In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Peter Chin Hong from UCSF Medical Center.

Today’s topics include: 

Cal/OSHA meets today to vote on workplace distancing regulations

U.S. reaches lowest number of COVID-19 cases since start of pandemic

Fauci says COVID vaccines could help lead way on an effective HIV vaccine

mRNA being tested in forms of cancer and shows promise in HIV and RSV

Pandemic toll in nursing homes has dropped significantly

Should you get tested if you’re vaccinated?

As the vaccinated become free of masks, will the unvaccinated follow?

South Africa sees pandemic colliding with HIV/AIDS

Biden incentivizes free beer to adult residents once 70% of Americans are vaccinated

Guest:

Peter Chin-Hong, M.D., infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the UCSF Medical Center; he tweets @PCH_SF

Today on AirTalk, we break down the latest COVID-19 news. Also on the show, we discuss an amendment to a proposed state bill that would affect press freedoms; analyze the United States' declining birth rate; and more.

In 2007, when a feel-good story passed journalist Gabrielle Glaser’s desk about an adopted man receiving a kidney donation, she could hardly imagine that it would one day lead her to investigate the American adoption system’s shadowy, unethical roots.

In her new book “American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption,” Glaser focuses on the story of David Rosenberg (the adopted man she’d first read about so many years ago) and his biological mother, who spent years trying to find him and warn him about the medical issues that plagued their family. The book explores the social framework that allowed children to be taken from unwed mothers under vagrancy laws that outlawed sex out of wedlock, and which then helped supply the huge demand for babies in post-war America. The process was facilitated by adoption agencies that kept shoddy records or intentionally obscured birth histories, often creating huge roadblocks for adoptees and traumatizing biological mothers, who could face jail time if they refused to give up their baby.

Today on AirTalk, we’re discussing Gabrielle Glaser’s new book and the legacy of unethical adoptions today. Questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.

Guest:

Gabrielle Glaser, journalist and author of numerous books including her latest, “American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption” (Viking, 2021)

Earlier this year, a coalition of sixteen journalism associations and first amendment groups met with law enforcement to express frustration about press freedoms after the murder of George Floyd, and to show support for a new bill called SB98.

The bill would allow journalists to operate in closed areas (an unprecedented step) including riot areas after a dispersal order has been issued. However, law enforcement officials pressured lawmakers to add an amendment last week that would require journalists to get permission from a commanding officer before being allowed in closed areas, which, for the journalists that endorsed the bill, is considered a step backward. In recent months, law enforcement agencies like the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have been lobbying for SB98. Sheriff’s deputies tackled and arrested KPCC’s own reporter, Josie Huang, as she was covering a protest last fall. Journalists cite the incident as one of the reasons the coalition formed.

Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about SB98 and the debate over the bill in Sacramento. Questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.

Guests: 

Adam Rose, member of the board of directors of the Los Angeles Press Club; he’s part of the coalition of journalism groups which are opposed to an amendment to SB98 

Abdul Pridgen, president of the California Police Chiefs Association and City of Seaside Police Chief; he tweets @AbdulPridgen

The year 2020 saw yet another decline in the American birth rate, which has been falling well below replacement rates for years and shows no sign of increasing.

Although 2020’s data is significant, it is a small drop in a much larger trend of decline. To many, this sounds concerning— a growing population means a larger workforce and greater output, and therefore a growing economy— but many experts say the forecast is not so grim as it might first appear. Technological innovation can make up the economic fallout from a declining population, and then some. And part of the reason women are having fewer kids is because they are working and finding greater fulfillment outside the home, which is an irrefutable social gain. On the flip side, however, prices of homes, healthcare, child care and other necessities have inflated while wages have largely stagnated, making it difficult for families to take care of new members, particularly if either parent plans to stay home. And although the planet cannot sustain an endlessly growing population, a birth rate reduction will not actually have much of an effect of climate change, whereas a strategic appropriation of resources among the world’s population would.

Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about what declining birth rates might mean for the environment, gender equity and the national economy. Questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.

Guests:

Phillip Levine, professor of economics at Wellesley College and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he co-authored the report “Will births in the US rebound? Probably not.”; he tweets @phil_wellesley

Sarah Jane Glynn, sociologist and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who specializes in gender and the economy; she tweets @SarahJaneGlynn

Anu Ramaswami, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University, whose research centers on sustainable urban infrastructure systems; she tweets @AnuRamaswami

A ransomware attack on the world’s largest meat processing company disrupted production around the world just weeks after a similar incident shut down a U.S. oil pipeline.

