A general view of the exterior of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is seen prior to the start of the game between the Oregon State Beavers and the USC Trojans on September 27, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.; Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

L.A. Memorial Coliseum officials will unveil renovation plans for the historic venue and home of USC football Thursday afternoon.

One proposed goal for the architects is to boost the acoustics to match the competitive pitch of other football stadiums across the country. Acoustical consultant Elizabeth Valmont told the LA Times the Coliseum is too open and exposed to hold on to sound.

Moreover, the graduated seating isn't steep enough and begins too far from the field. Valmont and her colleagues envision building canopies and steepers stands to reflect sound in a way that confuses visiting teams.

What do you think of the decibel levels during Trojans games?

Guest:

Thomas Curwen, Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times

A Chinese baby in the arms of his father at a furniture store in Beijing. ; Credit: GOH CHAI HIN/AFP/Getty Images

China’s era of the single child is coming to an end.

The country first eased its controversial population control practice in 2013, allowing some married couples to have a second child. Today, the Communist Party has announced that it’ll drop the one-child policy altogether to counter the aging of its population.

This is good news for Chinese married couples, but could it also cause a shift in demographics in Southern California? Could we also see an increase in Chinese immigration? How will it affect Southern California’s demographic makeup?

Guests:

Clayton Dube, Director of the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California

Jeremy Goldkorn,  founder and editor of Danwei, a Beijing-based research firm that tracks Chinese media, markets, politics and business

GOP Presidential candidates participate in the CNBC Republican Presidential Debate at University of Colorado's Coors Events Center October 28, 2015.; Credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Debate three of the GOP Presidential candidates went head-to-head with game two of the World Series.

One was a defensive battle until late, the other loaded with offense. The strategies of each of the candidates were clear from early on. But how well did they execute?

Guest:

Aaron Kall, director of the Debate Program and Debate Institute at the University of Michigan

Beau Yarbrough (@LBY3) shared this Minecraft-themed costume. If you take a closer look, this axe was not pixelated in post-production.; Credit: Photo by Beau Yarbrough

Halloween is the time of year when everything is pumpkin spice-flavored, parents let their kids knock on complete strangers' doors requesting  candy, and full-grown adults find new, creative, and sometimes offensive ways to turn news events and cultural phenomena from the previous nine months into costumes bound to get hundreds of Instagram likes.

In terms of providing the news events and cultural phenomena upon which to base said costumes, 2015 did a pretty bang-up job. ‘The Dress’ invaded our social media worlds in early 2015, dividing the Internet into two sides at odds over the color of a dress (it’s blue and black, by the way), Pizza Rat captured our hearts in his dogged pursuit of reaching the bottom of the subway stairs with a full slice of pie in tow, and Spokane, Washington NAACP president Rachel Dolezal touched off an Internet-wide conversation about identity after she said she considers herself to be African-American, despite her Caucasian parents claiming she’s white too.

And this is just a sampling of some of the things that are ripe for costuming this year. Other potentially popular get-ups this year could be Caitlyn Jenner, the Minnesota dentist who killed Cecil the Lion, and even (yes, still) ‘Left Shark’ from Katy Perry’s Super Bowl halftime performance.

What do you think are the best topical Halloween costumes for 2015? Are you going out as something topical from 2015? Which cultural phenomena or important events are acceptable to embody in a costume and which ones aren’t? How does one make that distinction?

Vote for your favorites on the list below (created by Ranker user Jacob Shelton) and share your ideas in the comments!

In need of a last-minute costume idea? Check out KPCC's list of costumes you can pull together the day of Halloween and will be sure to impress your news-junkie friends.

Guests:

Todd VanDerWerff, culture editor for Vox.com. He tweets @tvoti

Students and campus police enter Gardena High School in California's South Bay. ; Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

A couple of recent videotaped incidents of physical confrontations at high schools have again raised the question of whether police should be on campus.

About 43-percent of US high schools have cops on campus. More than 75-percent have armed security staff.

