; Credit: William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

If you plan on retiring in the next 20 years, not to worry! According to the latest report from the Social Security Trustees, there will be plenty of dough to cover your full retirement benefits. But, the bipartisan committee found that funding Social Security beyond the massive Baby Boomers’ retirement will require quick “legislative changes” necessary to avoid disruptive consequences for beneficiaries and taxpayers.

The report doesn’t get into specifics about what those legislative changes might or should be, but it urges lawmakers to get a move-on so that whether it’s bolstering benefits or eliminating entitlements, Americans have as much time as possible to plan for their futures. But with an historically ineffective  Congress at the helm, Americans’ faith in any rushed legislative solution isn’t too high. The report, which is annual, and finally arrived 4 months overdue, is an occasion to revisit that age-old debate of what the best course forward is for Social Security.

Do you think we need to being paying more into the fund? Should Socials Security be adjusted? How would you like to see your local Congressman address the issue of a long-term Social Security fix?

Guests: 

Jagadeesh Gokhale, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute

Monique Morrissey, Economist, Economic Policy Institute, a progressive economic think tank based in Washington DC. Her areas of interst include Social Security, pensions and other employee benefits

Nancy Writebol with children in Liberia. Writebol is one of two Americans working for a missionary group in Liberia that have been diagnosed with Ebola. ; Credit: AP Photo/Courtesy Jeremy Writebol

An American doctor infected with the deadly Ebola virus was transferred Saturday to Emery University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Kent Brantly and another American aid worker, Nancy Writebol, were both infected in West Africa after working with an aid agency in the region. Writebol is expected to be transferred to the hospital sometime this week, according to a hospital statement.

The virus, which was killed more than 887 people in West Africa, has a mortality rate of at least 60%. World health officials have warned that the outbreak is spreading out of control in Africa. In order to contain the virus in the United States, the two patients will be in isolation and have contact with others via intercom and a plate-glass window. Still, residents of Atlanta, along with other Americans, are concerned that the virus will spread to others on American soil.

How can the two infected Americans be given treatment while still preventing the spread of Ebola? Was the transfer to the United States the correct move?  How should health officials deal with future cases of Ebola victims?

Guests:

Philip Alcabes, Ph.D, professor of public health at Adelphi University; author of "Dread: How Fear and Fantasy have fueled Epidemics from the Black Death to Avian Flu"

Dr. Donald Forthal, Chief of Infectious Diseases Division, UC Irvine Medical Center & Professor of Medicine

Singer Beyonce and rapper Jay Z perform onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. ; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Musical power couple Beyonce and Jay-Z have been delivering two-hour plus shows to packed stadiums during their “On The Run” tour, keeping up the image of “Crazy In Love” amidst rumors of marriage troubles and disputes.

The audience at the Rose Bowl, full to capacity, was treated to a mix of musical experiences. Jay-Z has paired his style of rap with pop in the past (he went on tour last year with Justin Timberlake), and critics argue that for him, utilizing Beyonce’s pop-R&B clout is a smart move.

Beyonce has kept to polished performances highlighted by her on-stage chemistry with her husband. What does the “On The Run” tour say about the future of big stadium shows? How does Jay-Z and Beyonce’s marriage impact their onstage dynamic and the show as a whole?

Guest:

Lorraine Ali, music writer for the Los Angeles Times

Former White House press secretary James Brady gives the thumbs-up while visiting the Brady Briefing Room at the White House March 30, 2011 in Washington, DC.; Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

James Brady, former White House press secretary under President Ronald Reagan, passed away today. He was 73.

"Jim touched the lives of so many and has been a wonderful husband, father, friend and role model," his family said in a statement released today. "We are enormously proud of Jim's remarkable accomplishments -- before he was shot on the fateful day in 1981 while serving at the side of President Ronald Reagan and in the days, months and years that followed.

Brady was shot in the head in an the assassination attempt against President Reagan in 1981 and was left permanently disabled. After the attack, Brady devoted his life to the gun control movement. His namesake legislation, The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, went into effect in 1994 and has made background check on handgun owners a requirement. 

