KPCC's Stephanie O'Neill recaps the President's statement on the problem-plagued health care exchange rollout, food truck phenom Roy Choi talks about his new memoir and cookbook, a preview of the PS4 before it hits shelves, and author Joshua Greene on humans' neurological predisposition to be moral.
A look back at Obama's speech on the Affordable Care Act
President Obama spoke about the Affordable Care Act this morning. Host Alex Cohen talks KPCC’s healthcare correspondent Stephanie O’Neill about the president’s remarks.
Healthcare.gov problems shine light on kludgy government tech
The on-going problems with the federal health care exchange web site have focused attention of the government's often flawed and cumbersome technology programs. And it's easier to focus the mind when you learn that we spend $80 billion of taxpayer dollars every year on Federal government IT projects.
A lack of oversight and accountability. Not enough people with the specialized skills required. An arcane and inefficient procurement process. Too many requirements and regulations. These are just at the top of a long list of what tech experts say is wrong with the way the government does its digital business.
Politico tech reporter Jessica Meyers has been looking into problems with government IT projects, and at efforts to fix them.
She says there's one silver lining in the healthcare.gov fiasco. It's created a new interest in what is ordinarily not a sexy topic in Washington - government technology. And she thinks reforming the IT process is one of the few areas where Democrats and Republicans can find agreement.
How satellite images could help get food and water to typhoon victims
Providing aid to those affected in the Philippines has been an incredibly difficult task since many of the roads and airports were wiped away by Typhoon Haiyan.
But a new map developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory can pinpoint exactly what structures were damaged and where.
NASA compares satellite imagery before and after a disaster.
That info is so detailed that it can capture nuances like the texture of surfaces from space -- like a building's roof. If that "texture" changed after an event, that could indicate what's destroyed and what areas are still intact.
Frank Webb from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains more.
Are you moral because of your brain?
How do you know when some thing is not just a bad idea - it's morally wrong?
Do you consult a philosopher - talk to a priest or rabbi? Maybe just check in with the old magic 8 ball?
Most of us don't go to those lengths: we just KNOW on a gut level what's right and wrong.
Joshua Greene from Harvard's Moral Cognition Lab has spent years trying to pin point where in the brain those gut level moral decisions happen.
In his new book, "Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason and the Gap Between Us and Them," he elaborates on our genetic hardwiring that creates "morality," and the cultural aspects that shape it further.
EVENT: Joshua Green speaks with KPCC's Sanden Totten Thursday night at 7pm at the Crawford Family Forum. For more info and to RSVP for free, visit here.
US Fish and Wildlife Service send message to illegal ivory trade
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to pulverize six tons of ivory outside Denver later today.6 tons.
While there are pockets of legal ivory trading in places like China, U.S. officials hope that by decimating the stockpile, they'll be sending a no-tolerance message to anyone involved in the illegal ivory trade.
Take Two spoke with Edward Grace with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the effort and how the agency obtained the ivory in the first place.
Understanding the diabetes epidemic
A new report by the International Diabetes Federation revealed that the number of people with diabetes has increased to a new high this year. More than 300 million have diabetes and the people are affected by type 2 diabetes which is connected with a poor diet and exercise.
It seems fair to call diabetes an epidemic. Would you agree?
Guest: Dr. Anne Peters is the director of the USC Clinical Diabetes Program.
Proposed farm bill bars states from passing stricter regulations
There may be trouble brewing in the hen house. Back in 2008, California voters passed a law requiring that farm animals—including egg-laying hens—would have space to move around in their cages.
A proposed measure in the $1 trillion federal farm bill would bar states from passing stricter regulations of farm products.
If those products are bought and sold over state lines, the measure could also affect more than 100 other state laws nationwide.
According to McClatchy's reporter Michael Doyle, the measure would reverse not only the enclosure requirement for farm animals, but also the bans on foie gras and shark fin soup in California.
On the other hand, Representative Steve King says he's trying to protect states from dictating standards for the entire country. What are the chances the Democrat-led senate would go along with the House measure?
Guests
Michael Doyle is a reporter for McClatchy's Washington bureau.
Typhoon-stricken Cebu Island overlooked in aid efforts
We turn now to the Philippines, where more emergency aid is starting to trickle in to the areas hit by Typhoon Haiyan.
And one area that's now receiving some help from the government is the northern part of Cebu Island.
The BBC's Paul Moss reports.
State of Affairs: Calderon, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Garcetti's teddy bear drive, more
KPCC political reporters Alice Walton and Frank Stoltze.joined Take Two for "State of Affairs," our look at politics and government throughout California.
We begin with a man who’s been in the news a lot recently – embattled State Senator Ron Calderon. Yesterday, he turned the tables on the FBI and filed a complaint against it. The complaint, issued the same day a group of elected officials called on Calderon to resign, alleges that the FBI was retaliating for his refusal to take part in a sting operation.
In West Los Angeles, former State Senator Sheila Kuehl has secured some interesting endorsements in her run for L.A. County supervisor.
In other news, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is backing away a bit from a highly controversial ballot measure that would have created a new city health department.
A new poll out this week has some confusing results on Governor Jerry Brown. Voters like him, but not necessarily his policies.
Finally, it's time to get warm and fuzzy with Mayor Eric Garcetti’s teddy bear drive. How do you feel about teddy bears?
Take a bite of LA with Kogi Taco's chef Roy Choi
In recent years, food trucks have become as integral a part of Southern California's DNA as sunshine and palm trees.
But that may not have been the case were it not for chef Roy Choi. A few years back, he merged his love of Korean and Mexican cuisine in dishes like kimchi quesadillas and BBQ short rib tacos and put it on wheels. And thus, the Kogi Taco Truck phenomenon was born.
Choi went on to become the first food truck cook to be named Best New Chef by Food and Wine magazine.
He has a new book out, which is part memoir, part cookbook. It's called "LA Son: My Life, My City, My Food."