Families leave after an art class in Long Beach on Thursday morning, Nov. 12, 2015 at The Family Nest, which provides bilingual early childhood education classes. Some third-generation Latinos in Southern California are choosing to learn Spanish and want their kids to learn, too.; Credit: Maya Sugarman/KPCC

Fewer Latinos are speaking Spanish at home, as more of them are born and raised in the U.S.

But some second-generation parents are trying to change that.

An increasing number of parents are turning to Spanish immersion school programs to ensure the language won’t be lost on the next generation. In some cases, they are of a generation that was pushed to learn English to the exclusion of any other languages, but now see utility in passing Spanish onto their children.

The only problem is, they may not know how to speak it fluently. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that in just a few years, about one-third of Latino young people will live in a household where only English is spoken.

Are you bilingual? Or concerned about ensuring that your children will be? What challenges have you faced in growing up or trying to raise children in a bilingual household?

Read the full story here.

Guest:

Leslie Berestein Rojas, KPCC's Immigration and Emerging Communities Reporter

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) holds a news briefing on Syrian refugees following the weekly Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol November 16, 2015 in Washington, DC.; Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In the wake of last Friday's Paris attacks, Republicans in Congress want to stop Syrian refugees from coming into the US.

They're planning to introduce a bill to do just that.

However, most Democrats say the refugees can be safely screened to keep out jihadists. What is the current vetting process for refugees coming to the US? And does it provide enough protection for Americans? If not, what could be done to bolster it? We’ll also parse the political dynamics and how the issue is likely to play out in the 2016 election.

Guests: 

Jonathan Allen, Political reporter and Best-selling author of “HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton”

Kathleen Newland, a Senior Fellow and Co-Founder of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization with offices around the world focusing on migration and refugee issues

Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, Center for Immigration Studies, a D.C.-based organization that studies the impact of immigration on American society

Richard Lewis of the Santa Monica Police Department speaks to the media during a press conference on June 7, 2015 after a shooting on the Santa Monica College campus. Police shot and killed the gunman.; Credit: Maya Sugarman/KPCC

In September of 2000, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced it would bring criminal charges against Ronald Orosco, a then-30-year-old LAPD officer who, three months prior, shot an unarmed black man in the back after an argument over a traffic stop.

Facing 25 to life, Orosco pled down and received a five year sentence in state prison. He served three.

Since then, no on-duty officer in Los Angeles County has been charged for shooting a civilian. A recent KPCC investigation into officer-involved shootings in Los Angeles County from 2010-2014 found that 375 people were shot by on-duty law enforcement in that time.

In many cases, there’s simply not enough evidence for a prosecutor to take the case to court. Even when officer-involved shooting cases do make it to trial, prosecutors say it’s very difficult to convince 12 jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that an officer acted outside the law.

There’s also the issue of how closely law enforcement officers work with the District Attorney’s Office. Law enforcement work closely with the DA, often testifying on behalf of the prosecution in other criminal cases.

With more officers using body cameras and more citizens recording police interactions with their cell phones, prosecutors may have more evidence than they have in the past, and that could allow district attorneys the ability to bring charges where wouldn't have been able in the past.

Today, Larry speaks with two former Los Angeles County district attorneys about the challenges prosecutors face when deciding whether to charge a law enforcement officer in the shooting of a civilian.

For more on KPCC’s ‘Officer Involved’ series, click here.

Guests:

Gil Garcetti, former Los Angeles County District Attorney from 1992 to 2000

Steve Cooley, former Los Angeles County District Attorney from 2000 to 2012

A proposal from the libertarian Reason Foundation would bring more High Occupancy Toll lanes like the ones on the I-10 to Southern California.; Credit: Photo by Matt' Johnson via Flickr Creative Commons

The libertarian nonprofit Reason Foundation released a plan Tuesday that aims to ease congestion in Southern California by constructing a network of toll road tunnels and expanding tolled express lanes across several counties.

