To The Point

California's recall makes sense, but the electoral system as a whole needs reform, according to columnist Joe Matthews. Also in this episode, author Rajiv Chandrasekaran says Afghanistan once had an American-style suburb in the 1950s until the Soviet Union took over. Meanwhile, Colonel Andrew Bacevich calls America's latest intervention in Afghanistan “preposterous” and insists the U.S. needs a new role on the global stage. 

Andy Slavitt, who was President Joe Biden's former COVID advisor, talks about the recent Delta variant surge and best safety practices. The second part of this episode looks at how historic water wars could worsen California's drought.

CNN's Ron Brownstein says LA was so creative with music, movies, and TV in the 1970s that it's still shaping American politics today. He writes about that in his new book “Rock Me on the Water.” KCRW  also hears how California firefighters are updating an ancient Native American practice despite the risk of being sued.  

For most of American history, abortion has been legal, outlawed only from 1867 to 1973. Now the U.S. Supreme Court might outlaw it again by overturning Roe v. Wade. Also, young activists blame governments for climate change. 

With rising heat, deadly drought, and erratic storms, the desert tortoise needs your help. And there are many things you can do, especially if you are camping over the weekend or driving to Las Vegas. Susanna Mann and Gabby Barnas from the Ivanpah Desert Tortoise Research Facility will tell you all the little things that make a big difference for our wildlife friends in the desert. This is a special sixth bonus episode to In Our Backyard EP6: Life in the desert demands resilience, especially when lightning strikes

California deserts are unique in the world, but heat and drought threaten plants and animals with extinction. At the same time, desert windmills and solar farms provide clean energy to millions of people.

Rising seas got you confused? Severine Fournier from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab  explains the basics of our warming ocean as a result of climate change. What she’s got to say might melt your brain. This is a special fifth bonus episode to In Our Backyard EP5: Sea level rise means life on California’s beaches is ending up on the rocks.

Scientists say that all 800 miles of California beaches may disappear in the next 80 years because of sea level rise caused by climate change. Scientists say large-scale interventions will be required to save them. Warren Olney finds that current practices are making things worse rather than better. 

California wildfires are dangerous, but they don’t have to be deadly. Don Butz, Lakeside Fire chief and  San Diego Fire Safe Council president, says we can protect ourselves by following simple steps from American Red Cross’ Ready, Set, Go plan. We cover everything from managing gardens to assembling supply kits. This is a special fourth bonus episode to In Our Backyard E4: Fire is part of California’s natural landscape. We’ll always be waiting for the next, inevitable smoke out.

Native Californians used fire to fight fire for thousands of years, but the cultural burning was virtually banned when settlers arrived. Since then, mismanagement, development, and now climate change have increased wildfires and the need for widespread evacuations. But host Warren Olney learns that state and federal governments are gradually reviving traditional practices.

Live in a heat island? Want to know more? This is a special third bonus episode to In Our Backyard: Heat is the deadliest aspect of climate change. It’s turning LA’s neediest neighborhoods red hot.

Redlining and other forms of discrimination have turned LA’s Black and Brown neighborhoods into “urban heat islands” that are especially vulnerable to climate change. In episode three of "In Our Backyard," community activists tell Warren Olney they’re organizing to demand a seat at the table for tree planting and stopping a planned expansion of freeways in residential neighborhoods.

KCRW’s Warren Olney talks with Jane Coaston, host of the New York Times podcast “The Argument,” about politics and race.

Pollution blows. Here are some helpful ways to keep your lungs healthy. This is a special second bonus episode to In Our Backyard: Greenhouse emissions we can't see are often out of mind, causing pollution power lines

LA smog isn’t as visible as it used to be, but what’s out of sight can’t be out of mind. Air pollution is a major component of greenhouse emissions, as well as contributing to environmental injustice.  In episode two of “In Our Backyard,” host Warren Olney hears how fighting both global warming and environmental injustice go hand in hand.

Sherman Indian High School was once part of systematic genocide against Native Americans. Now, it’s a place of healing. This is a special bonus episode to In Our Backyard: Warren Olney looks at the changing climate in Southern California

Southern California has a unique relationship with climate change. So what’s happening now? How did we get here? And what can we do? This first episode of the limited series "In Our Backyard." 

In Our Backyard is a six-part series that explores how Southern California is changing in the face of global warming, and how we can respond.

KCRW’s Warren Olney talks with Ben Ehrenreich about his recent New Republic article titled “We’re Hurtling Toward Global Suicide.” Ehrenreich is a freelance journalist and author of “Desert Notebooks: A Roadmap for the End of Time.”      

Warren Olney talks about the blackout during the Texas deep freeze with meteorologist John Morales and USC energy expert Kelly Sanders. Andrew Bacevich of the Quincy Institute has a warning about President Biden’s boast that “America is back.”    

Warren Olney talks about the globalization of America’s right-wing extremists with ProPublica’s Sebastian Rotella and American University professor Carolyn Gallaher. Later on, Rachel Kyte, Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, tells him that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will help Joe Biden combine his agendas for climate and economics.

Warren Olney talks about the U.S. Capitol insurrection with presidential historian Tim Naftali and David French, an evangelical Christian and columnist for the Dispatch and Time magazine.

