Today is the last day to sign up for the Affordable Care Act without being penalized. But what happens if you miss the deadline? Then, a series of earthquakes spurs Californians to think about their preparedness. Are you ready for the 'Big One"? Plus, A new study looks at the effects of the "dumb jock" stereotype on young athletes, some say the #CancelColbert outrage is overblown, a new climate report has more bad news, and musician Moses Sumney joins the show.
Have ACA social media campaigns lured more 'young invincibles'?
Today marks another milestone under the Affordable Care Act: The last day that Americans can sign up for health insurance for 2014 and avoid a tax penalty under the federal law.
The ACA is the biggest change to our nation's health system since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid nearly half a century ago. And as the nation's most populous state, California is being watched closely as a bellwether of the law's success.
KPCC Health Care Correspondent Stephanie O'Neill joins the show to talk about what this deadline means for people who haven't signed up yet.
Then, in order for the Affordable Care Act to succeed, healthy, young people need to enroll in plans in order to offset costs. The White House is well aware of this fact.
From presidential appearances on funny or die to animated cat gifs, the Obama administration has been doing all it can to reach the so-called 'young invincibles.' So how well have they done?
For one take we turn to David Yarus of Mr. Youth, a marketing agency which specializes in the younger demographic.
Drought takes toll on park renowned for wildflowers
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is famous for its wildflowers. But, this is the third year in a row of drier-than-usual weather near the Salton Sea, making wildflowers scarce.
The California Report's Lisa Morehouse says that's creating some anxiety and a few opportunities for those who live near - and love - California's biggest state park.
4 tips for talking to children about earthquakes
The weekend in Southern California was rocked by a 5.1 earthquake Friday night, with several aftershocks centered around the La Habra area.
They struck near a fault close to the La Puente Hills thrust fault. Though it is less known than the larger San Andreas, scientists worry a large-scale quake along this fault could cause even more destruction in the L.A. area.
"It's what we call a blind thrust, in other words it's deep enough that it doesn't hit the surface, so we don't know as much about it as we do some of the faults that do reach the surface," said Seismologist Kate Hutton of the California Institute of Technology. "Most of the faults that we have in Southern California are strike slip faults, where one side slides horizontally past the other. A thrust fault, the fault is at an angle and one side is sliding up over the other side."
The fault runs from northern Orange County through the San Gabriel Valley and up through downtown Los Angeles into Hollywood. There are many older, more vulnerable buildings and densely populated areas along the fault than the San Andreas, which lies about 30 miles outside metropolitan L.A.
How To Educate (Without Terrifying) Your Kids About Earthquakes
Friday's 5.1 earthquake made for some interesting conversations come Saturday morning — chief among them, perhaps, were brought on by probing questions from young minds.
RELATED: 20 things to do to prepare before the next earthquake hits Southern California
For more on how to make sure a child is safe but not scared, we checked in with clinical psychologist Dr. Enrico Gnaulati, who gave us the following pointers when talking with children about earthquakes:
- Be Honest, But Not Too Honest: A child doesn't need every gruesome, literal detail of what kind of havoc an 8.1 earthquake could wreak on downtown Los Angeles. DO be reassuring. DO be general. DO stay calm.
- Empathy First, Reality Second: It's important to be empathic to children's ideas of an earthquake. For example, responding to a child's fears, "Wow, those are scary thoughts to be having. I can understand why you'd be scared by that, but that's not the way it really happens. What we need to be concerned about it getting somewhere we can be safe if objects fall that could hit us."
- Champion 'Benign Denial': Earthquakes are potentially catastrophic, but infrequent. It's important to try to ignore them but be prepared. It's an element of resilience and good coping, according to Dr. Gnaulati.
- Understand That Not All Children Are Created Equal: Kids vary in their level of emotional resilience. Some may not be worried by the abstract idea of the "big one," while others can fixate on it. Children that become undone by the thought of an earthquake may benefit from becoming involved in the course of action that keeps people safe, for example by helping to put together your "go" bag. Including children in the safety preparation process may help lessen their anxiety.
RELATED: Check out KPCC's Earthquake Tracker tool
Salinas Valley program teaches farmworkers' kids to code
Silicon Valley draws thousands of young programmers hoping to strike it rich in the tech industry, but it's a relatively exclusive club, usually favoring top-notch graduates from prestigious universities.
But a new program in the Salinas Valley is challenging that formula. It aims to help the children of farmworker families become programmers and engineers in just three years.
Reporter Ana Tintocalis has the story.
On The Lot: 'Frozen' still on top, 'Noah' tops box office and more
On the Lot is Take Two's regular series of talks about the film business with LA Times reporter Rebecca Keegan.
We begin today with a new record for the animated film "Frozen." It's won tons of awards, it's been breaking box office records for months and now it's become the highest grossing animated film of all time. What boosted it over the edge? What was the previous title-holder? What does the wild success of this film say about the potential of animated features?
