AirTalk

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with UC Irvine’s Dr. Shruti Gohil.

Topics today include:

Cal/OSHA hears hours of public comment, ultimately votes 

CDC report says new increases in teen hospitalization rates underscore need for vaccination

When do COVID-19 vaccines expire?

Plus, we want to hear from you -- what do you think of Cal/OSHA’s recommendation yesterday? How would you feel about returning to your workplace if it lifted its mask rules? Join our live conversation at 866-893-5722.

Guest:

Shruti Gohil, M.D., professor of medicine and associate medical director for epidemiology and infection prevention at UC Irvine’s School of Medicine

Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest COVID-19 news. Also on the show, we discuss what President Biden's coastal wind energy plan means for California; round up the cases that the Supreme Court is considering; and more.

With graduation season upon us, students everywhere have to sit through one final lecture: the one at their graduation.

Of course, there are plenty of inspiring, even iconic, commencement speeches, from David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water,” to Michelle Obama’s 2015 speech at Tuskegee University. 

Anecdotal evidence also suggests that there are plenty of less than stimulating speakers and topic choices at grad’s final hurrahs. 

What was the best commencement speech you’ve heard and why? And if there was one that really missed the mark and stuck in your mind, we want to hear about it too. Call us at 866-893-5722.

To see and hear the commencement addresses we discussed on today's show, and more, you can check out NPR's database with hundreds of commencement speeches available.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week for a fifth straight week to a new pandemic low, the latest evidence that the U.S. job market is regaining its health as the economy further reopens.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims dropped to 385,000, down 20,000 from the week before. The number of weekly applications for unemployment aid, which generally reflects the pace of layoffs, has fallen steadily all year, though it remains high by historical standards.

The decline in applications reflects a swift rebound in economic growth and the job market’s steady recovery from the coronavirus recession. More Americans are venturing out to shop, travel, dine out and congregate at entertainment venues. All that renewed spending has led companies to seek new workers.

We check in on the labor market, both nationally and in California. 

With files from the Associated Press. 

Guest:

William Lee, chief economist at the Milken Institute, an economic think tank based in Santa Monica;  he specializes in Asia, trade, the global economy, job creation and more

Chris Tilly, economist and a professor of urban planning at UCLA

The Supreme Court will soon release opinions on two dozen remaining cases, which include decisions on religious and gay rights, healthcare, the Voting Rights Act and more.

The court is expected to pass down at least one decision today, with more in the coming days. Today, the Supreme Court limited prosecutors’ ability to use an anti-hacking law to charge people with computer crimes. Conservative and liberal justices joined to rule 6-3 that prosecutors overreached when they used the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to charge a police sergeant who used a database he had access to for work for a non-work purpose.

Today on AirTalk, we’re looking at the roundup of cases the Supreme Court will soon pass down opinions on, and what the repercussions could be. Questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.

With files from the Associated Press

Guests:

Jess Bravin, Supreme Court correspondent for The Wall Street Journal; he tweets @JessBravin

Leah Litman, assistant professor of constitutional law at University of Michigan Law School; she tweets @LeahLitman

California and the U.S. government have agreed to allow massive wind energy farms off the state's central and northern coasts.

The pact announced last week would float hundreds of turbines off the California coasts of Morro Bay and Humboldt Bay and has been promoted as a breakthrough to eventually power 1.6 million homes. The announcement is part of President Joe Biden’s plan to create 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

But what do all these developments and changes mean for Califorians? How do these new ocean wind farms factor into both the state’s overall climate goals and the country’s as a whole?

With files from the Associated Press 

Guests: 

Sammy Roth, energy reporter for the LA Times; he tweets @Sammy_Roth

Danielle Osborn Mills, California director of the American Wind Energy Association

David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission

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)

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