Examining the impact of presidential polling, why CA is doing all it can to protect residents from Zika, and do your friends actually like you?
Lies, damned lies, and horserace polling: Why some surveys are misleading
Two different polls out this past weekend are giving the presidential campaigns a glimpse into the minds of voters, post-convention.
A CNN poll shows Donald Trump trailing Hillary Clinton by about ten percentage points.
Meanwhile, a joint poll from the Washington Post and ABC shows Clinton widened her lead by eight points.
But what do all of the recent polls mean? And what impact could that have on this election cycle?
For answers , Take Two spoke to David Dutwin. He's the executive VP and chief methodologist at research firm SSRS. They do polling for — among others — CBS, New York Times and Pew Research Center.
Press the blue play button above to hear the full interview.
They gave Trump money; he gave them spots on his economic council
Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump unveiled his plans for the economy in Detroit, Michigan, Monday. The Motor City will also provide a backdrop to Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton's economic policy announcement later this week.
The Republican nominee spent much of his time outlining plans to reduce the number of income tax brackets, renegotiate NAFTA and withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, among other things.
Behind Trump's words was an economic advisory council: thirteen men, five of whom are major donors.
For a deeper look at Trump's choices, Take Two spoke to Shane Goldmacher, a political reporter for Politico.
Press the blue play button above to hear the full interview.
Feds seeking new drones for US border patrol
The Department of Homeland Security wants to work with Silicon Valley tech startups to bring more drones to U.S. borders. Though the agency has already been using predator drones for years in the region, it's seeking smaller, lighter units that can be used to monitor potentially illegal activity, said Greg McNeal, professor of law and public policy at Pepperdine University.
"They're reaching out to Silicon Valley to say, 'Give us something highly capable that we can put in the back of a truck and hand launch from that vehicle to give immediate, actionable information to the border patrol agent,'" said McNeal.
Some privacy advocates have raised alarm about increasingly powerful drone technology being directed by government agencies. For example, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, has pointed out that drone surveillance could link facial recognition to extensive databases, such as the FBI's Next Generation Identification database or DHS' IDENT database, two of the world's largest biometric repositories.
A 2012 Office of Inspector General report found that U.S. Customs and Border protection "had not adequately planned resources needed" to support its use of unmanned aircrafts along the border and outlined four recommendations.
McNeal said DHS has worked with civil rights groups to develop a policy that's one of the most thorough of any government agency and that the new products could start rolling out soon.
"We'll see them deploying their products, getting them in testing and then starting to see them getting used by border patrol agents sometime this year," he said.
Lyft, GM partner to offer new car leases for drivers
You can barely stand on a street corner in LA without seeing an Uber or Lyft drive by. But that observation disguises another reality.
In the first eight months of the year, almost 18,000 Angelenos applied to drive for Lyft but weren’t accepted, either because they didn’t have a car or didn’t have a car that met the company’s requirements.
This week, those wannabe Lyft drivers have another option. Through a partnership with General Motors called Express Drive, they can lease one on the cheap or even for free if they give enough rides.
"One of the pain points we have is applicants who show up and are eager to drive, but their car just is not up to what we require," said Derek Kan, Lyft general manager. "So it’s not ten years old or less, it’s in poor working condition, and as a result they don’t have access to a vehicle. So this program allows folks to get into something to drive for us."
Through Lyft's new Express Drive program, Lyft applicants now have the option of leasing a GM vehicle for $150 to $180 per week, including insurance—or for free, if they give at least 75 rides in a week.
"What’s appealing to me is that I get the use of a car essentially for free as long as I get 75 rides, then there’s no cost to me other than the gas and cleaning the car," said Mark Spillman, a 52-year-old father of triplet teens who has been driving for Lyft since April and began using Express Drive last Friday as part of its soft launch in LA.
"I don’t have to do any maintenance. I don’t have to take it in," Spillman said. "If there’s a problem, I just call GM or call OnStar and I get a fairly new car and I don’t have to keep looking down at the odometer and worrying about how I’m going to pay for all that mileage."
Spillman, 52, has already maxed out the allowable miles on his 2015 Mazda6 lease, driving 1,000 each week for Lyft.
Express Drive is the first service resulting from GM's $500 million investment in Lyft earlier this year. It is one of several car-sharing programs offered through General Motors' Maven personal mobility service. Maven also offers a car-sharing service that allows drivers to rent a car by the hour, day or week. Currently available in Chicago and Boston, that car-sharing service will expand to LA this fall.
