Actor/host James Corden puts up his own billboard for CBS Television Network's "The Late Late Show" on March 6, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. ; Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

CBS’ ‘The Late Late Show’ is sporting its new digs tonight as James Corden officially debuts as the show’s new host.

Corden, an English actor and comedian, replaces Scottish funnyman Craig Ferguson, who hosted the show for 10 years. Corden is best known here in the U.S. for his recent role in the movie ‘Into The Woods,’ and is also a Tony Award-winning actor for his performance in the Broadway play ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’

While ABC, NBC, TBS, and even CBS’ other late night talk show feature American hosts, Corden’s debut tonight makes him the show’s second straight host from the U.K. Yet, it would seem, there is no shortage of American comedians, actors, and entertainers who could host American late night shows. Furthermore, late night talk shows have yet to see a female host full-time, causing many to argue that it’s time for a woman to be given the reigns of one of the primetime shows.

What will the future of late night TV hosting look like? Will Americans be hosting American shows or will we continue to see networks looking to the U.K. and Europe? When will a woman finally be chosen as the host of a late night talk show? Who should it be?

Guests:

Debra Birnbaum, Executive Editor for TV at Variety Magazine. She interviewed Corden as part of her cover story for the March issue of Variety.

Merill Markoe, author and humorist. She co-created Late Night with David Letterman and won 5 Emmy Awards for her work as a writer on the show.

US Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and his wife Heidi wave to the crowd after he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for US president March 23, 2015, inside the Vine Center at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia.; Credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

Texas Senator Ted Cruz kicked off his presidential campaign this morning with a speech at Liberty University, becoming the first major GOP candidate to officially declare his bid.

What does Cruz’s declaration mean for the rest of the GOP field, and for the entire 2016 presidential election landscape? The idea of liberty featured prominently in Cruz’s speech this morning. What does it mean in the context of the 2016 election?

Guests:

Evan Smith, editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news organization

John Avlon, editor-in-chief of the Daily Beast

LADWP crews working to repair water mains in a photo released Wednesday, July 30, 2014.; Credit: LADWP

A recently released report from the Department of Water and Power revealed that it could cost as much as $15 billion dollars to fix the city’s aging water infrastructure.

Many of the city’s pipes are nearly a century-old and aren’t reinforced against strong earthquakes like the Sylmar quake in 1971 and the Northridge quake in 1994. Pipe bursts have become a frequent occurrence in the city, at a time when California’s water situation is dire.

With more than 7000 miles of pipe to replace, retrofitting L.A. will be a massive undertaking. A $15 billion-dollar price tag, however, raises a lot of questions from ratepayers about how the city plans to fund the overhaul. Many fear the projects could require significant rate hikes.

Do you foresee rate hikes in the near future? Where does L.A. get the money to make the repairs? Do you think the problem is really as bad as the DWP says it is?

KPCC has obtained the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power report, and you can view it below.

Guests:

David Nahai, consultant and former CEO of the DWP

Jack Humphreville, chairman of the Neighborhood DWP Advocacy Committee Council and columnist with the CityWatch Blog

Amanda Gould (C), an American University student on a student government Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Task Force dealing with campus sexual assaults and violence, speaks with fellow students during a school forum about the issue at American University in Washington, DC, November 10, 2014. ; Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

For the majority of undergraduates in the U.S., college is a time to try new things, hear different perspectives and, in so doing, learn more about oneself. Now a growing number of students are pushing to create a place for female students to avoid clashes of opinion.

A recent article in the New York Times takes a look at the increasingly vocal campus groups that are pushing colleges to offer “safe zones” for all women. Originally proposed with victims of sexual assault in mind, these zones provide a soothing atmosphere, equipped with cookies, coloring books, calming music, pillows, blankets and staff members trained to deal with trauma.

Though nobody will deny that survivors of sexual assault may require significantly more sensitivity, critics question whether the same accommodations should be made for other groups, too.

These spaces are designed to be free from criticism, sexual bias and the pressures of male and female interaction. The concept has been proposed for students that are bisexual, homosexual, or transgender as well. But many professors have come out against these spaces, arguing that students shouldn’t make a habit of hiding from the realities of life and that college is a time to have one’s views tested, changed or strengthened.

Do you think college students should have space where they can escape from gender pressures?