In one prominent incident, a school officer was called to deal with a South Carolina student who refused her teacher's and school administrator's demands she stop texting in class. The officer physically took the girl down in her chair and dragged her several feet. The officer was fired.

The other often watched incident showed a Sacramento student body-slamming a high school principal trying to break up a melee in the cafeteria. The principal gets back up and helps physically restrain the fighters. It was impressive. But should that be part of his job?

What, if any, role should police have on campus? #CopsOnCampus

Guests:

Dean Elder, President of the Anaheim Secondary Teachers Association, the teachers union for Anaheim Union High School District; he’s also taught at Anaheim High School for 31 years

Abre’ Conner, staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California

Curt Lavarello, executive director of the School Safety Advocacy Council. He also spent 18 years as a school resource officer

Inmates at Chino State Prison walk the hallway on December 10, 2010 in Chino, California.; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

A new study out of Stanford Law School’s Justice Advocacy Project finds the voter-approved release of 13,000 lower level offenders from California’s state and local custody has saved the state significant money.

But the question is whether that comes at the expense of higher crime rates.

Guest:

Michael Romano, director and co-founder of the Stanford Justice Advocacy Project (formerly Three Strikes Project)

Mark Zahner, CEO, California District Attorneys Association

Aircraft technician Steve Bauer of US company Weather Modification Inc., inspects wing mounted burn-in silver iodide (dry ice) flare racks on a Piper Cheyenne II aircraft before the beginning of cloud-seeding operations.; Credit: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images

Bloomberg BusinessWeek reporter Amanda Little looks at the world of cloud seeding for this week’s issue of the magazine.

Once considered the stuff of fringe science, cloud seeding is being seen as a legitimate tool to increase rain and snow. Little reports that more than 52 countries are now actively looking into cloud seeding to make rain--the most famous proponent being China, which famously used the technology during the summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008. In the US alone, 55 cloud seeding experiments took place last year.

What’s the science behind the practice? Does it really work? What are the drawbacks? And how much rain does it really produce?

Guests:

Amanda Little, a contributor to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, whose latest piece, “Weather on Demand: Making It Rain Is Now a Global Business” appears in this week's issue.  She is also a Writer-in-Residence in the English department at Vanderbilt University, where she teaches investigative journalism and creative non-fiction

Neil Brackin, president of Weather Modification Incorporated, Inc. based in Fargo, North Dakota. With clients in 35 countries and the the US, including those in many parts of California

Robert Glennon, a water law and policy professor at the University of Arizona. He is the author of “Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It” (Island Press, 2010)

The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, November 6, 2013.; Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case that could have far-reaching consequences for the data broker industry.

The case involves Thomas Robins, a Virginia man who filed a lawsuit against Spokeo for disseminating incorrect information about him on its search engine. Robins sued the company -- which collects publicly available information on individuals and sell them online -- under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers can sue a company for anywhere between $100 to $1,000 for harm caused by inaccuracies in his Spokeo profile. Robins wants to turn his lawsuit into a class action suit, meaning that Spokeo is found to be at fault, it could face millions of dollars in damages.

What SCOTUS will decide is whether Robins can reclassify the case as a class-action suit. Spokeo and its supporters say that given Robins was not harmed, the suit should not be able to proceed as a class action.

Guest:

Joe Jacquot, a partner at the law firm, Foley and Lardner in DC, and former deputy attorney general of Florida. He co-wrote an amicus brief in support of Spokeo

Gautam Hans, Policy Counsel and Director of the San Francisco chapter of the nonprofit advocacy organization Center for Democracy and Technology. He co-wrote an amicus brief in support of Thomas Robins, the petitioner

An illustration of a gavel and a weight balance.; Credit: PRSA-NY/Flickr

In the latest chapter of California’s death penalty saga, a group of law enforcement officials and victims’ rights advocates have announced an initiative to get a death penalty reform proposal on the 2016 ballot.

Unlike past initiatives that have sought to completely abolish the ultimate punishment, The Death Penalty Reform and Savings Act of 2016 seeks to create a larger pool of lawyers for inmates sentenced to death, cut down the amount of time those inmates wait to be appointed a lawyer, and gives the California Supreme Court oversight of the state agency which manages death penalty appeals.