KCRW’s Warren Olney talks with Harvard law professor Jody Freeman and Princeton international affairs professor Michael Oppenheimer about Biden’s climate plans and what it means to reach “net zero” by 2050. Then Brown University politics professor Corey Brettschneider warns that phony claims of election fraud are dangerous to democracy.

Win or lose, Joe Biden has a personal story of tragedy and ultimate survival. KCRW’s Warren Olney talks with Evan Osnos, author of “Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now.” He also hears from John Dean, former White House Counsel under President Nixon and co-author of  “Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and His Followers.”

President Trump denies climate change. But Joe Biden has laid out “the boldest plan of any candidate in history,” says UC Santa Barbara environmental scientist Leah Stokes. KCRW hears how climate change threads the political difference between fossil fuel workers — who are worried about their jobs — and advocates of the “Green New Deal.”

The first debate of the 2020 presidential campaign was like no other. Forget Lincoln-Douglas, Kennedy-Nixon or Reagan-Carter. Can a hallowed democatic institution be restored before the November election?  

The U.S. has a history of repressing people of color, but systemic racism doesn’t tell the whole story. Isabel Wilkerson traces it to the caste system in India, which had echoes in Hitler’s Germany. She describes an infrastructure that  is not seen by whites or people of color, but needs to be looked at.

The Trump administration claims a COVID-19 vaccine could be available as early as November, just in time for the election. Also pro athletes are being more politically active  — will their message resonate with African American men?

It’s been 75 years since two atom bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the world learned that nuclear weapons could annihilate civilization. Today, America’s nuclear weapons policy makes that as likely as ever. What needs to be done to make the world safer?

Scientific evidence shows that wearing a mask can protect both the wearer and the community around them from COVID-19. Yet some Americans, including President Trump, are still reluctant to put on a mask. Are there political implications for President Trump and the Republican party, especially in the Sun Belt states where COVID-19 cases are surging?

After killings and other violence recorded on camera, Black Lives Matter supporters are demanding police reform. Also an update on a potential travel ban from the European Union and the latest on the much anticipated June decisions from the Supreme Court. 

Less than a month after the police killing of George Floyd, the protests around the country continue. Diverse Americans are expressing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.  Is the country undergoing a transformation? Also: Ezekiel Emanuel on what Americans can learn from other countries when it comes to health care.

A four-part documentary series from KCRW. In the first episode of Samaritans, we meet Christine Curtiss, learn where she came from and what her everyday life is like on the street. She has a community of friends in Mid-City, LA who look out for her. One of them enlists the local government. Follow her story and unpack the homeless experience in LA.

The police killing of George Floyd has protesters focusing on another key issue — environmental injustice. Will a historically white environmental movement embrace racial justice and equality? Separately in the podcast, KCRW hears from two people who are anxiously awaiting this month’s Supreme Court decision on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

The killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in Minneapolis has inspired nationwide protests against injustice and police violence. Marchers are targeting cities of white affluence. What does all this say about confronting racism in America? 

Tech titans like Apple, Google and Facebook are about to get low-tech competition to help detect the novel coronavirus. Labradors and Cocker Spaniels are being trained to sniff out COVID-19. 

Disease has thrived among dense populations since cities began. But COVID-19 is the worst example since 1918, and New York City is America’s primary victim. Can New York and other cities survive this pandemic? Also, Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, explains what we can learn from history.

Party Conventions nominated presidents since 1831. Will Covid-19 put an end to balloons, bunting and long-winded speeches? Will it also put an end to privacy?

In his latest book, “Economic Dignity,” former White House advisor Gene Sperling lays out the case for the dignity of work. Only when all workers are valued, he argues, will we do better as a society. Also, can the U.S. Postal Service survive? Some local post offices may be closing soon — what’s the impact on November’s election? 

Brian Solis, digital anthropologist and a global innovation evangelist at Salesforce, talks about how the novel coronavirus will spark innovation, and how companies and businesses must “adapt or die” in the new economy.

The coronavirus pandemic exposes collapsing medical systems around the world, as well as weaknesses  with health care in the United States. Can COVID-19 force these systems to change for the better?

Twenty-seven massive tankers float off the Port of LA, loaded with oil that has no place to go. Demand has dropped so much during the economic fallout  from COVID-19 that prices plummeted below zero for the first time in history. Does that create opportunities for alternative energy sources like wind, solar or  nuclear?   

The coronavirus pandemic is changing the rules for the president in the White House and citizens sheltered at home.  Should President Trump or 50 governors take charge of controlling disease? Also, is it right or wrong to shop online if it’s not for essentials?      

Shutting down the economy means cleaner skies, but that good news for climate change won’t last, says scientist Katherine Hayhoe. And how will Trump’s handling of the pandemic influence his re-election prospects?

Coronavirus among farmworkers is a threat to America’s food supply chain. Are these workers being protected? Also, courts in Miami-Dade County are keeping people with mental illnesses out of jail.

Andy Slavitt helped save Obamacare. Now he’s tweeting to help  the Trump White House cope with COVID-19. He says the pandemic is more important than partisanship. Does the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority agree?

President Trump has finally changed course, seeing COVID-19 as no longer a “hoax.” Experts predict the pandemic could kill up to 200,000 Americans. Is Trump providing leadership or leaving the responsibility to state governors?