Guests:

Adam Winkler, law professor at UCLA and author of "Gun Fight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America" (W. W. Norton & Company, 2011)

John Lott, author of “More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws” (University of Chicago Press, Third Edition, 2010) and President of the Crime Prevention Research Center, a research and education organization dedicated to studying the relationship between laws regulating the ownership or use of guns, crime, and public safety

Sunday August 10th is Duran Duran Appreciation Day. ; Credit: Ian Gavan/Getty Images

You may be familiar with Talk Like A Pirate day or maybe you dutifully post a picture of your brother or sister on National Siblings Day, but did you know that every day is a micro-holiday?

Niche observances have taken over the calendar, encouraging people to buy pancakes on National Pancake Day, stop texting while driving during National Cell Phone Safety Month, or eat a prune breakfast during Eat A Prune Breakfast Month. These observances range from the bizarre (it’s National Underwear Day today) to the legitimate — Earth Day, Mothers Day, and National Secretary’s Day all got their start somewhere.

When time and celebrations are doled out democratically, how do we determine what’s worth celebrating? What are the best and worst of niche “holidays”? What’s legit and what’s just plain silly?

Guests:

Megan Garber, staff writer at The Atlantic

Jono Alderson, founder of daysoftheyear.com

Click on "Listen Now" in the upper left to hear this segment.

A Cal Fire firefighter monitors the Rim Fire as it burns through a grove of trees on August 25, 2013 near Groveland, California.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A year after the devastating Rim Fire, environmentalist and the timber industry are at loggerheads about what to do with the charred, dead trees left in the wake of one of California’s biggest wildfires.

Environmentalists want to see things stay as they are. They say that new growth has sprouted  amid the burnt remains of the forest, providing new habitats for birds and a dozen other species. Loggers, however, want to cut down and sell the trees. It creates jobs, first, and also helps speed up the forest’s regeneration. But time is running out, the timber industry warns, the trees will start deteriorate if they aren’t cut down soon.

The Rim Fire incinerated over 257,000 acres of land in the Central Sierra Nevada region. The blaze started in August of last year, and took two months to extinguish, becoming the third largest wildfire in the history of California and the largest in the Sierra Nevada. The cause was a hunter’s illegal campfire that went out of control.

Guests:

Chad Hanson,  Director and staff forest ecologist of the John Muir project, an environmentalist group based in Big Bear City, Calif.

Steve Brink, Vice President of Public Resources of The California Forestry Association, which represents the timber industry

The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that home healthcare workers hired to assist Alzheimer's patients may not sue their employers for injuries inflicted by patients.; Credit: Fred Froese/iStockphoto

The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that home healthcare workers hired to assist Alzheimer's patients may not sue their employers for injuries inflicted by patients.

The 5-2 decision drafted by Justice Carole A. Corrigan, said that employers were not liable for caregivers if the employees were warned of the risks prior to employment and the injury was caused by symptoms of the disease.

The case was taken to the state Supreme Court after Carolyn Gregory filed a lawsuit against Bernard and Lorraine Cott after Lorraine, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, bumped into Gregory while she washed a knife, leaving her injuries that left pain and permanent numbness in some of Gregory’s fingers.

Do you feel the Supreme Court decision leaves homecare workers vulnerable in their patients’ homes? How can employers take preventive measures to ensure safety for their workers? We’ll also look at how other states around the country deal with the issue.

Guest:

John Nockleby, Professor of Law, Director, Civil Justice Program at Loyola Law School

; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

While Congress headed to summer vacation, California’s state government headed back to Sacramento, and back to work, where its facing an onslaught of down-to-the wire bills in the month of August. Jeremy White joins AirTalk to round up some of the more important and interesting ones, including a bill to firm up details of a major water bond to put before voters this year and a tax break to curb runaway film production. The legislature will also take up another attempt at a bill that would require adult film actors to wear condoms, a bill to create a Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation to oversee the industry, and a bill that would enhance insurance criteria for ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft. We’ll talk about the likelihood and possible outcomes of them all.

