A new report reveals more children are being Tasered by school-based police officers, sexist media coverage at the Olympics, LA hosts its first Bollywood marathon.
Alarming use of Tasers in public schools
In California and other parts of the nation, an increasing number of children are being Tasered by school-based police officers.
Since 2011, at least 84 incidents between these officers and students have occurred, but not on a college campus ... it's happened at the K-12 level.
That’s the assertion of a new report titled, Set to Stun, by the Huffington Post and the Hechinger Report, a non-profit news agency that covers education.
We talked to Rebecca Klein, she's the editor of education news for The Huffington Post.
Christine Brennan says sexist Olympics coverage needs to stop
The achievements of some of the most decorated athletes in the Olympic Games are being overshadowed in some media coverage by gender.
News outlets around the world are drawing criticism for how they're covering female athletes in Rio.
Take what NBC commentator Dan Hicks had to say right after Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu set a world record in the 400-meter medley and the camera cut to her husband Shane Tusup:
"There's the guy responsible for turning Katinka Hosszu, his wife, into a whole different swimmer."
Many on Twitter complained that Hosszu's accomplishment was immediately attributed to her husband.
Sigh. Katinka Hosszu obliterates the world record and NBC broadcaster Dan Hicks credits 'The man responsible'
— #TooFemale (@schemaly)
Sigh. Katinka Hosszu obliterates the world record and NBC broadcaster Dan Hicks credits 'The man responsible' https://t.co/bbvjb8hEBY
— Soraya Chemaly (@schemaly) August 7, 2016
It's just one of many examples of coverage that has focused on the spouses, outfits, or looks of the women competing for gold, instead of their athletic prowess.
USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan, in Rio covering her 17th consecutive Olympic Games, says she's shocked there isn't some sort of system-wide memo that goes out to say "Ladies and gentlemen who are broadcasting for us: Enough. It's 2016. I don't know if you've heard, but a woman is running for President of United States. Get with the plan."
"The good news," Brennan says, "is this is Team Title IX. And once again, just like in 2012, there are more women than men on the U.S. Olympic Team. A record number-- 292 women. More than any other country has sent."
For those who are disappointed with the TV coverage of the Games, Brennan jokes that one option is to turn off the sound. The other option, she says, is to voice your concerns on social media.
"For women, if you're angry... and you're not happy with the coverage," Brennan says, "You can bombard NBC in a way that you never could before."
To hear the full interview with Christine Brennan, click the blue player above.
Thomas Middleditch on 'Joshy' and the different shades of nerdiness
The new film "Joshy" is set in the sleepy town of Ojai, California, about 80 miles outside of Los Angeles.
That's where a guy named Josh had planned to go for a bachelor party with his buddies.
Josh's wedding gets called off after his fiance commits suicide, but the fellas head to Ojai all the same.
Josh is played by actor Thomas Middleditch - who also plays one of the starring roles in the HBO show Silicon Valley.
Middleditch says the script came about when his co-star Adam Pally pitched the idea to the film's director Jeff Baena.
"Adam essentially described a story that was similar to this in some ways. Jeff said, 'Oh that'd be a great film,'" Middleditch told Take Two's Alex Cohen. From there the project went through an unconventional production process.
"[Jeff] managed to convince the various production companies involved to give a very small amount of money and beat out a script and get some improv friends ... and go ahead and make a movie out in a house somewhere in Ojai.'
A house of improv
Middleditch says that "Joshy" was a very similar experience for both the actors and the characters: A group of friends all coming together to have fun. That led to a unique improv experience.
"It's not like a stage improv show where you just want to like go for the laugh... you have to improvise for the point of view of your character," Middleditch says. "Even if it's something funny, ideally it's coming out of a chracter and relationship and circumstance."
Even though everyone on set is friendly, there were bound to be a few times that the team would but heads while they were living in such close quarters.
"There's a a couple moments where personalities clash and then the weird part is you can't go home afterwards. You say, 'I'll see you at home,' and then you've gotta deal with it," Middleditch says. "We're all sensititve creative weirdos so we're all going to have conflicts at some point. But it was more often than not just like a really fun time actually. It was kind of like a little sleep away camp."
On the various shades of nerdiness
The role that endeared Middleditch to audiences is his portrayal of Richard Hendricks on the HBO show "Silicon Valley." While it's also type casted him for more nerdy roles, there are are only certain parts of the culture that he falls into.
"There's all these little bubbles of nerddom," Middleditch says. "I'm more nerdy in a sense of like... video games and dungeons and dragons and renaissance faire. But not nerdy in a sense that I know how to create apps."
Being a nerd is pretty en vogue these days. Gone are the times when people had to hide their passions for fear of being judged. "I almost harken back to the days... when it was a little uncool." Middleditch says. "Where it was a little something where it was like 'Alright, let's not get too crazy about it.'
