President Obama this morning addressed some hot button issues that's caused his administration to be under fire. In addition to the resignation of the acting IRS director, how is the White House going to clean up these recent controversies? Then, would you eat an environmentally-friendly burger if it were made in a lab? Also, a new study shows sunless tanning is safer than lying out in the sun, networks and advertisers are preparing for the fall season, and Amazon starts streaming online pilots. Later, defense attorney Mark Geragos makes a case for why the criminal justice system is failing.
The White House’s growing headache
President Obama has his hands full lately with all of the scandals plaguing the White House. Between Benghazi, the IRS and the Associated Press, the administration is facing a public relations nightmare.
President Obama started fighting back on Wednesday by announcing the resignation of the acting Internal Revenue Service director over news that the agency targeted conservative political groups. He also pushed the administration's support of a journalism shield law after it emerged that the justice Department obtained phone records of The Associated Press.
What is the White House’s strategy for dealing with the fallout? How are Republicans responding? Will Attorney General Eric Holder be the next to go?
Guest:
Rachel Smolkin, deputy managing editor for POLITICO
In vitro ground beef: Growing the perfect burger
A lab-made hamburger may make its culinary debut in London sometime this month, giving the world a first taste of what could be the future of meat. The burger, genetically engineered by University Maastricht scientist Dr. Mark Post, is made from thousands of tiny pieces of meat grown in-vitro and held together by salt.
Post uses tendons from fetal calves to grow the meat and, in a lengthy, expensive process, puts them together to form a hamburger patty. Meat created this way could have a significant impact on the environment and on health -- lab-made burgers use much less energy, and if they could be mass produced, in-vitro meat could reduce the global herd. Genetically engineered meat is also cruelty free -- Post's eventual goal is to create burgers without using any meat at all.
But will people eat meat made in a lab? The burgers don't have the exact appearance, flavor, or texture of actual meat yet, and even if they did, consumers would still have to make a decision about whether the products were "real." How might anti-G.M.O. advocates feel about lab-made meat? Is genetically engineered food real food? How might stem cell research evolve in a way that would allow these products to be produced on a large scale and more cost effectively?
Guest:
Dr. Neil Stephens, research fellow at ESRC Cesagen at Cardiff University School of Social Sciences
Will faux-tanning products help young women see the light on skin cancer?
Sunless tanning products, such as airbrush tans, lotions and towelettes, have grown more popular as Americans learn more about skin cancer. Still, a survey by Baylor University shows the majority of college-age women use such products to complement UV (ultraviolet) tanning -- whether by the pool or in a tanning bed.
The Baylor researcher, Jay Yoo, says product manufacturers need to figure out how to convince fashion-conscious consumers that sunless tanning products are a complete, safe alternative to UV rays. A golden-brown glow has only been en vogue for about a century. Previously, suntans were associated with the working class that had to work outdoors.
Why has the tan look sustained in the fashion world? Should the messages about skin cancer be as big and bold as anti-smoking, lung cancer campaigns of the past? What are the latest numbers on skin cancer rates?
Guest:
Dr. Lisa Chipps, M.D., Beverly Hills Dermatologist; Director of Dermatological Surgeries at Harbor UCLA Medical Center in Torrance
Network upfronts: A review of how you’ll spend your Thursday nights this coming fall
Over the past four days, advertisers were treated to flashy presentations from network TV execs on their fall season lineups. It’s the annual ritual known as the upfronts. But the subtext this year, like the last few years, is all about the health of network television.
The industry desperately needs a hit or two to stem the exodus of viewers that have flocked to cable or just plain tuned out. So just how strong of a fall television season it is going to be, Larry talks to a couple of television observers to find out.
Guest:
Dade Hayes, Executive Editor of Broadcasting & Cable
Alex Weprin, Senior Editor at TVNewser
Amazon enters the world of online streaming video with new production arm
The web has come a long way since cat videos and reruns of old TV shows. The success of Netflix's "House of Cards" has inspired a lot of other video streaming sites to get into lucrative game of producing original content. Hulu and Yahoo both have a dedicated production arm of their own.
The latest entry is a name that doesn't typically get associated with original sitcoms or dramas. Amazon has recently released 14 new pilot episodes on its website created by its Amazon Studios unit and the e-commerce site wants viewers to choose which previews the company should turn into full-on, season-long shows. The 14 offerings range from well-known Hollywood entities, like the Sony spin-off Zombieland, to lesser-known creations a la the comedy Those Who Can't, which was generated from an online submission entry.
What's the creative process behind these pilots? How did ideas get the green light? How has response been so far?
Guest:
Roy Price, director of Amazon Studios
A case for why the criminal justice system doesn't work
Defense attorney Mark Geragos has tried approximately 300 cases, including representing celebrities Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Winona Ryder, and Mike Tyson. In his new book with Pat Harris, "Mistrial An Inside Look at How the Criminal Justice System Works...and Sometimes Doesn't," the two lawyers make a case that the criminal justice system is failing.
The book provides an inside look at lies, bribes, and injustice in the American court system and how everyone from jurors to judges can be corrupted.
Geragos joins AirTalk to weigh in on the OJ Simpson trial and the Jackson's family lawsuit to AEG.
How easily is our perception of the truth changed? What should be reformed in the criminal justice system? What should you consider as a juror? What about as a defendant?
Guest:
Mark Geragos, criminal defense attorney, legal analyst, and co-author of "Mistrial An Inside Look at How the Criminal Justice System Works...and Sometimes Doesn't"
Mark Geragos will be doing a book signing at Book Soup in Hollywood this Sunday at noon. Click here for further details.