Guest:

Jeremy White, reporter in the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau

Clinic office assistant Joan Vest searches for a patient's missing medical file at the Spanish Peaks Family Clinic on August 5, 2009 in Walsenburg, Colorado.; Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

This system, called Cal Index, will electronically document the complete medical histories of nearly 1 in 4 Californians beginning by the end of the year thanks to a partnership between two of California’s largest insurers, Blue Shield and Anthem Blue Cross.

Cal Index would be the biggest health information network anywhere in the country and proponents of it say the access to real-time information will make for faster and better healthcare that will improve its quality and cost.

But some opponents worry about the potential for data breaches, like Anthem’s last year, which accidentally posted online Social Security or tax identification numbers for nearly 25,000 California doctors online. Moreover, some Californians, including victims of domestic violence or people suffering from rare diseases, just don’t like the idea of their medical information being that readily available.

There are also concerns about the nuts and bolts of a roll-out. For more than a decade, the California healthcare industry has been trying unsuccessfully to replace paper records with electronic ones.  Advocates of the Index hope the difference this time will be the muscle from such major insurers.

Do you welcome the move to electronic records? Do you worry about the potential for a data breach? Or the potential liability for insurers or health care providers?

Guests:

David Feinberg, chief executive of UCLA Health System and the new chairman of Cal Index's board of directors

Pam Dixon, executive director of the the World Privacy Forum, a San Diego non-profit public interest research center focusing on areas of technology and privacy

An ambulance departs Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga., Saturday. Officials at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta say an American who was infected with the Ebola virus was to be transported there Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014.; Credit: Mike Stewart/AP

The two American aid workers infected with the Ebola virus have taken an experimental drug called Zmapp. The serum is a cocktail of antibodies conceived by a consortium of researchers and companies - public and private - funded by a $28 million grant from the National Institute of Health.

The drug had only been tested on animals, and was not ready for human trials. However, the growing outbreak in Western Africa spurred the Centers for Disease Control to compel the drug makers to use its small sample of doses on the ailing Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol.

How is Zmapp made? Why aren't there more doses? What if it seems to help recovery of Brantly and Writebol? Will the drug be sent to African countries?

Guest:

Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., Lead researcher on NIH-funded consortium for Ebola treatment research; Professor, Department of Immunology & Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI)

File photo: A Southwest Airlines jet takes off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport February 21, 2013 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.; Credit: KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images

House lawmakers passed a bill last week to allow airlines to advertise airfare costs, without including taxes and fees.

The airline industry, which lobbied for the bill, says consumers ought know how much government taxes are being added to fares. Consumer advocates say airliners promoting low prices without fees would be akin to false advertising. The fate of this bill in the U.S. Senate is an open question.

Does the current full-fare rule mislead consumers about the cost of travel? If the full ticket price is not revealed until immediately before purchase, does that waste your time?

Guests:

Sean Kennedy, Senior Vice President, Global Government Affairs, Airlines for America (A4A), which represents domestic airlines. Before joining A4A, Kennedy was Special Assistant to President Barack Obama for Legislative Affairs.

Charlie Leocha, Chairman of Travelers United (formerly known as The Consumer Travel Alliance)

; Credit: Photo by FutUndBeidl via Flickr Creative Commons

A Russian crime syndicate has apparently stolen over 1 billion internet usernames and passwords from hundreds of thousands of websites, the New York Times is reporting. Hold Security, a cybersecurity firm in Milwaukee, first made the discovery. According to the firm’s founder Alex Holden, the hackers targeted not only US companies that are household names, but pretty much any website they could break into. 

The latest hack, one of the largest in recent memory, came just eight months after the sizable Target credit card breach, and its aftermath is still being felt by both consumers and the Minnesota-based retailer.

Given the size and frequency of these breaches, is it time for us to move beyond the simple username-and-password combination for web security?

Guests:

Orla Cox, Security Operations Manager, Symantec Security Response, Symantec, an information security and information management firm. She is currently at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas

Stan Stahl, President, Citadel Information Group in Los Angeles; President, Los Angeles Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association.  He’s been working in the field of information security since the 1980s

; Credit: Photo by thestarshine via Flickr Creative Commons

Weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling, which allows employers to deny birth control coverage to workers based on religious reasons, a California bill that would essentially undo the actions of the highest court has cleared the state Senate.  

