Dave Roberts #10 of the San Francisco Giants looks on during batting practice before taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 31, 2007 in Los Angeles, California.; Credit: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

The Dodgers have confirmed that Dave Roberts has been named the team's manager, succeeding Don Mattingly.

Roberts is currently a coach with the San Diego Padres and a former right fielder for the Dodgers, but he has no prior management experience. With an African American father and Japanese mother, Roberts will be the team's first minority manager.

What does he bring to the job? And what are the benefits and pitfalls of hiring a rookie into high level management?

Guest:

Pedro Moura, baseball reporter for the OC Register

People show their smartphones on December 25, 2013.; Credit: PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images

Smart phones, tablets, newfangled tech gadgets: they are not just today’s must-have new toys, they literally contain the key to who gets to control an increasingly important natural resource, a new book argues.

What these gadgets have in common are the rare metals that power them. David S. Abraham is a natural resource strategist and previously oversaw natural-resources programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget. His new book breaks down why the natural resource of rare metals are critical to the future of energy and consumerism. In “The Elements of Power: Gadgets, Guns, and the Struggle for a Sustainable Future in the Rare Metal Age,” Abraham reveals more about why the fate of the planet depends on using rare metals in a responsible way.

Abraham says that even though rare metals have become essential for electronic and military technologies, there are still a number of economic and environmental costs that need to be addressed if it’s truly going to revolutionize the modern era.

Where are do these rare metals come from? Why are they so essential to our modern wares? How will they define today’s markets in the same way that oil and bronze did previously?

Guest:

David S. Abraham, author of “The Elements of Power: Gadgets, Guns and the Struggle for a Sustainable Future in the Rare Metal Age” (Yale University Press Books 2015). He is also the overseer of the Technology, Rare and Electronic Materials Center

Workers remove a poster-banner for "The Interview" from a billboard in Hollywood, California.; Credit: MICHAEL THURSTON/AFP/Getty Images

It’s been a year since Sony Pictures Entertainment was left reeling after more than 170,000 emails and 30,000 internal documents were leaked by alleged North Korean hackers in retaliation for the U.S. release of the movie 'The Interview.'

The massive cyber hack lead to the resignation of a senior executive, the illegal release of at least three major movies and the disclosure of 47,000 social security numbers. The hack exposed reams of private emails between company executives and big Hollywood figures on the Internet.

At the center of the leak: Sony Pictures co-chairwoman Amy Pascal and movie producer Scott Rudin. In one exchange, Rudin calls actress Angelina Jolie a “minimally talented spoiled brat,” and in another he jokes with Pascal about what to ask President Obama at a breakfast hosted by DreamWorks Animation. “Should I ask him if he liked DJANGO?” Pascal writes, referring to the film ‘Django Unchained,’ about a freed slave. Both Rudin and Pascal have issued public apologies for their comments since the email leak.

Now a year out, did the hack change how the industry is approaching security? What’s being done to make sure a similar hack does not happen again?

Guests:

Andrew Wallenstein,  Co-Editor-In-Chief at Variety. He tweets at @awallenstein

Tatiana Siegel, Senior Film Writer,  The Hollywood Reporter. She tweets at @TatianaSiegel27

FILE: A new study shows suspension rates for California schools declined in recent years.; Credit: Jonathan Pobre/Flickr CC

As California public schools have overhauled their suspension policies in recent years, a new study out Monday quantifies the effects.

Statewide, there were 709,580 suspensions in the 2011-2012 academic year. Two years later that number declined nearly a third, to 503,101. Los Angeles Unified School District’s suspensions dropped by nearly two-thirds.

African-American students saw the biggest suspension drop of any ethnic or racial group. The group dropped from 33 suspensions per 100 students in the 2011-2012 academic year to 25.6 per 100 students in 2013-2014.

This is the first study to link a drop in suspensions and an uptick in performance. How is that correlation calculated?

READ FULL STORY HERE.

