AirTalk

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Kimberly Shriner, infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.

Topics today include:

C.D.C. issues new guidelines on activities safe for fully vaccinated people

1,313 new cases reported Sunday in L.A. County as positivity rates keep declining

CA counties pushing back on Blue Shield handling vaccine distribution

Biden team working on first national COVID strategy

Op-ed: COVID-19 long-haulers are often women. Maybe it'll change the system's perspective on our pain.

COVID-19 pill shows promise in preliminary testing

Study finds mask mandates, dining out influence virus spread

Guest:

Kimberly Shriner, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena

Churches and mosques have held an important role in the lives of many Black Americans, whether as sites of racial solidarity in the fight for civil rights or as spaces for community building.

But a new study out of Pew Research Center found that the relationship younger Black Americans have to religion is changing. Researchers found that while just 11% of Baby Boomers and 5% of the Silent Generation are religiously unaffiliated, 28% of Black Gen-Zers and 33% of Black Millenials are unaffiliated. The generational shift has prompted conversations about the future of Black churches. Many Black adults still feel that Black churches serve an important function in the fight for racial equality— 29% of Afircan-American adults say that Black churches have done a “great deal” (and 48% “some”) to help Black people fight for equality, which is higher than the share of respondents that credited the federal government.

Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about the evolving relationship that many Black Americans have to their church. Do you attend a majority-Black congregation? What is your relationship like to religion, and how has it evolved? What do you hope to see for the future of Black churches? Join the conversation by commenting below or giving us a call at 866-893-5722.

Kiana Cox, research associate at Pew Research Center and lead researcher on a recent study on faith and Black Americans; she tweets @kianacoxphd

Dwight A. Radcliff Jr., academic dean for the William E. Pannell Center for African American Church Studies and assistant professor of mission, theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary

Los Angeles Unified School District may still be in the process of working out its return to in-person instruction as the district and its teachers’ union attempt to work out their differences so students and teachers can return, but meanwhile other districts in the area have already started the process of bringing some younger students back with hybrid in-person learning models, and others already targeting a return for their middle and high school students if coronavirus case numbers in Southern California continue to stabilize.

Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk with representatives from a few local school districts that have set reopening dates or who are already in the process of reopening about how things are going, what kind of feedback they’ve received from parents, students and teachers.

Guests:

Robert Garcia, mayor of the City of Long Beach; he tweets @RobertGarcia

Penelope A. DeLeon, is the superintendent of Glendora Unified School District where they have begun accommodating student returns in grades Kindergarten through 5th on a limited and hybrid basis.  

Steven E. Keller is the superintendent of schools for the Redondo Unified School District where students in 4th and 5th grade are now able to return using a hybrid classroom model.

President Joe Biden said workers in Alabama and across the country have the right to join a union without intimidation from their companies. His comments come as Amazon workers in the state are voting on whether they should unionize.

In a two-minute video posted to Twitter, Biden didn’t mention Amazon by name, or say how workers should vote, but he stressed that they should be given a choice. 

At the Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse, Amazon has been holding classes, telling workers that the union will take their money for dues without any benefit.

The union push in Bessemer is the biggest in Amazon’s nearly 30-year history. About 6,000 workers started voting in February, and have about a month left to make their choice. Vote counting starts on March 30, and a majority of the workers have to vote “Yes” in order for them to unionize.

Organizers have said workers in the Amazon warehouse don’t get enough breaks during their 10-hour workdays. They also want workers to be treated with respect and to be paid more. The employees are seeking to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which also represents workers at several poultry plants in Alabama.

Workers face an uphill battle against Amazon. The company, which is the nation’s second-largest employer, has a history of crushing unionizing efforts at its warehouses and its Whole Foods grocery stores. Plus, laws in Alabama don’t favor unions.

With files from the Associated Press

With guest host Sharon McNary

Guests:

Karen Weise, technology reporter for The New York Times covering Amazon; she tweets @KYWeise

Benjamin Sachs, professor of labor and industry at Harvard Law School; he tweets @bsachs

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, we speak with UCLA’s Dr. Annabelle De St. Maurice. 

