Today on the show we talk about the continued search for family members in the Philippines, The Playstation 4 makes it's debut today, National Geographic's Steve Winter captures LA's elusive cougars, plus much more.
The search for family members in the Philippines
It's been about a week since Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the Philippines. The death toll so far stands at more than 3,000 people. Thousands more are sick, injured or still missing.
Christina Dunham, a resident of Northern California, has been trying to contact family members in some of the worst hit regions this past week. She joins Take Two to tell about her struggle to connect with family in the Philippines.
Friday Flashback: Affordable Care Act fix, House vote and more
Fear, confusion and competing solutions in the ongoing health care debate: It's time for our weekly analysis of the big stories in the news, the Friday Flashback.
Democrats have been "freaked out" over the Obamacare rollout. Did the President's announcement yesterday – allowing for an extension of cancelled plans – do anything to allay those fears?
Meanwhile, Republicans in the House have scheduled a vote today on a measure that would allow insurance companies to continue to sell the so-called sub-standard plans not just for a year, but permanently. What's their argument for this?
The president has talked about how complex and complicated health insurance is. And the health care law is complicated, too. What do you think?
Just some of the questions we tackle in our weekly analysis of the big stories in the news. Joining us this morning are James Rainey of the L.A. Times and our new Flashbackian today – Elahe Izadi of National Journal, who joins the show from Washington, D.C.
Lalo Alcaraz tapped as writer for Seth MacFarlane's new show 'Bordertown'
Seth MacFarlane, the polarizing creator of the "Family Guy" has a new show in the works for Fox. It's an animated comedy called "Bordertown," about an Archie Bunker-like border patrol agent living next door to a Mexican immigrant family.
While many criticized the idea early on, many have warmed to the idea after the announcement that noted artist and satirist Lalo Alcaraz would be one of the writers. Alcaraz joins Take Two to talk about his role in the show, and how’s he’s approaching the topic of race relations.
All about the love: Grouplove's 'Spreading Rumors'
Every Friday on Take Two, we profile a different musical act that's doing something notable.
This week it's all about the love with the L.A.-based indie band Grouplove, and their new album "Spreading Rumors."
Alex Cohen talks to Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi — two of the vocalists in the band — who also happen to be a couple.
And they have an origin story that sounds like it's straight form a romantic comedy.
A musician meets a painter; it's love at first sight; they go to Greece; they meet their bandmates; they create a band; and they called it Grouplove.
Take a listen to the group's new album:
Are you a fan of Grouplove? What do you think of the new album?
Coachella Valley school board to discuss controversial mascot tonight
Coachella Valley Unified's school board is holding a special meeting tonight to discuss the recent controversy surrounding its mascot: The Arab.
"The Arab" is an angry looking man with a thick mustache and traditional Arab garb. At sporting events, he often appears with a young woman who belly dances with him. The name "Arabs" has been linked to the school since the 1920s, but the face of the mascot has changed significantly over time.
Critics say it perpetuates demeaning stereotypes of Arabs and Arab Americans.
How do you draw the line of what is offensive and what isn't? How do you address something like this? Get rid of the mascot completely? Change it?
Guest: Carol Spindel, author of "Dancing at Halftime: Sports and the Controversy over American Indian Mascots" and lecturer at the University of Illinois.
'Mortified Nation' takes your awkward teenage years on stage
Remember when you were a kid? Maybe you thought you were cool or nerdy or angsty.
Most of us probably wouldn't want to relive those times, but for the stage show Mortified, performers take their own childhood journals, find the most cringe-worthy parts, and read them before a live audience.
A new documentary celebrates these pieces of personal history: Mortified Nation.
Producer Dave Nadelberg explains how the whole project started with a terribly-written love letter he wrote as a teenager and found as an adult.
"I decided to start sharing with friends," says Nadelberg. "I started feeling this cathartic kick out of doing that."
He realized that there were many more people around the country who actually enjoyed revealing these embarrassing entries they've made in the past.
"When we were growing up, we thought we were the only ones going through what we were going through, we felt alone," said director Mike Mayer. "You're not alone because the people onstage went through what you were going through."
