Today on the show, we start with a look at how the U.S. Border Patrol handles migrants along the Texas border. Then, California's "English learner" tests incorrectly label bilingual kids. Plus, we break down the grammatical errors in Weird Al's 'Word Crimes' video, tracking the health and wellness of gay and lesbian Americans, new app designed by 16-year-old exposes the role of money in politics and much more.
Child migrant crisis offers opportunity to push personal political agendas
With Glenn Beck detailing his plans to bring toys to the border, Rick Perry throwing verbal jabs at the White House and Jose Antonio Vargas finding photo ops during his detainment in Texas, some have found the spotlight in the midst of a crisis involving thousands of unaccompanied children crossing the border from Central America.
Anna Palmer, senior Washington correspondent for POLITICO, wrote about this issue and joins us to talk about how politicians, pundits and activists are using the border crisis to push their own agendas and brands.
Can they ask you that? How the US Border Patrol functions in South Texas
On Tuesday, well-known immigration activist Jose Antonio Vargas was detained and quickly released by Border Patrol in McAllen, Texas.
Whether or not he knew what he was getting into before he got trapped in the Texas border town, there are plenty of people who find themselves in the same situation.
We began to wonder how exactly does U.S. Customs and Border Patrol function in South Texas? To address that question and more, Denise Gilman of the University of Texas School of Law joins Take Two.
California's 'English learner' test for public schools is flawed
If you're enrolling your child in a public school for the first time this fall, be ready to fill out a stack of forms.
Here in California one of those forms, a home language survey, is used to figure out who needs help learning English. But as Southern California Public Radio's Annie Gilbertson reports, parents complain this system is flawed and puts students in the wrong classes.
Census data shows 4 out of 5 US seniors are white
A recent census report says four out of five seniors in the U.S. are non-Hispanic whites.
Meanwhile, those kids they call "whippersnappers" are mostly minorities. This week, we'll look at the different ways these two populations intersect and how that is changing the face of America. What happens in politics when people who vote make decisions for a future that's not theirs?
Gary Segura, principal and co-founder of the polling firm Latino Decisions joins us with more. He's also chair of Chicano/Latino studies at Stanford University.
Breaking down 'Weird Al' Yankovic's 'Word Crimes' video
This week, musical parodist Weird Al Yankovic has been releasing a video every day to promote his new album, "Mandatory Fun."
Yesterday's release was titled "Word Crimes," a brilliant attack on those who misuse the English language set to the tune of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." The video is filled with hilarious imagery intended to help the viewer get a better grip on grammar and why one should care about such things.
Artist, musician and software developer Jarrett Heather collaborated with Yankovic and created the visuals for the video. Heather joins the show with University of Delaware English Professor Ben Yagoda, author of the new e-book "You Have To Read This," to talk about some of these common "word crimes."
Full Video:
Storyboard in motion:
Amid uncertainty in Iraq, Kurdistan makes move for greater independence
This week in Iraq, lawmakers took a first step toward forming a new government by naming a new speaker of the parliament.
It's the latest move to maintain control in the country since Islamist militants, known as ISIS, took over sections of the country. As the struggle for political control continues, the oil-rich autonomous region of Kurdistan, in the north, is emerging as a key player. And that could have important implications for US policy in the region.
For more, we turn to reporter Hermione Gee in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region.
For many California veterans, GI money goes to for-profit colleges with mixed results
First Lady Michelle Obama is in Southern California today, where she and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti are expected to announce new initiatives to combat homelessness among veterans in the region.
One traditional tool to help vets is the GI Bill, the program that provides vets with money to attend college.
A recent report from the Center for Investigative Reporting has found that those funds don't always help. For more we're joined by reporter Aaron Glantz from the Center for Investigative Reporting.
Aaron's investigation premiered on Reveal, a new radio show from CIR and PRX. You can find more at revealradio.org.
RELATED: GI Bill funds flow to for-profit colleges that fail state aid standards
New app designed by 16-year-old exposes the role of money in politics
There's a lot of money in politics. That is certainly nothing new, but keeping tabs of just who has given how much to which politician can be pretty tricky.
Now a new app can help you see just who is lining the pockets of members of Congress. It's a browser plug-in called Greenhouse.
Nick Rubin, the 16-year-old who taught himself to code and developed the free browser plug-in, joins Take Two to explain how Greenhouse works and the inspiration behind it.