Guests:

Daniel Losen, director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at UCLA and author of the study, Closing the School Discipline Gap in California: Signs of Progress. He is a former elementary teacher in the East Coast

Erin Sopapunta, an 11th and 12th grade teacher at Francis Polytechnic Senior High in Sun Valley. She’s been teaching at the school since 2006

This frame grab from video by Haberturk TV, shows a Russian warplane on fire before crashing on a hill as seen from Hatay province, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015.; Credit: Uncredited/AP

A Russian warplane was shot down on Tuesday by Turkey, which claimed that the jet had ignored repeated warnings after it violated Turkish airspace. The incident has thrown an already volatile region further on edge.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the downing of the plane “a stab in the back by the terrorists’ accomplices,” adding that it would have “serious consequences for Russia’s relationship with Turkey.” Despite being important trade partners, relationship between the two countries has been strained of late over Syria.

It is apparently the first time a NATO member has shot down a Russian plane in five decades. NATO’s governing body, the North Atlantic Council, held an emergency meeting in Brussels shortly after the incident.

The incident preceded a planned meeting at the White House between President Obama and French President Francois Hollande to go over their strategy to eradicate ISIS.

What is the impact of the downed plane on Russia and Turkey relations? How would it impact the international community’s plan to fight ISIS?

Guests: 

Henri Barkey, Director of our Middle East Program and an expert on the relationship between Russia and Turkey at the DC-based Wilson Center, an independent research center looking at global issues  

William Courtney, adjunct senior fellow at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation, and a former U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan and Georgia

A Safeway customer shops for milk at Safeway's new "Lifestyle" store. Safeway unveiled its newest Lifestyle store that features numerous organic and natural foods.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Four lawmakers want to put an end to the unregulated marketing and labeling of processed foods as “healthy” or “natural.”

When you go to the market and see foods labeled "healthy" or "natural," do you think of those as objective statements or marketing terms? Four Democrats in Congress are concerned shoppers are misled by those descriptors, and they want the federal government to restrict their usage.

To do so, they've introduced the Food Labeling Modernization Act. It would require uniform front-of package nutritional info, and put restrictions on foodmakers' claims. For example, if a product is labeled as “whole grain” or “multigrain,” it must also include information about the actual percentages of grains in the product. Foods would not be permitted to be labeled “healthy” unless half of the grains are whole grains.

How else would a product be deemed “healthy” or “natural” and do you think such labels are misleading without more regulation?

Guests:

Laura MacCleery, director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is a supporter of the bill

Katherine Mangu-Ward, Managing Editor, Reason Magazine where she writes about food. She tweets at @kmanguward

Maria Schoedel (L), sitting next to Hans Walter shows her delight after attending a Nintendo Wii bowling match at the Malhaelden seniors home.; Credit: Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images

A new National Geographic documentary on aging, directed by Ron Howard, might have come too late for aching baby boomers.

In "Breakthrough: The Age of Aging" episode premiering this Sunday, researchers say since a longer life isn't necessarily a better life, the real breakthroughs lie in extending our healthspan - the period of life spent free of disease.

Geneticist Dr. Nir Barzilai specializes in the genetics of exceptional longevity, and finds that centenarians have protective genes that allow for the delay of aging or for the protection against age-related diseases.

What can young people learn from new research into longevity? What diseases and ailments should be the focus of prevention efforts?

Guests:

Brian Grazer, Executive Producer, National Geographic Channel's "Breakthrough" series; Grazer is an acclaimed, Oscar-winning producer known for too many films and TV series to mention including "A Beautiful Mind," "American Gangster," "24," and "Friday Night Lights." He tweets at @BrianGrazer

Dr. Nir Barzilai, M.D., Founding Director, Institute for Aging Research, New York, New York

Pillars with the names and national flags of countries attending the COP 21, UN climate conference, decorate the outside of the venue hall, on November 25, 2015, in Le Bourget, north of Paris. ; Credit: ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images

Starting Monday, world leaders from close to 200 nations will gather in Paris for two weeks to try to come up with a global agreement to tackle climate change.

The goal is to get all the nations working together to limit the rise in temperature to 2C, through a variety of means including carbon emission cuts and the creation of a $100-billion fund to help developing countries adapt to and deal with the impact of climate change.

While most observers agree that the economic impact makes mitigating climate change a global priority, some critics feel that there are cheaper -- and more efficient -- ways to achieve the same outcomes.

