Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed 65 bills into law but made more noise about the ones he vetoed. Are presidential debates about questions and answers?; Roxana Soto, co-author of the new book, 'Bilingual is Better,' joins the show to talk about the benefits of growing up bilingual.; The magazine Scientific American, is publishing a Global Science Scorecard, a ranking of nations on their science credentials. We'll discuss the results.; Kate Zernike, author of the book, "Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America,' talks about the state of the Tea Party.; What low voter turnout during the primaries means for the November election.; Will Schwalbe talks about the End of Your Life Book Club he started with his mother, who was dying of cancer.; Self-driving cars could be on California roads in just a few years.; Plastic surgery's a booming business, but the industry's been changing in Southern California.
Governor Brown signs a raft of legislation
Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed 65 bills into law, but made more noise about the ones he vetoed.
One of the bills Governor Brown signed was a controversial bill granting driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants who qualify for President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Brown also vetoed the Trust Act, which would have prohibited local law enforcement officers from helping federal authorities to detain suspected undocumented immigrants, unless they are charged with a serious felony.
Guests:
John Myers, News10 Political Editor
Niels Frenzen, clinical professor of Law at the USC Gould School of Law, where he also directs the USC Immigration Clinic
The business of debates
Are presidential debates about questions and answers? Not entirely.
They're also about the scene set by the candidates.
And on Wednesday night, when the candidates face off for the first time, all eyes will be on the two men vying for the presidency.
But what happened behind the scenes prior to the debates?
The candidates have to agree on things like whether to allow notes or cups of water on the podiums.
And each has to decide what language to use when talking about foreign policy or their mistakes as politicians.
In the latest issue of GQ, Robert Draper reveals what goes on behind the scenes, before the debates. And he joins host A Martinez to reveal all - about what it takes for a presidential candidate to appear victorious after the 90 minute battle.
UCLA study says a woman's facial features can hint at her political slant
Most people will, of course, be paying attention to the substance of the upcoming debates, but there are a few out there who might also be looking for style.
Appearance can matter — just think of the famous televised debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Looks also might help voters determine if a candidate is a Republican or a Democrat.
Especially when it comes to women, according to a new study by researchers at UCLA. The study found that women who have traditionally feminine features tend to be Republicans; The more feminine the face, the more conservative the politics.
Women with less feminine features lean more to the left.
Guest:
Kerri Johnson, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Communications at UCLA and author of the study
Is it better to grow up bilingual?
For years immigrants were told that the best way for their children to succeed was to leave behind their heritage language and speak only English. But what if this advice was wrong?
What if the truth was that all children in America, regardless of their cultural background, would actually benefit from learning two languages?
A Martinez speaks with Roxana Soto, co-author of the new book, "Bilingual is Better"
Interview Highlights:
In your book you say there's a revolution about bilingual parenting. What do you mean by that?
"It's called retro-culturization, and its a need to go back to the roots and a need to connect to your heritage, realizing that you can be bilingual and you can still be American and its ok for you to speak Spanish and be
Latino, and there's an amazing amount of studies that have been done on the benefits to our brains of being bilingual, including being better multitaskers, being able to concentrate better. Our brains are more flexible when we're bilingual being better readers. It actually offsets the onset of Alzheimer's. It makes you more money when you become a professional, that's in my case at least, and the benefits are endless, it's like why not?"
I got the sense that as much as your book is for kids, it's for parents as well?:
"Its definitely for the parents because that's where it starts. The ideal thing when you're trying to raise a bilingual child is that you begin as early as possible, and that means when you're pregnant. its definitely a guide for the parents on how to do it, some of the methods to do it, some of the pitfalls that you can find, some of the myths, because there are a lot of myths around this topic. So its definitely for the parents to figure out the best way to do this."
In terms of talking to your child when its in the womb, is it as easy as putting a headset on your belly?