Drivers apply for Express Drive through the Lyft app. If they do not own an eligible vehicle, applicants are asked if they would like to rent a car through GM, which is currently offering two mid-size sedan options: the Malibu and Impala. The sedans were selected for their combination of interior room, trunk space (for airport pickups) and fuel economy. Within a few months, GM will also also offer its compact Cruze sedan, the plug-in hybrid electric Volt and all-electric Bolt subcompact.
The weekly leases are $150 or $180 per week and include insurance, maintenance and mileage while driving for Lyft. Drivers have to pay for gas and 25 cents per mile for mileage accrued when they aren’t driving the car for Lyft.
"Right now, I don’t have a car, but driving for Lyft is also working and being able to have your own vehicle," said Nicole Estrada, 23, of Echo Park. "It really helps us out with transportation and finances at the same time."
Estrada is a college student who has never owned a car. She says she takes the bus everywhere, including to her part-time job at Ralph's, but she's eager to drive for Lyft for the flexibility and higher pay. Lyft drivers who log 40 hours per week often earn $1,000.
Lyft offers a similar rental program through the rental company, Hertz. Launched in LA five weeks ago at Hertz rental locations in West Hollywood, Pico Rivera and Costa Mesa, cars available to Lyft drivers also cost $150 to $180 weekly depending on the vehicle. But Hertz rentals for Lyft drivers do not waive the weekly rental fee after 75 trips. Mileage is, however, included for free regardless of whether the car is driven for Lyft or personal use.
But there's a catch.
"You need to be 21 years old to get onto the Lyft platform but you need to be 25 years old to usually rent a car with a rental car company, so what we’re finding is a lot of folks between the ages of 21 and 25 who may be in college or who may not be in college but are really looking for another job or source of income," said Lyft's GM, Derek Kan. "They are lining up for this program."
How many people have lined up, Kan wouldn't say. But the line is "very long," he said. More people have expressed interest in Express Drive than there are cars available at present.
LA is the only the latest city to offer Express Drive. The service was launched in March and is also available in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. A handful of other cities will join the program before the end of the year.
General Motors isn’t the only auto maker to partner with a ride-hailing service. Earlier this year,
Toyota partnered with Uber, which itself has a ride-hailing partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Volkswagen also partnered with the ride-hailing service Gett.
But Lyft's Express Drive service with GM marks the first time an auto maker is making its vehicles directly available to ride-hail drivers.
To listen to this story, click the blue audio player above.
'Welcome to the Last Bookstore': The story behind the iconic bookshop in DTLA
There's a quote by Jen Campbell, author of Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops that almost perfectly describes the charm behind brick and mortar book shops: "...printed books are magical, and real bookshops keep that magic alive.”
'Magical' is almost certainly a word that's been used to describe The Last Bookstore, located on the corner of Spring St. and 5th St in Downtown Los Angeles. Situated in a giant old bank building close to Pershing Square, the Last Bookstore sprawls across two floors and a labyrinth of rooms and vaults.
"...it's much larger than you'd expect," says Chad Howitt, director of the new short documentary "Welcome to the Last Bookstore." "It's definitely different from the more corporate stores that I grew up with...it feels very independent and I think that seems to be one of the qualities that draws a lot of downtown residents to it..."
It was the allure and feel of the book shop that drew Howitt to it, "...just to see this store in existence didn't seem to make sense, it seemed kind of like this magic trick," said Howitt on what attracted him to making a documentary about the store, "So, just like anytime you see a good trick from a magician you want to ask, 'Okay, how'd you do it?'"
In "Welcome to the Last Bookstore", Josh Spencer, the owner, tells the story of the accident that took place 20 years ago and put him on the path to opening the book shop. The film also gives insight into Spencer's everyday life as the owner of an independent bookstore.
Howitt and Spencer spoke to A Martinez about the bookstore's charm, it's status as a cultural staple in downtown LA and more.
Interview Highlights
Who comes through the doors?
Chad: "You're seeing all types of people, all ages, kids with their parents. You get couples, you get tourists, you get people who are blood and bone bibliophiles who just read books every day, they're there all the time. You see the same faces sometimes and then you see a lot of people who are just passing through town, just wanted to see the bookstore one time just 'cause they've heard so many good things about it."
Josh, the books aren't new titles, but donations. In the documentary you say your job is like "a treasure hunt, not just the books, but what's inside." What do you mean by that?
