Patt Morrison is a guest hosting AirTalk today. A leaked climate change report predicts massive changes for the future. Then, is the United States really a collection of extremely distinct nations? Next, is the word "huh" a universal word across all languages? Next, with the FAA relaxing in flight technology use are in flight phone calls are going to be more common? Then, how do you break up with your significant other? What is the etiquette of breaking up online or via text? Lastly, we talk with author Anita Elberse about what makes someone a phenomenal hit int he entertainment industry.
Leaked climate change report predicts dire changes by 2100
More than 190 countries are represented in Warsaw today, as the debate over how to deal with climate change beyond 2020 continues. The 19th session of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change is set to run through November 22.
Major breakthroughs aren’t expected, however it’s hoped that some progress will be made towards a global agreement in time for the 2015 talks in Paris. Meanwhile, the second of three climate change reports from The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was recently leaked to a blog that’s critical of its assessment.
The warnings in the report are dire: by 2100, climate change will lead to a planet in peril, hundreds of millions of people in coastal areas will be flooded or displaced by rising sea levels, food and water supplies are at risk adding to violent conflict, and extreme heat waves will hit hard, especially in urban areas.
The panel’s report also says climate change will increase the risk of violence and civil war. Hundreds of scientists from across the globe contribute to the IPCC’s reports, collecting and summarizing thousands of peer-reviewed studies.
Will this latest report inspire world leaders to take more aggressive steps towards reigning in greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet? Will the Warsaw climate talks point way to a new deal? What will the human and national security struggles be as resources become more and more scarce?
Guests:
John Abraham, Professor of Thermal Sciences at the University of St Thomas, St Paul Minnesota
Dr. Peter Gleick, president and co-founder of Pacific Institute, a non-profit research center focusing on the environment, sustainable development, and international security.
Is the United States of America a smorgasbord of 11 distinct nations?
When Americans draw regional lines it's pretty straightforward: there's the west, New England, the plain states, the south, etc. However, when you take into account the history of migration, economics, religions and political opinion, the internal divides in America are less intuitive and much more stark.
Historian Colin Woodard has mapped a thought-provoking version of the U.S. (see map below). It prompts the question of whether our regional history is our political destiny. What will shape the internal borders of our collective future? Where does Los Angeles fit in this map?
(Map courtesy of Tufts University)
Guest:
Colin Woodard, Journalist, Historian and Author, “American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America;” Currently state and National Affairs Writer the “Portland Press Herald” and “Maine Sunday Telegram,” where he won a George Polk Award this year
Is huh a universal word?
A new study from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands found that the word, “Huh” could be a universal understood word.
The scientists traveled to cities on five continents visiting native speakers of 10 languages and found that “Huh,” sounds similar in every language that looked at.
This filler word is seen as the glue that mends conversations together. How important is “Huh,” across languages? Is this the one word everyone can understand?
Guest:
Timothy Stowell, UCLA Professor of Linguistics
Airline Wi-Fi companies say in-flight voice calls are the future
More and more people want to be connected at all times and that impulse extends to those who are flying thousands of feet above ground on an airplane.
While the Federal Aviation Administration has relaxed rules on the use of electronic gadgets in-flight, allowing passengers to use their tablets and MP3 players and e-readers during all stages of flight, there is apparently one mode of communication that flyers want to ban: good old fashioned telephone calls.
Gogo Inc, a startup that has built an app that would allow users to text and talk while they are flying, has been fielding quite a few complaints from folks who want to see the company block the phone call feature on the app.
“They think it would be uncomfortable to listen to the person next to you talk on the phone,” Michael Small, CEO of Gogo, told Bloomberg News in an interview.
Guests:
Rick Baldridge, President and Chief Operations Officer, ViaSat
Patrick Smith, former commercial airline pilot and columnist found at AskThePilot.com. He has a new book out called "cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel"
The etiquette of breaking up in the digital age (poll)
Russell Brand did it to Katy Perry a couple years ago, but breaking up over text message and social media is far from the exclusive domain of celebrities.
Ending a relationship face-to-face used to not be just the right thing to do, but the decent thing to do. But as we become more and more comfortable with negotiating our personal lives and intimate relationships online and over social media, many have opted to call it quits using these new platforms.
What are the etiquettes of ending things online and over social? Should that ever be done? Have you tried it?
Guest:
Jessica Carbino, a PhD. candidate in sociology at UCLA whose research focuses on online dating and she hosts and produces a weekly radio show on UCLA Radio called "Hook up With Dr. Jess"
Blockbusters: Hit-Making, Risk-Taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment
What’s behind the phenomenal success of entertainment businesses such as Warner Bros., Marvel Entertainment, and the NFL—along with such stars as Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and LeBron James?
Which strategies give leaders in film, television, music, publishing, and sports an edge over their rivals? Anita Elberse, Harvard Business School’s expert on the entertainment industry, has been looking at these questions for more than a decade.
In her new book, “Blockbusters,” she explains why the entertainment industry pins so much of their hope on the mega-blockbuster.
Guest:
Anita Elberse, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and author of “Blockbusters: Hit-Making, Risk-Taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment” (Henry Holt and Co., 2013)