Bill SB 1053 would require health plans to include all FDA-approved contraceptive methods and is currently awaiting action in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Supporters of the bill, including Planned Parenthood Affiliates, say that the bill ensures that the Hobby Lobby ruling is denied entry in California.

Critics argue that the bill will raise insurance premiums for employers, who will be forced to provide coverage for all brands of contraception as opposed to negotiating coverage for specific brands.

Do you think that the bill is the correct step for California’s workers? Does the need for contraceptives outweigh the overall costs?

Guests:

Holly Mitchell, California State Senator of District 26, which includes Hollywood, South Central, Culver City and more, author of SB 1053, Contraceptive Coverage Equity Act ;Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Women and Inequality

John Eastman, Former Dean and Professor, Chapman University School of Law; Founding Director, Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, which filed an amicus brief in the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court case

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (2nd R) bows his head in prayer with Kevin Rawlinson (L-R), Ella Rawlinson, Stephanie McLaughlin Rawlinson and Medal of Honor recipient, Michael Thornton, before they eat lunch during a campaign visit to the Drive-In restaurant on January 17,2012 in Florence, South Carolina.; Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A North Carolina restaurant is offering a 15 percent discount to its customers who pray while dining at the establishment.

Jordan Smith’s receipt has gone viral after she posted a photo of the discount she was given at Mary’s Gourmet Diner, the restaurant that has been giving discounts for prayer over the last 3 ½ years.

Critics of the restaurant’s policy question whether or not discounts are given to those who belong to religious entities other than Christianity. Others say that the restaurant’s practice is discriminatory, breaking the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on religion.

Do you feel the restaurant is being discriminatory to other religions? Are the actions of the diner justified through its discount? Should other restaurants provide similar offers?

Guests:

Eugene Volokh, Professor of Law at UCLA, where he specializes in the 1st Amendment

Roxanne Stone,VP of publishing at Barna Group, a Ventura-based market research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture

Plastic is shown on windows of a new luxury apartment building that is under construction on March 23, 2012 in San Francisco, California. ; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A proposed West Hollywood complex would transform a large building — formerly home to ICM — into housing. The complex would expand and renovate the existing building into an apartment complex that would include a pool and a gym, but only for certain residents.

The developers at 8899 Beverly have plans to incorporate affordable housing for very low and moderate incomes. These tenants would live in what is otherwise being marketed as an upscale building, but would not have access to amenities like the pool and gym. West Hollywood residents are outraged, saying that the city’s version of “poor doors” is economic segregation.

Pushback to similar measures in New York that required low income residents to use special back doors were similarly ill-received. Proponents of the project say that more affordable housing is good, in any form, and some have even proposed an optional “user fee” for extra amenities for all residents.

What’s the best way to incorporate affordable housing into a project like this one? Is it fair to bar low-income residents from high-priced amenities in the building where they live?

Guest:

Richard Green, Director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, Professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy

In this handout provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from the GOES-East satellite, four separate weather system (L-R) Halong, Genevieve, Iselle, and Julio are tracked in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the United States. ; Credit: Handout/Getty Images

Hurricanes Iselle is forecast to hit Hawaii on Thursday, followed by Hurricane Julio this weekend. The storms are the first hurricanes to land in Hawaii in more than two decades, and the rush to prepare is overtaking the islands. The biggest impact will likely be felt on the Big Island, with hurricane effects starting midday today. Already, sustained 80 mph winds are blowing about 300 miles east of Hilo -- in the Big Island city, skies are calm, but overcast. While Hawaii’s mountainous terrain and high volcanos may provide some buffer to the storm, there may still be violent winds, rain, and flooding on the Big Island. Oahu (which includes Honolulu) will likely avoid hurricane conditions, but will still face a tropical storm.

What is causing these stormy conditions in Hawaii? How are the islands preparing for the hurricane? How will Hurricanes Iselle and Julio develop in the next few days?

