AirTalk discusses the impact climate change on the insurance industry. We also touch on the federal charges brought against four California men described as "serial rioters" who participated in the Charlottesville riots; and more.
DC roundup: What we learned from NY Times' big Trump tax investigation, the latest on Kavanaugh FBI probe and more
The New York Times made waves on Tuesday when it released reporting diving into how President Trump made his fortune, suggesting that he “participated in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including outright fraud, that greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents.”
Since the reporting came out, New York state tax officials say they’re looking into the allegations made in the piece and are pursuing all investigative avenues.
Guests:
Scott Horsley, NPR White House reporter; he tweets
Ed McCaffery, professor of law, economics and political science at USC; he analyzes tax policy
Lee-ford Tritt, professor of law focusing on estate tax and tax law at the University of Florida; he vetted the tax documents with the NYT reporters behind the investigation
Luke William Hunt, assistant professor of criminal justice at Radford University in Virginia; he is a former FBI Special Agent and Supervisory Special Agent in Charlottesville, Virginia and Washington, D.C.; author of the upcoming book “The Retrieval of Liberalism in Policing” (November 2018, Oxford University Press)
The first line of defense for climate change? How about the insurance business
The world of business and finance is starting to put a price on climate change.
And insurance companies are no exception. Some insurers are racing to put a value on the future of a warming planet. Analysts argue the effects of climate change can be seen everywhere, from rising sea levels, agriculture, flooding, hurricanes to increased wildfire risks. And while climate change may be gradual, one natural catastrophe can have a significant impact on the industry.
Now, insurance companies are working on building models that aim to better estimate the impact. More insurers are trying to calculate premiums taking into consideration those risks. These companies are attempting to incorporate estimates into their calculations and charge customers accordingly. We discuss how climate change is impacting the insurance industry and customers particularly in California.
Guest:
Nicole Friedman, insurance reporter for the Wall Street Journal, who has been reporting on how climate change is impacting the insurance industry; she tweets
Azusa Pacific University trustee, students address debate over same-sex relationships on Evangelical Christian college campuses
Students at Azusa Pacific University protested on campus Monday in response to an ongoing discussion over romantic LGBTQ relationships on campus.
The school’s student handbook contains language prohibiting students from engaging in “a romanticized same-sex relationship,” but students and administrators had reached an agreement to remove the clause starting this semester.
However, after an article in the student newspaper about the change and a letter to the Board from a professor expressing concerns by faculty members about what such a change could mean for APU’s Christian identity. The Board of Trustees issued a statement saying that it had not approved the change in language and that they were reinstating the original clause.
Guests:
David Poole, chair of the Azusa Pacific University Board of Trustees
Nolan Croce, senior at APU, majoring in film production and part of the LGBTQ community on campus
Erin Green, recent graduate majoring in biblical studies at Azusa Pacific University; member of the LGBTQ community on campus
Can feds prosecute California men accused of inciting riots at deadly Charlottesville rally?
Four California men described as "serial rioters" are facing federal charges after prosecutors say they flew across the country for a white nationalist rally in Virginia last year and violently attacked counter protesters.
Federal agents arrested the men Tuesday. Prosecutors identified them as members of the Rise Above Movement, a militant white supremacist group they said espouses anti-Semitic and other racist views and meets regularly to train in boxing and other fighting techniques. U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen says each defendant faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the two counts they each face: traveling to incite riots and conspiracy to riot. We look into what the chances are of criminal prosecution.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Laurie L. Levenson, former federal prosecutor and a professor of law at Loyola Law School
Eugene Volokh, professor of law at UCLA; he tweets
AirTalk Midterm Elections Interviews: CA State Treasurer candidate Greg Conlon
This November, California voters will choose the state’s next treasurer, who will be responsible for finance and investment.
Current Treasurer John Chiang is terming out, leaving the seat open, and the two options are: Democrat Fiona Ma and Republican Greg Conlon.
Ma is currently a chairwoman on the Board of Equalization and a CPA. Conlon is also a CPA, and has served on the California Public Utilities Commission as President for two years and as a Commissioner for four years. You can read more about the candidates and the role of the Treasurer here.
Today, we sit down with Greg Conlon to discuss his platform and what he would accomplish should he be voted the next Treasurer of California.
We reached out to Democratic candidate Fiona Ma. She declined our request for interview.
Ready for Election Day? Get up to speed on what you need to know with our Voter Game Plan at elections.laist.com. Read up on the candidates and ballot measures, find out about registration deadlines or ask us your questions.
Guest:
Greg Conlon, Republican candidate for treasurer of California
‘Maniac’ director says he doesn’t mind taking script direction from Netflix data analytics. Do you?
Director, writer and filmmaker Cary Fukunaga recently made waves on the web when he told GQ that he took notes from Netflix’s algorithm when writing his recently released Netflix series “Maniac.”
Fukunaga, who directed the first season of “True Detective” and was recently tapped to direct the new James Bond film, said that since Netflix has so much data on its viewers, they were able to give him specific notes as he was creating the story for “Maniacs.” Here’s an excerpt from the GQ profile:
"So they can look at something you're writing and say, We know based on our data that if you do this, we will lose this many viewers. So it's a different kind of note-giving. It's not like, Let's discuss this and maybe I'm gonna win. The algorithm's argument is gonna win at the end of the day. So the question is do we want to make a creative decision at the risk of losing people."
But not all creators are likely so receptive to direction from an algorithm -- what of the auteur’s vision? Focus groups and layers of feedback are nothing new in Hollywood. But data analytics at such a granular level are a more recent development, and we’re curious to hear from creators working in Hollywood how it’s been impacting your work. For the better? Worse? How big of a variable is this kind of data in your creative process?
Guests:
Brooks Barnes, LA-based Hollywood reporter for the New York Times; he tweets
Yves Bergquist, data scientist and director of the AI and Neuroscience in Media Project at USC’s Entertainment Technology Center, a Hollywood and tech industry group that does research and development