Guests:

Adele Morris, senior fellow and the policy director for the Climate and Energy Economics Project at the Brookings Institution

Bjorn Lomborg, director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, a think tank based in Massachusetts. He is the author of numerous books, including “The Skeptical Environmentalist” (Cambridge University Press, 2001)

Your turkey should still be prepared on Thanksgiving Day. But many of the side dishes can be prepared ahead of time.; Credit: Rana Faure/Corbis

L.A. Times test kitchen director Noelle Carter is here with her best tips for a Thanksgiving meal that will leave your guests feeling extra grateful.

Whether you’re deciding on what type of pie to make (she’s got 52 suggestions), trying to step up your mashed potato game, or thinking next level about buffet psychology (hint: save the pricier bits for the end of the table), Carter’s got advice for you. Call in with your questions, none too basic!

Guest:

Noelle Carter, director of the L.A. Times Test Kitchen. She tweets at @NoelleCarter

Demonstrators march through downtown following the release of a video showing Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting and killing Laquan McDonald on November 24, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. ; Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Use-of-force experts analyze video, charges, timeline of Chicago police shooting

Yesterday, first degree murder charges were announced against a Chicago police officer who shot to death a 17-year-old in October of last year.

Dashcam video of the shooting shows Officer Jason Van Dyke firing 16 shots into Laquan McDonald. Calls to police reported McDonald was breaking into cars and armed with a knife. Shortly after the officers' SUV caught up with McDonald, Officer Van Dyke got out of the car and started shooting. McDonald was about ten feet away.

Street protests are planned for later today in Chicago, and Black Lives Matter in Los Angeles is also planning to hold protests.

Larry speaks with two experts on how the case might play out in court.

Guests:

Tim Williams, Retired LAPD Senior Detective Supervisor (Robbery-Homicide Division), 1974-2003; Expert on police procedure and use-of-force for state and federal courts; owner of T.T. Williams Jr. investigations​

Michael Schwartz, Partner at the law firm Rains Lucia Stern, who specializes in defending police officers. He defended one of the officers in the Kelly Thomas trial

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein holds up her passport during a news conference about Democratic legislative proposals in the wake of last week's terror attacks in Paris.; Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Congress may move quickly to overhaul a program that allows travel from 38 countries to the U.S. with no visa, something that has come under criticism following the Paris terror attacks.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters Monday that he was looking at action before the end of the year. Without legislation "I think the country will be less safe," the California Republican said. At the same time, the White House announced a series of changes aimed at improving the program, including more terrorism information sharing with other countries.

The so-called visa waiver program lets people from 38 countries visit the U.S. for 90-day stays without obtaining a visa. It has come under scrutiny following the Paris terror attacks since several of the suspected perpetrators were from Belgium and France, which are countries on the list.

McCarthy outlined five changes House Republicans would like to see to the program. They include requiring all countries to issue electronic passports; ensuring that all passengers are screened against a database of lost and stolen passports; and kicking countries out of the visa waiver program if they aren't abiding by requirements.

Changing the visa waiver program appears to have bipartisan support in the House and the Senate and general agreement from the White House. Many lawmakers note that the large scope of the program - it admits some 20 million visitors to the U.S. each year - makes it a potential security concern.

How much time and money would it take to implement these changes? What would be the economic costs of limiting travellers from Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the other U.S. ally countries currently eligible?

With files from the Associated Press.

Guests:

Alex Wayne, White House Editor, Bloomberg News

Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research, Economic Policy Institute - a nonpartisan think tank created in 1986 to include the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions

In an effort to encourage livelier, more expressive writing, teachers from elementary to high school are urging students to use a broader, more eclectic range of words in their writing.; Credit: Hugh Pinney/Getty Images

In the world of broadcast journalism, we’re taught to be as clear and concise as possible when we write copy for air.

“Write conversationally, like you’d speak” is a phrase often uttered by journalism professors who want needless words removed from news copy, because every second counts. But in other classrooms across the U.S., teachers are telling their kids the exact opposite.