Guest:

John Bravender, meteorologist for the National Weather Service based in Hawaii

Danny Miller, owner of Hilo Bay Hale Bed & Breakfast

Debra Ching Maiava, Owner of Ponds Restaurant and General Manager for 25 years of Ken’s House of Pancakes

; Credit: PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images

According to the latest figures from digital trend tracker comScore, 166 million people in the U.S. now own a smartphone. That's almost 7 out of every 10 cellphone users in the country. 

The smartphone undoubtedly has changed the way we live, work, and play, but the perennial question remains  whether the benefits outstrip the unintended headaches. The latest to weigh in on this debate is tech bible Wired magazine, which has devoted much of its August issue looking at the different ways the smartphone has "unleashed humanity's creative potential." 

What does your smartphone mean to you?

Guests:

Rob Capps, Director of Editorial Projects, WIRED magazine. His piece, How Smartphones Have Unleashed Humanity’s Creative Potential, is in this month’s magazine, a themed issue devoted entirely to the topic 

Jason Perlow, Senior Technology Editor at ZDNet, a tech news site, and a technologist

Students walk across the campus of UCLA on April 23, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Going to college is a rite of passage. It’s a big life change whether someone is living at home and attending a local college or going somewhere far away.

As families all over the country prepare their kids for this next stage of their lives, what kind of conversations should they be having?

History professor Claire Potter has been thinking about the topic from an educator’s point of view. “By September, one of the biggest topics for discussion — and one of the biggest gripes — among many college faculty will be how emotionally, and practically, underprepared many of your kids are for their freshman year,” she writes in a piece for the Chronicle of Higher Education. 

Fear not, Potter has created a checklist of topics parents should talk to their kids about. To listen to our interview with her, click on "Listen Now" to the left. 

What kind of advice would you give your kids who are going to college? What have you learned about the college experience that you would impart to your kids?  

Guest:

Claire Bond Potter, Professor of History at The New School for Public Engagement and frequent contributor to the Chronicle and Higher Education

; Credit: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images

Legislation authored by Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) would put a cap on who is eligible to receive a state rebate for the purchase of an electric vehicle based on income. 

A recent survey from the Center for Sustainable Energy, which administers the state rebate program, shows the close to four-fifths of the state rebates went to families making $100,000 a year or more, prompting De Leon to draft Senate Bill 1275.

Environmental groups support the bill, which will head to the Assembly’s appropriations committee. Its deadline for passage is August 31.

To spur EV adoption, California gives out up to $2,500 rebate per car. Federally, EV buyers can also receive a $7,500 federal tax credit.  

Would capping the state rebate to low- and lower-income drivers hurt EV sales? If you currently drive an EV, were rebates a big reason behind your decision to make the switch? If you don’t currently own one, what would help you take the plunge?

Guest:

Ethan Elkind, Associate Director of the Climate Change and Business Program, a joint program between UCLA and UC Berkeley schools of law. He is the author of “Railtown” which looks at the history of the LA Metro Rail system (UC Press, 2014).

Al Pacino stared in "Dog Day Afternoon," playing John Wojtowicz in the film adaptation.

In a new documentary, “The Dog,” filmmakers Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren tell the story of John Wojtowicz, the inspiration for Al Pacino’s character in “Dog Day Afternoon.”

Wojtowicz robbed a bank to raise money for his lover’s sex change operation. Ernest Aron, who became Elizabeth Eden, was driven to transition from male to female -- Wojtowicz orchestrated the robbery of a Brooklyn branch of Chase Manhattan as a labor of love.

The incident resulted in the death of one of his accomplices and a 20-year sentence for Wojtowicz (he would only serve five). In the 10-year making of “The Dog,” Berg and Keraudren spoke with Wojtowicz’s family, his former allies in the gay rights movement, and one of his former hostages.

What impact did this self-described “Dog” have on the gay right’s movement? What’s the truth behind “Dog Day Afternoon”?

Guests:

Allison Berg, filmmaker, Director of "The Dog"

Frank Keraudren, filmmaker, Director of "The Dog"