Differing strategies to mitigate the region's gridlock have been emerging following debate over the Los Angeles Mobility Plan 2035, the city's long-range transportation blueprint to get Angelenos out of their cars by adding hundreds of miles of bus and bike lanes and, in some cases, reducing traffic lanes.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is investing billions of dollars in new rail projects and may soon ask county taxpayers to approve more funds via a November 2016 ballot measure. But the $700 billion Reason Foundation proposal steers clear of train, bike and pedestrian infrastructure and focuses on better facilitating car travel — although at a price.

Read the full story from KPCC’s Meghan McCarty here.

Guest:

Robert Poole, Director of Transportation at Reason Foundation. Former advisor to four presidential administrations on transportation issues

Hasan Ikhrata, Executive director of the Southern California Association for Governments

A police officer patrols Skid Row in Los Angeles, California, September 22, 2014.; Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

After a KPCC investigation found a quarter of people shot by police officers were unarmed, and a spike in shootings this year, LA Police Commission president Matt Johnson called the trend "alarming."

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck is being asked to improve the way his department polices the city. One controversial tool is Beck's new "Preservation of Life" award that would recognize officers who refrain from using deadly force when they legally could.

This news comes soon after KPCC obtained a memo outlining LAPD's plans to equip all uniformed patrol officers with TASERs. Officials told reporter Frank Stoltze that the new policy was prompted by public outcry over police shootings.

Beck will also detail the recent arrest of the primary suspect of a three-year crime spree, including two murders and 23 separate incidents. Dubbed the "Western Bandit" because numerous crimes occurred on Western Avenue, Patrick Watkins, 51, faces two murder charges and 25 charges of attempted murder.

Plus, LAPD will soon launch the Valley Bureau Human Trafficking Task Force focused on prostitution-related crimes. We'll find out what the stepped up enforcement means for sex-trade workers, suspects who solicit, and the impact on neighborhoods including North Hollywood and Van Nuys.

Finally, with Paris still on heightened alert following Friday’s terrorist massacre, what is the readiness of first responders in Los Angeles?

Guest:

Charlie Beck, Chief,  Los Angeles Police Department

United States Secretary of State John Kerry gestures as he delivers a statement about the recently concluded round of negotiations with Iran over their nuclear program at the International Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.; Credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

In Paris today, Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. and its allies are making headway against the Islamic State group, despite last week’s terror attack.

Kerry said in the aftermath of the Paris massacre and the downing of the Russian jetliner in Egypt, there are signs of new cooperation in the battle against the militants.

However, the U.S. still wants President Bashar al-Assad to transition out of power, while Russia and Iran say Assad can return stability to the shattered country.

An Iranian official said Monday that President Bashar al-Assad of Syria should remain in power and be included in elections as part of any diplomatic negotiation aimed at ending the civil war.

As reported by The New York Times, the statement, by Hossein Amir Abdollahian, a deputy foreign minister, was not a new position for Iran, Assad’s regional ally.

Iran isn't just a diplomatic ally to Assad, as Borzou Daragahi reports for Buzzfeed News, Iranian troops and their Hezbollah proxies have been fighting Islamic State militants and other insurgent groups who aim to depose

Assad. Daragahi writes: "Iran’s Syria expedition is a huge gamble. If Assad triumphs, Iran and its proxies could claim a major military and propaganda victory against the U.S. and its allies, especially Syrian rebels’ patrons in Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Failure [of Assad] would likely turn Syria into a Sunni-led state loyal to Riyadh and curtail Iran’s supply line of weapons to Hezbollah, whose primary mission is to confront Israel."

Guest:

Borzou Daragahi, Middle East Correspondent based in Istanbul for Buzzfeed News

The Mayflower II, a replica of the ship which carried the pilgrims to the New World in 1620, is docked in Plymouth Harbor November 25, 2003 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.; Credit: Michael Springer/Getty Images

This weekend, National Geographic Channel will premiere “Saints & Strangers,” a four-hour TV movie that reveals the epic story behind the first Thanksgiving, and the Mayflower’s arrival in Provincetown Harbor.