Opponents say that the initiative simply throws more money at a problem that clearly can’t be solved that way, and that true death penalty reform in California would mean amending the state constitution.

Since 1978, over 900 people have been sentenced to death, but only 13 have been executed. The last time the state of California executed a prisoner was in 2006.

What will death penalty reform look like on the 2016 ballot? Should a push still exist to completely abolish the practice or is the right move to look at ways to reform since repeal is difficult?

Guests:

Mike Hestrin, District Attorney, Riverside County

Paula Mitchell, executive director of the Alarcon Advocacy Center and legal director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent

"Lights Out" by Ted Koppel.; Credit: Penguin Random House

The U.S. currently uses only three electric power grids.

What if even one of them was compromised by a cyberattack? The blackout could last for weeks or even months and the effects would lead to looted businesses, food and water shortages and a sanitation nightmare in several states.

Should this hypothetical situation happen, how prepared are we to take on such an ambush?

Former Nightline anchor, Ted Koppel, tackles that question in his new book, “Lights Out.” Today, he discusses the answers with Larry Mantle, and his investigation of the probability of such an attack, how national leaders are prepared to respond and what ordinary citizens would be faced with should the event strike.

Guest:

Ted Koppel, former anchor of ABC’s Nightline (1980 to 2005) and author of “Lights Out” (Penguin Random House)

An infestation of bark beetles and the drought has threatened trees in California.; Credit: Cyndy Sims Parr via Flickr

Some forestry experts are turning a critical eye on Governor Jerry Brown's emergency proclamation to deal with the native bark beetle infestation, and they find the details worrisome.

On Friday, the governor's office said the four-year drought has made many California regions vulnerable to bark beetle infestations, so millions of dead trees will need to be culled and CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) will be suspended to expedite the actions. The lumber will be used by wood-burning power plants.

The proclamation also said die-off "worsens wildfire risk," but studies show that is not true.

Brian Nowicki of the Center for Biological Diversity said CEQA was enacted to help ensure scientifically-based forest management. "You really need the review that CEQA would provide," he told KPCC.

Is Governor Jerry Brown simply choosing the lesser of two evil in trying to prevent expanding beetle infestations? How effective is this plan considering most strategies have failed to limit beetle infestations across the U.S.?

Guests:

Brian Nowicki, California Climate Policy Director, Center for Biological Diversity; Nowicki holds a master of science in forestry

Roxana Selagea, a Publix Supermarket pharmacy manager, counts out the correct number of antibiotic pills to fill a prescription August 7, 2007 in Miami, Florida.; Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In a first-of-its-kind verdict, a Rowland Heights doctor was convicted last Friday on three counts of second-degree murder.

The three deaths were patients of the doctor who overdosed from prescriptions she'd written. Dr. Lisa Tseng was accused of indiscriminately handing out prescriptions for dangerous drugs. But it's hard to catch doctors running prescription mills.

The state prescription monitoring program CURES is designed to ID questionable prescriptions. How well is it working?

Guests:

Dr. Joel Hyatt, MD, FAAFP, Co-Chair of the LA County Prescriptions Drug Abuse Medical Task Force, which was created this year to standardize guidelines for their emergency departments to avoid over prescribing opioid pain medications; he’s also Emeritus Assistant Medical Director of Community Health Improvement at Kaiser Permanente, Southern California Region

Dr. Paul Christo, MD,associate professor, division of pain medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and host of Aches and Gains on Sirius XM

A replica Starship Enterprise as seen at the Technorama "Star Trek Experience" event at the Las Vegas Hilton. ; Credit: Kreg Steppe/ Flickr

Streaming: The final media frontier.

These are the voyages of CBS Television Studios. Their continuing mission: to explore strange and innovative new ways of offering programming. To seek out the best and most profitable way to bring an old favorite back to life. To boldly go where no TV studio has gone before!

Okay, so maybe the last part isn’t true, but there are still plenty of reasons for Trekkies everywhere to rejoice. Television’s favorite sci-fi series is getting another makeover, but there’s a catch: it is only going to be available via online streaming.