Josh: "Well, it's like Christmas morning. I basically work mostly at our warehouse, so I come in and we've got anywhere from two to three thousand boxes of book, usually when I come into work. And I have to go through all of them and just find the treasures basically. Find all the good books we want to carry in the store, find the books that are valuable first editions or collectable or whatnot.
...there's just always so many weird things that you find in books, just yesterday we were going through a lot of stuff and we found a canceled check from like 1895, that was pretty cool. We found some uncut bills that were just brand new dollar bills. Sheets of them that were uncut..."
Josh, in the documentary, you mention how you believed The Last Bookstore would only be around for a few years, but 11 years on, it's in its third incarnation. What's next for the store?
"I think we'll be around for awhile. I don't ever count on anything, life has definitely taught me that your life can change in an instant. So, I don't take anything for granted. But you know, assuming there are no catastrophes or anything that happens in the world or society to really change things rapidly, I think we'll be around for a good bit longer. It does also seem like other bookstores are popping up around the country, too, so I'm glad to know my name wasn't too prophetic."
Answers have been edited for clarity.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
Why California is doing all it can to protect residents from a Zika outbreak
The threat of Zika has hit home in California.
The California Department of Public Health announced last week two babies in the state have been born with microcephaly after their mothers were infected with the Zika virus.
Reveal, from the Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, is producing a new show all about Zika and the fight to halt its spread in the U.S. Reporter, Amy Walters, has been on the trail of the virus and joined the show to discuss.
To hear the full segment, click the blue play button above.
Friendship: Less about morals, more like art, Princeton philosopher says
The New York Times hit the internet with a jolting question on Sunday: Do Your Friends Actually Like You?
In this age of "likes" on Facebook and Instagram, social media can sometimes make friendships feel insincere. So what does friendship mean in thismodern day?
Take Two explored this question with Alexander Nehamas. He is a professor of philosophy at Princeton University, and author of the book, "On Friendship."
Interview Highlights
Why he studies friendship:
"I think that friendship is an amazingly important relationship in our lives. A life without any friendships is almost incomprehensible. But friendship is not a moral good. In other words, a very good friend can make you do things that are not at all good — even though they are good friends. There's a proverb that some people use that says, 'A friend can help you move house, a good friend can help you move a body' ...and yet at the same time, not only contemporary philosophy but philosophy from the time of Aristotle on — at least in the way that we've read Aristotle — has always thought of friendship as a moral good. Aristotle actually seems to believe that only virtuous people can be friends. And since he believes there are very, very few virtuous people in the world, there are very few friendships. And yet when you look around, you see there are friendships between any kind of people, and there is, as they say, honor among thieves as well."
How friendship is like art:
"Great art can sometimes be very immoral, and yet we still value art, despite the fact that in many cases it goes against all our moral beliefs or commitments. So, we love art, and we love our friends, and in very interesting ways, not only do they share this non-moral feature, but in both cases, it is an individual that we love, it's a particular work of art that we love, and even if other works of art have similar qualities, we may not like those other works of art. The same way that suppose you and I are friends, and I say, 'I like you, I love you because you're very intelligent.' And somebody says, 'Well how about George over there? He's even more intelligent.' And we say, 'I love your particular intelligence, the way you express your intelligence.' All these expressions are ways to express that it's the very individual that we love, not the individual under a general description. And that's the same thing with works of art. So one feature that can be a wonderful feature in a particular work of art, say a particular color in a painting, the same color could destroy a different painting."
How social media has complicated friendships:
"One thing that social media is good for, I think, is to keep a friendship alive. What I don't think is very good is the idea that you can become a friend with somebody simply because you have friended each other on Facebook or whatever it is, because those relationships, they're not individual relationships. Because when I put something out on Facebook, I put it out for everyone who has friended me or whom I have friended... So the individual doesn't come in the same way when the relationship starts on social media. I think that sometimes people meet through social media and then they continue their relationship, either in private without involving other people through the media, or personally, they go and meet each other. And then I think a friendship can actually flourish. But the pure use of social media to establish and preserve a friendship I think is hopeless."
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.
New summer exercise - giving pole dancing a spin
Tired of your gym? Maybe you're bored with running, swimming or biking.
Maybe you're someone looking for a way to shake up your routine? Today we begin a new summer series on unusual workouts, starting with pole dancing!
Take Two's Alex Cohen went to the BeSpun studio in Hollywood to learn the basics from the owner and founder, Leigh Ann Reilly.