A new study shows that men with early prostate cancer who closely monitor their disease are as likely to survive 10 years as those who choose treatment - we delve into the debate: to treat or not to treat?; U.S. News and World Report released its 2017 college rankings, but are they still relevant?; and what does it take to make a No.1 album in the streaming age?
Doctors debate how patients should interpret new prostate cancer findings
A new British study finds, on average, there's no greater risk in carefully monitoring a prostate tumor than having it removed or hit with radiation. The implication is that patients are being over-treated. What does that mean to an individual patient with a prostate tumor?
Men with early prostate cancer who choose to closely monitor their disease are just as likely to survive at least 10 years as those who have surgery or radiation, finds a major study that directly tested and compared these options.
Survival from prostate cancer was so high - 99 percent, regardless of which approach men had - that the results call into question not only what treatment is best but also whether any treatment at all is needed for early-stage cases. And that in turn adds to concern about screening with PSA blood tests, because screening is worthwhile only if finding cancer earlier saves lives.
*With files from AP
Guests:
Dr. Christopher Saigal, professor and vice chair of urology at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Andre Abreu, assistant professor of clinical urology at USC’s Institute of Urology
How global agriculture, farmers will be impacted by Bayer-Monsanto mega-deal
Hoping to create a one-stop shop for all of farmers’ crop-growing and protection needs, the German chemical giant Bayer has purchased St. Louis-based Monsanto Co., which produces genetically-modified seeds for growing crops. The deal is valued at $66 billion, which comes out to about $128 per share.
Most probably know Bayer for drugs like aspirin and Alka-Seltzer, but it also has a thriving pesticide business. With the acquisition of Monsanto, which is the biggest supplier of genetically-modified seeds in the world, Bayer will become a massive agricultural force able to provide farmers with seeds for their crops, the sprays needed to protect them, and advice on how to best use all the products. Bayer hopes that, in the long term, the move will put them at the forefront of sustaining the world’s growing population on high-tech crops.
Who are the winners and losers in this deal? How, if at all, will this acquisition translate into the prices consumers see in the grocery store? What could the long-term impact of the acquisition be?
Guest:
Drew Harwell, national business reporter for the Washington Post; he tweets
Doing the math: When is it worth it to own an EV or hybrid in California?
A new report from consulting firm Vincentric LLC finds that, more often than not, it’s not worth it to own a hybrid.
Of 29 hybrid cars covered in the survey, only seven proved to be cheaper to own and operation than their comparable gas-powered counterparts. But in a place like Southern California, the same rules don’t all apply.
To do the math on when it makes sense to buy and EV or hybrid, and when it doesn’t, Larry Mantle is joined by KPCC’s Sue Carpenter. Do you own a hybrid? Has it been cheaper for you in the long run?
Guest:
Susan Carpenter, Co-host of KPCC’s The Ride, and former car critic for the Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register; she tweets at
Grading the influential role of ‘U.S. News’ 2016 College Rankings report
“U.S. News and World Report” released Tuesday it’s “2017 Best College Rankings.”
The ranking compared more than 1,800 U.S.-based colleges and included UC Berkeley as the highest ranking Top Public School among National Universities. UCLA ranked second on the same list, with UC Irvine not far behind at #8.
But what’s the process for picking top schools? And how valuable are these lists with so many out there to choose from?
Larry speaks today with a critic and supporter of the list to find out what students need to know before consulting the new college rankings.
Guests:
Lynn O’Shaughnessy, national higher education expert who provides advice to parents at her website, ‘The College Solution.’
Kim Clark, senior for Money Magazine and senior writer for Higher Ed.; former senior writer at U.S. news covering higher education (2000 to 2011)
'Berniecrats' debate how to spend donor cash, pick candidates
While it might seem the swan song of Bernie Sanders' campaign for presidency was his endorsement of Hillary Clinton at the Democratic Convention, the fight over the future direction of the "Berniecrats" shows the high value of their political capital and financial capital.
Three open questions: What are the pros and cons of Sanders' creating a 501(c)(4) called 'Our Revolution?;' How will the campaign pick and choose candidates to support - from school board to senator?; Will 'Our Revolution' share its list of donors - numbering in the millions - with the Democratic National Committee?
Guests:
John Patty, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
What’s the formula for a No. 1 album sale in the digital age?
Measuring album popularity used to be as simple as tallying the amount of CDs sold, along with the number of downloads.
But fast-forward to 2016, and it’s become increasingly difficult to determine which albums belong in the top spots. Last month, Frank Ocean’s newest album, “Blonde,” was ranked No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart for selling the “equivalent” of 276,000 albums, in the form of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). So, how many streams and equivalent albums sold does it take to claim the top spots? Randall Roberts, pop music critic for the Los Angeles Times, wanted to find out.
Roberts recently wrote about the shift in music consumption and how it’s affected the way we measure the success of an album. Roberts wrote, “It’s a complicated mash-up of streaming and sales data, where 10 digital-track downloads sold and 1,500 songs streamed are equal to one album.” YouTube and Pandora charts, however, are excluded from the metrics because of the level of difficulty involved in tallying the number of plays, and because Pandora doesn't represent an intentional, on-demand streaming service.
Are multi-metrics a fair way to determine which album deserves to be No. 1? How has your music consumption evolved over the years?
Guest:
Randall Roberts, Pop music critic, Los Angeles Times; he tweets from