The GOP's tricky relationship with female voters, the YouTube staffer who does outreach for the LGBT community, best places to see the Perseid meteor shower.
Could Trump widen the gender gap among GOP voters?
Donald Trump has no patience for political correctness, and he’s proud of it. So when Fox’s Megyn Kelly pressed him on his disparaging comments about women at last week’s GOP debate, the real estate mogul went on the offensive. But he didn’t stop there.
In a phone interview with CNN, Trump lobbed criticism at Kelly, stating that she had ‘blood coming out of her wherever.’ The remarks sparked a fierce backlash from women on both sides of the political aisle.
Advisors to Trump likely breathed a collective sigh of relief, when recent polls revealed that the candidate was relatively unscathed by his remarks.
There is, however, no metric for calculating the number of female voters who may now have a diminished view of the Republican Party.
Take Two spoke with Karlyn Bowman, senior fellow at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, about the GOP’s past and future challenges with female voters.
Press the play button above to hear more.
LA City Councilman Mike Bonin on the city's new transportation plan
For years, transportation planning in most American cities has favored one, dominant mode of transportation: the car.
In Los Angeles, the city that's identified with cars more than any other, that could be changing.
Yesterday the L.A. City Council voted 12-2 to approve a sweeping transportation policy change called "Mobility Plan 2035."
Rather than increasing road space for cars to improve traffic, the 20-year plan adds more lanes for bikes and buses.
L.A. City Councilmember Mike Bonin, a major supporter of the plan, joins Take Two to discuss what "Mobility Plan 2035" could mean for L.A.
To listen to the full interview with L.A. City Councilmember Mike Bonin, click the link above.
For one California marketing firm, success is written in the sky … Literally
You may have seen them just the other day in the skies above LA: five skywriters streaming across the wide blue yonder, each releasing a perfectly-timed puff of smoke to etch out the word ‘COMPTON.’
It was a clever bit of marketing, forever memorialized on social media.
Cristina Domi is the owner of The Sky Writers, the company behind the stunt. She told Take Two about the business behind writing on the big blue.
Press the play button above to hear more.
YouTube has a lead on LGBT outreach, and he's becoming his own YouTube star
YouTube has more than just cat videos. There's also a number of uploads by LGBT people sharing their stories and offering their advice.
But here's something you probably didn't know: YouTube has a person in charge of reaching out to the LGBT community and even curating those videos.
created the position himself in 2013. He was in the company's marketing department and got the idea to transform the site when the U.S. Supreme Court effectively struck down California's Prop 8, which banned same-sex marriage.
"The second that decision was released, that YouTube logo at the top-left side of the page turned into a rainbow," he recounted. It redirected to a large playlist of videos highlighting LGBT history, figures and more.
A screenshot of YouTube's Spotlight page on June 26, 2013. The site transformed to highlight LGBT people after the US Supreme Court effectively struck down California's Prop 8.
Those videos were moving tools for people to find each other across time and distance.
"On YouTube, an African-American trans woman in the deep South can find another African-American woman in the deep South making a video talking about her experiences," Braun said. "Anyone who shares their story is powerful because it creates an opportunity to identify and connect with them."
Braun takes his position very personally. Growing up in rural northwest Ohio as a closeted child, there were no other LGBT people like him.
At 11 years old, he cautiously thumbed through books at the library paging for information about what being gay meant, and typed into Google, "Will my parents accept me after I come out?"
"It was trying to forage for information about what my identity was," he said.
But then he remembers finding a gay man's blog about his life in New York City.
"It was nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary, but he would talk about the date he went on last night or his job," he recalled. "But I was obsessed."
Using YouTube as a platform, Braun wants to create a path for the next wave of people sharing their lives and stories.
His own is one of them: Braun created his own YouTube channel where he interviews different figures and activists. He also travels to document historic events for LGBT people so later generations will know what it was like to be there.
"I always go back to 12-year-old Raymond living in northwest Ohio and how valuable it could have been for me and people like me to find this channel and see a wide range of experiences," he said. "It's a real opportunity to speak to youths at that critical time when they're learning who they are."
How an acro-yoga injury gave Rebecca Plevin insight into health savings accounts
In addition to being a health care reporter, Southern California Public Radio's Rebecca Plevin is also an acro-yoga enthusiast.
Sadly, she sustained an injury engaging in some amateur Cirque du Soleil.
But, we're pleased to say her pain might be your gain, as it's led her to interesting insights about health savings accounts - or HSAs.
She joined the show to explain more. You can also read more on the Impatient blog.
