This Week on AirTalk

Friday, May 16

Gay Marriage Ruling And The Presidential Race
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Larry and his guests discuss the affect that yesterday's California Supreme Court Gay Marriage decision will have on the Presidential election. Larry's guests include Phil Willon, State Political Reporter for the L.A. Times, David Masci, Senior Research Fellow with the Pew Forum for Religion and Public Life, David Menefee-Libey, Professor of Politics at Pomona College, and Raphael Sonenshein, Professor of Politics at Cal State University Fullerton.

Mark Ridley-Thomas
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Larry Mantle talks with State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas about his campaign for L.A. County Supervisor for the 2nd district. He is running against Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks for the seat being vacated by Yvonne Burke.

Indictment In MySpace Case
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A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has indicted a Missouri woman for her alleged role in perpetrating an online hoax on a 13-year-old neighbor girl who subsequently committed suicide. Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis reportedly helped create a false-identity MySpace account to contact Megan Meier, who thought she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. Larry talks with USC law professor, Rebecca Lonergan, about the validity of the case, why it's being heard in L.A., and whether a conviction is likely.

FilmWeek Reviews
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Larry and critics Peter Rainer, of The Christian Science Monitor, Claudia Puig, of USA Today, and Charles Solomon, animation critic for amazon.com review some of the week's new feature films including "The Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian," "Noise," "Roman de Gare," and the documentary "Up the Yangtze."

Thursday, May 15

New L.A. Water Plan
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Larry Mantle talks with David Nahai, General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power about a proposed plan to recycle wastewater to curb water usage in Los Angeles. The plan would move the city toward more water independence.

California Supreme Court Ruling On Gay Marriage
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The California State Supreme Court plans to issue its long-awaited decision on whether to legalize same-sex marriage this morning. Justices heard a series of cases brought by gay and lesbian couples, the city of San Francisco and two gay rights advocacy groups in early March. The court will decide whether the state's one man-one woman marriage laws violate the civil rights of same-sex couples. If it rules in favor of the plaintiffs, California could become the second state after Massachusetts where gays and lesbians can legally wed. Larry and his guests discuss today's ruling. Guests in this hour include Jon Davidson, Legal Director for Lambda Legal, David Cruz, USC Professor of Law, and Brian Brown, Executive Director of The National Organization for Marriage-California.

California Gay Marriage Ban Overturned Continued
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Guests in this hour include Karen England, Executive Director of the Capitol Resource Institute, Clare Pastore, Of Counsel for the ACLU of Southern California, David Cruz, USC Professor of Law, Brian Brown, Executive Director of The National Organization for Marriage-California, and Doug Kmiec of Pepperdine Law School.

Wednesday, May 14

Governor Schwarzenegger's May Budget Revise
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Larry talks with KPCC Sacramento reporter Julie Small about the Governor's May budget revise. What stays in? What will go by the wayside? Larry finds out, and takes listener calls.

West Virginia Primary Analysis
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Larry talks with NPR's Ron Elving about Hillary Clinton's win yesterday in West Virginia and what that means for her campaign going forward.

What Makes Someone A Nerd?
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Author Benjamin Nugent says there is more to it than a love for science fiction and pocket protectors. The self described "nerd" talks with Larry this morning about his new book, "American Nerd: The Story of My People." Nugent writes about his personal experiences growing up and also examines the evolution of "the nerd" in literature, culture and concept.

Tuesday, May 13

Latest On The Earthquake in China
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Larry gets the latest news about the earthquake in China, and about the rescue efforts from Mark Magnier, Beijing Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times. Mark is in Chengdu, China.

U.S. Relief Efforts For China
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Larry and his guests Alice Mong, Executive Director of The Committee of 100, and Wei Luo, President of the Southwest China Association in USA talk about the relief efforts that are being mounted by various Chinese-American groups to send help to the earthquake damaged regions of China.

La Jolla Murder Hearing
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A hearing was held yesterday in San Diego for five La Jolla men charged with the murder of a pro surfer Emery Kauanui, Jr. last year. Prosecutors say the men followed Kauanui home after a disagreement over a spilled drink at a nearby bar. The man died five days after he was found beaten in front of his mother's La Jolla home. Larry talks with Ian O'Roarty, a local surfer who knew Emery Kauanui.

Rediscovering The New World
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How much do we really know about America's first settlers? Outside of pilgrims sitting around a Thanksgiving table, many of us don't have a clear picture of the country's European founders. In his book, "A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World," Pulitzer Prize-winner Tony Horwitz follows his curiosity beyond Plymouth Rock. Larry talks with Horwitz about his discoveries while trekking through North America for answers.

Monday, May 12

Disasters In Asia
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Larry talks about the earthquake in China, and the ongoing crisis in Myanmar with Barbara Demick, a Bejing coorespondent for the Los Angeles Times, Dean Hirsch, President of World Vision, and Steven Matthews, Relief Communications Manager for World Vision.

Bill Requires Foundations To Reveal Diversity Data
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AB 624, the Foundation Diversity and Transparency Act, is a controversial bill authored by California Assemblyman Joe Coto, which would require private, corporate, or public operating foundations with assets over $250 million to collect certain ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation data pertaining to its governance, staff, and grant making. The bill requires this information to include the racial, gender, and sexual-orientation composition of the board of directors or trustees, foundation staff, and the number of grants awarded to specified organizations serving ethnic minority, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. In addition, AB 624 would require these foundations to disclose this information on their websites and in their annual reports. The bill is coming before the Business, Professions & Economic Development Committee today in the California Assembly. Larry speaks with Orson Aguilar, Associate Director of the Greenlining Institute, and David A. Lehrer, President of Community Advocates Inc.

Middle East Update
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Larry gets an update on the heavy fighting in Lebanon and on the latest news from Iraq with Borzou Daragahi, Middle East correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, and Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor State Department correspondent.

A Year In The Trenches With Teach For America
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The Teach for America program has been installing top-tier college graduates as teachers in bottom-wrung public schools since 1990. Teach for America began as a Princeton student's senior thesis project, and now has nearly 20,000 applicants each year for twenty-five-hundred spots. In her book "Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches with Teach for America," freelance journalist Donna Foote follows four young corp members through a year of the program at schools throughout the country. One of those schools is Locke High School in Los Angeles. Larry speaks with Foote about the Teach for America experience and whether it truly helps bridge the divide of educational inequities in our country.

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