How Central American gangs are fueling the migrant crisis
We've been discussing how gang violence at the root of the mass migration from Central America. Much of that gang activity is rooted in the U.S., particularly Los Angeles. For decades, gang members have been deported back to their home countries and taken those affiliations with them.
KPCC's Leslie Berestein Rojas joins us to talk about the role of these transnational gangs in the Central American migrant crisis.
App Chat: 3 ways to make your road trip fun and entertaining
We're smack in the middle of summer which for some means, ROAD TRIP!
While just piling into a car, pointing in one direction and driving can be fun, a little planning can go a long way towards making sure you have fun along the way.
1) Roadtrippers: What to do when traveling from point A to point B
Let's say you're driving from Pasadena, CA to Las Vegas, NV. You plug in both locations and the app will tell you all of the different things to do, sights to see, things to take pictures of, places to eat, places to camp and sleep; All of the fun things that are located between the two destinations.
So, for instance, I didn't know that between us and Las Vegas you could go camping, sky diving, and visit an old mining town. They get more exciting than that, but it's useful if you don't just want to go from point A to point B without doing anything fun.
The app also analyzes the trip and estimates the distance, gas costs and the time. To get to Las Vegas from Pasadena it'll take three hours, 42 minutes, cost $45 in gas and it's about 260 miles away.
2) Jetpac City: Discover new things based on Instagram posts.
You can really use this app when traveling around your home town or if you're out on the road. What it does is use Instagram images to tell which restaurants and businesses are the most popular.
If there are a lot of smiles in the photo, the company's algorithm sees that and knows that this is a place that people go to have fun. Or if there are a lot of martini glasses over beer cans, they know that it's a bit more high class. If a user's photos are all taken in L.A. and then all of the sudden they have a few popping up in Las Vegas, the app will know that that person is a tourist.
According to the company, they've struggled with poor image quality on Instagram photos and having a computer accurately identify things in photos is not perfect. For instance, I was playing with the app and there was a restaurant that had a lot of pictures of someone's baby in their house tagged onto it. Didn't make sense at all.
The other problem that I had with the app had to do with the notes below photos that describe which sorts of people are posting the most photos at a certain location. So, when I searched for 10 popular mexican restaurants around me, below one, it noted that there were an "unusual number of photos by: Hispanic people." It was the description of Hispanic people that raised an eyebrow.
People from Ana to Zorro, identified by names that are most likely Hispanic. Disclaimer - Doesn't necessarily denote soccer talent. No Monopoly on the name Jesus (accents may vary).
They have these sorts of insensitive descriptions for other groups of people too. I could see people being turned off from what could be a useful app.
3) Touch Room: If you miss someone and you want to touch them
You fire up the app, join a room, as does your partner, and all you see is a blank, cream colored screen. That is until someone touches it. At that point a heart pops up on the other persons screen and if they touch the heart, both phones vibrate! Totally cheesy, but fun.
We did a call out on air for people to join the room Take Two and to touch each other, and people showed up. Thanks for participating!
A citizen watchdog oversees the Kern County controller election
The first recount in a statewide election in California is underway in Kern County. Teams of lawyers and campaign operatives continue watching over the ballots in the state controller's primary election.
They've also recruited volunteers. In some cases, ordinary voters. KPCC political reporter Sharon McNary introduces us to one woman who fit right into the democratic process for a while.
Downtown Film Festival LA celebrates indies and downtown's revitalization
This week marks the 6th Annual Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles, a celebration of independent film and the diverse, creative spirit of downtown Los Angeles.
Over the years, the festival has screened more than 1,000 films. Tonight, the festival is featuring a rare screening of the 1959 film noir classic "The Crimson Kimono." The film, set in L.A.'s Little Tokyo, will be screened in the Art Deco Oviatt building, one of downtown L.A.'s most fabulous landmarks.
Greg Ptacek, the co-director of Downtown Film Festival L.A., joins Take Two for a preview.
CDC tracks health and wellness of LGBT Americans
Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a long anticipated look at the health of Americans that describe themselves as gay, lesbian or bi-sexual.
The report is the first large-scale government survey of this kind.
It offered an analysis of key public health issues such as smoking, drinking, medical coverage and overall well-being.
Gary Gates is with UCLA’s Williams Institute and is a recognized expert on the geography and demography of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population.
We'll talk to him about the report, and what's its importance.