Donald Trump Arrives In Court Today – We Check In, And Look Ahead To Potential Jury Selection

Donald Trump is due in federal court Thursday to answer to charges that he sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, facing a judge near the U.S. Capitol building that his supporters stormed to try to block the peaceful transfer of power. In what’s become a familiar but nonetheless stunning ritual, Trump is expected to be processed by law enforcement, formally taken into custody and enter a not guilty plea in front of a judge before being released, enabling him to rejoin the campaign trail as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024. What’s the scene outside the courtroom? And, looking ahead, what could a potential jury look like? Joining us to answer these questions are Jaclyn Diaz, NPR reporter and Kathy Kellermann,  president of ComCon, a litigation, trial and jury consulting firm based in Los Angeles.

With files from the Associated Press.

The UK Economy Is In Jeopardy--How Has One Of The Biggest Economies In The World Fallen Behind?

The United Kingdom is known as a global superpower having the sixth largest economy in the world. Yet, despite its reputation, the UK is falling behind in its economic recovery post-pandemic. While other G7 economies such as the US and Canada have exceeded their pre-pandemic annual growth rate, the UK, along with Germany, remain below the threshold. The UK economy has been hit with several setbacks in the last few years such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and Brexit, putting the country on the brink of a possible recession. Here to discuss the compounding economic factors keeping the UK from a full economic recovery is Jonathan Portes, professor of economics at King’s College London.

Seven Decades After Scientists Used Henrietta Lacks’ Cells Without Consent, Her Family Has Reached A Settlement

More than 70 years after doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took Henrietta Lacks’ cervical cells without her knowledge, a lawyer for her descendants said they have reached a settlement with a biotechnology company that they accused of reaping billions of dollars from a racist medical system. Tissue taken from the Black woman’s tumor before she died of cervical cancer became the first human cells to continuously grow and reproduce in lab dishes. HeLa cells went on to become a cornerstone of modern medicine, enabling countless scientific and medical innovations, including the development of the polio vaccine, genetic mapping and even COVID-19 vaccines. Despite that incalculable impact, the Lacks family had never been compensated. Today on AirTalk, we discuss Henrietta’s legacy and the medical exploitation of Black people historically and today. Joining us is Adele Newson-Horst, professor and interim chair of the Department of English & Language Arts & Director of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore and vice president of the nonprofit Henrietta Lacks Legacy Group, and Keisha Ray, assistant professor with the McGovern Center for Humanities & Ethics at UTHealth Houston.

With files from the Associated Press

Peer Review This: How Research Is Produced and Published Might Be Fundamentally Flawed

Last month, Marc Tessier-Lavigne stepped down from his role as President of Stanford after an external review found fault with some of his previously published research. Meanwhile, over on the east coast, a star Harvard professor recently had to retract three papers. So, what’s going on? Well, there’s the unique pressure-cooker atmosphere of academia where, as the old saying goes, one must “publish or perish.” Coupled with journals’ desires for splashy headline-making research and problems with peer reviewing, you have a system where there could be incentives to cut a couple corners. Is the way we publish research fundamentally flawed? Joining us to dig into what’s going on are Stephanie M. Lee, senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education, where she writes about research, scholars, and how their work affects society and Camille Nebeker, director of the UC San Diego research ethics program.

Remote Learning Has Led To New Hires With Major Skill Gaps. How Are Businesses Responding?

We’re starting to see the effects of pandemic-related learning loss really play out among new hires in the American workforce. That’s according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, which explores how these effects are playing out in the American workplace -- particularly when it comes to new hires. The piece, titled “‘How Do I Do That?’ The New Hires of 2023 Are Unprepared for Work” explains that because many students spent important years of high school and college on the computer instead of learning in person, employers are noticing some knowledge and skill gaps among some new hires. Those could range from things like being unable to perform a simple task that a manager might expect someone to have learned in college or training, or even just a lack of polished people skills. But hiring someone who’s underprepared for a job can be costly to companies that then have to spend time and money training these new employees up. So, what can businesses do?

Today on AirTalk, we’ll speak with Wall Street Journal Reporter Douglas Belkin, who is one of the authors of the article.

TV-Talk: ‘Reservation Dogs,’ ‘Winning Time,’ And ‘Only Murders In The Building’ Return With New Seasons

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’re going to 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, Larry talks television with Melanie McFarland, TV critic for Salon, and Liz Shannon Miller, senior entertainment editor for Consequence.

This week’s shows include:

• Reservation Dogs [Season 3] (FX & Hulu)
• Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty [Season 2] (HBO & Max) 
• Only Murders in the Building [Season 3] (Hulu)
• Heartstopper [Season 2] (Netflix)
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds [Season 2] (Paramount+)
• The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Amazon Prime Video)