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Podcasts Take Two
LA County Schools Can Reopen But the Lack of Vaccines Remain an Issue, Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans, Who Could be California's Next AG?
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Feb 16, 2021
Listen • 49:20
LA County Schools Can Reopen But the Lack of Vaccines Remain an Issue, Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans, Who Could be California's Next AG?

The science of the politics of LA County's decision to reopen schools, tracking hate against Asian Americans, who's gunning to be California's new Attorney General
A public elementary school campus in Los Angeles, California August 17, 2020 one day before the start of the new school year amid the coronavirus pandemic. - The 700,000 students of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will go back to school online only tomorrow when the school year begins tomorrow August 18, 2020. LAUSD, the nation's second largest school district plans to test hundreds of thousand of students and teachers for COVID-19 in an effort to get students back in the classroom as quickly as possible. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
A public elementary school campus in Los Angeles, California August 17, 2020 one day before the start of the new school year amid the coronavirus pandemic. - The 700,000 students of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will go back to school online only tomorrow when the school year begins tomorrow August 18, 2020. LAUSD, the nation's second largest school district plans to test hundreds of thousand of students and teachers for COVID-19 in an effort to get students back in the classroom as quickly as possible. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
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ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
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LA County Schools Can Reopen. What Does Science Say?

Los Angeles County announced Monday night that it reached the threshold to allow schools to reopen. That will not happen overnight in most districts but, still, seems like a sudden about-face. We check in on what the science says about how contagious COVID-19 is among children, and answer all your coronavirus and vaccine-related questions.

Guest: 

  • Professor Paula Cannon, USC Keck School of Medicine 

LA County Schools Can Reopen But For Many, the Lack of Vaccines Remains a Barrier

LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn was the first to tweet out that schools would be allowed to reopen due the decrease in coronavirus cases. It was a bit of a shock to see that news - many thought there wasn't a chance of this for months -  but on Monday, the county hit a key threshold in our battle with the coronavirus, averaging about 20 cases per 100-thousand residents. All good news. But since teachers have yet to be prioritized for vaccinations, what can really happen here….and when...especially in our public schools?

Guest:

  • LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn 

Tracking Hate Against Asian Americans During the Pandemic

At the end of January, an 84-year-old Thai man in San Francisco was out on a morning walk. He was assaulted and died of his injuries. Then in Oakland's Chinatown, police say a man violently shoved three Asian men and women in public, injuring them as well. These incidents fit into a larger pattern of hate crimes and discrimination against Asian Americans all across the U-S, many related to the COVID-NINETEEN pandemic.The group Stop A-A-P-I Hate has been tracking such crimes since last March and, so far, it's recorded been more than TWENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED incidents nationwide.

Guest:

  • Manjusha Kulkarni, the Executive Director of Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council

Who Might Be California's Next Attorney General?


With President Biden's nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for the cabinet position of secretary of health and human services, Governor Gavin Newsom may have to choose Becerra's replacement.  That is, if Becerra gets the job. If so, the new state attorney general would step into a vastly different political landscape now that former President Trump has left office. Who is on the short list? 

Guest: 

  • Laurel Rosenhall, reporter, CalMatters