Three comics give perspectives on Trevor Noah's tweets, why the Silicon Valley is chiming in on Indiana's religious freedom law, who owns the Bahia emerald?
The Trevor Noah controversy: When comedy offends
The new host of the Daily Show has some Twitter skeletons in his closet. Should comedians be given a pass when it comes to offensive stereotypes?
Less than one day after Comedy Central announced 31-year-old Trevor Noah will replace John Stewart as host of The Daily show, some old tweets by the South African comedian have landed him in hot water.
In the hours following the announcement, internet sleuths uncovered a series of off-color jokes tweeted by Noah that could be considered offensive to Jews and women:
Comedy Central released a statement declaring their continued support for Noah Tuesday afternoon:
“Like many comedians, Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included,” the network said in its statement. It continued: “To judge him or his comedy based on a handful of jokes is unfair. Trevor is a talented comedian with a bright future at Comedy Central.”
Noah also tweeted a response to critics:
To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn’t land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 31, 2015
Comedians Alonzo Boden, Maz Jobrani and Kristina Wong joined Alex Cohen today to talk about when a joke stops pushing boundaries and starts being offensive.
Will Jay-Z’s ‘Tidal’ sink or swim?
Rapper and media mogul Jay-Z unveiled a new streaming service at a star-studded event in New York on Monday. His new service, Tidal (like the wave) will compete with long established companies like iTunes and Spotify, but there are some key differences. The biggest? The service will cost listeners about 10 dollars a month to start, and 20 dollars a month for CD-quality sound.
The service has been described as a platform by artists, for artists. Seventeen other musicians are part of the venture, including Madonna, Alicia Keys and Beyoncé. Tidal will pay artists more than the company’s competitors, but critics say that it will be difficult to get listeners to pay when they’re used to getting music for free.
Billboard Magazine’s
talked about the future of the music streaming industry with Alex Cohen.
Silicon Valley leaders respond to Indiana, Arkansas religious freedom acts
The legislature in Arkansas on Tuesday passed what is being called a religious freedom act - similar to one passed last week in Indiana.
The act prohibits any law that "substantially burdens" someone's ability to follow their own religious beliefs. Critics say this opens the door for discrimination against gays, and there have been plenty of critics.
The band Wilco canceled their May 7 show in Indianapolis.
We're canceling our 5/7 show in Indianapolis. “Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act” feels like thinly disguised legal discrimination.
USC Athletic Director Pat Haden was expected at the College Football Playoff Meeting in the Hoosier state. He, too, took to Twitter to cancel that trip.
I am the proud father of a gay son. In his honor, I will not be attending the CFP committee meeting in Indy this week. #EmbraceDiversity
The issue has also been embraced by leaders in Silicon Valley. Companies like Apple,
and Yelp have all released comments on the religious freedom laws. Nick Wingfield from the New York Times has been writing about this, and he joins the discussion.
App Chat: Would you use an app that's like Tinder for dogs?
Could you make dog adoption more attractive by making the process like swiping on Tinder?
That's what one company is exploring with their new app.
This week on App Chat: Tinder for dogs, Uber for valet and haven't you always wished that you could order a trainer through an app? No? Well, at least one company thinks that it's a good idea.
1) BarkBuddy - Tinder for dogs
Are you going to set up your dog on a little doggy date with this app? No. Swipe right when you see a dog that you like. Swipe left when you'd rather not see that dog again. That's the Tinder-ification of this app. If you do swipe right on a photo of a dog the app puts it into a cue. And at some point you can try and adopt the dog if you'd like.
You can sort dogs by gender, size, age and activity level. And the app lets you see which dogs are near you and ready to be adopted. If you want to adopt a dog, you still have to get in touch with the shelter and submit your application.
2) Handstand - Trainers on demand
Pretty straight forward. You select the type of work out that you'd like to do and the app lists local trainers for hire. The general range is from $20 to $100 for an hour of instruction. The workouts can include anything from cardio to yoga with special group options as well.