Topics today include:

Yesterday, California officials decided that they would target 40 percent of vaccine supply to underserved areas - will this effectively address racial disparities in vaccination?

Governor Gavin Newsom and local officials are endorsing double masking 

The Pasadena Unified School District yesterday joined some other Los Angeles County schools to bring elementary students back to campus by the end of the month

What the heck is Covid tongue and why are we still learning of new Covid symptoms?

With new variants in the air, LA County officials are telling people not to travel over Spring Break 

With guest host Sharon McNary

Guest:

Annabelle De St. Maurice M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases and the co-chief infection prevention officer at University of California Los Angeles/Mattel Children’s hospital; she tweets @destmauricemd

Today on AirTalk, we talk to officials in local school districts to hear how they are phasing in in-person learning. Also on the show, we update you on the latest COVID-19 news; breakdown the implications of Amazon warehouse workers unionizing in Alabama; and more.

Today on AirTalk, we update you on the latest political news from Washington D.C.. Also on the show, we answer your COVID-19 questions; discuss "Framing Britney Spears" and examine the cultural issues surrounding the documentary; and more.

Shaquille O’Neal has one, as does Serena Williams and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. What exactly are SPACs, the investment trend that’s grown popular among the wealthiest Americans during the pandemic?

SPACs— or special-purpose acquisition companies— are shells of companies whose purpose is to find a private company to buy and take public quickly. The result, at least ideally, is a huge payday for everyone involved. They are sometimes referred to as “blank check companies” because investors put up the money before an acquisition target is identified. Some in the finance world are concerned that the SPAC boom could be a bubble that is heading toward bursting. 

So what are SPACs, what should you know about them, and where might this new trend be headed? We’re learning more on AirTalk. Comment below or call us with questions at 866-893-5722.

Guests:

Amrith Ramkumar, markets reporter for the Wall Street Journal who has been following this story; he tweets @AmrithRamkumar

John Howe, professor of finance at the University of Missouri and the author of “The Foolish Corner: Avoiding Mind Traps in Personal Financial Decisions” (Stuart Charles Group, 2017). He also authors the newsletter "Behavioral New World."

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, we speak with nurse and UCLA professor Kristen R Choi. 

Topics today include:

CA officials say they’ll be reserving 40 percent of vaccines to areas that are hardest hit by COVID, to help address racial disparities 

LA’s winter COVID surge killed Latino and Black people two to three times the rate of white people

There’s a school nurse shortage - what does that mean for the prospects and success of school reopening?

Plus, what are the effects of schools not reopening on kids’ mental health?

Should you get the COVID vaccine if you are pregnant? There’s not a lot of data

Less healthcare workers have COVID in LA County, because many have been vaccinated

Should you be concerned about getting a delayed second dose?

The first non-humans get vaccinated: orangutans and bonobos at the San Diego Zoo 

CA’s “My Turn” vaccine appointment system has some...issues

EU regulators start reviewing Russia’s vaccine 

Over 12,000 COVID cases reported in the state’s child care centers

​With guest host Libby Denkmann

Guest:

Kristen R. Choi, professor of nursing and public health at UCLA; registered nurse practicing at Gateways Hospital, based in Echo Park

Last month, the documentary “Framing Britney Spears” reignited a cultural conversation about misogyny, the superstars’ treatment by a ruthless tabloid press and the complicity of all of us who consumed the story. 

We sit down with the director of the doc Samantha Stark as well as Vox writer Constance Grady to dive into the documentary and how it’s forced us to re-examine our treatment of female celebrities in the nineties and early aughts.

Guests: 

Samantha Stark, director of “Framing Britney Spears,” part of “The New York Times Presents,”  a series of standalone documentaries currently available to stream on FX and Hulu; she tweets @starksamantha

Constance Grady, culture writer for Vox, where her recent piece is “Who is responsible for what happened to Britney Spears?”; she tweets @constancegrady