California announces new deal with tech to fund journalism, AI research
California will be the first U.S. state to direct millions of dollars from taxpayer money and tech companies to help pay for journalism and AI research under a new deal announced Wednesday. Under the first-in-the-nation agreement, the state and tech companies would collectively pay roughly $250 million over five years to support California-based news organization and create an AI research program. The initiatives are set to kick in in 2025 with $100 million the first year, and the majority of the money would go to news organizations, said Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who brokered the deal. Joining us this morning on AirTalk to discuss the deal is Laurel Rosenhall, Sacramento bureau chief at the LA Times.
With files from the Associated Press.
How to help your LGBTQ+ student deal with the anxiety of going back to school
This week was the first week back to school for many students in Southern California. Returning to school can be anxiety inducing for any child or teen, but it can be especially stressful for those a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. According to GLSEN's latest National School Climate Survey, almost 70 percent of LGBTQ+ students reported feeling unsafe at school as a result of their sexual identity or gender expression. Many LGBTQ+ students experience bullying, including physical and verbal assaults, as well as isolation when returning to school. And that is on top of other school stressors like homework and planning for college.
Today on AirTalk we talk to John Sovec, an LGBTQ affirming therapist and coach and the author of the award winning book "Out: A Parent’s Guide to Supporting Your LGBTQIA+ Kid Through Coming Out and Beyond!", about how parents can help ease their LGBTQ+ kids anxiety around going back to school. We'd also like to hear from you! If you are a parent with an LGBTQ+ student, what are some of their worries about returning to class? How has this first week back been for them? What have you done to help make them feel more comfortable at school? Give us a call at 866-893-5722 or email us at atcomments@laist.com.
Anthology television and its place in mid century American society
Anthology dramas were considered prestige television in their heyday of the mid 1950s. Within our current television landscape of reboots, spin offs, and limited series that never quite stay limited, it's hard to imagine that several anthology series, where each episode had a self-contained plot and cast of characters, was the gold standard of television in midcentury America. Anthology dramas such as Playhouse 90, Studio One, and The Twilight Zone, were truly a product of their time. They tackled issues like postwar anxiety and Cold War hysteria, the obsession with conformity and panic of the Red Scare. These shows rose to prominence just as every house in the nation began to have a television, so, it is no wonder that mid century Americans would often see their own lives and public discourse reflected in their screens.
Today on AirTalk, we're joined by Molly A. Schneider, author of the book "Gold Dust on the Air: Television Anthology Drama and Midcentury American Culture" to talk about the anthology dramas of the 1950s and 60s and their place in American culture.
Digital driver's licenses are here. Does that mean convenience, privacy headache or both?
Last week, Governor Newsom announced a step that will expand California resident’s ability to have a digital driver’s license on their iPhones and Androids. Starting in September, Apple and Google will make the digital license compatible in their pre-loaded wallet app that’s already included in all phones. Currently, about half a million people already use a DMV app that allows users to have a digital driver’s license. While convenience and privacy are being touted as foundational to the digital driver’s license, some organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have raised concerns. Joining us on AirTalk to talk about the expanding program of digital driver’s licenses is Director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Steve Gordon. Do you have questions or comments? Call us at 866-893-5722 or email us at atcomments@laist.com.
Tribute to jazz legends The Mizell Brothers kicks off ‘Jazz Is Dead’ concert series at The Ford
Influential music producers Larry and Alphonse “Fonce” Mizell left an indelible mark on the jazz fusion genre. Larry, an engineer by training, and his brother Fonce, who got his start in Motown producing hits like I Want You Back and ABC for a little act called the Jackson 5, teamed up after attending college at Howard University to form their own production company, Sky High Productions, and created their signature sound working on albums for the jazz label Blue Note Records and producing artists like Donald Byrd, Mary Wells, A Taste of Honey and others. Larry Mizell will celebrate his 80th birthday as the guest of honor on August 28 at ‘Jazz Is Dead: The Mizell Brothers,’ a tribute show at The Ford Theatre honoring him and his late brother Fonce, who passed away in 2011. It will be the first show in a three day residency put on by Highland Park record and concert production company Jazz Is Dead.
Today on AirTalk, Motown and jazz record producer Larry Mizell, who will be the guest of honor at the show, along with Jazz Is Dead Co-founder Adrian Younge, join Larry to preview the Mizell Brothers tribute show at The Ford next week.
‘Jazz Is Dead: The Mizell Brothers’ is the first of three shows in the ‘Jazz Is Dead’ residency at The Ford. For more information on this and the other two shows in the residency, click here.
TV Talk: ‘Homicide’ streaming release, ‘Pachinko,’ ‘Solar Opposites’ and more
Have you felt completely overwhelmed when deciding what new show to watch these days? Us too. There’s just so much content out there between network TV and numerous streaming platforms. Each week, we will try to break through the noise with TV watchers who can point us to the must-sees and steer us clear of the shows that maybe don’t live up to the hype. This week, listeners will get the latest scoop on what’s worth watching with Roxana Hadadi, TV critic for Vulture, and Liz Shannon Miller, senior entertainment editor at Consequence.
This week’s shows include:
- Homicide: Life on the Street [premiered in 1993] (Peacock)
- The New York Times Presents: Lie To Fly (FX / Hulu)
- Solar Opposites [Season 5] (Hulu)
- Pachinko [Season 2] (Apple TV+)
- Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Paramount+)