Guests:

Judith Shulevitz, NYT contributor who penned the Op-ed “In College and Hiding from Scary Ideas”

Jill Filipovic, senior political writer for cosmopolitan.com and frequent speaker and commentator on gender, political and legal issues

Erik Baker, programming chair for Men Against Rape and Sexual Assault at Northwestern University

Gendarmerie and French mountain rescue teams arrive near the site of the Germanwings plane crash near the French Alps on March 24, 2015 in La Seyne les Alpes, France. A Germanwings Airbus A320 airliner with 148 people on board has crashed in the French Alps.; Credit: Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images

It is feared that there are no survivors after a German airliner went down in a remote area of the French Alps on Tuesday.

150 passengers were on board Germanwings Flight 9525 from Barcelona, Spain to Dusseldorf, Germany, and French president Francois Hollande told reporters he fears that, because of the conditions of the crash, all on board are dead.

While nationalities of many passengers on board were not immediately available, an executive for Germanwings said 67 of those on board were Germans. The plane reportedly climbed to cruising altitude at 38,000 feet after it took off at 10 a.m., but then started a descent for eight minutes before losing contact with French radar around 10:53 a.m. It is still unclear what caused the crash, but French officials say the plane’s black box has been located at the crash site. Germanwings is a budget subsidiary of Germany’s national carrier, Lufthansa.

Guests:

Jacky Rowland, senior Paris correspondent for Al Jazeera. She is reporting on the crash from the ground in France.

Michael Barr, senior instructor in the Aviation Safety Program at the Viterbi School of Engineering at USC. He’s an expert in aviation safety as well as airline crash investigation and prevention.

New England Patriots fans cheer after the Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX at Jerry Remy's Sports Bar February 1, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. ; Credit: Scott Eisen/Getty Images

For the first time in history, the NFL says it plans to broadcast one of its 2015-2016 regular season games via the Internet only, according to a source close to the situation.

The rights to the broadcast of the NFL’s Week 7 matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium will be sold to a digital distribution company, whether that be Facebook, YouTube, or someone else. Both the Jacksonville and Buffalo markets will still get the game on cable TV, but elsewhere, viewers will have to tune in to the live web stream to catch the game. The move marks a turning point for the NFL, which has relied heavily in the past on contracts with cable TV networks like CBS and Fox to broadcast its games.

Does this set a precedent for future sports broadcasts? How much does the NFL stand to gain (or lose) by broadcasting over the Internet only? What about the cable networks?

Guest:

Rick Burton, professor of sport management at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Syracuse University

Ellen Pao leaves the California Superior Court Civic Center Courthouse during a lunch break from her trial on March 10, 2015 in San Francisco, California. Reddit interim CEO Ellen Pao is suing her former employer, Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers, for $16 million alleging she was sexually harassed by male officials.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Jury will hear closing arguments in the discrimination lawsuit filed by Ellen Pao against the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Pao, who is seeking $16 million in lost wages and bonuses, alleges that the storied Silicon Valley venture capital firm discriminated against her and dismissed her unjustly. She claims that her dismissal stemmed from an affair she had with a married colleague, who retaliated against her at the firm after she ended it.

The case has huge implications for the Silicon Valley, where gender imbalance in the workforce has been a well-known issue. Just this week, female employees at both Facebook and Twitter filed gender discrimination suits against the two social media giants.

Are we going to see more of these types of suits in the tech world? Will they bring about a cultural change in the Valley?

Guests:

Sarah Lacy, founder and editor-in-chief of PandoDaily, a tech news site. She’s also author of the book, “Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky: How the Top 1% of Entrepreneurs Profit from Global Chaos” (Wiley, 2011)

Eileen Carey, founder and CEO of Glassbreakers, a peer mentorship software company in San Francisco

US actress and UNHCR ambassador Angelina Jolie stands during a visit to a camp for displaced Iraqis in Khanke, a few kilometres (miles) from the Turkish border in Iraq's Dohuk province, on January 25, 2015.; Credit: SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images

Today, The New York Times published an Op-ed by Angelina Jolie Pitt, in which she chronicles her recent decision to remove her fallopian tubes and ovaries in a preventive surgery against ovarian cancer.