It was November 1620, after a brutal 66 days at sea, when 102 men, women and children arrived with many starved, sick, and dying. The movie goes deep inside the familiar historical account of Thanksgiving, revealing the trials and tribulations of the first settlers at Plymouth and their complex relationship with the Native Americans.

Of those who made the journey on the Mayflower, there were those we know as “saints,” religious separatists who abandoned their prior lives for a single cause — religious freedom. The others, the “strangers,” were motivated by real-world material objectives and adventure as opposed to spiritual ideas.

This clash of values between these groups created complex inner struggles as they sought to establish new individual identities and a new colony in America, compounded by a complicated relationship with, and between, the local Native American tribes. The Native American actors in the series spoke Western Abenaki with the help of a linguist to preserve the distinct communication used by tribes at the time.

The two-night series airs this Sunday and Monday, November 22-23 at 9pm PDT

Guests:

Raoul Trujillo, Actor in “Saints & Strangers” in the role of Massasoit (muh-SAH-soo-et) - the leader of the Pokanoket tribe whose people have been decimated by disease making him uncertain of how to deal with settlers

Vincent Kartheiser, Actor in “Saints & Strangers” – in the role of religious separatist leader William Bradford – the colony’s moral compass; Kartheiser is best known for his role on AMC’s “Mad Men” in the role of Pete Campbell

Persons light candles during a candle light vigil to the victims of the Paris attacks in Brussels' Molenbeek district, on November 18, 2015.; Credit: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images

Paris police raided an apartment in a Paris suburb in search of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind behind the Paris attacks that have killed 129 people.

At least five suspects were believed to be at the apartment. Two died during the raid -- one by gunfire and another, a woman, blew herself up by setting off a bomb.

In all, eight people were arrested. Abaaoud’s whereabouts, however, remains unknown.

Guest:

Hugh Schofield, BBC’s longtime Paris correspondent who has been following the story

"The Future of Land Warfare" by Michael O'Hanlon; Credit: Christopher Paul

After the Paris attacks, President Obama vowed to intensified the country’s fight against ISIS, but said he won’t increase the number of troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria.

The President’s statement is in keeping with what the country has been doing militarily, namely, moving away from ground wars in favor of cyber warfare and the use of remote-controlled drones.

Michael O’Hanlon, national security expert at the Brookings Institution, writes in his new book that this shift in thinking is actually nothing new. That since World War I, conversations over the future of how wars will be fought have always swung between those two poles. The difference is the steep cuts in the Pentagon’s budget since 9/11 that have made land warfare all but unwinnable. What are the implications the US military’s de-emphasis on land warfare?

Guest:

Michael O’Hanlon, co-director with the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of the new book, “The Future of Land Warfare” (Brookings Institution Press, 2015)

Policemen breaks a door to enter a church in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis city center, on November 18, 2015, to secure the area after French Police special forces raid an apartment.; Credit: KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images

The alleged mastermind of the Paris attacks who was killed in a raid there yesterday has been linked to at least four foiled terror plots in recent months, according to French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

Speaking to reporters, he said officials were told on Monday that Belgian jihadi Abdelhamid Abaaoud had been spotted in Greece. The tip came from a country "outside of Europe." Cazeneuve said Abaaoud was wanted on international warrants and had been sentenced in absentia in Belgium to 20 years in prison.

Spain's interior minister says Abaaoud had used Internet social networks to try to recruit women from Spain to join the Islamic State group. Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz, speaking Thursday on Spain's Antena 3 television, said Abaaoud "had tried to recruit through social networks Spanish people, especially women, to join and travel to fight" for IS in combat zones. He said this matched the extremists' campaign to recruit women to "repopulate" its self-declared caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq.

Counter-terrorism expert, Seth Jones of the RAND Corporation think tank says Abaaoud was likely travelling on false documents and once inside Europe's (passport-free) Schengen area he would have travelled freely.

With files from the Associated Press.

Guest:

Seth Jones, Director, International Security and Defense Policy Center, RAND Corporation think tank; Jones has served as the representative for the commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations; Author, "Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of al Qa'ida after 9/11" (W.W. Norton, 2012)

; Credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

A San Francisco woman is now weighing her options after a judge ruled that the embryos she and her husband froze and stored at UCSF must be “thawed and discarded” due to an agreement the couple signed at the fertility clinic where they stored the embryos that required they be destroyed in the event of a divorce.

