Today on AirTalk, our weekly political roundtable recaps the major headlines you might’ve missed in politics news over the weekend and looks ahead to the week to come. We're also talking with listeners about the possibility of working from home forever; discuss how businesses will be enforcing health precautions; and more
COVID-19 AMA: Early Experimental Vaccine, CA Cases And More
An experimental vaccine against the coronavirus showed encouraging results in very early testing, triggering hoped-for immune responses in eight healthy, middle-aged volunteers, its maker announced Monday.
The vaccine by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna Inc., generated antibodies similar to those seen in people who have recovered from COVID-19 in study volunteers who were given either a low or medium dose.
In the next phase of the study, led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, researchers will try to determine which dose is best for a definitive experiment that they aim to start in July.
We discuss what we know of this experimental vaccine, as well as other developments in the battle against COVID-19, with our medical expert. If you have a question, call us at 866-893-5722.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guest:
David Eisenman, M.D., professor of medicine and public health at UCLA; director of the university's Center for Public Health and Disasters; Associate Natural Scientist at RAND; he tweets
Twitter Will Let Some Employees Work From Home 'Forever.' Would You Want To?
Employees at Twitter who are working from home will be able to continue to telecommute permanently, if they so choose. The email from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to employees made waves this week, as many companies have temporarily shifted to work from home amid the coronavirus crisis. Twitter also increased its allowance for supplies for working from home to $1,000 for all employees, according to BuzzFeed.
There are lots of reasons why this makes sense. Concerns about interacting with people outside one's immediate household aren't going away any time soon. And until a coronavirus vaccine is developed and becomes widely available, certain social distancing requirements will remain in place and companies will have to implement safety measures in shared workspaces. But working from home comes with it's own challenges too. There's the lack of face-to-face interaction for one thing, and until children are able to go back to school or daycare, working from home is especially difficult for working parents and guardians.
There are larger questions too about how telecommuting becoming the new norm might transform cities, allow more companies to outsource jobs to other parts of the US or beyond, or even hurt established outsourcing hubs.
If you had the ability to work from home forever, would you want to? For those who have been working at home during this time, what have been the best and worst parts of it? Call us at 866.893.5722 to weigh in.
How Are Businesses And Essential Workers Enforcing Mask And Social Distancing Policies?
As businesses begin to reopen across the country, they’re doing so with guidelines in place. Social distancing must continue and many businesses are asking customers to wear a mask. But who enforces those policies, and what happens when people don’t comply with the rules?
According to a recent piece in the New York Times, the employees are often left to enforce the rules and it can put them at risk. The article details a tense exchange at a California Trader Joe’s Store where an employee asked a customer to wear a mask and an incident in Van Nuys where a Target employee’s arm was broken while helping remove customers who refused to comply with the public health guidelines. A Flint, Michigan security guard was even shot and killed following a dispute over mask protocols. The Wall Street Journal reports, many cities are leaving it up to the businesses to decide how best to enforce policies. But it puts shops in a tricky position of navigating public health concerns and avoiding confrontation, sometimes violent confrontation.
Today on AirTalk, we want to hear from essential workers from retail businesses, grocery stores and restaurants. How has your workspace changed? And how is your business handling the enforcement of policies? Tell us your experience by calling 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Rachel Michelin, president and CEO of the California Retailers Association (CRA), the trade group representing all aspects of retail in the state; she tweets
Week In Politics: Future Relief Measures, The Political Dimensions Of Reopening, Biden’s Changing Platform And More
AirTalk’s weekly political roundtable recaps the major headlines you might’ve missed in politics news over the weekend and looks ahead to the week to come. Here are the headlines that we’re following this week:
COVID-19:
Firing of State Department Inspector General casts suspicions on spending of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
House Dems passed a $3 trillion relief bill. There’s no chance that it’ll get approval from the Senate. Have future bipartisan relief bill talks stalled?
GOP tensions over whether states should have flexibility over how they spend coronavirus aid dollars
Some thought Obama implicitly criticized Trump in virtual commencement speeches over the weekend
Trump’s remarks regarding Covid-19 testing last week
Reopening has taken on a political dimension -- does it tap into pre-existing worldviews across the ideological divide, with liberals having a more collectivist focus and conservatives more individual?
Whistleblower Rick Bright testified in front of a House Committee last week
2020:
Never Trumpers will have their own convention within the RNC
Plus, how will the pandemic alter the DNC and affect Biden’s ability to get attention and funds?
Biden will be going after red states such as Texas and Georgia
Biden tries out potential running mates
The pandemic (and the desire to woo Bernie supporters) has pushed Biden’s platform in a more progressive direction
Trump has been talking about “Obamagate” - what is that?
Guests:
Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, assistant dean of Civic Engagement at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and lecturer in political science at the University of Texas
Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy and senior fellow at The Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University; he tweets