AirTalk gets the latest on the damage done by Hurricane Irma as the now Tropical Storm continues to batter the Florida peninsula. We also debate AB 23, which would prompt new single-gender schools to open around the state; take a look at music artist reinvention; and more.
Week in politics coming out of Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma continues to batter the Florida peninsula as it makes its way into the southeastern United States.
National Hurricane Center models show what’s left of Irma making its way northwest across Georgia and Alabama and potentially even as far north as western Tennessee and Kentucky. As of AirTalk Monday, the storm is swirling above eastern Georgia and South Carolina, bringing wind and heavy rain to cities like Macon, GA and Charleston, SC. Millions across Florida remain without power as cities like Naples and Miami begin to survey the damage while others like Jacksonville are still flooding, though the extent of the damage in many areas is still unknown.
In our weekly political roundtable, Larry and AirTalk’s political experts look at how Congress plans to find money for Irma relief with FEMA running low after Harvey.
Plus, we’ll explore the implications of President Trump’s debt relief deal with Democrats and what it means for Republicans, recap former senior White House adviser Steve Bannon’s “60 Minutes” interview, speculate on what might happen if one Congressional faction were to go rogue on tax reform and forecast troubles on the horizon for Democrats in 2018 and 2020.
Guests:
Gene Wexler, reporter/anchor at News 96.5 WDBO in Orlando, FL; he tweets
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies; he is also a former senior Obama advisor in 2008; he tweets
Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush
As AB 23 is considered, a debate on the value of single-gender schools
Single-gender education is a highly debated topic among educators, and argument continues with AB 23, which would prompt new schools to open around the state.
The bill, which has been amended several times, is part of a larger conversation around discrimination and scientific proof. As written in an Education Week op-ed, the bill opens questions about civil rights and segregation under the rouse of school choice.
But proponents point out that STEM or STEAM programs targeting girls help them get a leg up on subjects where women lack influence. Distraction is also an age-old argument for separating male and female students.
So what do you think about single-gender schools? Are there instances where separation is beneficial for students?
Guests:
Carrie Wagner, executive director at Girls Athletic Leadership School in Los Angeles, one of two new all-girls campuses in the LAUSD currently serving 6th and 7th graders
Juliet A. Williams, gender studies professor and chair of the Social Sciences Interdepartmental Program at UCLA; she also authored the book, “The Separation Solution?: Single-Sex Education and the New Politics of Gender Equality” (University of California Press, 2016)
Taylor Swift in the long line of artist reinvention
Taylor Swift recently released the first single of her upcoming sixth album, and it’s... different.
A “Bad Blood”-esque revenge anthem on steroids, “Look What You Made Me Do” trades Swift’s typical catchy hooks for a melody more spoken than sung. Instead of long, flowing dresses and beautiful landscapes, the music video is rife with snakes, graveyards and references to Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” And the old Taylor? Oh, she’s dead.
Swift only just cemented her drastic shift from country singer to pop star with 2014’s “1989.” But “Look What You Made Me Do” and the following single “... Ready For It?” go a step further and attempt to rebrand Swift from the relatable girl-next-door she’s been for the last decade to a bitter, wronged titan of pop music who no longer cares what anyone thinks.
Swift is far from the first prominent artist to make a significant shift in music or persona – but will she be successful? Which artists have been successful making such transformations in the past, and which have failed to sell their new image? Larry speaks with LA Times music critic Mikael Wood about Swift’s newest reinvention and the trailblazers who successfully and unsuccessfully rebranded their careers before her.
Guest:
Mikael Wood, pop music critic for the LA Times