Sports roundup: LA's stadium bids move forward, Olympic finances for 2024, Rousey vs. Mayweather
Los Angeles' competing stadium plans shape up for NFL owners. With Boston out, will LA move ahead in the bid for the 2024 Olympics? And UFC Champ Ronda Rousey says she could beat Floyd Mayweather in the cage.
We're joined by
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Perseid meteor shower: What will make 2015 extraordinary
Wednesday night marks a special treat for star-gazers: The annual Perseid meteor shower is back.
Southern California Public Radio's science reporter Sanden Totten explains why this year's Perseids should be extra-extraordinary.
Sanden's recommended spots to watch the Perseids meteor shower:
- Angeles Crest Highway
- Vasquez Rocks in Santa Clarita
- If you have time to drive to the desert, check out the party at Joshua Tree, or The Integratron in Landers.
To listen to the full interview, click the blue audio player above.
California, seeking to shed past exclusion, removes 'alien' from labor code
For years, the word "alien" was used in California to describe both workers who were here with legal residence, and those who came here undocumented.
Earlier this week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law which will remove the term from the state labor code.
For more, we're joined by the law maker who wrote that bill, State Senator Tony Mendoza who represents California's 32nd District.
Micah Wexler's revelation about American food for 'To Live and Dine in L.A.'
The book, "To Live and Dine in LA," showcases Los Angeles' history through food and the meals that restaurants served.
A companion exhibit at the Los Angeles Central Library also offers the chance to see menus up-close that span decades.
But the name for both is borrowed from Micah Wexler, a chef who used a play on words from a Tupac song for his own pop-up food series.
Now he runs Wexler's Deli in downtown L.A.'s Grand Central Market, where he brings a new spin on old-school Jewish deli food.
The menu for a gala honoring Albert Einstein at L.A.'s Ambassador Hotel in 1931. The menu is on display as part of the exhibit, "To Live and Dine in L.A." at the Los Angeles Public Library through November.
Wexler contributed to the book project by updating and reimagining a menu for the gala dinner thrown for Albert Einstein at the Ambassador Hotel in 1931.
In the process of examining old menus, he realized that American food isn't necessarily cheeseburger and fries; it's all about bringing together different cultures and traditions together, which he says is very much in the tradition of Los Angeles and its people.
A Take Two taste test: Coolhaus' Jewish deli-inspired ice cream sandwiches
The folks at Coolhaus Ice Cream have stepped up their game. They actually had the chutzpah to put pastrami in ice cream as part of their new Jewish deli menu.
"At Coolhaus we're always looking to reinvent and surprise people, and play with those savory items that have a sweet component, and reposition them into dessert," said Coolhaus CEO Natasha Case.
Case said she's noticed a lot of her contemporaries getting into the deli trend, but not many have delved into reinventing deli items to desserts.
"I thought, this is the torch that we carry, and what a great opportunity to take some of these deli classics and turn them into dessert, and align ourselves with that trend of the cool, new deli that's emerging from my generation," she said.
The desserts piqued the interest of Take Two hosts Alex Cohen and A Martinez. So Coolhaus sent over a box of the treats for a taste test.
The Coolhaus creations:
- Pastrami ice cream on marbled rye cookies: The ice cream base is made with "special sauce" by Sir Kensington with "Haus-made" caramelized Pastrami. The ice cream sits between "marble" vanilla-chocolate cookies, sprinkled with rye caraway seeds.
Alex says: "Who cares about kosher when it looks this delicious?"
A says: "It's overwhelmingly awesome."
- Cream cheese & rye ice cream on traditional Jewish black and white cookie: Spongey shortbread cookies coated in dark chocolate and vanilla frosting house ice cream made of a cream cheese & mascarpone base with rye crackers in the mix.
Alex says: "This is delicious!"
A says: "[It's got] A really nice, soft crunchiness."
- Potato latke ice cream on Hamen-tash: Named after CEO Natasha Case, this sandwich is Coolhaus' take on the Hamentashen cookie. Their baked apple ice cream includes french fries and sits between two triangle-shaped shortbread cookies with a raspberry filling. Case says until proved otherwise, she's pretty sure this is the world's first triangle-shaped ice cream sandwich.
Alex says: "You have taken me to my happy place."
A says: "This one is my favorite."
To hear more, click on the blue audio player above.
N.W.A.'s DJ Yella and the new film, Straight Outta Compton
This weekend, the movie Straight Outta Compton hits theatres across the country. It tells the story of the ground breaking West Coast rap group NWA. Dr Dre, Ice Cube, Easy E, MC Ren and DJ Yella
But for listeners who were not around to know how influential they were, we started the conversation listening to some of the top hip hop songs n 1988, this was was the typical sound of hip hop.
Click on the link to hear