University of California campuses have begun a 3-day strike today, with over 50,000 employees marching for increased pay for the schools' service workers. Though school is scheduled as usual, university hospitals are having difficulty coping. We also analyze FYF Fest's event cancellation; look into the rise of robocalls; and more.
Week in politics: This weekend’s California GOP convention, Rudy Giuliani’s latest round of interviews and more
AirTalk’s weekly political roundup highlights the headlines you might have missed this weekend and looks ahead at what to watch for in California and Washington, D.C. in the week to come.
Topics include:
CA GOP convention wrap-up, including:
No endorsement of a gubernatorial candidate
LA Times: Republicans at convention would rather talk about gas tax than keeping the house
CA Insurance Commissioner race check-in
CA Lieutenant Gov. race check-in
CA primary turnout: who do you think is going to turn out at the polls next month?
Giuliani continues media blitz, and suggests Trump might plead the 5th if he talks to Mueller
Gina Haspel's confirmation hearing for CIA director job is on Wednesday (she apparently floated the idea last week that she might withdraw but was convinced to stay, and CNN is reporting today that national security officials are already drawing up contingency plans)
Iran deal deadline is coming up on Saturday
U.S. and China progress in trade talks
NRA convention recap
Melania Trump is set to unveil policy goals in presser today
Guests:
Ange-Marie Hancock-Alfaro, professor of political science and chair of gender studies at USC; she tweets
Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush
FYF Fest is cancelled. What does this mean for the music festival market?
The sun is out and festival season is here. Unfortunately, LA-based FYF Fest won't be seeing any daylight this year.
FYF Fest announced its cancellation on Sunday. It was planned to be held in July at Exposition Park with Janet Jackson and Florence + the Machine headlining the festival.
We examine whether this exit reflects an overcrowding in the music festival circuit— and whether concertgoers are experiencing festival fatigue.
Guests:
Todd Martens, reporter covering music, video games and other interactive entertainment for the Los Angeles Times; he tweets
Amy X. Wang, music business reporter for Rolling Stone; she tweets
Robocall takeover: What you can do to stop those annoying automated calls
Are you getting more automated calls peddling some sort of a scam? Well, you are not alone.
According to the New York Times, the number of robocalls have skyrocketed in the last few years. Some 3.4 billion scam calls were received by unsuspecting Americans in April -- a bump of more than 9 million from a year before.
And Southern Californians have been the target of a specific robocall scam recently, where a woman speaking Mandarin claiming she’s from the Chinese Consulate tries to get the personal information from the person on the line.
Congress is aware of the explosion of robocalls and lawmakers are considering ways to address the issue. But there are things that consumers can do on their own to curb the problem.
Guests:
Ali Breland, reporter at The Hill in Washington D.C., covering tech and politics who’s been covering the story; he tweets
Margot Saunders, senior counsel at the National Consumer Law Center, a nonprofit that advocates for consumer issues on behalf of low-income people
Maureen Mahoney, policy analyst at Consumers Union, a nonprofit; she works out of the San Francisco office
The joy, frustrations and meaning of 'modern fatherhood'
As the father of four kids, Chris Erskine doesn’t have a lot of quiet moments.
The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune humor columnist isn’t shy about sharing the chaos of dad-hood. Case in point: Erskine has written in detail about the trials of dressing a newborn or how a new puppy can spark a variety of drama at home. In his new book, “Daditude: The Joys & Absurdities of Modern Fatherhood,” Erskine finds the funny in the ups and downs of being a dad in 2018. He’s taken a collection of essays recounting both big and mundane moments with his kids and wife.
The collection reads like journal entries where Erksine recounts out the best way to parent both newborns and teenagers. His family members also provide annotations to his work. Erskine drops by the studio today to talk about “modern fatherhood.” And shares highlights from his book about the joys of being a dad, and what it means to have everything— and give it all to your kids.
If you're a dad, what are your best moments of modern fatherhood? How do you think fatherhood has changed since you were a kid?
Guest:
Chris Erskine, author of the new book, “Daditude: the Joys & Absurdities of Modern Fatherhood” (Prospect Park Books, 2018); columnist for the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune