The White House is set to release a plan for new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, a social experiment on living tech-free, the new film, 'Dark Places.'
Obama's plan to cut emissions could boost California's renewable energy sector
Power plants are the top source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, and a plan released Monday by President Barack Obama and the EPA aims to make deep cuts in coming years.
The plan outlines a 32 percent cut to carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, according to a memo from the White House released early Monday morning.
"This rule would set the first ever national limit on carbon emissions for power plants," said Cara Horowitz, co-executive director at UCLA's Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. It could also pave the way for growth in the wind and solar energy industries in California, she said.
But the plan is already coming under strong criticism from the coal industry and several GOP presidential candidates.
"There's no doubt that industry and even several to many states are going to challenge this rule in court," said Horowitz.
To listen to the full interview, click the blue audio player above.
One year after Ferguson, have police reforms worked?
It's been nearly a year since a white police officer shot and killed a black 18 year old in Ferguson, Missouri.
The killing of Michael Brown and protests led to renewed attention on police conduct.
Since then, lawmakers in nearly every state across the country have put forward measures to change or improve how police work with local communities. But have the efforts led to reform?
The AP's David Lieb took a look at many of the new laws and policies that came after the Ferguson shooting, and he joined the show with more.
To listen to the full interview, click the blue audio player above.
What happens when we go without technology
Think life without the cell phone is impossible?
So do a lot of people. But recently, a group of tech addicts was tricked into participating in a study on behavior with and without technology.
Their behavior, both in the context of being plugged in and unplugged, was analyzed with interesting results.
Kovert Designs is the company responsible for the little social experiment, and we talked to the CEO Kate Unsworth.
Thousands turn out for Special Olympics closing ceremony
It was an emotional closing ceremony yesterday at the Special Olympics here in Los Angeles.
Over 6,000 athletes had taken part over the past week, from more than 160 countries. And an estimated 500,000 people turned out at venues in and around Los Angeles to watch and cheer.
Jeff Carr, the Chief Operating Officer for the Special Olympics joins Tess Vigeland for a debrief on the past week.
On the Lot: Tom Cruises, another R-rated comedy stumbles
"Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation smoked" the competition in the weekend box office sweepstakes, proving that, after more than 30 years, Tom Cruise can still draw a very big crowd.
Meanwhile, "Vacation" became the latest in a series of raunchy, R-rated comedies to underperform this summer, leading some to believe the gross-out laff-fest genre has lost its way.
And our On the Lot contributor, Rebecca Keegan of the LA Times, makes a personal plea to end the impersonal and often very awkward practice of film junkets, where movie stars spend day after day doing interviews with seemingly every new organization, blog and newsletter in the country.
Author Gillian Flynn on the film adaptation of 'Dark Places'
The film "Dark Places" stars Charlize Theron as the character Libby Day.
In the mid 1980s, when Libby was a little girl, she was the sole survivor of a brutal attack which left her sisters and mother dead. Rumor had it that the murder was part of a satanic ritual.
Years later, Libby is approached by a young man who's part of a macabre group fascinated by multiple murders. They call themselves "The Kill Club."
"Dark Places" is based on a novel of the same name written by best-selling author Gillian Flynn.
This is the second book of Flynn's to be adapted for the big screen— a film version of her work "Gone Girl" came out last year.
Take Two host Alex Cohen spoke with Flynn about her latest adaptation.
To hear the full interview with Gillian Flynn, click the link above.
About 20 wildfires burn across California
The Rocky Fire, north of San Francisco, burned nearly 60,000 acres over the weekend and forced the evacuation of 12,000 people.
It's just one of about 20 major wildfires burning throughout the state. Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for Cal Fire, joined the show with updates.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.
Suicides at California women's prison prompts calls for oversight
A rise in suicides among women prisoners in California has prompted calls for authorities to step up efforts to combat the trend. The attention comes after four women in the past 18 months killed themselves at a prison in San Bernadino County.
For a look at more, we're joined by Jane Kahn, an attorney who represents prisoners with serious mental health issues in the class action suit Coleman vs. Brown.
Teddi Boston recalls historic solo walk on the Pacific Crest Trail
Every summer, hundreds of hikers make their way from the Mexican border to the Canadian border on the Pacific Crest Trail. This year the Pacific Crest Trail Association estimates there are well over 1,000 hikers attempting the walk through California, Oregon and Washington, making it one of the busiest years the trail has ever seen.
Much of that traffic is inspired by Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 memoir “Wild,” and the recent Reese Witherspoon film of the same name. But long before there was Cheryl Strayed, there was another woman making a splash on the PCT: Teddi Boston.
Teddi Boston hiked from Canada to Mexico on the PCT in 1976 at age of 49. She was one of the first women to ever hike the trail alone.
Jack Haskel of the Pacific Crest Trail Association says Boston has a lasting legacy in the hiking community.
“People recognize her as one of the early solo female hikers, and today there’s a lot of solo women out on the PCT, and Teddi is one of them that pioneered that,” he said.
Boston credits her childhood in rural Maine with giving her a love of the outdoors. By the mid 1970s, she had four children and was living in Anaheim. She always loved to take her kids camping in Yosemite, and it was during one of those trips that she first got the idea to try a longer outdoor adventure.
“I started meeting people talking about the Pacific Crest Trail,” Boston said. “So when I got home I had to start doing research… And it took me two years before I accomplished it.”
There were obstacles to the challenge. The trail wasn’t officially completed until 1993. Boston didn't let that stop her. She set out on May 1, 1976, with just a pair of boots and a 65-pound backpack.
“Today, hikers have things like smartphone apps and resupply plans, Teddi would have had to do a whole lot more research,” Haskel said.
But Boston says her plan was pretty simple.
“I was on map and compass. Point the compass south and say, ‘That’s where I want to go.’ Follow the jackrabbit, he’s headed south,” Boston said, with a laugh.
There weren’t many hikers attempting the PCT when Boston did. And among those few, she was unique.
“Most hikers in the 1970s, sort of like most hikers today, are young white guys, pretty physically fit, right out of college, with a lot of time and money and passion on their hands. And Teddi was a mother in her 40s and that was unusual,” Haskel said.
Boston says when she started planning her trek, not everyone took her seriously. One male friend who told her, “‘Teddi, you just can’t do this. A woman alone cannot do this trail.’” Boston said she looked at him and said, “‘Bet-me-binky, you are going to owe me the most expensive steak in Orange County when I get back.’”
Boston did finish her historic hike on October 16, 1976. Family, friends and supporters were there to celebrate with her at the end of the trail. Her accomplishment even made news headlines.
“One of them said, ‘Mother of Four Braves the Wild!’” Boston recalled.
Boston makes her five-and-a-half month journey sound easy. But she faced plenty of challenges along the way. She injured her eye in Oregon, she hiked through heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada, she nearly ran out of water in Northern California. And then, she found herself with too much water in Southern California, when Tropical Storm Kathleen flooded the Mojave and washed away large sections of the trail.
“The desert just filled up, it was like a big lake. Oh my God, was I wet,” Boston said. “I looked like a drowned rat. So I slogged across the desert to Mojave and ended up in front of a motel and I went in and said, ‘You better have a room, I don’t care if it’s a broom closet. I need a place to stay!’”
But even during close calls, Boston said she never thought about giving up.
“You had to get out of the situation. It’s going to be better down the road. You’re here. Buck up, and go ahead!” Boston said.
At 88, Boston is still active in the outdoors. She volunteers with several outdoor organizations and she still loves hiking. In fact, last year, she trekked more than 300 miles on the PCT, just to see if she could still do it. Turns out, she can. And, she says as long as her legs keep working, she’ll still be out on the trail.
Ronda Rousey's reputation of dominance
People are calling Mixed Martial Artist Ronda Rousey one of the best fighters -- male or female -- of all time.
She has no equal in the UFC. In fact, her next fight is against an opponent she's already beaten twice, yet it's considered a decent matchup.
Ben Fowlkes, columnist for USA Today and the MMA Junkie blog, joined the show to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of Rousey's dominance.
5 things to do in LA this week
Here are five great things you should do in Southern California this week, from art to food to music to an adventure we’ll call the Wild Card from the makers of the 5 Every Day app. Get this as a new podcast in iTunes. If you want five hand-picked things to do in Los Angeles every day, download the free 5 Every Day from the App Store.
Art: Christian Marclay’s "The Clock"
Time is all kinds of stuff. A construct. A great equalizer. As we learned from True Detective, even a flat circle. Time is money, and it's of the essence. You get it. And in Christian Marclay's "The Clock," time is the narrator. It’s a 24-hour movie painstakingly pieced together from hundreds of pieces of other movies, and TV too, that feature timepieces and direct mentions of time. "The Clock" unfolds in real time. If a character on screen says, “it’s two in the morning,” then it’s two in the morning. The attention to detail is unbelievable, and strangely immersive. We could watch it for hours. Conveniently for us, LACMA owns one of the six editions of "The Clock" that exist in the world, and have been screening it during operating hours so far this month. This Saturday, starting at 10AM, they’re showing the whole dang thing, straight through. Best of luck out there, art warriors. Time is on your side.
City: Theme Building
Did you know that the original design for LAX was for an airport inside a glass dome? The idea was for all the terminal buildings and parking structures to be connected in one contained space. It’s sci-fi stuff. The renderings look like they’re for a space colony. Google it if you're into that kind of thing. When they scrapped the dome plan, LAX’s architects built a consolation prize: the Theme Building, that spindly UFO-looking structure in peak Googie style right outside the airport. The Theme Building is monument to how the airport was supposed to look. I went to that space-age restaurant inside the Theme Building, Encounters, before it closed in 2013...honestly, it was pretty awful. Encounters or no encounters, you can still visit the observation deck of the Theme Building on weekends for an awesome close-up view of planes landing and taking off. The plane-spotters will be there in droves, with their notebooks and oversized camera lenses.
Food: Mr Churro
If Los Angeles had an official dessert, what do you think it would it be? Frozen yogurt? Paletas? Gluten-free cupcakes? Off-brand cronuts? How about the churro? Make your way through the vendors hawking lucha libre masks and handmade leather sandals, and I give you Exhibit A—the tiny Mr. Churro, on Olvera Street. The custard, chocolate, strawberry, and caramel-filled churros there should speak for themselves. I defy you not to walk out double-fisting flavors, holding the churro aloft and praising its name.
Music: Gnar Burger
Gnar Tapes is the catch-all clearing house for the band White Fang, a group of druggy teenagers from the Oregon suburbs who made their way down to LA in search of a party no sane person would see through until the daylight hours. You could basically still be in the womb and these kids would make you feel old. But here's the thing about the Gnar Tapes guys that they probably don't want you to know: they're actually very industrious. Beneath their high school drug-dealer facade, they’re always expanding their corporate reach. Most recently, they shacked up with garage rock cult Burger Records for a joint. They’ve teamed up with Burger to build a record store in Cypress Park called “Gnar Burger.” Open noon(-ish) to 8 p.m. everyday, Gnar Burger maintains the awful green and orange strip mall aesthetic of Burger's Fullerton mecca, with a carefully curated selection of LPs and cassettes, a helpful staff, plus a complimentary contact high.
Wildcard: Sundance Next Fest
We all basically know that the Sundance film festival is, like, where good movies come from. But where do they go after that? Enter Next fest, an opportunity for the Sundance people to showcase some of their favorite films outside of Park City. It’s a simple and clever formula: five independent films, all Sundance darlings, make their LA premieres at the theater at the Ace Hotel downtown. Each film is paired with a musical performance that resonates with the movie’s sensibilities. On Friday, Sky Ferreira plays after Noah Baumbach’s much-anticipated Mistress America; on Sunday, DJ sets from Neon Indian and Toro Y Moi are paired with the retro post-apocalyptic action flick Turbo Kid. Something for everyone.
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