Berlin's act of terror, the cost on Amazon's drivers for speed and convenience, the legal defense fund for undocumented immigrants who face deportation.
Radicalization will continue to be a major concern in Germany, world expert says
A truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany left 12 dead and injured scores more Monday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called it an act of terror. ISIS has now taken responsibility.
Authorities had one suspect in custody, but that suspect has since been released. The killer is still at large.
For more, Take Two spoke to Erroll Southers, director of Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies at USC.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue media player above.
The Brood: How stepfamilies can tackle holiday stress
The holiday season can be a stressful time for any family.
For some, it's figuring out how to split time between in-laws. For others, it's deciding to make the trek to be with family members who are far away.
But for step-families, navigating the holidays can get particularly complicated.
Search through the online marketplace Etsy and you'll find an entire section dedicated to gifts for step-parents and kids — things like a mug that says "Of all the evil stepmothers in the world, I'm glad I got you." Or a keychain that reads "DNA doesn't make you family. Love does."
Presents like these come as little surprise considering that, according to the Stepfamily Foundation, 50 percent of kids under the age of 13 live with one biological parent and their parent's current partner.
So what's the best way for step-families to get through the holidays? Writer, step-parent, and step-family coach
joined Take Two to offer some advice.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue media player above.
Amazon packages delivered under increasing speed, stress
What do you really know about the person who delivers your holiday presents?
If you ordered from Amazon, the delivery person is probably an independent contractor. The online giant says that increases speed and convenience. Critics say it creates high levels of stress, forcing drivers to skip breaks and cut corners.
A recent Los Angeles Times story tracked the daily routine of drivers in Southern California as they made their routes – and dealt with the pressure.
For more, A Martinez spoke with Michael Bernick, former director of California's labor department and Employment Development Department and a Milken Institute research fellow.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue media player above.
Giving the gift of an experience can lead to stronger bonds
What do you get the person who has it all?
What's the perfect present for a loved one who's desperately trying to cut back on clutter?
An experience as a gift, of course!
Turns out these sorts of presents can have other benefits. For more Alex Cohen spoke with Cassie Mogilner Holmes, associate professor of marketing at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Holmes did a study on experiential gifts instead of a physical gift. The study is titled "Experiential Gifts Foster Stronger Social Relationships than Material Gifts."
On the findings
"We measured it from the gift recipient's perspective. What we found was that gift recipients who received an experiential gift — that's an event that they lived through such as concert tickets, going out to a meal at a restaurant, going to a movie, going on a vacation — those gifts made the gift recipient feel closer and more connected to their gift giver than had the gift giver given them a material gift. "
What kind of experiences are best?
"We looked across the board with the primary comparison between the experiences and the material gifts. But if looking for inspiration for experiential gifts, we looked at whether those experiential gifts that folks received and those included in addition to the ones that I mentioned, a gift certificate to a restaurant, concert tickets, theater tickets also music lessons...Also, exercise classes, which is an easy one.
I will point out that as we're seeing the final day for Amazon to be able to deliver your gifts by Christmas, fast approaching, the good thing about experiential gifts is that actually there isn't that same delivery date..."
Is it okay to give a present where you have the experience together, or is that considered selfish?
"It's not considered selfish at all. Actually, it in itself has its own benefits because a lot of research including some of my own shows the power of spending time together. And so, instead of it being framed as you giving yourself a gift... it can be heightened by framing it as sharing this experience together and you giving your time.
But I will point out that actually we found that the benefit of receiving an experiential gift does not require the gift giver to share in the experience...it's almost this vicarious spending time together."
Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
The Chargers might leave San Diego for Los Angeles
The San Diego Chargers lost their ninth game of the season Sunday, which means they'll finish in last place in their division. For most NFL teams, figuring out how to get better would be at the top of their off-season agenda, but the Chargers have bigger fish to fry.
They have less than a month to decide whether to leave the city they've called home for 55 years and join the Rams in Los Angeles, and according to Dean Spanos, the owner of the San Diego Chargers, the wind seems to be blowing north.
"The owner...said he was done with San Diego and that he was going to Los Angeles last year at this time," said Kevin Acee, a columnist with the San Diego Union-Tribune. He spoke with A Martinez for a conversation on the topic.
"The reason it seems so pending now is he has that option from Stan Kroenke, from the NFL, to go to Los Angeles if he choses. Now, the NFL has very little interest in the chargers being in Los Angeles right now and that is still the only hope that San Diego has at this point because we've got nothing going on here in terms of being able to help the Spanos family finance the stadium."
According to Acee, the Spanos family says they need $550 million dollars in public funds to help build a new stadium. The fact is that San Diegans don't want to do that. They rejected Measure C this November, a hotel tax increase proposed by the Chargers. That money would've gone towards the building of a stadium and convention center in downtown.
Now, Spanos is hinting that it's time to leave.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue media player above.
Following crash, transportation board asks apps to include rail crossing alerts
It's hard for many of us to imagine get around these days without our smartphone's GPS.
We depend on apps like Waze and Google Maps to direct us to the quickest route and to alert us to things like car accidents, road construction, even lurking police cars.
But one thing seems to be missing - railroad crossings.
The National Transportation Safety Board would like to see that change. For more, Alex Cohen spoke with Robert Molloy, director of the office of highway safety for the NTSB. The agency came out with a recommendation that tech companies include alerts in apps about railroad crossings following its investigation of a fatal accident in Oxnard between a truck and Metrolink train in 2015.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue media player above.
The best Christmas music from Latin America
If you love music, but don't have the time to keep up with what's new, you should listen to Tuesday Reviewsday. Every week our critics join our hosts in the studio to talk about what you should be listening to in one short segment. This week A Martinez is joined by music journalist
Justino Aguila
Artist: Laura Pausini
Album: Laura Navidad
Songs: "Feliz Navidad" (written by Jose Feliciano)
Artist: Carla Morrison
Album: La Niña del Tambor (The Girl with the Drum)
Songs: "Jesus" (written by Carla Morrison)
Artist: Gaby Moreno
Album: Posada
Songs: "Go Tell It On The Mountain" (written by John W. Work Jr.)
Leila Cobo
Artist: Arthur Hanlon, feat. Chino y Nacho and Dulce Maria
Song: "Navidad, Navidad"
Artist: Grupo Guayacan
Song: "Fiesta"
Artist: Sebastian Yatra
Song: "Te Regalo"