This attitude towards nerd-culture was emphasized during a recent trip to San Diego Comic-Con. "Everyone's just like hootin' and hollerin' and essentially waiting in line to be advertised to. They're waiting in line to see a trailer or something. Over night, these people wait in line! Part of me wants a bunch of jocks to go to Comic-Con and call them all dweebs so they can be like... 'Pump the brakes a little bit,' But that said it's all positive. It's just of course I'm going to find some cynicism in it."
The ultimate dream of being an 80's action hero
While Middleditch is deeply trenched in geek-culture, for better and for worse, he says that he's always willing to branch out as an actor.
Middleditch says, "I'm at a point right fortunately now, because of [Silicon Valley], there's a little bit of ... take a step and try to get involved in projects I really really want to be in as opposed to just [taking] anything to get my foot in the door."
Of course one of those hopeful project is his goal of starring in a big blockbuster movie.
"I grew up on 80's action movies... Jean Claude Van Damme, Schwarzenegger, Stallone... If there were ever some opportunity to do that, it'd be great.
To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above
The Dish: Greenbar Distillery's fresh take on classic spirits
Throughout our summer food series, "The Dish," we've gone inside some of the hidden and not-so-hidden culinary gems here in Southern California, from the fried plantains of Mofongos to the cereal-sprinkled treats at Rad Coffee in Upland.
But for many foodies, a meal isn't complete without a little something to wash it down. Maybe even something organic and locally distilled.
Enter Greenbar Distillery in Downtown LA; they specialize in craft spirits with a twist. Like a whiskey flavored with six different kinds of wood or a liqueur made from the California Poppy.
Take Two recently toured the distillery with husband and wife founders Litty Mathew and Melkon Khosrovian.
Let's Start a Distillery
Greenbar co-founder Melkon Khosrovian says necessity led them to begin blending spirits.
"We got engaged ten years after we met and started to visit each other's relatives," said Khosrovian. "My side, coming from Armenia, we'd host these elaborate dinner parties where everyone toasts with some straight shot of alcohol, whether it's vodka or fruit brandy. It [was] always extremely harsh to [Litty's] palate, so when everyone was toasting us she would pick up her glass and put it down because she couldn't stomach drinking it."
To remedy the "awkward" social situation, he set about mixing different fruits with vodka to create smoother spirits.
"It turns out my cousins were of the same mind," he said. "They would sample and then steal the bottles and then come back and ask us to make them some more."
Soon, friends of his cousins began requesting bottles of their own.
"It kind of took on a life of its own," Khosrovian said.
Bottling California
Inspired by the aperitives of Europe, Khosrovian, and Mathew put California spin on a liqueur by mixing in the state flower, the poppy.
Pointing to large barrels, Litty Mathew explained the process.
"We'll fill this tank with alcohol and slowly start adding in the ingredients that go into Grand Poppy," Mathew said. "So think of things like, of course, the California Poppy, California bay leaves, pink peppercorns, bearberries, and over time that becomes California Grand Poppy Liqueur."
More Wood Can Be Good
"All whiskeys get their flavor, color and aroma from wood," said spirit man Khosrovian. "[All] whiskeys and almost all aged spirits get their flavor from white oak because that's the perfect tree to bend into a barrel, but that's not the only tree in the forest that has great flavors. About five years ago, we played around with about 30 trees and found six that work well together including White Oak, Mulberry, Hickory, Grape, Red Oak and Maple; we're bringing new flavors that are different and exciting to whiskey lovers who have never had those flavors in their whiskeys before."
Much Ado about Bottling
Bottling Greenbar's Grand Poppy Liqueur:
from
on Vimeo.
Becoming a Mix Master
"On Friday evenings, we have cocktail classes where anyone who's interested in making drinks can come, we give them some quick instructions, and in the process, they learn how easy it is to make cocktails that are balanced, that are delicious and rely on seasonal produce that a lot of guests can pick from their own yard."
Press the blue play button above to hear the tour.
(Answers have been edited for clarity.)
Summer Concert Series: Levitt Pavilion Pasadena
This summer on Take Two, we've been exploring some of the many fabulous opportunities out there to listen to music under the stars. From LACMA's jazz series, to the Skirball's 20th-anniversary and the sizzling summer nights on the Autry, we've taken a look at the options all around town.
Now, we focus on the Levitt Pavillion, which hosts all sorts of performances in Pasadena's Memorial Park. Renee Bodie is the executive director or the organization and when she stopped by our studios, she told host Alex Cohen how these concerts all got started, future acts in the line-up and more.
For more information on the Levitt Pavilion concerts, click here.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
Bollywood Marathon to run for twelve hours in Echo Park
Feel like taking on a marathon this weekend? How about one you can do sitting down?
On Saturday, Hollywood meets Bollywood in a 12-hour Indian movie extravaganza. It's a Bollywood Marathon.
The event takes place at the Machine Project and Echo Park Film Collective. It's the brain child of self-confessed Bollywood fanatic, Robin Sukhadia.
Libby Denkmann talked to Sukhadia about the event, Bollywood's place in culture and its changing relationship with Hollywood. For more details on the event, click here.
Click the blue audio player above to hear the interview.