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Podcasts Take Two
Economics of the death penalty, a lottery for college admissions and warm-water blobs
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Mar 14, 2019
Listen • 31:01
Economics of the death penalty, a lottery for college admissions and warm-water blobs

That is the future of the death penalty in California and what does the data tell us about its effectiveness as a punishment? Would college admissions be fairer if they were awarded through a lottery? And warm-water blobs are showing up off the California coast.

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 06: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom speaks during election night event on November 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Newsom defeated Republican Gubernatorial candidate John Cox. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 06: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom speaks during election night event on November 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Newsom defeated Republican Gubernatorial candidate John Cox. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
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We look at whether granting college admissions based on a lottery system would be fairer than how it's done today. Plus, warm water blobs are showing up along the California coast and washing various sea creatures to shore. 

Economics of the death penalty

( Starts at 0:35 ) 

Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday granting reprieves to 737 inmates on California's death row. It's a move that has earned the governor praise from human rights proponents… And criticism from families of victims.  The decision comes at a time when California has the largest death row population in the country. Twenty-five of them —the governor says— have exhausted all appeals. California hasn't put anyone to death since 2006. So what does this decision really mean for the future of the death penalty in California, and what does the data tell us about its effectiveness as a punishment? 

Guest:

  • Elisabeth Semel, director of the Death Penalty Clinic at UC Berkeley 

The impact this college admissions scandal is having on students

( Starts at 12:16 ) 

The parents involved in this college admission scheme have been charged, but what could happen to the students who benefitted from the bribes and the lies - several who are currently enrolled in school? 

Guest:

  • Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC higher education reporter

Would college admissions be fairer if they were awarded through a lottery?

( Starts at 16:47 ) 

The recent college admissions scandal has got a lot of parents and students wondering how to make the process a little fairer. And then there's the issue of figuring out what "fair" means. Well, how about an admissions system that's already being used by charter schools? That's right -- a good old-fashioned lottery.

Guest:

  • Natasha Warikoo, associate professor of education at Harvard University

Warm-Water Blobs

( Starts at 24:17 ) 

After a surprisingly cold winter, a heat wave is coming to Southern California this weekend. For many of us, that means it's time to break out the shorts and flip flops. But heat waves don't only happen above ground. They're also under the sea. This week, the Farallon Institute and the Marine Science Institute at UC Santa Barbara released a study about the recurrence of warm water breaking into the typically colder waters of Northern California.

Guest:

  • Eric Sanford, professor and researcher at the Bodega Marine Laboratory at UC Davis