Today on AirTalk, we answer your COVID-19 questions and hear how you are planning out your holiday plans. Also on the show, we talk about New Zealand's push for 'pay equity'; talk to tennis star Billie Jean King about her latest documentary "The Dollar Rebellion"; and more.
COVID-19: Latest In SoCal, Plus How Are You Talking With Family And Friends About Holiday Plans?
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Dean Blumberg, professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital. We also want to hear from listeners. How are you weighing holiday plans and how are you talking with family and friends about it? Share your thoughts or ask questions by calling 866-893-5722.
Today’s topics include:
- Why are cases surging in LA County?
- Mounting evidence showing limited risk from contact surfaces
- Oxford, AstraZeneca: strong immune response showing in older adults
- Could a new stay-at-home order be looming in LA County?
- Health officials urge people to stay at home for Thanksgiving holiday
Guest:
Dean Blumberg, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital
To Combat Pay Discrimination, New Zealand Is Pursuing The Approach Of ‘Pay Equity’
Earlier this month, a New Zealand law went into effect that will use the concept of “pay equity” to try to close the pay gap between men and women workers.
While many in the United States might be familiar with the term “equal pay,” which calls for equal pay for equal work, pay equity adopts a different tactical slant. Since many occupations are segregated by gender— think care workers, a labor pool which is composed of 75% women in the United States— pay equity advocates argue that a more meaningful metric to look at would be the types of work women do versus men, and how these types of work are often compensated less. In other words, it’s not simply “equal pay for equal work” but “equal pay for work of equal value,” or comparable worth. In the coronavirus pandemic, this dynamic has been thrown into sharp contrast. Over half of essential workers in the U.S. are women, many of them women of color, but their jobs are typically paid well below the median hourly wage. Although the concept of pay equity is over a century old, the movement— which gained steam in the 1970s and ‘80s in the U.S.— lost momentum before the new millennium.
Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about the history and contemporary implementation of pay equity. Do you have questions? Thoughts? We want to hear from you! Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Anna Louie Sussman, reporter covering gender and economics for various outlets, including the New York Times; she tweets
Heidi Hartmann, founder, president emerita and senior research economist at the Institute for Women's Policy Research; she tweets
The United States Surpassed 250,000 COVID-19 Deaths, And A Hard Winter Looms
Over a quarter of a million Americans have now died of COVID-19, and health experts worry about what this might mean for winter and the upcoming holidays.
The middle of the country is getting hit particularly hard, with the highest numbers of new cases per capita in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Montana. Rising cases precede rising death rates, but treatments for COVID-19 have advanced since the first wave of cases in the spring. Health experts also have more experience in treating the disease, although fatigue is a complicating factor.
Today on AirTalk, we’re hearing more about what the national COVID-19 picture looks like. Questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Adam Cancryn, healthcare reporter at POLITICO; he tweets
How The Airline Industry Is Preparing For Holiday Travel Season During A Pandemic
As the holiday season approaches, many Americans are wrestling with the same question as they decide whether to travel to visit family or friends -- am I ready to fly again?
Major U.S. airlines are hoping the answer to this question will be “yes” this holiday travel season, but it remains to be seen whether Americans will generally feel comfortable flying during a global pandemic. Currently there are no federal mandates for U.S. air travel, though there is talk of airlines considering requiring pre-flight testing for all passengers as a way to hopefully convince potential customers that it’s safe to fly. The air travel industry has been gutted by the coronavirus, with airlines suffering massive job losses and being forced to drop routes across the country. But as the Wall Street Journal reports, not everyone is sitting back and waiting the pandemic out. No-frills carrier Southwest has taken the opportunity to try and capitalize on its competitors’ struggles by adding several new cities to its network with more on the horizon in 2021, though some say the moves have been opportunistic, and that it’s not the first time Southwest has engaged in that type of behavior.
Amid all the talk of job and revenue losses, the aviation industry did receive a bit of good news on Wednesday when the FAA announced that the Boeing 737 MAX, which had been grounded for 20 months after two crashes killed 346 people. FAA administrator Steve Dickson has said thanks to changes in training and plane software, the conditions that caused the crashes are now “impossible.”
Today on AirTalk, we’ll check in on the latest headlines from the airline and air travel industry and talk about what travelers can expect if they’re planning to fly during the holidays.
Guests:
Leslie Josephs, reporter covering the airline industry for CNBC; she tweets
Alison Sider, reporter covering airlines for The Wall Street Journal; she tweets
Billie Jean King On 50 Years Of Women’s Professional Tennis
In 1970, nine tennis players came together to fight for professional play opportunities for women, paving the way for women’s tennis as we know it.
We sit down with Southern California native Billie Jean King and one of the “Original 9” to discuss her new Audible documentary “The Dollar Rebellion: How Billie Jean King and The Original 9 Became The Change They Wanted to See,” which explores some of the most significant moments in the history of women’s tennis.
Guest:
Billie Jean King, tennis champion and social justice activist; writer and performer of the new Audible audio documentary “The Dollar Rebellion: How Billie Jean King and The Original 9 Became The Change They Wanted to See”, released November 19