Mortified Nation is available to view right now on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more. A special screening is Saturday, November 16th at 8pm at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica.
Follow on Twitter:
Mortified -- @Mortified
Dave Nadelberg -- @DaveNadelberg
Mike Mayer -- @HeyItsMikeMayer
A look at some of the challenges facing the troubled DCFS
The union representing L.A. County's social workers announced last week it's suing the county. They're demanding smaller caseloads.
It's the latest twist in the long-running saga of L.A.'s troubled Department of Children and Family Services, or DCFS. The department is already facing calls for top-to-bottom reforms after several children died earlier this year.
KPCC's Karen Foshay was granted rare access to some of DCFS's frontline workers, getting a glimpse of the challenges facing the troubled agency.
Playstation 4 makes it debut today
The Playstation 4 game console makes its debut today, and while a large number of gamers have switched from console gaming to mobile gaming – the Playstation is still popular. Sony has sold more than 80 million PS3s since their release in 2006. We’ll get a sneak peek with CNET's Jeff Bakalar.
'12 Angry Men', six of them black
"12 Angry Men" is among the great classics of the American theater. Reginald Rose's play about the inner workings of a jury room debuted on television in 1954, followed a year later by a stage version. It was then adapted for film by Sidney Lumet in 1957, starring Henry Fonda.
Now it's in production at the Pasadena Playhouse, and director Sheldon Epps has put a twist on it with a half-white, half-black cast.
Epps and lead actor Jason George join Take Two to explain how the production draws out the racial tension roiling within the script, and how the play resonates with an audience still reeling from events like the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial.
"12 Angry Men" runs until December 1st at the Pasadena Playhouse. For more information, visit here.
Picture This: National Geographic's Steve Winter captures LA's elusive cougars
How do you take a photo of an animal you'll never see?
That was wildlife photographer Steve Winter's conundrum when he set out to capture the ultimate example of urban wildlife for National Geographic's December 2013 issue: a cougar that roams the hills of Griffith Park in Los Angeles.
Though cougars are shy and nocturnal, scientists have been studying and tracking the animals for years. But rarely have they been seen going about their daily — or nightly — lives.
RELATED: Audiovision: Cougars like you've never seen before
After being alerted to the presence of at least one mountain lion in the hills of L.A. by Jeff Sikich, a wildlife biologist with the National Park Service, he arranged to have a special tracking collar affixed to the animal to help pinpoint where the cougar was every two hours. This made it possible for both Winter and scientists to study his patterns and to figure out where to place a series of remote, infrared cameras.
Winter really wanted was a "money shot" of the cat in front of the Hollywood Sign. A shot Sikich at first thought was "crazy."
"Eight months later he said, 'guess what? We just had a trail cam picture from the bobcat study the National Park Service is doing in Griffith Park. We have a cougar in Griffith Park'," said Winter. "There was my challenge...we just needed to figure out where he walked."
Then came the waiting game. It took a whole year to get one shot of the cougar — dubbed P-22 — but the results are breathtaking. The first shot of P-22 depicts the cat posing on a ledge with the city of L.A. illuminated in the background.
“Cats are habitual animals," Winter said. "We found that there was an area on the ridge that he liked walking down, so I placed the camera there. Sure enough we got him...he just posed for the one with Hollywood and L.A. in the background."
Another challenge Winter faced was the fact that the images would be taken in complete darkness. A long exposure was necessary to get both the cougar and the city in the background, but he had to set up the cameras in a way so the images of the cougar would not come out blurry.
"On the Hollywood sign, it's a 4-second exposure. He does not stop, he doesn't care about the flash or anything," said Winter. "He walks by the camera stays open and is exposing the sign. Luckily we had fog that night because the sign is not lit. and the light from the city is bouncing off the clouds and is lighting the letters of Hollywood."
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Correction: Language in second graf has been altered for clarity. Though there is more than one mountain lion living in the Los Angeles area, only one, P-22, has been confirmed to be roaming Griffith Park. The cougar photographed by Winter is P-22.