Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a measure today that lays out stricter rules for gun owners. Then, scientists and lawmakers are trying to keep up with a new gene-editing technology, known as CRISPR. Also, Tesla owners are now one step closer than everyone else to having a self-driving car.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announces new measure to reduce gun violence
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a measure today that lays out stricter rules for gun owners.
The measure would require ammunition buyers to receive background checks, ban the possession of large-capacity magazines more than 10 rounds and require anyone who currently has them to sell to a licensed firearm dealer, transfer them out of state or give them to law enforcement to be destroyed.
This measure aligns with California’s already strict gun laws, and is part of a larger effort by Newsom to reduce the growing gun violence in the U.S. The measure will need 366,000 signatures to qualify for next year’s ballot.
However, critics have called it unconstitutional and say it will lead to major expenses and be a time-consuming burden. What restrictions should be put on gun owners?
Guests:
Adam Winkler, is a professor of constitutional law at the UCLA School of Law. He is the author of “Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America”
Steve Dulan, member of the board of directors of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners and an adjunct professor at the Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University
Revolutionary gene-editing technology CRISPR spurs ethical debate
Scientists and lawmakers are trying to keep up with new gene-editing technology, known as CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), but cutting-edge experiments around the globe could prove impossible to reign in.
Ethicists are at odds over the dangers and potential of the versatile and inexpensive technology that can alter crops, animals for food, and human fetuses. On the "Reason" magazine blog, science writer Ronald Bailey argues pressing pause or stop on experiments prevents our potential to end malaria, grow more crops to fight famine, and cure fetuses of genetic diseases in utero.
However, many scientists urge caution as they learn how gene-editing would affect organisms' successive generations. Some say "eugenics lurk in the shadow of CRISPR" with its potential for creating "designer babies."
How advanced is the technology? What policies or laws exist around the world as a guide for scientists? Is there such a thing as being too cautious with experimental gene-editing?
Guests:
Ronald Bailey, Science Correspondent for “Reason” magazine; Author of “The End of Doom”
Keith Yamamoto, Vice Chancellor for Research; Executive Vice Dean, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco; Molecular Biologist, on the National Academy of Science's national advisory group to guide research and clinical decisions about the use of genome editing technologies to treat human disease, including CRISPR
If California’s freeways aren’t good enough for driverless cars, will they ever catch on in the U.S.?
Tesla owners are now one step closer than everyone else to having a self-driving car.
A software update was made available for owners of Tesla Model S and Model X owners that includes a new ‘autopilot’ mode, allowing the cars to adjust speeds according to traffic, change lanes, and even steer by itself. Tesla Motors co-founder Elon Musk announced the software release at a news conference yesterday afternoon, where he also lamented to reporters that road markings on certain parts of California freeways could pose problems to the autopilot software.
Musk showed reporters a stretch of the 405 Freeway near LAX that initially confused the system. This may have to do with the fact that it’s a stretch of road that has a seam between the lanes because it’s concrete. In addition, the lane markings are angled differently so the car struggled to identify the real lane.
California has been the stomping ground for U.S. tech companies who want in on the driverless-technology game, so Musk’s comments raise concerns about whether the lane markings are the only thing that could create problems for driverless software on U.S. roads.
Funding and plans for infrastructure improvements, especially the kind that would likely be required to improve California’s freeways to the quality required for self-driving software, are notoriously hard to secure,expensive to fund, and would take years to finish.
If California’s roads aren’t good enough for driverless cars, should we be concerned about other states as well? Does this mean that driverless cars can’t catch on in America? What other issues with infrastructure could pose problems to driverless software?
Quartz's Alice Truong took the new software for a spin yesterday. You can read about it here.
Guests:
Alice Truong, senior Silicon Valley correspondent for the news site Quartz.
Thilo Koslowski, vice president and automotive practice leader at the technology analysis firm Gartner. His work focuses on predicting the future business and technology implications of automotive, connected/autonomous vehicles and mobility innovations
Embracing uncertainty in the time of information overload
Oftentimes, we have difficulty determining how to best handle murky situations.
Ambiguity can be found in our professional, social and romantic lives. Whether you're trying to decide which restaurant to visit or which job offer to accept, Jamie Holmes explains that we are all “drowning in information.” A constant flow of information has made choices increasingly difficult to make — even the simplest.
“Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing” by Jamie Holmes tells readers how people make sense of the world.
Holmes includes helpful anecdotes in his book to help illustrate how to best manage uncertainty. It contains new research that indicates learning how to manage uncertainty can be particularly advantageous.
Holmes joins Airtalk to tell us more. Click "listen to this story" above to hear more.
Guest:
Jamie Holmes, Fellow at New America Foundation and author of “Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing” (Crown, 2015)