3) Luxe Valet - Uber for valet
Do you really hate parking? Do you ever get so frustrated looking for a space that you've wished that you could pay someone to park your car for you? Would you pay up to $15 dollars for that magical parking privilege? Luxe Valet thinks you will.
You tell them where you're headed and a valet will meet you there to drive your car to one of their pre-approved lots. And when you want to leave they'll drive your car to wherever you are... as long as it's in one of their zones, which are spread out all over LA. There are some in Downtown, Hollywood and Santa Monica, so it's pretty limited.
I live in West Hollywood where parking is atrocious. Still, I don't think I've ever gotten to the point where I'd pay $15 bucks to park unless I was forced to.
Would you willingly pay $15 dollars for someone to park your car?
Should California allow doctor assisted suicide?
The right-to-die movement has recently gained new momentum in the West following the highly publicized death of Brittany Maynard.
Last week, California's Senate Health Committee passed a bill which would legalize physician-assisted suicide and it heads next to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Here at Southern California Public Radio, our health team is providing ongoing coverage of the legislation and the fierce debate surrounding the issue. Especially reporter Rebecca Plevin over at the blog "Impatient." She joins Alex Cohen to talk about the right-to-die movement and personal stories that she's heard from listeners about their end of life experiences.
Rebecca joins Take Two every week for our segment "Impatient," which focuses on the latest in consumer health.
Street vendors fighting a decades-long battle to be legalized
More than 50,000 vendors line the streets of Los Angeles, selling things from food to toys to tech accessories.
But selling things on the street is illegal, and vendors hope to change.
Many of them rallied in downtown LA on Tuesday to demand that the city council pass rules to legalize and regulate their practice.
SCPR's Leslie Berestein Rojas explains how proposals like this have been considered for decades, and the chances of this one passing.
Food writer: reviewing street vendors puts them at risk
Street food vendors have operated in the shadows for a long time in a legal limbo, but that hasn't stopped voracious eaters from finding and writing about them.
Lucas Peterson wrote a post for Eater LA earlier this year about a corn seller in Lincoln Heights, east of downtown.
There was then a backlash from people who said, among other things, that by putting a spotlight on this vendor Lucas was exposing him to the police.
"The argument that this could put street vendors in danger and we shouldn't write about them," Peterson told Take Two, "I think that kind of sweeps them under the rug in a way that preserves the status quo."
Javier Cabral offers a different perspective.
He's also a food culture writer, and wrote the recent piece, "Why this food writer refuses to review street vendors."
'Woman in Gold' film: The real-life lawyer who recovered the painting stolen by Nazis
The new film "Woman in Gold" is a remarkable and true story about art and identity.
The title refers to one of five paintings by the famed artist Gustav Klimt that were stolen by the Nazis during World War II.
Decades later, Maria Altmann (played by Helen Mirren), an Austrian immigrant living in Southern California, wanted to get them back. So she approached a young lawyer named Randy Schoenberg (played by Ryan Reynolds).
Real-life attorney Randy Schoenberg joined Take Two to talk about fighting Maria's case all the way to the Supreme Court, and winning.
"Woman in Gold" opens in theaters April 1st.
An LA judge will decide who really owns the Bahia Emerald
The Bahia Emerald is worth around $400 million, weighs 840 pounds and has eight people and one country laying claim to it.
But who really owns it?
It's a huge rock with spires of emerald embedded into its face.
Mined in 2001 in Brazil, it's since traveled to Northern California, New Orleans, Paradise, California, South El Monte, California, Las Vegas and now Los Angeles.
Brazil argues that the gem was exported illegally out of the country and should be returned. But a Los Angeles County judge on Monday said that a trial to determine its ownership will continue in L.A.
Stephen Ceasar with the Los Angeles Times joins Take Two to walk us through this battle.
CORRECTION: In the interview, Mr. Ceasar said that the emerald was once in North Carolina. He misspoke and meant it was temporarily in Northern California. We regret the error.