Atmospheric river brings ‘strongest storm of the season’ to SoCal this week
Heavy rainfall in the region could begin as early as Wednesday morning. The storm will likely linger through Valentine’s Day, with a possibility for thunderstorms later in the week. The San Gabriel Mountains will likely see the heaviest levels of rain and mountain snow, Lund says, adding that floods and debris flow are significant risks in burn scars in Altadena and the Palisades. Up to 2 inches of rain are expected between Wednesday and Friday, with up to 4 inches in mountains and foothills. There's a 30% chance those amounts may double, according to the National Weather Service.
Joining us this morning on AirTalk is Ariel Cohen, meteorologist in charge at National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard
The muttering era of AI: why chatbots have suddenly begun to ‘reason’ out loud
Last month, the tech world was sent into a whirl spin when the Chinese startup DeepSeek released its free chatbot that claimed to provide the same — if not better — industry standard AI for a fraction of the cost. The AI platform, which has overtaken OpenAI’s ChatGPT as the most downloaded artificial intelligence app, released with a “reasoning” model that visually outlines the thought process behind the chatbot’s answers for queries. For users, this “reasoning” or “chain of thoughts” looks much like the chatbot is muttering to itself as it quickly navigates toward a solution — a kind of visualized inner monologue that users can refer back to. Since DeepSeek R1’s release, OpenAI and Google Gemini have released similar “explainable” models to the public, arguing that a peek into the chatbots “reasoning” increases users' trust with the systems. But how might the anthropomorphization of AI chatbots affect user engagement? Joining us this morning to talk about AI’s “chain of thought” is Nitasha Tiku, tech culture reporter for the Washington Post and James Landay, professor of computer science at Stanford University and co-director of its Stanford’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence department. We want to hear from you! If you use a “reasoning” model chatbot, how does their “thinking” impact your level of trust? Give us a call at 866-893-5722 or email us at atcomments@laist.com.
Is our lack of discretion making us dumber?
Barry Lam’s new book Fewer Rules, Better People: The Case for Discretion (W. W. Norton & Company, 2025), asks whether the increase in rules governing our society is actually making us dumber. Lam, a professor of philosophy at UC Riverside defends maximizing discretion in all aspects of life, from household chores to sentencing laws. But what does that really look like, especially when it comes to the rise in artificial intelligence? Lam joins Larry on AirTalk to discuss. If you have questions or thoughts, please call 866-893-5722 or email atcomments@laist.com.
How might President Trump’s halt on EV charging funds affect electric vehicle sales?
In a letter Thursday night, the Trump administration directed states to stop spending money for EV charging infrastructure, funds they were allocated under former President Joe Biden through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula program. Trump has slammed federal funding for electric vehicle chargers as “an incredible waste of taxpayer dollars.” The Federal Highway Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation that administers NEVI funding, told states Thursday to stop carrying out their plans pending new guidelines. It’s part of the broader effort to dismantle many environmental policies and incentives put in place by the Biden administration. Some states, including Alabama and Rhode Island, already had suspended their programs with the Inauguration Day order, but Thursday’s directive is a further push from the Trump administration to halt federal efforts to electrify the roads and reduce planet-warming emissions from transportation.The administration may need an act of Congress for this, and it’s unclear there will be one. Industry leaders say customer demand will continue to drive growth in the charging network, regardless of federal funding.
Today on AirTalk, we discuss how this halt in funding may affect California's EV infrastructure and whether EV sales will be impacted by the Trump administration’s efforts to de-emphasize clean energy programs. We’re joined by Gil Tal, professor of Environmental Science and Policy and the director of the EV Research Center director at UC Davis, and Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, an online resource for automotive inventory and information based in Santa Monica.
With files from AP
Yearly study on workplaces finds greater interest in work-life balance
A new study by the global human relations consulting firm Randstad found that this year was the first time respondents preferred work-life balance over pay. The difference was only by a percent (83% for work-life, 82% for pay), but this was the first time in the firm’s 22 years of data tracking that this occurred. This change also follows a continuing interest by workers in feeling a sense of belonging in their workplaces. Eight in 10 workers in the study want a sense of community in their workplaces, which seems to be a work in progress, as 62% of workers reported hiding aspects of themselves and only 49% believed their employers were building an inclusive environment. We’ll dig into the significance of this data with Rachel Feintzeig, a writer and journalist, who’s followed United States workplace trends over the years. We also want to hear from you! How do you weigh work-life balance and salary when it comes to your career? Is it something that has changed over time? Why or why not? Call 866-893-5722 or email atcomments@laist.com.