If you are Disney, what's the takeaway here? What kind of films are they likely to make based on the success of "Frozen"?
The new film "Noah" made it rain to the tune of $44 million. This is a big special effects film and many of those effects were done far far away? It follows that with the infrastructure of Bollywood there that it would be a natural fit. How big is the industry and how skilled?
This production house profiled is helping to turn the 2D Noah into a 3D movie, it won't be seen in the U.S., but someday in the near future we will be able to see movies in 4D here in L.A.
Any sense how much extra this would cost movie-goers? Has the model been a success abroad?
Since it's been, oh, five minutes since Hollywood gave out an award, now we've got the Location Managers Awards giving some love to a surprising film .
From Westeros to Amsterdam, where a trove of missing silent film shorts has been recovered. What are these films and how did they end up with the Dutch?
One of Orson Welles' daughters is putting a number of possessions up for auction, but no Rosebud sled.
Fast Fashion: How Korean immigrants have cornered downtown LA's Jobber Market
"Fast Fashion" is the term often used to describe the massive amounts of inexpensive versions of the latest trends sold in stores, like Forever 21.
Started by Do Won and Jin Sook Chang back in 1984, Forever 21 opened its first store here in Los Angeles' Highland Park neighborhood. By last count, the franchise had 480 locations, worldwide.
The Changs have made Forever 21 a family affair by hiring their daughters Linda and Esther. In large part, their success is thanks to a constant stream of the latest fashions that come from 30 square blocks of downtown L.A. known as the Jobber Market.
Anthropologist Christina Moon wrote about "fast fashion" in this month's edition of Pacific Standard and she joined Take Two to talk about how Korean immigrants have transformed Jobber Market over the last 20 years.
Coastal communities to brace for climate change, says UN study
The world’s climate is already showing signs of climate change, including rising sea levels, extreme weather and animal migration.
That's according to the latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released today in Yokohama, Japan. Some of the most dire warnings concern the impact on oceans and coastal communities – which could mean big changes for those living on the West Coast.
For more, we’re joined by Dr. Camilo Mora, geographer at the University of Hawaii.
RELATED: The IPCC's Fifth Assessment report on climate change.
How are California firefighters faring amid drought conditions?
While communities are bracing for changes along the coast, California is also preparing to deal with long term climate problems inland. The state is still experiencing drought conditions with an increased risk of wildfire.
It's so bad that state agency — Cal Fire — has already maxed out the number of seasonal firefighters they're going to hire this season. They don't usually do that until June.
We're joined now by Daniel Berlant, spokesman with Cal Fire.
'March Madness': Final Four NCAA matchups from a weekend of Elite Eight games
Only four teams remain in the NCAA Tournament: Kentucky, Wisconsin, UConn and Florida. And as the tournament heads towards its final weekend, there's still time for a little more madness.
Nicole Auerbach covers college basketball for USA Today and joined us to talk about the weekend that was and the upcoming Final Four match-ups.
Study: 'Dumb' stereotypes about athletes may affect academics
A new study out of Stanford University examines how college athletes may internalize stereotypes about their academic abilities, leading to lower test performances.
Thomas Dee is a professor at Stanford's Graduate School of Education and the author of the study "Stereotype threat and the student-athlete" and joined us to talk about how the "dumb jock" stereotype has the potential to affect athletes in the classroom.
Is the #CancelColbert outrage overblown? Some say yes
In the past week, a joke from the Colbert Report turned into a tweet sparked outrage among Asian Americans. Over the weekend, that outrage spawned its own backlash from people who say Asian Americans are being too overly sensitive. Some of the people saying that are Asian Americans.
RELATED: #CancelColbert: Suey Park, the activist behind the hashtag
KPCC's Josie Huang has been following the story and joins the show with more.
Moses Sumney: One of LA's most talked about musicians
Moses Sumney is one of the most talked about Los Angeles musicians of 2014 and he hasn't even released an album yet.
You might understand why after you watch one of his live performances.
Moses performs "Everlasting Sigh."
He's a one man band. And even though the 22-year-old has only been playing guitar for a year and a half, and he only recently recorded his music for the first time for his upcoming EP ("Mid City Island" April 8), he's already had opportunities to play with both Solange Knowles and Beck.
For a taste of the upcoming EP you can check out the track "Man on the Moon," which Sumney recorded by himself with a four track recorder in his room. It was the first of a collection of songs that he recorded in there that are going to be released on the new EP.
If you'd like to see Sumney live, he wraps up his residency Monday at the Bootleg Theater.
And if you can't make that, satisfy your curiosity by checking out another live performance by Moses here.
To hear Take Two's interview with Mose Sumney, click on the "Listen Now" icon to the left.