46-year-old Dr. Mimi Lee married Stephen Findley in 2010. Lee had recently received a breast cancer diagnosis and wanted to make sure she could still have children in the event that her treatment rendered her infertile.

The couple signed a contract, agreeing to destroy the embryos if the two were ever to divorce. When that happened earlier this year, Lee decided she wanted to break the agreement and keep the embryos after all because she says her cancer treatment left her unable to have children.

During the July trial, Dr. Lee argued that she believed the agreement she signed at the fertility clinic was just a consent form, and figured she could change her mind in the future. Her former husband says that their divorce was not amicable and that he doesn’t want to be tied to Lee for the rest of his life.

The court ruled that given Dr. Lee’s profession and knowledge, her testimony that she didn’t know she was entering into a binding agreement wasn’t credible.

Guest:

Judith Daar, Professor at Whittier Law School, Clinical Professor at UCI School of Medicine and current Chair of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Ethics Committee

Larry Mantle and panelists at AT30: The Future of Downtown Los Angeles.; Credit: Bill Youngblood/SCPR

The revitalization of downtown Los Angeles has been a long time in the making.

Just a decade ago, it wouldn’t be a stretch to describe the titular center of the city as a ghost town – a place where office bees spent 8 hours a day and then quickly hightailed home. But then things started to happen: from the construction of condominiums to the growth of cultural events like the Downtown Art Walk and the influx of hip spots such as Bestia and the Ace Hotel, this historic urban space has been transformed and reborn.

But with growth comes growing pains. Rents in the area have gone up considerably, making a once an affordable area out of reach for many. And rapid development has run up against a growing homeless population that has long called downtown Los Angeles home.

In this rebroadcast of the AT30 live event at the Broad museum, Larry Mantle leads a discussion on what the future of downtown Los Angeles holds.

Guests:

Alice Callaghan, Founder and Director, Las Familias Del Pueblo

Jose Huizar, Los Angeles City Council Member representing District 14 and co-chair of the Homelessness and Poverty Committee

Jon Regardie, Executive Editor, Los Angeles Downtown News

Carol Schatz, President & CEO of Central City Association of Los Angeles

Brian Traynam, Co-owner, The Escondite bar; former co-owner, Bar 107

Brigham Yen, Downtown resident and founder of the blog, DTLA Rising

It’s been ten days since KPCC released the results of our ‘Officer Involved’ investigation examining police-involved shootings in Los Angeles County.

Our reporters, editors, and data journalists spent months combing through statistics and official documents in order to create a database of every officer-involved shooting in L.A. County from 2010-2014.

Since then we’ve spoken with cops, criminologists, prosecutors, victims, and countless other stakeholders in the discussion about community policing. On AirTalk, we tackled issues like the reasons why African-Americans are shot at a rate three times higher than their population in Los Angeles County, and why officer-involved shootings often prove difficult for prosecutors to bring to court.

Our investigation may be winding down, but the discussion about community policing and how law enforcement and civilians coexist continues across the country. As we continue our own dialogue on community policing in Southern California, we’re looking at issues like how police can better utilize different, non-lethal forms of force such as TASERS, or what kinds of additional training would be useful for officers to learn more about things like de-escalation techniques and detecting implicit bias?

We often hear law enforcement suggest that if people would follow orders, they wouldn’t get shot. How much of the burden is on civilians to help police do their jobs more effectively? What are the ways we can continue to improve community policing?

Few at KPCC worked longer or harder on ‘Officer Involved’ than KPCC’s Annie Gilbertson and Frank Stoltze. They’ll join Larry today to talk about how we can apply what we’ve learned.

