primary -- We Explain What It Is
Ranked choice voting makes its debut in New York City's mayoral primary Tuesday in one of the most high-profile tests yet for a system gaining use in pockets across the U.S.
The system is based on a simple premise: Democracy works better if people aren't forced to make an all-or-nothing choice with their vote. Rather than pick just one candidate, voters get to rank several in order of preference. Even if a voter's top choice doesn't have enough support to win, their rankings of other candidates still play a role in determining the victor. But the system is more complex than a traditional election, making it tough to forecast a winner. It could take longer to get results. But the system is tough to grasp. It requires voters to do a lot more research. It also makes races less predictable. Transparency and trust are also potential problems.
In New York City's version, voters get to rank up to five candidates, from first to last, on their ballot. If one candidate is the first choice of a majority of voters - more than 50% - that person wins the race outright, just like in a traditional election. If nobody hits that threshold, ranked choice analysis kicks in. Vote tabulation is done in rounds, and all rounds of counting are done by computer in a process that takes very little time. In each round, the candidate in last place is eliminated. Votes cast ranking that candidate first are then redistributed to those voters' second choices. That process repeats until there are only two candidates left.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll get a preview of what’s at stake in today’s primary and find out more about how ranked choice voting works.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Shelly Banjo, New York City bureau chief for Bloomberg; she tweets
Rick Pildes, professor of constitutional law at NYU school of law
LGBTQ Listeners Share Their Experiences Competing In Organized Sports
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib on Monday became the first active NFL player to come out as gay.
Nassib, who is entering his sixth NFL season and second with the Raiders, announced the news on Instagram, saying he wasn’t doing it for the attention but because he felt representation and visibility were important.
“I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said in his video message from his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.
“I really have the best life. I got the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for. I’m a pretty private person, so I hope you guys know that I’m really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important.”
Nassib added in a written message that followed the video that he “agonized over this moment for the last 15 years” and only recently decided to go public with his sexuality after receiving the support of family and friends.
Today on AirTalk, we want to hear from LGBTQ listeners about their experiences, positive or negative, playing organized sports. Join our live conversation by calling us at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Nicki Jhabvala, Washington Football Team reporter for the Washington Post; she tweets
Eric Anderson, professor of Masculinities, Sexualities and Sport at the University of Winchester, in England; he is the author of many books, including “Men and Masculinities” (Routledge, 2019)
On Slavery And America’s Relationship With Its History
Author Clint Smith traveled to some of the most charged places in America’s history, from the Monticello Plantation in Virginia to the Blandford Cemetery, where Confederate soldiers are buried, to gain a deeper understanding of America’s history with slavery and its relationship to this history.
We sit down with Smith to discuss his new book, “How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America.”
Guest:
Clint Smith, author of “How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America” (June 2021, Little, Brown and Company); he is a staff writer for the Atlantic, a poet and host of the YouTube series Crash Course Black American History; he tweets