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The Space Shuttle Endeavour’s Final, Historic Lift Happens Tonight
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AirTalk Tile 2024
Jan 29, 2024
Listen 1:39:17
The Space Shuttle Endeavour’s Final, Historic Lift Happens Tonight

Today on AirTalk, Endeavour makes its final move to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. Also on the show, LA County DA candidate John McKinney; Hollywood's film origins; will a mountain lion cross the road? ;and more.

Construction continues with the massive external tank and solid rocket boosters for the retired NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour exhibit standing in place (L) at the California Science Center, on January 26, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Construction continues with the massive external tank and solid rocket boosters for the retired NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour exhibit standing in place (L) at the California Science Center, on January 26, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. The ‘Go for Stack’ process will eventually install the full NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour into a vertical launchpad position for display in the museum's new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. The shuttle's orbiter is being moved today in preparation for being lifted into place next week. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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The Space Shuttle Endeavour’s Final, Historic Lift Happens Tonight

Listen 10:03
The Space Shuttle Endeavour’s Final, Historic Lift Happens Tonight

After spending more than a decade in Exposition Park, the space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to be lifted to its final resting place tonight.

Unless delayed by powerful winds, the team at the California Science Center will begin the multistep process at 10 p.m., first moving the space shuttle from its current horizontal position into a vertical one. Then it will be attached to its giant orange external fuel tank, already positioned between its twin rocket boosters earlier this month.

Once complete, the Endeavour will be the only retired space shuttle displayed in a launch-ready position. The new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center will be built around it, rising 20 stories high and designed to provide an unobstructed view. Jeffrey Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center, joins Larry to talk about the process and the Science Center’s plans for the shuttle.

Guest:

Jeffrey Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center

LA County District Attorney Race: Deputy District Attorney John McKinney

Listen 17:38
LA County District Attorney Race: Deputy District Attorney John McKinney

Incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is up against 11 other candidates hoping to take his seat. Gascón was elected for his progressive approach to reforming L.A.’s criminal justice system, but that’s also what’s gotten him in hot water. AirTalk is talking with the candidates running for DA. Today, Larry’s joined by John McKinney, deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County and candidate for Los Angeles County District Attorney. If you have questions, please call 866-893-5722 or email atcomments@laist.com.

SoCal History: The Origins Of Hollywood

Listen 21:50
SoCal History: The Origins Of Hollywood

With the 96th Academy Awards just around the corner, we’re reflecting on how Los Angeles has become synonymous with the film industry. No other city on earth evokes the same air of show business and it has been that way since the inception of Hollywood in the early 1900s. While the industry has gone through the tumult of union strikes, low profits, and even world wars to contend with, somehow it has managed to survive and prosper. The Hollywood dream had a lot of promise and today on AirTalk, we’re looking at why Los Angeles was the perfect place for its fulfillment. Joining us is Sam Wasson, film historian and author of “Hollywood: The Oral History” and Emily Carman, associate professor of film and media studies at Chapman University.

Disney Proposes Major Investment Into Theme Park Expansion, Asks Anaheim To Relax Zoning

Listen 11:12
Disney Proposes Major Investment Into Theme Park Expansion, Asks Anaheim To Relax Zoning

Disney wants to invest up to $2.5 billion into expanding the Disneyland theme park and making it a more immersive experience. The proposal, named DisneylandForward, also wants Anaheim to ease zoning rules and allow them to use some city streets, according to the Los Angeles Times. The money would go toward connecting theme park attractions, hotels, shopping and dining, although the details surrounding the project aren’t fully laid out. Today on AirTalk, we discuss what we know about the proposal with Robert Niles, editor of news site ThemeParkInsider.com.

Bright Lights Could Hinder Effectiveness Of 101 Freeway Wildlife Crossing

Listen 10:41
Bright Lights Could Hinder Effectiveness Of 101 Freeway Wildlife Crossing

The Wallis Annenberg wildlife crossing is meant to help connect the Santa Monica Mountains to the world beyond the Transverse Ranges. Possibly, eventually, to vast wilderness like the Los Padres National Forest. Mountain lions in the Santa Monicas need this bridge, as they’ve been struggling for some time. There are only an estimated dozen or so adults and sub-adults left in the mountains above Malibu, and they’re showing signs of inbreeding, an indication that they’re rarely leaving and coming back into the area or that new genetic material is coming in. But recent research has revealed a potential barrier for mountain lion crossing: bright lights. The authors of the research dug through 20 years of movement data for 102 different mountain lions in Southern California, which seemed to show that they try and avoid point sources of light at night, potentially because that light is associated with people, and at times catastrophic consequences for the lions. How are the builders of the wildlife crossing taking this into account? And what are potential solutions? Joining us to discuss is Jacob Margolis, senior science reporter at LAist.

With files from LAist. Read the full story here.

Is Being Your Own Boss A Pipe Dream?

Listen 27:39
Is Being Your Own Boss A Pipe Dream?

There’s an entrenched narrative around American entrepreneurship: if you “rise and grind” hard enough, the sky's the limit. And while that’s true for some people, failure is incredibly common as Benjamin C Waterhouse, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill details in his new book, One Day I'll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion That Conquered America. Waterhouse pegs the economic trends that have pushed millions of Americans to buck traditional jobs in order to pursue self-employment, and the cultural factors that have glorified bootstrapping in the American imagination. The book also examines the creation of the gig economy, which has sold countless workers on the idea of “being your own boss.” Today on AirTalk, Waterhouse joins Larry Mantle to talk about his new book.

Credits
Host, AirTalk
Host, Morning Edition, AirTalk Friday, The L.A. Report Morning Edition
Senior Producer, AirTalk with Larry Mantle
Producer, AirTalk with Larry Mantle
Producer, AirTalk with Larry Mantle
Associate Producer, AirTalk & FilmWeek
Associate Producer, AirTalk
Associate Producer (On-Call), AirTalk
Apprentice News Clerk, FilmWeek