​On Monday, November 30 at 7:30 p.m., the KPCC journalists on the project will share what they learned and open up a public discussion about this important issue. You can join them at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown L.A. RSVP for free at KPCC.org/forum

Guests:

Annie Gilbertson, KPCC investigative reporter

Frank Stoltze, KPCC criminal justice and public safety correspondent

Fresh wild and farmed Loch Duart salmon filets are seen on a tray at the San Francisco Fish Company April 11, 2008 in San Francisco, California. ; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Ending a battle for approval that lasted for two decades, the FDA has approved a genetically-modified type of salmon for sale on store shelves, making it the first time the agency has approved a genetically-modified animal for sale to consumers.

What’s so special about this kind of salmon, you ask? It grows twice as fast as its non-genetically modified counterpart.

25 years ago, a Massachusetts-based lab called AquaBounty created a new gene to inject into fertilized salmon eggs, which speeds up their growth rate and means less time from egg to dinner plate. They’ve been trying ever since to get government approval for the gene.

The FDA says science and a comprehensive review informed their decision and that the fish is as safe and nutritious to eat as regular salmon. It will require the fish to be raised in contained, land-based tanks in Panama and Canada that will be inspected regularly.

Consumer and environmental groups have spoken out against the FDA’s decision, and some have even said they plan to sue the FDA to block its approval of the salmon.

Concerns are that approval of one GMO animal for sale could open the door for approvals of other GMO products. Others worry about the environmental impact that would occur if the GMO salmon were to escape into ocean waters and mated with wild Atlantic salmon.

Guests:

Gregory Jaffe, biotechnology project director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest

Michael Hansen, senior scientist with Consumers Union

Malian security forces evacuate a man from an area surrounding the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako on November 20, 2015. ; Credit: HABIBOU KOUYATE/AFP/Getty Images

Al-Mourabitoun, a militant jihadist group affiliated with al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali today.

The number of fatalities varies from source to source. Reuters reports at least 27 are dead. At one time, 170 guests and around 30 employees were being held inside the Radisson.

Reports are that no more hostages are being held. However, special operations forces are reported to be engaging with terrorists in the hotel. 

We hear from a reporter on the ground and talk with a terrorism analyst about the relationship between al-Qaeda and its affiliates in West Africa.

Guests: 

Katarina Hoije, a journalist based in Bamako, Mali who has been reporting on the hostage situation for CNN and other media outlets

Chris Chivvis, Author of the forthcoming book “The French War on Al Qa’ida in Africa” (Cambridge University Press; November 27, 2015);  Associate Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center and a Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation

Kashmiri demonstrators hold up Palestinian flags and a flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during a demonstration against Israeli military operations in Gaza, in downtown Srinagar on July 18, 2014.; Credit: TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images

Radical Islamic propaganda has undergone quite a revolution since the rise of the so-called Islamic State.

Gone are the days of grainy, single camera videos featuring high-ranking officials decrying Western values and promising swift retribution.

Today propaganda videos feature a much more modern touch with slick editing, high production value, and a focus on spreading the ISIS’ brand through logos, symbols, and mottos. Thanks to accounts from defectors from the so-called ‘Islamic State,’ we’re getting a clearer picture of exactly how the massive propaganda operation that the militant group has developed works.

“Camera crews fan out across the caliphate every day, their ubiquitous presence distorting the events they purportedly document. Battle scenes and public beheadings are so scripted and staged that fighters and executioners often perform multiple takes and read their lines from cue cards,” according to Washington Post reporters Greg Miller and Souad Mekhennet.

One defector even said ISIS’ media operatives are more important than soldiers, and that they have access to better equipment, living arrangements, and make seven times what a soldier makes in a month.

IS’ media division is said to be largely foreigners who have experience working in broadcast news or technology. Some of the videos feature the grisly scenes that have become synonymous with terrorist propaganda films - beheadings, immolations, firing squads, etc. Yet other videos attempt to paint the picture of an inviting, livable destination with a thriving economy and happy citizens.

With the U.S. and other world powers struggling to find a response to IS propaganda, what can be down to slow down the massive operation?

