With Oscar nominations just around the corner, how do the current crop of awards movies and TV shows reflect gains made in Hollywood's diversity? And, Facebook may be developing its own version of Amber Alerts. Plus, the highly-anticipated debut of Marvel's Star Wars comic book.
Checking in on Hollywood's diversity gap
'Tis the season when those in the filmmaking business congratulate themselves.
On the heels of the Golden Globes and with Oscar nominations just a day away, the Director's Guild on Tuesday announced its nominees for the five best directors of the year.
It may not come as a surprise that all are men, most of them white. Which raises the question: How is Hollywood faring these days when it comes to diversity?
For more on this topic, we turn to Darnell Hunt, who studies the diversity gap in Hollywood and is the director for the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA. Melissa Silverstein also joins the conversation. She is the editor of the website Women and Hollywood and the co-founder of the Athena Film Festival in New York. Producer Flavio Morales, executive vice president of Big Vida Entertainment production company, also joins the discussion.
Hunt says currently, diversity is losing ground in the business, despite minimal progress or occasional bumps with high-profile films like Ava DuVernay's "Selma," or Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave."
"On the one hand, we've obviously increased the numbers of minority and women participating in the industry since, say, the 1960s. But the problem is, the increases in Hollywood haven't kept up with the increases in society overall, particularly as it relates to people of color, and the gap has actually gotten bigger between the representation of people of color in America, and audiences, and the people of color in the industry," he said.
Listen to the entire discussion by clicking "Listen Now" above.
What is Al Qaeda of the Arabian Penisula?
As Parisians rushed Wednesday morning to buy the "survivors" issue of Charlie Hebdo following last week's terrorist attack on the magazine's offices.
Al Qaeda's branch in Yemen claimed responsibility for the incident that killed 12 people there
The satirical Charlie Hebdo often published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed.
And today a top official with the arm that calls itself Al Qaeda in the Arabian Pennisula released a video that said the attack was in "revenge of the prophet."
So what is the division of Al Qaeda?
Andy Liepman, senior policy analyst with the RAND Corporation.
He previously served as Principal Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and worked, also, with the CIA.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel highlights changing military during California farewell tour
This week, outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is in California as part of a three-day farewell tour. Tuesday, he visited the Marine Corp Air Station in Miramar.
Hagel put in his resignation in December after two years in the post. His departure comes at a critical time for the military.
"There's a cultural component to Secretary Hagel's legacy," said Andrew Tilghman, Pentagon bureau chief for The Military Times. That includes policies allowing women to serve in combat roles, overseeing the repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and efforts to eliminate sexual assault in the military.
Hagel has said he will stay in the position until Congress confirms his successor. That could come as early as February.
Does cold weather really make catching a cold more likely?
Winter is the time of year when parents and grandparents join in variations on this common refrain: "Put your coat coat on! You're going to catch cold!"
But we all know that cold weather doesn't actually cause colds.
Or does it?
New research into the cold virus and how our immune systems work at cooler temperatures finds that moms and dads may be right.
Dr. Ellen Foxman, a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Medicine, joined Take Two to explain the findings of the new Yale-led study:
Catching a cold from Ellen Foxman on Vimeo.
Facebook to show AMBER Alerts in users newsfeeds
For nearly twenty years now, AMBER alerts have been used to help find children who have been abducted. These messages run on radio, tv and of course those digital signs on the freeway. Now, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is taking Amber Alerts to a new platform on Facebook. Alex Cohen speaks with Kurt Wagner - Social Media Reporter for Re/code.
A deeper look at the life of Ezell Ford
The public knows Ezell Ford as the unarmed man who was shot and killed by LAPD officers last summer. But not much else has been learned about his life since.
Ford grew up in an African-American neighborhood in South Los Angeles, and his image is used by many who feel cops shoot black people without justification.
KPCC’s Sharon McNary digs deeper into Ford’s life with this profile: Ezell Ford was a victim of gang gunfire long before he died in LAPD shooting
Kaiser Permanente staff strike: Reasons behind the picket line
Wednesday is the third day of a week-long strike by mental health workers and other staff at Kaiser Permanente in California.
One reason for the picket line: A lack of staffing.
For more, we are joined by Southern California Public Radio health reporter Elizabeth Aguilera.
How cyber warfare is waged
If America declares a cyberwar, what does that even look like? And who are our soldiers?
Earlier this week, US Central Command's Twitter and YouTube accounts were hacked ... allegedly by pro-Islamic State activists. Meanwhile authorities are still trying to determine if North Korea was the culprit behind the breach at Sony.
Both high profile hacks prompted President Obama to speak yesterday about the need for greater cyber security measures.
To that end, he's proposing several laws to better crack down on hackers.
However, the idea of launching a cyber war or cyber counteroffensive isn't something that most of us are that familiar with.
When an American site or installation is attacked by guns or bombs, for example, we know what happens: the military is deployed and Congress might even vote to declare war.
But Shane Harris, fellow at the New America Foundation and author of "@War: The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex," explains the logistics and articles of cyberwar.
One day, drones could help gather news
Recently, journalists have been doing a lot of reporting on drones. But the day may not be too far off when reporting will be done with drones.
This week, CNN and the Federal Aviation Administration announced an agreement to study the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to help better understand how they might be used to gather news.
Greg McNeal, associate professor of law and public policy at Pepperdine University, joins Take Two with more.
The force is strong with the new Star Wars comic
It comes from a galaxy far far away ... or right around the corner at your local comic book shop.
Today Marvel comics debuts a new take on the classic Star Wars story. The characters we all know and love, Han Solo, Obi Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia and of course, Luke Skywalker.
We'll find out more about it, and what it means to the Star Wars universe with our own Jedi, SCPR culture blogger Mike Roe