In an effort to encourage livelier, more expressive writing, teachers from elementary to high school are urging students to use a broader, more eclectic range of words in their writing. Staples like ‘good,’ ‘bad,’ and ‘said’ are being banned from classrooms in lieu of other words like ‘phenomenal,’ ‘atrocious’ and ‘exclaimed.’

How much does it actually help? Some teachers suggest that once students begin to use the alternate words, they’re astonished at how fast their vocabulary expands. But others have expressed concerns that banning words could lead to confusion, or that students will just pick a word that looks cool without really knowing whether it’s an adequate synonym for the word they want to replace.

Do you think students should be encouraged to ditch certain frequently used words in lieu of more creative ones? What are the potential advantages and disadvantages to teaching this kind of writing? Do you think it will help or hurt students more in the long run?

Guest

Leilen Shelton, middle school teacher at Mariner’s Christian School in Costa Mesa and author of “Banish Boring Words” (Scholastic, 2009)

"Faith Ed." by Linda K. Wertheimer; Credit: Beacon Press

While public school teachers are prohibited from preaching, holding courses in world religion may give students the insight to discourage incidents of religious discrimination or hate crimes.

In one case that resulted from a dispute about teaching intolerance and gay rights, California’s Modesto City School District found success teaching its curriculum on world religions. The required course has been touted as a national model to promote respect for religious diversity.

Linda K. Wertheimer’s book, “Faith Ed: Teaching about Religion in an Age of Tolerance,” raises questions about the impact of religious education in public schools and what our system should consider when introducing programs that teach religious diversity.

Today, Wertheimer, a veteran education journalist, discusses her book with Patt Morrison and weighs in on how schools can approach the issue of religious intolerance with education.

Guest:

Linda K. Wertheimer, veteran education journalist and author of “Faith Ed: Teaching About Religion in an Age of Intolerance” (Beacon Press, 2015)

The research team led by the University of Tel Aviv’s Daphna Joel has found male and female brains do not translate into differences in cognitive abilities.
; Credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The research team led by the University of Tel Aviv’s Daphna Joel has found male and female brains do not translate into differences in cognitive abilities.

Joel and her team poured over the brain scans of more than 1,400 men and women to reach the conclusion.

“Although there are sex/gender differences in brain structure, brains do not fall into two classes, one typical of males and the other typical of females,” the paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reads. “Each brain is a unique mosaic of features, some of which may be more common in females compared with males, others may be more common in males compared with females, and still others may be common in both females and males.”

What are the implications of the study?

Guests: 

Daphna Joel, lead author of the new study, “Sex beyond the genitalia: The human brain mosaic,” published in yesterday’s the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. She is a professor of psychological sciences at the University of Tel Aviv in Israel

Arthur P. Arnold, PhD, Director of the Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology of the Brain Research Institute at UCLA, and a renowned expert on brain research. He is also the editor in chief of the journal, Biology of Sex Differences.

The first complete trailer of The X-Files.; Credit: Televisione Streaming/Flickr

When Fox airs the first episode of its ‘X-Files’ reboot after the NFC Championship Game on January 24, we won’t see how well it did the next morning.

Fox announced it will no longer be gathering ‘overnight’ ratings, as it has done in the past. The numbers are generated by Nielsen and give an insight into how many households tuned into or watched on-demand a previous night’s primetime show.

The move is an effort, Fox says, to “change the conversation” about television watching. More and more viewers are tuning in to primetime shows via DVR, video-on-demand, or on streaming platforms.

Fox will become the first major network to nix the overnight ratings, but its competitors suggest that it wouldn’t be getting rid of the ratings if they had better overnight numbers to show.

So far, no other networks have said they might follow suit, although there have been executives who suggest that the conversation is a good one to start. TV journalists and publications that report the overnight numbers say they’ll continue to report Fox’s ratings.

Guest:

Stephen Battaglio, Staff writer for The Los Angeles Times covering TV and media biz out of New York; LA Times: “Fox tries to break the overnight ratings habit as TV viewing changes.” He tweets at @SteveBattaglio

A professional cameraman records video.; Credit: FaceMePls/Flickr

Los Angeles is experiencing an uptick in film and TV shoots, but complaints about these productions from neighborhoods and residents are also up.