Brazil’s JBS SA, however, said late Tuesday that it had made “significant progress” in dealing with the cyberattack and expects the “vast majority” of its plants to be operating on Wednesday. Earlier, the White House said JBS had notified the U.S. of a ransom demand from a criminal organization likely based in Russia. White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House and the Department of Agriculture have been in touch with the company several times this week. JBS is the second-largest producer of beef, pork and chicken in the U.S. If it were to shut down for even one day, the U.S. would lose almost a quarter of its beef-processing capacity, or the equivalent of 20,000 beef cows, according to Trey Malone, an assistant professor of agriculture at Michigan State University. The closures reflect the reality that modern meat processing plants are heavily automated, for both food- and worker-safety reasons. Computers collect data at multiple stages of the production process, and orders, billing, shipping and other functions are all electronic. JBS said the cyberattack affected servers supporting its operations in North America and Australia. Backup servers weren’t affected and it said it was not aware of any customer, supplier or employee data being compromised. Today on AirTalk, we talk with experts about the incident, its significance and whether there’s concerns about similar and more frequent attacks in the future. 

With files from the Associated Press 

Guests: 

Robert Stasio, fellow at the Truman National Security Project, a national security think tank; former U.S. army cyber officer and former chief of operations for one of NSA’s cyber centers 

Hal Kempfer, CEO of Global Risk Intelligence and Planning (GRIP), a management consulting firm based in Long Beach, retired Marine lieutenant colonel; he has worked in military support for homeland security and defense both as an active member of the military and as a civilian; he tweets @kippinc

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Dean Blumberg from UC Davis Children’s Hospital.

Today’s topics include: 

70% of adult Californians are partially vaccinated

WHO approves Sinovac for emergency use

Rural Northern California trails behind statewide vaccination efforts

NIAID begins new study on mixing vaccines

FDA authorizes longer time for Pfizer vaccine in refrigerator storage

China administered 22.3 million vaccines on May 31 with help from Yao Ming

Israel cites potential link between Pfizer vaccine and mild heart inflammation cases

Guest:

Dean Blumberg, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital; he tweets @DBlumbergPedsID

Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest COVID-19 news. Also on the show, we analyze how Biden's American Families Plan can benefit California community colleges; learn why some social media users are deleting their accounts for good; and more.

In the early days of the pandemic, when lockdowns shut down workplaces and travel, many people turned to their screens for news, reassurance, humor and connection.

Social media—whether it be Facebook, Whats App, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram— offered an outlet when so few existed. Neighbors made Facebook pages to bring groceries to their elderly neighbors while families choreographed TikTok dances to distract themselves and Instagram users showed off home-baked loaves of sourdough. But as the pandemic wore on, social media’s toxic underbelly began to show. Some users clocked record amounts of time on the platforms, which have been linked to depression and loneliness. The daily onslaught of news on COVID-19 and political violence could feel oppressive, especially when it hit close to home. Conspiracy theories like QAnon flourished amidst the isolation, and debates about the November election forced some families to stop speaking for good. For some social media users, it was enough to quit the platforms altogether. 

Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about why some social media users are quitting social media. Are you considering deleting your accounts, or have you already done so? We want to hear from you! Give us a call at 866-893-5722.

Guest:

Karen North, clinical professor of communication at the University of Southern California and an expert in social media and psychology; she tweets @KarenNorthUSC

In his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan proposed back in April, Joe Biden brought forth a plan that would waive two years of community college tuition for students, while also offering additional financial assistance to lower-income students.

This comes at a time where California’s community colleges already offer lower-income students a tuition-free education, an academic constituency that makes up an overwhelming amount of its student population, with over 80% of California community college students having family incomes of lower than $48,000 according to data from the Public Policy Institute of California published in 2017.

With California being ahead of many other states in helping its community college students financially, it begs the question: what can colleges do with these potential extra funds and in what ways can they lobby for them? Today on AirTalk, we dig into the subject and see how local community colleges can use this proposal as a way to help its students during the financial strains that have come from the pandemic.

Guests:

Erika Endrijonas, superintendent and president of Pasadena City College 

Larry Galizio, president & CEO of Community College League of California, a non-profit advocacy group with voluntary membership from community colleges across the state

Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor for California Community Colleges