California Wildfires; Transitioning to Hands-Free Cell Phone Use; Should Fast Food be Banned in South Los Angeles?; SAG/AFTRA Update; Is Global Warming a Threat to National Security?; The Man Who Invented the Supernatural
California Wildfires
Firefighters in throughout California are battling more than 1,400 blazes. According to the State Office of Emergency Services, nearly 365,000 acres have burned, and red flag warnings are still in effect for Northern California. Lightning storms have sparked dry vegetation due to lower-than-average rainfall, a recipe that promises continued fire danger throughout the summer. Larry Mantle checks in with fire officials for the status of some of the larger fires.
Transitioning to Hands-Free Cell Phone Use
A state law that takes effect July 1 prohibits 16 and 17 year-olds from using any device to talk or text while driving, except in an emergency. A companion law allows adults to continue chatting away, but says they must use a hands-free device while driving. Larry Mantle talks with Elaine Beno of the AAA of Southern California and checks in with listeners about how they're handling the transition.
Should Fast Food be Banned in South Los Angeles?
Last year, LA City Councilwoman Jan Perry proposed a one-year moratorium on new fast food restaurants in South Los Angeles in an effort to limit the number of establishments that sell unhealthful food. Now she wants to make it permanent. Larry talks with the Councilwoman about the proposed ban which would prohibit new fast food outlets in 32 square miles of the city, including Watts, Crenshaw and Baldwin Hills.
SAG/AFTRA Update
Larry Mantle talks with KPCC reporter Brian Watt about the status of SAG's negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.
Is Global Warming a Threat to National Security?
A new report by the nation's 16 intelligence agencies concludes that global warming could "seriously affect U.S. national security interests." The report, entitled "The National Security Implications of Global Climate Change Through 2030," predicts that warming will likely result in social unrest, poverty, and political destabilization around the world. What does this mean for the U.S.? Larry Mantle talks with NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten, Sharon Burke from The Center for a New American Security and Kenneth Green of the American Enterprise Institute.
The Man Who Invented the Supernatural
Acclaimed historian Jim Steinmeyer joins Larry Mantle to explore the life and times of Charles Fort, the man would define our idea of the anomalous and paranormal. Steinmeyer's new biography on Charles Fort tells the story of an era in which the certainties of religion and science were being turned on their heads and how Fort was the first man to challenged those orthodoxies.