Film L.A., the organization that handles film permit applications, is reporting a near 20 percent rise in complaints this year compared to 2013. Many of the complaints have to do with parking and the late hours these shoots run til.

The city and state have devoted a lot of attention and resources to stem runaway production. A $330 million tax credit program paid for by the state was implemented a couple years ago to incentivize film and TV producers to work in LA.

The generous tax credit program seems to be paying dividends. But tensions between film producers and residents are certain to flare as LA reestablishes itself as a production center.

Guests:

Philip Sokoloski, vice president of integrated communications at Film L.A., the nonprofit that oversees film and TV productions in Los Angeles

Cami Taylor, film liaison and member of the Hancock Park Homeowners Association

Republican presidential candidates (L-R) U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ben Carson, Donald Trump and Jeb Bush participate in the presidential debates at the Reagan Library.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

AirTalk will bring you up to speed on the Republican nomination race, including the lead up to the New Hampshire primaries, Ben Carson's fundraising, Donald Trump's latest comments on illegal immigration, the battle between Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and more.

Which developments in the race are most important to you?

Guests:

Christina Bellantoni, Assistant Managing Editor, Politics for the Los Angeles Times; previously political editor at "PBS NewsHour." She tweets at @CBellantoni

Abby Phillip, National Political Reporter, The Washington Post; Phillip was in New Hampshire this week and filed this story: “The GOP Primary becomes a free-for-all.” She tweets at @AbbyDPhillip

Public transportation riders exit a bus.; Credit: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

With California’s increasing population of residents 65 or older, the question of how they can give up their car keys and maintain independence becomes more common.

Mobile apps and public transportation have made the transition more accessible, but how to approach the subject of “driving retirement” can still be anxiety inducing.

According to a study by the the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, seniors who are not independently mobile are more prone to depression and isolation.

Today, we discuss what transportation planners have in mind to keep seniors independently mobile on public transportation and city streets.

Guest:

John Locher, senior ombudsman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles

Bunni Dybnis, a social worker at the Los Angeles-based geriatric care service LivHome AARP

A general view of atmosphere at the World’s Greatest Sports Coupe exhibit opening celebration with Jaguar at the Petersen Automotive Museum.; Credit: Angela Weiss/Getty Images for Petersen Automo

Petersen’s Automotive Museum is hard to miss on the corner of Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard.

The museum’s gleaming, wavy aluminum shell, designed by the New York firm, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, has gotten mixed reviews, but its eye-catching aesthetics could be a good reason for newcomers to visit when Petersen’s reopens on Dec. 5.

Petersen’s first opened its doors in 1994, and was known for its celebration of Hollywood and its famous automobiles. The museum closed for reconstruction in 2014 with plans for a futuristic take on the automotive industry while keeping its roots in the allure of Tinseltown.

Now, Petersen’s will feature three floors with 25 new interactive galleries dedicated to the history, industry and artistry of the automobile, as well as famous film and television cars such as the 1982 Ferrari 308 GTSi convertible from "Magnum P.I.," the Batmobile from Tim Burton’s 1989 rendition of "Batman" and the 2016 Aston Martin DB10 which served as James Bond’s latest ride for the film, "Spectre." The museum will also feature Steve McQueen’s legendary 1956 Jaguar XKSS.

Larry Mantle talks with Petersen’s executive director, Terry L. Karges, for an inside perspective on the museum’s revival and what car enthusiasts can expect when its doors reopen.

Guest:

Terry L. Karges, executive director of Petersen’s Automotive Museum

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statement in the Roosevelt Room following a national security meeting in the Situation Room at the White House.; Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

As President Obama continues to meet with world leaders in Paris as over 100 countries meet to discuss ways to combat climate change, the Republican-led Congress is singing a very different tune back home.

Two measures passed in the U.S. Congress that undermine the president’s environmental promises in Paris. While Congress moved to block federal rules cutting emissions from coal-fired power plants, Obama is saying the U.S. will meet its environmental commitments.

With conflict at home, how does the US look to Americans and the world?

Guests:

David Waskow, the director of International Climate Initiative at World Resources Institute

Benjamin Zycher, resident scholar on energy and environmental policy at the D.C.-based think tank American Enterprise Institute and a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute