Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest on Assembly Bill 392, a bill that would give California a new and tougher legal standard to justify the use of deadly force by police. We also examine Washington's legalization of the composting of human remains and the alternatives to traditional burial and cremation; and more.
What’s In The Police Use-Of-Force Bill That Is Expected To Pass In California
After several months of negotiations over a bill that aims to reduce police use-of-force in California, law enforcement have removed opposition and legislative leaders have announced support.
If passed into law, Assembly Bill 392 would give California a new and tougher legal standard to justify the use of deadly force by police.
The bill was inspired by the death last year of Stephon Clark, an unarmed Black man Sacramento police killed, having mistaken his cell phone for a gun.
The trigger for the shift in support of the bill follows new amendments that removed language that was worrying for consequences police officers would face for use-of-force.
While the new version of the bill doesn’t go as far as the original version that was proposed, civil liberties advocates have declared a victory and Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed support, saying the bill “will help restore community trust in our criminal justice system.”
GUESTS:
Anita Chabria, reporter for the Los Angeles Times covering California state politics based in Sacramento; she tweets
Peter Bibring, director of police practices at ACLU of California; he tweets
Robert Harris, a director with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the labor union representing LAPD officers, and president of Protect California, a coalition of law enforcement associations and trade unions focused on improving public safety in California; he is also an LAPD officer; he tweets
The LA Gig That Launched Elton John’s Career
On August 25, 1970 musician, Elton John, took the stage at West Hollywood’s Troubadour.
At age 23, the Englishman was making his American debut, marking the moment that made John the globally recognized star he eventually became.
The upcoming biopic “Rocketman” marks this moment as one of the most significant in John’s career, and celebrates his life and identity as a public figure.
The Los Angeles Times re-published the foretelling review Los Angeles Times’ music critic, Robert Hilburn wrote in 1970 after attending that concert, predicting John would become “one of rock’s biggest and most important stars.”
Larry talks with Los Angeles Times music writer, Rob Tannenbaum, about the significance of the Troubadour show in launching John into stardom.
Guest:
Rob Tannenbaum, music writer; his latest piece for the Los Angeles Times looks at former music critic Robert Hilburn’s review of Elton John’s Troubadour concert; he tweets
Digging Into ‘Recomposition’ After Washington Becomes First State To Allow Composting of Human Remains
The term “recomposition” might bring to mind images of bony skeleton hands bursting up from gravesites and the undead being reanimated, but in reality it’s an alternative method to burying or cremating human remains. And now, it’s officially legal in Washington State.
Governor Jay Inslee signed S.B. 5001 into law on Tuesday that legalizes human composting, the process of turning a dead body into soil. The process was pioneered by Katrina Spade, who founded a company called Recompose after she studied the process at Washington State University, using the bodies of six people who had donated their remains to the research.
Spade explained the process as covering the body with straw, wood chips and other natural materials, and the body breaks down naturally thanks to microbial activity over the course of three to seven weeks. When you compare the cost of a traditional burial or even cremation to human composting, it’s hard to argue with the price. CNN reports the average cost of a burial is anywhere from $8,000 to $25,000, and cremation can cost over $6,000. Spade says she hopes to charge around $5,500 for recomposition.
Supporters of recomposition tout the environmental benefits when compared to traditional burial, which involves draining the body of fluids and filling it with formaldehyde, which can pollute groundwater, and even cremation, which relies largely on natural gas.
The majority of the organized opposition has come from the Catholic Church, which argues that recomposition does not line up with church doctrine on how to treat the bodies of the deceased. There is also the question of what happens to the cemetery as the community gathering place to remember loved ones who have passed on if recomposition becomes widely-used.
Would you be willing to consider recomposition as an alternative to more traditional methods if it were ever approved in California? How close is California to approving a method like this? Are there other alternatives to traditional burial and cremation that are permitted in certain states?
We reached out to Recompose founder Katrina Spade to request an interview, but she declined our offer and sent us the following statement:
“Washington is leading the way by being the first state to offer the death care choice of natural organic reduction to gently convert human remains into soil. At Recompose, we could not be more proud of our broad community for supporting the creation of this new service and for our state’s political leaders who really rolled up their sleeves to create a new regulatory framework that ensures we will all have a safe, scientifically-rigorous and environmentally sustainable new death care choice. As we turn our attention at Recompose to raising investment capital and sharing information with prospective customers, we are thankful for the outpouring of public interest and support for recomposition. We look forward to sharing updates as they occur.”
Guests:
Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle), Washington State Senator and sponsor of S.B. 5001, the bill that was just signed in to law allowing human composting as a burial/cremation alternative in Washington State
David Sloane, professor of public policy at USC and an expert in the history of cemeteries and burial places and cultural attitudes towards death and memorialization; his latest book is “Is The Cemetery Dead?” (University of Chicago Press, April 2018)
Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, professor of soil science and sustainable agriculture at Washington State University; she is also the research advisor for Recompose, the organization responsible for inventing the natural organic reduction process.
FilmWeek: ‘Aladdin,’ Booksmart,’ ‘The Tomorrow Man’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Christy Lemire and Peter Rainer review this weekend’s new movie releases.
- 'Aladdin' in Wide Release
- 'Booksmart' in Wide Release
- 'Echo In The Canyon' at the Arclight Hollywood Dome & The Landmark
- 'Brightburn' in Wide Release
- 'The Silence of Others' at the Laemmle Music Hall
- 'The Perfection' on Netflix
- 'Walking On Water' at the Landmark Nuart Theater
- 'Running With Beto' at the Laemmle Monica Film Center & HBO streaming starting May 28
- 'The Tomorrow Man' in The Landmark
CRITICS' HITS
Christy: 'Booksmart,' 'The Perfection' & 'Running With Beto'
Peter: 'Echo In The Canyon,' 'The Silence of Others' & 'Walking On Water'
MIXED FEELINGS
Christy: 'Aladdin' & 'Brightburn'
MISSES:
Peter: 'The Tomorrow Man'
Guests:
Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of the ‘Breakfast All Day’ podcast; she tweets
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor
Oscar Nominee John C Reilly Discusses His New Show At The Pasadena Playhouse
Oscar and Tony Award nominee John C. Reilly is starring in new production at the Pasadena Playhouse, “Gather: Surprising Stories & Other Mischief.”
Known for his roles in films including “The Aviator”, “Magnolia” and “Step Brothers”, Reilly frequently collaborates with many of Hollywood’s top directors, including Paul Thomas Anderson, Adam McKay and Martin Scorsese. In recent years, Reilly has become known to a new generation of filmgoers as the voice of the titular character in the “Wreck-It Ralph” films.
Off-screen, he’s the frontman of the band John Reilly & Friends. Reilly’s showed off his musical chops in movies like “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” “A Prairie Home Companion” and “Chicago” (for which he received and Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor).
Reilly was nominated for a Tony for his role in the 2000 Broadway production of True West. “Gather” was put together by Reilly and his longtime collaborator and mentor Patrick Murphy.
Reilly joins Larry to talk about “Gather” and other notable roles he’s played on the stage and screen over the years.
“Gather, Surprising Stories & Other Mischief” opens this Friday, May 24, at the Pasadena Playhouse through Saturday, June 22. Click here for tickets and info.
Guest:
John C. Reilly, Oscar- and Tony- nominated actor; co-creator and one of the actors starring in the production, “Gather: Surprising Stories & Other Mischief”, which starts its run this Friday at the Pasadena Playhouse