CBS Television Studios yesterday announced another reboot of the famed franchise to broadcast in January 2017. A special preview of the series will broadcast on old-school TV, but the series premiere and all subsequent episodes will only be available on the network’s streaming digital subscription service, CBS All Access.

CBS is banking on Star Trek’s legendary fandom will pay $5 a month to watch the series online, but it’s almost certain that production costs of making this particular series -- which requires special effects -- will be more expensive.

Would CBS be able to recoup its costs? Is this a smart move for the network?

Guest:

Daniel Holloway, TV Editor at the entertainment and movie news site, The Wrap.​

A silver spoon grazes a pile of sugar.; Credit: Michael Pardo/Flickr

It’s a long-raging battle and for the next week, the war between sugar and corn syrup -- and which one is better for you -- will take place in a courtroom in Los Angeles.

A federal jury will begin hearing a case today, brought forth by the sugar industry against the Corn Refiners Association -- which makes corn syrup. Big sugar is claiming that Big Corn is claiming incorrectly in a multi-platform advertising campaign that corn syrup is natural and just like sugar.

The suit also takes issue with the Corn Refiners Association’s rebranding of corn syrup as “corn sugar.”

Guests:

Eugene Egdorf, an attorney at the Lanier Law Firm, which is handling the case for the Western Sugar Cooperative and other sugar players

Roger Clemens, adjunct professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences at USC. He specializes in nutrition and toxicology

Supermodel and Media Personality Janice Dickinson judges a model walk-off competition at the NBC Experience Store.; Credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

A judge has ruled that Bill Cosby and his former attorney can be questioned by lawyers for model Janice Dickinson in her defamation lawsuit against the comedian.

The Los Angeles Superior Court judge said that Lisa Bloom, Dickinson’s attorney, can depose Cosby and his former attorney, Martin Singer, before November 25th. Bloom will be limited to asking questions about evidence that suggests Cosby’s denial of Dickinson’s rape allegation was made maliciously. Singer will also be able to assert attorney-client privileges as an answer to some questions. This is a move to ensure that the deposition doesn’t focus on the numerous other sexual assault allegations that women have made against Cosby.

Dickinson sued Cosby for defamation in May, claiming that the denials Cosby’s attorney has made of her allegations have re-victimized her and damaged her reputation. She claims Cosby raped her in a Lake Tahoe hotel room in 1982 but she didn’t report the incident to authorities because she feared retaliation from Cosby that would hurt her career.

Guest:

Royal Oakes, legal analyst and a partner at the Los Angeles-based firm Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP

R.J. Garis, National Publicist and crisis PR consultant

A man with tattoos adjusts his tie.; Credit: Support Tattoo and Piercings at Work/Flickr

In court decision that seems to buck the trend, a federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit filed by three Chicago Police Department officers challenging a tattoo ban.

As reported in the Chicago Tribune, U.S. District Judge Charles P. Kocoras ruled last week that the city’s goal to have a professional-looking department with uniform restrictions outweighs the officers’ interests in expressing themselves by keeping their tattoos visible while on-duty, according to court papers.

The very same day, sandwich chain Jimmy Johns removed its long-standing ban on tattoos. The new dress code states, "A little ink is OK, as long as it’s tasteful and not on the face or throat." While workplaces with younger personnel and more creative company missions see tattoo bans as passe, there are still major employers such as the Cleveland Clinic that forbid visible ink.

Guest:

Alec Levenson, Senior Research scientist, Center for Effective Organizations, USC Marshall School of Business; Co-Author of the forthcoming book "What Millennials Want From Work" (McGraw Hill; January 2016)

; Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

The Medical Board of California says a task force will devise better ways to inform patients when a physician has been disciplined and placed on probation.

On Friday, board members voted 11-1 against proposed rules that would have required doctors to notify patients about probation during appointment phone calls or when patients check in.

The nonprofit organization, Consumers Union, has advocated for mandatory physician disclosure for several years. The Union has said that patients have the right to know if their health or safety is in jeopardy because their doctor is on probation for serious misconduct.