Following a double mastectomy two years ago to prevent breast cancer since Jolie’s DNA contains a mutation in the BRCA1 gene, she decided to undergo last week’s surgery (officially called a laparoscopic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy) after learning of a rise in several inflammatory markers in her annual check-up. Her goal in writing the piece is to share her story with women so that they may have more information about these cancers, various options they can seek in addressing them, and agency in their choices.

If you or someone you know has had these or similar cancers, how did you or that person deal with it? What options do women have for tackling these cancers head-on and with the support that they want and/or need?

Guests:

Sanaz Memarzadeh, M.D., Associate Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCLA School of Medicine. She’s a board certified gynecologic oncologist

Marsha Wilson, Director of Communications and Advocacy Relations, Foundation for Women’s Cancer in Chicago

This Aug. 14, 2014 photo shows child-proof refill bottles of liquid nicotine at Salt Lake Vapors, in Salt Lake City. Poison control workers say that as the e-cigarette industry has boomed, the number of children exposed to the liquid nicotine that gives hand-held vaporizing gadgets their kick also is spiking. ; Credit: Rick Bowmer/AP

The California Department of Health’s ad campaign launched yesterday is its latest move against the e-cigarette industry. The 30-second TV spots will be broadcast through June in efforts to shed light on misleading information about the health threats linked to e-cigarettes.

A January report released by the department shows the harmful effects of the e-liquid found in e-cigarettes that is often inaccurately labeled. Not to mention the industry’s blatant advertising geared toward youth, which has seen an uptick in e-cigarette use.

Will this ad campaign deter you or someone you know from using e-cigarettes? Has using e-cigarettes helped you cut back from traditional ones?

Read the full story here

An image showing the on-demand internet streaming media provider, Netflix, on a laptop screen.; Credit: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images

With all of the choices that exist, picking the video on demand or streaming service that’s right for you can be a daunting (and potentially pricey) task.

With price points below $10 a month, services like Netflix and Hulu probably won’t put a noticeable dent in your bank account, but with newer services like Sony’s Playstation Vue, which starts at $50 a month, or AppleTV, which will reportedly start around $25 a month, the final bill could be as much, if not more, than what you’d pay a cable company for a TV/Internet bundle. Consumers also have to factor in the standalone price for a broadband Internet connection, since most cable companies charge higher prices for standalone services than they would if you purchased them as part of a bundle.

So how do you get the best bang for your buck when it comes to streaming services? Is there one combination of services that will satisfy most average TV viewers or does it depend more on what you watch and how often you watch it? Is there anything traditional cable companies can do to keep up with the growing number of streaming services?

For additional content, listen to the prior segment here

Guest:

Shalini Ramachandran, staff reporter for the Wall St. Journal covering streaming television and the broadband industry.

A runner uses an ipod during an excercise in Arsonia, New York on Jan. 17, 2012. ; Credit: Yourdon Edward

Fitness technology has undoubtedly revolutionized the way we work out. Devices like the FitBit and soon-to-be-released Apple Watch offer data tracking and exercise reminders to keep you on track.

Even for those aren’t into tracking the finer details of your workout, it’s rare to see someone at the gym who isn’t listening to music, watching TV, browsing social media, or interacting with a gadget in some capacity. In a recent article in the Washington Post, columnist Nora Krug digs into whether or not exercise tech is harmful to our workout.

Have we become too reliant on our technology to help us work out? In what ways can exercise tech be beneficial to your exercise routine? How can it be harmful? Are there specific benefits to working out with tech versus working out without it?

Guests:

Larry Rosen, research psychologist and professor of psychology at Cal State University at Dominguez Hills. He’s the author of the book “iDisorder: Understanding our Obsession With Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us.”

Jo Zimmerman, Kinesiology Instructor and Physical Activity Program Coordinator at the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland.

Dewey the cat is between 24 and 25 pounds. A new survey, to be released Thursday, finds that 58% of cats and 53% of dogs are overweight. ; Credit: Picasa 2.7

A new survey coming out Thursday finds that 58% of cats and 53% of dogs are overweight.

The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, which is putting out the annual survey, has been tracking pet obesity since 2006. 

Just like in humans, weight issues can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, and other chronic health problems in pets.

Guests: 

Steven Budsberg, DVM,  Professor and Director of Clinical research at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and past-President of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. He’s a member of Association of Pet Obesity Prevention, which is releasing its annual pet obesity survey tomorrow.