"You don't even have to do that. If you were having a conversation, going about your day speaking spanish. I have two children, I have been pregnant twice, and I used to talk to my babies in the belly. Just saying 'hola' '¿cómo estás?' The brain is amazing, they start already recognizing not only the voice of their mother, but also the tone and the language that the mother's speaking in."
Some people think bilingual parenting can slow the kid down…any truth to that?:
"No. Totally incorrect. There are several myths and that's one of the most common ones. There's the idea that they may get confused and that's where that comes from. That's not true, like I said before the human brain is such an amazing and powerful machine. We are really capable of learning not only two, but more than two languages from birth. The reality is that there are so many myths that have been perpetrated for such a long time, but that's definitely not true."
How do parents get started?
"The best thing to do is to make sure you're making it fun. The minute it becomes an obligation it becomes a thing that they have to do, children will turn away from that. So the best way to do that is music for example. Music is an amazing way of introducing your child to Spanish and exposing your child to Spanish because it's fun. What child doesn't like music and doesn't like getting up and dancing to music? You don't have to do children's music you can do pop music…the thing with music is it's repetitive … The other way, nowadays with apps on mobile devices and tablets, kids love that and the thing is they don't realize they're learning, and expanding their vocabulary, but they are. The final and the best way to do it is really reading."
What if kids don't react when you speak to them in their second language?
"Continue to speak in Spanish … If you are the main source of Spanish, you really need to stick to that. I understand that there's frustration, you're trying to talk to them they're not talking back, but you keep at it. That's what I was talking about with consistency, right?"
Scientific American ranks US on top in scientific output
We've all heard about the dismal rankings the U.S. gets when it comes to math and science education. Well, here's a ray of sunshine.
According to The magazine Scientific American, when it comes to scientific output, the U.S. is on top.
The magazine just released its Global Science Scorecard, which ranks nations' science credentials based on how much scientific research is done, how good the science is and how well it gets integrated into real life.
The United States was ranked number one with Germany and China following in second and third place.
Fred Guterl, Executive editor of Scientific American magazine
Where the Tea Party is now
Voters who once despised Mitt Romney as the epitome of everything they hate about the Republican Party are now going door to door trying to swing votes for the GOP candidate.
Many members of the Tea Party may not find Romney to be the ideal candidate, but when it comes to defeating President Obama, they're willing to swallow some of their concerns.
For more on the role of the Tea Party in this fall's election, we'll talk to Kate Zernike author of the book, "Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America," and a reporter for The New York Times.
What low voter turnout in primaries means for November election
If June's primary numbers is a sign, voter turnout this November may be low.
Two out of three registered voters didn't cast a ballot, making it the lowest turnout ever in a Californian presidential primary.
KPCC's Washington correspondent Kitty Felde reports.
Will Schwalbe's End of Your Life Book Club
People join book clubs for all sorts of reasons — to read more, to meet new people, to get out of the house.
But Mary Ann Schwalbe started a book club with her son for a very different reason: because she was dying of pancreatic cancer.
Her son Will Schwalbe joins Alex to talk about the End of Your Life Book Club he started with his mother, and the two-year journey it took them on.
Guest:
Will Schwalbe, author of "The End of Your Life Book Club"
Will Schwalbe will be speaking at Vroman's Book Store and signing copies of his book at 4 pm on October 21st
Driverless cars coming to a California road near you?
Self-driving cars could be on California roads in just a few years, that's according to Google co founder, Sergey Brin.
Brin says it will provide relief to commuters and ease traffic congestion. His vision got a big boost last week when Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that establishes regulations to test and the cars.
A Martinez speaks with Jamie Court, the President of Consumer Watchdog, a non profit from the consumer watchdog group.
The new trend in plastic surgery
Plastic surgery's a booming business, $10.4 billion were spent on cosmetic procedures in the U.S. last year.
In Southern California's, the industry's been changing.
That's the topic of a story in this month's Los Angeles Magazine by Nancy Miller.