Although the Medical Board has stated that patients should be notified when his or her physician has been placed on probation or disciplined for offenses including sexual misconduct or medical negligence, they are concerned that physicians who have committed minor offenses will be penalized.

In lieu of notifying patients of probation, the Medical Board has created mbc.ca.gov (click on Verify a License), a website where patients can proactively search for their physician by license type and find disciplinary information.

Do you think a website is enough? How would you like to be notified?

Guests:

Dr. Ronald H. Lewis, M.D., Member of the Medical Board of California

Lisa McGiffert, director of the Safe Patient Project at Consumers Union - the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports

Autumn Watson does her homework in her dining room in Centreville, Maryland after class at Centreville Elementary on April 30, 2013; Credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

Should homeschooling parents have to prove their children are really learning?

That’s the issue at stake in a much anticipated ruling from the Texas Supreme Court. According to court documents, Laura and Michael McIntyre told their nine children they did not have to do schoolwork because they were “going to be raptured.”

When the school district asked the McIntyres to prove their children were being properly educated, they sued. Nationwide, 24 states require home-schooled children be tested or assessed, but Texas isn’t one of them. And parents who homeschool in Texas don’t have to register with state authorities, though they must meet what’s described as "basic educational goals."

Here in California, there are several ways to homeschool: Public, Charter or Private Independent Study Programs (ISP), or becoming authorized as a private school, which offers homeschooling parents the most autonomy and releases them from reporting anything to the state.

Currently in California, a local school district or the state Department of Education cannot demand homeschooling parents prove their kids are learning, but a judge could demand that if a case went to court.

The nine justices could rule on this case by February of 2016. Do you think all homeschoolers should have to prove what their children are learning?

Guests:

Pam Sorooshian, homeschooling advocate and member of the Board of Directors of the HomeSchool Association of California (HSC); she homeschooled her 3 children

Grilled Shrimp Salad, Green Papaya, Thai Herbs, Peanuts; Credit: Ernesto Andrade/Flickr

Foodies, rejoice! The definitive list of the best places to eat in Los Angeles is here once again, thanks to Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. The acclaimed food writer has released his list, “Jonathan Gold’s 101,” of the finest fine dining establishments in the city.

Last year it was Providence, the Michelin-starred seafood restaurant in Hancock Park, taking top honors for the second straight year. Like the ‘99-’01 Lakers, chef Michael Cimarusti’s restaurant earned its three-peat this year, sitting atop Gold’s list once again.

Taco Maria in Costa Mesa was the runner-up while last year’s runner-up, Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant Spago in Beverly Hills, slipped to third. Others in Gold’s top 10 from last year have returned to the top 10, like the Italian restaurants that make up Mozzaplex in Hollywood, the West L.A. sushi joint Shunji, and Culver City’s Asian street food haven Lukshon.

Jonathan joins Larry on AirTalk today to run down his list, share some of his personal favorites, and tell us which spots on his list offer the best meal at an affordable price.

Guest:

Jonathan Gold, restaurant critic at the Los Angeles Times

"Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs" by Lisa Randall; Credit: HarperCollins

For years, scientists have said that a giant asteroid was the cause of a mass extinction 66 million years ago, but a theoretical physicist has reached a different conclusion.

Harvard physics professor, Lisa Randall, hypothesizes that dinosaurs – along with 75 percent of other species, were destroyed after a comet was dislodged from its orbit as the solar system passed through a disk of dark matter.

In her most recent book, “Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe,” Randall delves into the history and development of Earth to outline the effects and characteristics of dark matter.

Randall explains the evolution of the universe, discusses meteors, asteroids and other objects that have struck Earth, and lastly, combines the first two portions to explain how components intersect and how they are connected to our existence on Earth.

Lisa Randall will be speaking at New Roads School Moss Theatre today at 8:00 p.m. with Walter Kim. Click here for more information.

Guest:

Lisa RandallPh.D, Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science, Harvard University and author of “Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe” (HarperCollins)