The latest on the Valley Fire, new documentary about finding love as an Indian American in LA, Syrian rapper gives local perspective on refugee crisis.
Valley Fire prompts quick choices for Northern California residents
Fires are continuing to burn in Northern California, threatening homes, national forests and putting communities at risk.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Lake and Napa Counties for the Valley Fire, which has prompted evacuations and destroyed hundreds of homes.
So far, the Valley Fire has burned more than 60,000 acres and is 5 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.
"We had about half an hour, really, to pack and get out," said
, a resident of Middletown, California, an area hard-hit by the fire. She and her husband grabbed blankets, water and her dogs and cat to bring them to safety.
"We were fully expecting to lose everything when we saw that fire coming at us on Saturday," she said. "It was absolutely amazing how fast it moved."
Check out the latest on KPCC's Fire Tracker
Community radio station switches to full-time coverage of Valley Fire
As the fast-moving Valley Fire broke out over the weekend, thousands of residents in Lake and Napa counties were forced to evacuate. Some had only minutes to leave their homes.
Many turned to social media and smartphones for information, but for those without access to the Internet, community radio has been filling in the gaps.
Late Saturday night, 88.1 KPFZ FM, Lake County Community Radio, suspended their regular programming and switched to a round-the-clock call-in format.
The rural community station usually runs a mix of music, talk and politics programming, but cancelled everything soon after the fire broke out.
"It's a very grassroots station," station manager Andy Weiss said early Monday. "The people here are close-knit, they know what to do. And we've been doing it for about 36 straight hours."
In place of their usual schedule, radio hosts at KPFZ have been taking calls and answering questions about which roads are closed, where evacuation centers are located, and how residents can help.
While social media has been an invaluable resource, Weiss says, it can't really replace the power of radio.
"It's a comfort for the people that are distraught," Weiss says. "They need to hear some voices, live voices talking about it, hearing what people have gone through just like they have."
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above
On the Lot: 'The Perfect Guy' and 'The Visit' battle out for no. 1
On this week's On the Lot, Rebecca Keegan of the LA Times fills us in on the latest battle at the box office:
- The romantic-thriller, "The Perfect Guy," is the story of a woman who meets a man she thinks is Mr. Right, and who turns out to be the complete opposite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CikoxQ4ytI4
If, after all the numbers are counted, it does come out on top, that will be five weeks in a row that a film starring a black man finished at no. 1 at the box office.
- "The Visit" could take that glory away from "The Perfect Guy," which was meant as a sort of comeback for Shyamalan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCsULFGldi8
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above
'Meet the Patels' asks just how effective can an arranged marriage be?
The documentary "Meet the Patels" tells the story of a young actor, living in L.A. named Ravi Patel and it was made by him and his older sister Geeta. Their parents are from India and before they were married, they had only spent all of 10 minutes together.
Ravi Patel has his doubts about India's system of arranged marriages, but his dad insists its the way to go. He eventually decides to give traditional matchmaking a shot, which is documented in the film. It's an exploration of in love, identity and what it means to be a Patel.
Geeta and Ravi Patel joined Alex Cohen to talk about what it's like to go from modern dating to something much more traditional.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above
Congressional Hispanic Caucus seeks information on Latinos killed by police
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have requested data from the Department of Justice regarding Latinos and the police.
Representatives from the group asked the DOJ to release stats on the number of Latinos that have been killed as a result of police action.
Congressman Tony Cárdenas represents the San Fernando Valley and the 29th Congressional District, and he wrote the letter to the Justice Department. He joined Take Two to explain more.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above
I just emailed to say I love you: New study suggests digital communication isn't impersonal
Oh, the 1980s: A simpler time before the iPhone, when Stevie Wonder would just call to say I love you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwOU3bnuU0k
This idea has stayed with us in the modern, constantly connected world, where many people believe that Internet communication just isn't the same as picking up the phone. But, a new study out of Indiana University finds that this way of thinking may be totally wrong.
"I'm not a huge fan of the telephone. I've always loved email, I always thought it was very effective," said Taylor Wells, one of the authors of the study and assistant professor of management information systems at California State University, Sacramento. "So when there's this conventional wisdom, and the research says, 'Hey, we really shouldn't do this. It's not good for emotional communication...' That doesn't really make a lot of sense in my own case, and I wondered what would happen."
So, he and co-author Alan Dennis put this idea to the test with 72 people, ages 18 to 24, who were hooked up to electrodes that measured their skin conductance and muscle movements as they wrote emails and left voicemails.
"We were really surprised that in the emails, they just put a lot more emotion into it," Wells said. "One thing that I think is a great benefit with email is people can just think about it more carefully. It has this characteristic unlike voicemail where you can edit as you go, and you can rephrase things, like 'Ahh, I didn't want to say it quite like that.'"
The study adds to growing evidence that the Internet age is not turning people cold and emotionless, according to Slate's Amanda Hess. She wrote about Wells' study and others, and said they all give rise to a new narrative about digital communication. She points to work done by communications scholar Hua Su, which focused on young people in Beijing.
"The younger people that she's talking to who are using these digital technologies to do this aren't doing it at the expense of talking in person," said Hess. "They're using it as a way to get to the point where they can actually say, 'I love you,' or, 'I have such a crush on you.'"
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above