Oscar Chavez, vet and chief medical officer at Just Food for Dogs, a chain of stores in Southern California that makes healthy food for dogs

; Credit: Marco Paköeningrat/Flickr

Social media giant Facebook wants to change the way you get the news.

The New York Times recently revealed plans to publish some of its stories directly to Facebook. The Times isn’t the only one, either; the social platform will be teaming up with a number of other news outlets, as well, including National Geographic and BuzzFeed.

Details about the rollout have yet to be revealed, however the announcement is already causing a stir in the media industry. With over 1.4 billion users, Facebook has the potential to become the world’s top media distributor. But could this new media model also give Facebook too much power?

Although stories hosted on Facebook will be easy to access, this convenience comes at the cost of a news organization’s autonomy. If Facebook chooses to expand the program, publishers who don’t work with the site could find themselves at a big disadvantage.

Do you trust Facebook to not interfere with the news you get?

Guests:

Mike Ananny, professor of digital journalism at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism

Stephen Beacham, 

Clouds move as the sun sets against the west front of the United States Capitol building January 23, 2007 in Washington, DC.; Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Tomorrow, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation that would change the funding formula for doctors who provide services to Medicare patients.

Colloquially known as the “doc fix,” the bill would be one of the first pieces of bipartisan legislation to pass the 114th Congress. The bill addresses a years-long problem with Medicare funding that has been waived on an annual basis. Without the bill, doctors would lose significant revenue if they continued to work with Medicare patients.

House Democrats signed on to the deal in part because it establishes two years of appropriations for the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but Senate Democrats are noncommittal because they wanted four years. The President has indicated that he would sign it.

Can the newly Republican-controlled Senate pass a bipartisan bill? Would passage of a “doc fix” lead to successful passage of other bipartisan legislation?

Guests:

Lisa Mascaro, Congressional Reporter, Los Angeles Times

Paul Kane, Congressional Reporter, The Washington Post

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani receives a standing ovation while addressing a joint meeting of the United States Congress in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol March 25, 2015 in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Barack Obama will delay the final U.S. military drawdown from Afghanistan at the request of its new president, Ashraf Ghani.

Obama's previous plan was to cut the 9,800 troop deployment nearly in half by year's end. It is one of several murky or shifting foreign policy positions from the White House.

Guest:

Anthony Cordesman, Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

Family nurse practicioner Julie Klaker gives a sports physical to Brian Aguirre, 16, at the Spanish Peaks Outreach Clinic on August 5, 2009 in Walsenburg, Colorado. ; Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

Even though women make up about 90 percent of the nursing industry, it appears men still bring in more money every year. Nearly $11,000 more per year, to be exact.

What may be even more interesting is that only about half of that difference can be explained by things like experience, education, or clinical specialty. The study suggests that gap of over $5,000 that still exists basically just discriminates against women.

Researchers looked at two decades worth of salary data on nurses’ earnings, and the $10,775 discrepancy the raw analysis found could be seen in surveys going back to 1988. Men still were found to earn more than women even after researchers factored in things like weekly hours worked, location, experience, and type of nursing degree.

Why do male nurses earn considerably more than women? What does the data from this study suggest about labor trends within the nursing industry? How can we close this pay gap between male and female nurses?

Guests:

Jean Ross, co-president National Nurses United and a nurse for 42 years.

Rosalind Barnett, author of the book “The New Soft War on Women: How the Myth of the Female Ascendence is Hurting Women, Men, and Our Economy.” She’s also a senior scientist at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University.

A Kraft Foods sign is displayed near its corporate headquarters August 5, 2003 in Northfield, Illinois. ; Credit: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Philadelphia cream cheese, Heinz ketchup and Oscar Mayer meats not only share fridge space in most American homes, they now make up the world’s fifth-biggest food and beverage company.

H.J. Heinz Co. and Kraft Foods Group will collectively be known as The Kraft Heinz Co., a merge that may be the start of a new trend with other food companies struggling to see profit growth as more consumers are choosing healthier, organic options over processed foods.  

Kraft made headlines recently when its processed cheese product, Kraft Singles was given a nutritional seal from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Which even got push back from satirist king Jon Stewart.

How much marketing prowess will this add to Heinz and Krafts brands? Does this mark the beginning of the end for processed foods? 

Guests:

Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. She is the author of a number of books on nutrition and food safety, including “Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health” (University of California Press, 2013), which she co-authored with Michael Pollan.

Photo taken on September 1, 2011 shows a migrant laborer at work on a Thai fishing boat in Sattahip, Thailand's Rayong province. Thousands of men from Myanmar and Cambodia set sail on Thai fishing boats every day, but many are unwilling seafarers -- slaves forced to work in brutal conditions under threat of death.; Credit: NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images

By MARGIE MASON, MARTHA MENDOZA and ESTHER HTUSAN

Indonesia (AP) - A year-long AP investigation finds that hundreds of men in a remote Indonesian island and its surrounding waters are forced to fish, with some of the slave catch eventually reaching U.S. dinner plates.

The men often endure severe beatings, 22-hour shifts and even confinement.

The men the AP interviewed on Benjina were mostly from Myanmar, also known as Burma, one of the poorest countries in the world.

The slave catch often enters global commerce from Thailand, mixing in with other fish. U.S. Customs records show that several Thai factories ship to America. The AP tracked one such shipment.

Tainted fish can wind up in the supply chains of some major grocery and retail stores like Kroger, Albertsons Safeway and Wal-Mart, as well as in popular brands of canned pet food like Fancy Feast, Meow Mix and Iams.

Firms contacted about the investigation denounced the practices and said they would institute safeguards to examine supply sources.

Guest:

Martha Mendoza, Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press National Writer based in California

An Alzheimer's patient is shaved by his daughter at his house in Yarumal, north of Antioquia department, Colombia on December 3, 2014.; Credit: RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images

The findings from the Alzheimer’s Association’s special report are shocking: Only 45% of Medicare patients suffering from Alzheimer’s said their doctors told them about the diagnosis. 

Stigma around mental illness and doctors’ own discomfort in talking about Alzheimer’s are contributing factors. But also at issue is the lack of a test that can definitive diagnose the disease. To that end, a team of UCLA researchers are working to develop a blood test and a protocol for measuring one of the disease’s earliest signs.

What can be done to address the issue? Do doctors need more training to help them disclose to their patients that they have the disease?

Guests:

Debra Cherry, Ph.D., executive vice president of the Alzheimer's Association's California Southland Chapter, where she oversees public policy efforts on behalf of people with dementia and their families

Dr. Liana Apostolova, director of the neuroimaging laboratory at the Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research at UCLA. She and her team of researchers have come up with a protocol to measure one of Alzheimer’s earliest signs, and a potential blood test to diagnose the disease.

Actress Kerry Washington (L) and actor Columbus Short accept the award for Outstanding Drama Series for 'Scandal' onstage during the 45th NAACP Image Awards presented by TV One at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 22, 2014 in Pasadena, California. ; Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for NAACP Image Awards

A controversial op-ed by Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva has sparked a fierce debate about the number of minorities being cast in Hollywood.

“As is the case with any sea change, the pendulum might have swung a bit too far in the opposite direction.” she writes. “ Instead of opening the field for actors of any race to compete for any role in a color-blind manner, there has been a significant number of parts designated as ethnic this year, making them off-limits for Caucasian actors, some agents signal." The implication that minorities are taking jobs from caucasians has a lot of people upset. On Twitter, reaction has been swift and cutting.

A recent report from UCLA examining diversity in Hollywood revealed that, while ethnic casting is definitely on the rise, whites still outnumber minorities on TV by about 6 to 1. The report states that between 2012 and 2013, “In the digital arena, Latino actors claimed the largest share of the roles among the minority groups, 12 percent, while African Americans accounted for just 6 percent of the roles and Asians just 3 percent.”

Today on AirTalk, Jessica Yellin examines the casting changes taking place in Hollywood.

Should networks make a concerted effort to cast more minorities? Are you in the industry? What changes have you noticed? Have you ever been turned away because you were the wrong race?

Guests:

Eric Deggans, NPR TV critic and author of, “Race-Baiter,” a book about how media outlets profit from segmenting Americans

Darnell Hunt, professor of sociology at the UCLA Bunche Center for African American Studies and lead author of the “2015 Hollywood Diversity Report”

Anne-Marie Johnson, African American actress and producer