Students Protesting On Campuses Want Their Colleges To Cut Financial Ties With Israel. Is Divestment Possible And How Would It Work?

Students at a growing number of U.S. colleges are gathering in protest encampments with a unified demand of their schools: Stop doing business with Israel — or any companies that support its ongoing war in Gaza. The demand has its roots in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a decades-old campaign against Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. The movement has taken on new strength as the Israel-Hamas war surpasses the six-month mark and stories of suffering in Gaza have sparked international calls for a cease-fire. Some schools, like Brown University and Occidental College have agreed to vote on divestment. But how does divestment work with a university endowment and would it make a difference in the big picture? Joining us today on AirTalk is Brooke Masters, US financial editor at the Financial Times and Nicole Narea, senior reporter covering politics and society for Vox.

Can Flooding California’s Farms Help Restore Groundwater Reservoirs? It’s Worth A Try

The practice of flooding agricultural farmland may seems like a strange way to solve California’s water deficit, but it’s one of the many avenues being considered for restoring groundwater basins. Government agencies, water district officials and nonprofits are eyeing the practice as a way to weather swings in climate, especially as California muddles through a winter that has experts forecasting the Sierra Nevada snowpack could last for months. Groundwater supplies are essential to both farms and communities across the fertile Central Valley, a key source of food for the United States. That’s even more the case during drought years, when groundwater accounts for up to 60% of the state’s water supply, compared with 40% in non-drought. Joining us today on AirTalk to talk about the practice of flooding farms, how it works, and its potential for restoring groundwater reservoirs is Mike Wade, Executive Director at California Farm Water Coalition and Katarina Campbell, supervisor of resources at Westlands Water District.

New Book Charts How Star Players Have Shaped The NBA

The style of basketball played in the NBA has changed massively over the decades. According to NBA analyst Kirk Goldsberry, these shifts in the look and feel of the game have been spearheaded by iconic players like Michael Jordan, Nikola Jokic, and LeBron James whose fresh moves produced seismic shifts in how the game was played. In his new book, Hoop Atlas: Mapping the Remarkable Transformation of the Modern NBA, Goldsberry writes of the NBA that “its ascent is more than just a business school case study; it’s a story about innovation on the hardwood itself and a series of superstars from all over the world that have given rise to the so-called modern NBA.” Today on AirTalk, Goldsberry joins Larry to talk about his new book.

Downtown LA’s Residential Real Estate Market Is Thriving – Commercial? Not So Much

A recent piece in the Los Angeles Times by Roger Vincent took a look at Downtown Los Angeles’s real estate market. Commercial real estate is struggling post-pandemic, with many workers signing in remotely, and businesses reevaluating whether paying rent is worth it. According to CBRE, a commercial real estate services company, office occupancy downtown is only 65%. But housing downtown is a different story, with one landlord, Brookfield, boasting a 95% occupancy rate of their 2400 apartments. Today on AirTalk, we dig into the numbers, but we also want to hear from you. Do you live or work downtown? What keeps you there? Give us a call at 866-893-5722 or email us at atcomments@laist.com. Joining us to discuss is Jessica Lall, managing director of CBRE’s downtown office.

How AI Is Already Changing Filmmaking

Artificial intelligence is a tool that will be used in Hollywood, whether we like it or not, says Wild Sheep Content CEO and founder of AIinHollywood.com Erik Barmack. In fact, it’s already being used in some capacities. 2023’s Best Picture Oscar winner Everything, Everywhere, All At Once used AI software from a startup called Runway to assist with the production of some visual effects. Recently, Runway hosted its second-ever film festival, and for the first time it took place in Los Angeles. The startup whittled 3,000 submissions down to 10 films, each about 10 minutes in length, that were entirely AI-generated but that utilized the technology in some way. The result, Barmack writes, was a look at how AI can widen the scope of low-budget storytelling. And it’s something that he’s been experimenting with himself -- recently, he used AI to create a short true crime documentary in an effort to explore how it was done, how involved a human had to be in creating a short film using only AI and what the final result would be.

Today on AirTalk, Barmack joins Larry to talk about what he learned from watching the films at the Runway Film Festival, and from his own experience creating a short film from scratch using AI.

TV-Talk: ‘Doctor Who,’ ‘John Mulaney Presents,’ 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 Danette Chavez, editor-in-chief at Primetimer, and Liz Shannon Miller, senior entertainment editor at Consequence.

This week’s shows:

• Doctor Who (Disney)
• Interview With the Vampire [Season 2] (AMC)
• John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA (Netflix)    
• Hollywood Con Queen (Apple TV+) 
• Bodkin (Netflix)
• The Asunta Case (Netflix)