Guest:

Greg Miller, reporter with the Washington Post, based in D.C.; he co-wrote "Inside the surreal world of the Islamic State’s propaganda machine"

A woman looks at the HealthCare.gov insurance exchange internet site.; Credit: KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images

UnitedHealth, the largest health insurer in the United States, warned Thursday that it may pull out of Obamacare exchanges after 2016.

The company says that this would be due to the high usage costs and the low-enrollment numbers in the Affordable Care Act. Should the health insurance group leave, it would force more than a half-million people to find other coverage providers to satisfy their need for health care.

The company says that low growth projections for those enrolled in Obamacare is contributing to their doubts. In addition, they say that the Affordable Care Act allows too much flexibility when it comes to allowing people to change plans.

Despite these newly expressed doubts, UnitedHealth has confirmed that they will continue to support Obamacare exchange plans for 2016; however, the company did suspend marketing of those plans in order to limit any additional losses.

UnitedHealth attributes its stock dropping 5.7 percent to losses from the Affordable Care Act. Other health care companies have taken similar hits, including Tenet Healthcare, HCA Holding and Anthem. Despite the Obama administration arguing that the health care marketplace would stabilize after a few exchanges through the first years of the law’s implementation, there are new questions facing the Affordable Care Act.

How will other small insurers step in to fill the gap left by UnitedHealth? Does the Act need to change in order to stop insurers from leaving? Or do these complaints say more about the insurance companies, instead of Obamacare?

Guests:

Kavita K. Patel, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution; she’s also a practicing primary care physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine and was previously a Director of Policy for The White House under President Obama

Yevgeniy Feyman, fellow and deputy director of the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Medical Progress

Stephanie O’Neil, KPCC’s health care reporter

Paul Ryan (R-WI) speaks following a meeting of House Republicans at the U.S. Capitol October 20, 2015 in Washington, DC.; Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The House voted last week to tighten the screening process for Syrian refugees trying to enter the U.S.  

If passed by the Senate the bill would suspend the program that allows Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the U.S. until national security agencies confirm that they don’t pose a security risk.

While it’s still unclear whether the Senate will take up the bill, Democrats have vowed to block the bill and the White House has said President Obama would veto the bill if it reached his desk. However, Republicans backing the bill are standing firm.

Guests:

Mike Lillis, senior reporter at The Hill who has been following the story

Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, Center for Immigration Studies, a D.C.-based organization that studies the impact of immigration on American society

Eleanor Acer, Senior Director, Refugee Protection at Human Rights First, an advocacy organization based in DC

“Andy & Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show,” (Simon & Schuster, 2015) by Daniel de Visé; Credit: Simon & Schuster, 2015

For many, the “Andy Griffith Show” was a loveable escape into the friendship between a small-town sheriff and his deputy.

In real life, Andy Griffith and Don Knotts continued their friendship long after the end of the series.

Both actors were from a world that was a far cry from the quaint town of Mayberry. Griffith and Knotts grew up in the South and struggled through the Great Depression before making their way to the Broadway stage, where they finally met in the 1950s. The two formed a relationship that lasted until Knotts passed away in 2006.

In Daniel de Visé ’s book, “Andy & Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show,” de Visé explores what the duo’s on-screen friendship meant to viewers and what their bond off-screen was like, including how they dealt with fame and personal struggles.

As Knotts’ brother-in-law, de Visé gives readers an inside look into the world of Mayberry and previously unpublished interviews with those that were closest to Griffith and Knotts. Today de Visé talks with Larry Mantle about the men behind one of America’s favorite television duos.

Guest:

Daniel de Visé, journalist and author of “Andy & Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show,” (Simon & Schuster, 2015)

Loving couple lying in bed.; Credit: Photographer: Andrey Popov

Couples that hope to make each other happier with more sex might find out once a week is all they need, according to research published this month in the journal “Social Psychology and Personality Science.”

Social Psychologist Amy Muise with the University of Toronto led the data-crunching on 25,510 Americans, including more than 60% in established relationships. While having sex less frequently than once a week made for less happy couples, researchers found an upper limit to the amount of happiness sex can provide.

What's your experience been? And how much does libido factor in?

Guest:

Rachel Kramer Bussel, Writer on the subject of sexuality