Supreme Court Strikes Down Biden Student Loan Forgiveness Program, Limits LGBTQ Protections In Favor Of Web Designer
The Supreme Court handed down two of the most highly anticipated rulings of the year. In a defeat for gay rights, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled Friday that a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples.
The court ruled 6-3 for designer Lorie Smith despite a Colorado law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and other characteristics. Smith had argued that the law violates her free speech rights.Smith’s opponents warned that a win for her would allow a range of businesses to discriminate. The court also struck down President Joe Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness program, which could have eliminated up to $20,000 for some borrowers. Repayments that are expected to resume by late summer. Joining to discuss the rulings is Dalié Jiménez, professor of law and director of the Student Loan Law Initiative at UC Irvine and Tobias Wolff, professor of law at University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Carey School of Law who writes and teaches in the fields of civil procedure, constitutional law, and LGBT rights.
With files from the Associated Press
The Largest Psychedelic Conference In History Just Wrapped Up – What Are Some Takeaways?
Recently, 11,000 people descended on Denver for the Psychedelic Science conference. Billed as the largest psychedelic conference in history, participants paid $805 to roam the halls of the Colorado Convention Center attending talks, perusing vendor booths, and networking. There was a lot of talk of the future: what could decriminalization look like? What’s a viable business model? And how do users honor these practices’ indigenous roots as psychedelics like ketamine and psilocybin inch closer to the mainstream? Many are excited about their potential therapeutic use, even as the psychedelics remain illegal in most states (some efforts are under way to decriminalize them, including in California). Joining us to talk about the conference and the state of psychedelics in America is Oshan Jarow, future perfect fellow at Vox, where he focuses on economics, consciousness studies, and varieties of progress and Ingmar Gorman, psychologist and CEO of Fluence, which offers professional training and workshops in psychedelic therapy for licensed mental health practitioners.
What We Can Learn About Ourselves From Exploding Stars
While they might occur billions of miles from us here on Earth, it turns out there’s a lot we can learn about ourselves from supernovae -- stars whose cores collapse and explode at the end of their lives, creating a shockwave that destroys the rest of the star but also results in the creation of new ones. Not unlike supernovae, we as humans can go through periods of extreme turbulence that can bring us to the point of collapse or even self-destruction, but that ultimately lead us to be reborn as something new. So says Egyptian-American astrophysicist and science educator Sarafina El-Badry Nance, whose new memoir “Starstruck: A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark” follows her journey from a young girl who loved gazing up at the stars with her father, to her school days where she dreamed of being an astronomer despite being told that math and science fields were no place for women, much less women of color, to the discovery that she was a carrier of her father’s cancer gene, which led her to have a double mastectomy in her twenties. But Sarafina never stopped reaching for the stars, figuratively and literally, and her dedication and stick-to-it-iveness have earned her National Science Foundation fellowships, a place on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list, and even an opportunity to serve as an analog astronaut in a Mars simulation in Hawai’i.
Today on AirTalk, guest host Julia Paskin talks with Nance about her new memoir, the challenges she’s overcome to achieve her life’s dream, and what she’s learned about herself and human nature from studying the stars.
FilmWeek: ‘Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny,’ ‘Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken,’ ‘Every Body,’ And More
Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Lael Loewenstein, Christy Lemire and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases in theaters, streaming, and on demand platforms.
- “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny” Wide Release
- “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” Wide Release
- “WHAM!” Streaming on Netflix July 5
- “Revoir Paris” Laemmle Royal [West LA]
- “Nimona” Streaming on Netflix
- “Every Body” In Select Theaters
- “In The Company Of Rose” Laemmle Royal [West LA]; Available on Amazon & Apple TV
- “Prisoner’s Daughter” In Select Theaters
- “Give Me An A” Available on VOD
- “2001: A Space Odyssey” 4k Restoration Landmark’s Nuart Theater [West LA]
FilmWeek Feature: The Academy Museum Podcast Preview
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and LAist Studios have teamed up for a multi-season audio series that examines the myriad of stories of our cinematic history. Jacqueline Stewart, Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and a MacArthur Fellow, hosts the series. The second season, entitled “Close Up on Casting: The Hidden Role of Casting in Film History,” explores the immense influence that casting directors can have on the success of a film and the career trajectories of actors. Episodes include revelatory interviews and in-depth conversations with OscarⓇ winners, film artists, industry leaders, activists, journalists, and scholars, as well as archival audio and other exclusive content that will only be accessible through the podcast.
Larry speaks with Jacqueline Stewart about the podcast and this season's focus on the importance of casting directors in the industry.
Season 2 premiered on June 15th and will drop weekly episodes through July 20th. Episodes 1 through 3 are available now, wherever you get your podcasts.
