Today on AirTalk, Larry speaks with an active shooter training specialist to talk about the best strategies for reacting to an active shooter. We also discuss the R9X Hellfire missile and the capacity in which it’s used by U.S. armed and intelligence forces; and more.
LA City Council to vote next week on proposal to ban digital advertising from taxi, rideshare rooftops
Taxicabs sporting digital advertising boards are a dime a dozen in New York City, but here in Los Angeles, cabs and their ridesharing counterparts could be prohibited from mounting the displays on their rooftops if a motion passes L.A. City Council next week.
San Fernando Valley Councilman Bob Blumenfield is behind the proposal, saying that the billboards are bright, distracting and could present a driving safety hazard. Firefly, a company that outfits taxis and Uber and Lyft drivers’ cars with rooftop digital billboards and is singled out in Blumenfield’s motion, says that a ban would take income away from rideshare and taxi drivers in an industry where they are already fighting for every cent per mile they can get.
Today on AirTalk, Councilman Blumenfield and a Firefly representative share their arguments for and against the ban, respectively, and take calls from drivers on their thoughts. Join the conversation at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Bob Blumenfield, L.A. City Councilman who introduced the motion, which will be heard in council next week; he represents Council District 3, which spans the West San Fernando Valley from Woodland Hills to Winnetka and includes the neighborhoods of Canoga Park, Reseda and Tarzana; he tweets
Pete Gould, national policy advisor for Firefly, a San Francisco-based company that provides smart screen advertising for taxi and rideshare vehicles; he tweets
WSJ reporters pull the tarp off a missile designed to kill only terrorists and leave nearby civilians unharmed
Imagine a weapon that could target and kill a terrorist leader while only causing a fraction of the damage and drastically reducing the chances of civilian casualties.
Believe it or not, the U.S. military has developed a weapon that does just this. The Wall Street Journal reported this week on a modified Hellfire missile called the R9X that has been used on the battlefield by both the Pentagon and the CIA, with the latter having used it in an airstrike as recently as this year. WSJ reports that more than a dozen U.S. current and former military officials confirmed the existence of the weapon, something that had only been speculated on until now.
So, how does this missile neutralize its target while not harming any civilians or causing widespread damage? For starters, it lacks a payload. Instead of a warhead, the missile is designed to be a giant projectile that falls from the sky and lands on whatever its target is. The landing is where things get interesting. When it strikes, the missile deploys six long blades that are stored inside the missile’s body, shredding anything in its path. In the small circles of people who are familiar with the weapon, it is known as “the flying Ginsu,” a reference to the infomercials from the 70s and 80s for knives that were advertised as being able to cut through shoe leather as easily as a sandwich.
Development of the weapon started in 2011 as the Obama administration was emphasizing the need to reduce civilian casualties caused by airstrikes and searching for a way to combat the increasing trend of terrorist fighters using large groups of women and kids as cover during airstrikes. It is only used in specific situation, usually when a target has been identified and pinpointed.
Today on AirTalk, Larry Mantle chats with the reporters who broke the story on the R9X Hellfire missile and finds out more about how the weapon works and what we know about the capacity in which it’s used by U.S. armed and intelligence forces.
Guests:
Gordon Lubold, Pentagon reporter for The Wall Street Journal; he tweets @glubold
Warren P. Strobel, national security reporter for The Wall Street Journal; he tweets
After school shootings in Colorado and North Carolina, a look at the students who confronted the gunmen
One week apart, school shootings occurred in North Carolina and Colorado – in both, brave students died charging the gunmen in an effort to stop the shooting and save their classmates.
On April 30, a former student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte opened fire inside a classroom. Riley Howell, a 21-year-old student there, charged the gunman and tackled him to the ground. Howell was shot at least three times, including once when he was only inches away from the gunman, and died stopping the massacre. One other student died and four others were wounded, but the police told Howell’s parents no one else was shot after he body-slammed the shooter.
One week later, on May 7, two students opened fire at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado. When one gunman came into his English class, 18-year-old senior Kendrick Castillo lunged to stop him and was shot dead – a decision his teacher said gave other students time to take cover under their desks or rush the gunman themselves. Eight students were injured in the attack, but there were no other deaths.
Both Howell and Castillo are being hailed as heroes, having likely saved many lives with their decisions to attack the gunman.
Larry speaks with an expert in school safety and prevention about these students’ decisions and the best strategies for reacting to an active shooter.
Guest:
Susan Payne, expert in school safety and prevention at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence; she also spent 28 years in law enforcement and founded Safe2Tell, a youth violence prevention initiative in Colorado
FilmWeek: ‘Pokémon Detective Pikachu,’ ‘The Hustle,’ ‘Tolkien’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Claudia Puig, Justin Chang and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases.
- "Pokémon Detective Pikachu" in wide release
- "Tolkien" in wide release
- "The Hustle" in wide release
- "Non-Fiction" at Laemmle’s Royal & Arclight Hollywood
- "Poms" in wide release
- "The Biggest Little Farm" at the The Landmark & Arclight Hollywood
- "Black Mother" at the Laemmle Music Hall
- "El Chicano" in wide release
- "Rafiki" at Laemmle’s Glendale & Laemmle’s Royal
CRITICS' HITS
Justin: 'Non-Fiction.' & 'Black Mother'
Claudia: 'Rafiki'
Charles: 'The Biggest Little Farm'
MIXED FEELINGS
Justin: 'Pokémon Detective Pikachu' & 'Wine Country'
Claudia: 'El Chicano'
Charles: 'Tolkien'
MISSES
Claudia: 'The Hustle' & 'Poms'
Guests:
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA); she tweets
Justin Chang, film critic for KPCC and the Los Angeles Times; he tweets
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
Hollywood Black and the Silver Screen: A history of African-American actors and filmmakers
Author Donald Bogle’s new book, "Hollywood Black: The Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers", tells the history of African-Americans in cinema, both in front of the camera and behind it.
In the book, Bogle covers every seminal moment in black film history, from Hattie McDaniel’s Oscar win for Gone With The Wind to last year’s groundbreaking blockbuster Black Panther, while also delving into the lesser told stories of people like silent filmmaker Oscar Micheaux and blacksploitation star Tamara Dobson.
Though Hollywood Black celebrates the myriad achievements by African-Americans in the film industry, it also delves into challenges that have plagued them from silent film era to today, like the lack of backstory often given to black characters, and how African-Americans have often been relegated to supporting roles as helpers to white protagonists.
Are you an African-American actor or filmmaker? We’d love to hear your questions and comments at 866-893-5722
Guests:
Donald Bogle, film historian and author of nine books; his latest is “Hollywood Black” (Running Press Adult, 2019)
Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC, Alt-Film Guide and CineGods.com; he tweets