Loving couple lying in bed gazing into each others eyes as they lie back on the pillows; Credit: Photographer: Andrey Popov

Getting enough sleep is one of the most important things a person can do for their own well-being, but with more than sixty percent of couples sharing a bed with their partner, how can opposing sleep patterns affect your relationship?

It’s not uncommon for one partner to wake up at sunrise, while the other rises at sunset. Research has found that even with conflicting sleep schedules, achieving relationship satisfaction is still possible.

Wendy Troxel, a clinical psychologist, behavioral and social scientist at Rand Corp. has found that healthy relationships can be achieved, but solutions must be tailored to your individual relationship.

How are some ways you cope with your partner’s sleep pattern? What has worked and what hasn’t?

Guest:

Wendy Troxel, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, behavioral and social scientist at RAND Corp.

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith released a video yesterday announcing her intention to boycott the Academy Awards.; Credit: Jason Kempin

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith released a video yesterday announcing her intention to boycott the Academy Awards on February 28th following the second year in a row in which no black actors (or any non-white actors at all) were nominated for an award.

Filmmaker Spike Lee joined the protest, writing on Instagram,“We Cannot Support It And Mean No Disrespect To My Friends, Host Chris Rock and Producer Reggie Hudlin, President Isaacs And The Academy.

But, How Is It Possible For The 2nd Consecutive Year All 20 Contenders Under The Actor Category Are White.” Smith had to be disappointed that her husband Will wasn't nominated for his starring performance in "Concussion." Lee likely wasn't surprised that his movie "Chi-Raq" didn't get any nominations. It got strong reviews, but few people saw it. He received an honorary Oscar last November.

The question now is whether other industry leaders might join the boycott. Ironically, this year's host is Chris Rock and Reginald Hudlin is producing the show. Both are Black. Would they consider boycotting? Will advertisers boycott? Do you feel pressure to boycott the Oscars this year?

We especially want to hear from people of color who work in Hollywood -- do you feel pressure to join this boycott? You can also join the conversation on Twitter under the hashtag #OscarsBoycott

Guest: 

Jim Rainey, Senior Film Reporter, Variety; he’s been covering Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith’s boycott of the Academy Awards. He tweets from @RaineyTime

Arts educators in California are joining forces to demand that schools recognize arts classes as not just optional but integral to STEM learning. ; Credit: Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images

Arts educators in California are joining forces to demand that schools recognize arts classes as not just optional but integral to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning.

The original intent of STEM education was to increase U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace of workers.

Teachers from various disciplines including reading, athletics, and the arts have tried to argue their respective subjects can enhance STEM learning and, therefore, should be included in the funding priorities.

While mechanical engineer Norman Fortenberry says integrating different subjects can bolster learning, he says that's not the real issue. "The real issue is money, and whether the funding exists to expand beyond the four main subjects," explains Fortenberry who heads the American Society for Engineering Education. Or as was articulated in "Education Week," "How can you focus on other subjects (such as art) without losing the mission of STEM or watering down its primary purpose?"

Education professor David Drew of Claremont Graduate School has been working for decades to broaden STEM and make it more inclusive.

He says STEAM funding is inevitable and will likely come from industry, such as Boeing aerospace company which has been creating collaborations between its arts and STEM education donation recipients.

While incorporating the arts into STEM is hardly controversial, does the funding exist and will it avoid watering down the original intent?

Guest:

Norman Fortenberry, Executive Director, American Society for Engineering Education; Fortenberry is a mechanical engineer

David Drew, Former Joseph B. Platt Chair and Professor of Education, Claremont Graduate University

Central American immigrants wait to be transported after turning themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents.; Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

How can the Obama administration take a hard line in enforcing its immigration policy while still appearing sympathetic to immigrants from Central America seeking refugee status?

That’s the conundrum the White House finds itself in. It appeared to be taking a tougher stance on immigration by resuming raids and deportations of some women and children back to Central America in recent weeks.

But that backfired after its own party accused the administration of sending a hypocritical message by accepting refugees from Syria but parsing semantics when it came to those fleeing places like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

A week later, the administration appeared to be walking that tougher immigration stance back with Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the region and announcement that the US would be creating a new refugee program specifically for Central American refugees. In the midst of it all, President Obama has found himself a curios foe to his own party and not-quite friend of the right.   

Read the full story here.

Guests:

Royce Murray, policy director at the National Immigrant Justice Center, an immigrant advocacy group based in Chicago

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

Sonia Nazario, reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize with the Los Angeles Times for her coverage of  unaccompanied migrants entering the U.S. illegally. She followed some of these children on their difficult journey north and wrote the book "Enrique's Journey." Nazario is also on the board of Kids in need of defense

Great hike on the Hollyridge Trail up to the top of Mt. Lee and the Hollywood Sign. ; Credit: Corey Seeman/flickr Creative Commons

The Department of Recreations & Parks and Councilmember David Ryu are hosting an event tonight to introduce and seek comments on a proposed plan to fix the traffic gridlock problem in Griffith Park.

The proposal seeks to minimize traffic to the Griffith Observatory by implementing a “free or low cost” shuttle system. Visitors will leave their cars at one of the free lots around the park’s edges, including ones near the Greek Theater and Ferndell. In addition, a free or low cost shuttle will also take parkgoers all the way up to the Hollywood sign viewing area. The plan would also put in place a fee to park at the Observatory and on Western Canyon Road.

The city has been trying to come up with a traffic relief plan that would appease homeowners, hikers, cyclists and users of the Griffith Park. What do you think of the plan?  

INITIAL STUDY& MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION

Guests:

Joe Salices, Superintendent of Griffith Park

Zachary Rynew, founder of cyclist blog, CiclaValley, who has been following the plan

Chris Hemsworth and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announce 'The Act of Killing' as a nominee for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards Nominations Announcement.; Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Few documentaries in recent years have inspired as much debate as Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Act of Killing.”

The then 38-year-old first-time director trained his gaze on a subject few people knew about: the Indonesian massacres of 1965-66, a political purge that claimed the lives of more than 500,000 communists, suspected communists and their supporters.

In that film, Oppenheimer decided to tell the stories of the killings from the perspective of a gang of perpetrators and, more controversially, re-staged the murders in fantastical yet disturbing details.

Oppenheimer has been at work making a second documentary on the same topic. The result is “The Look of Silence.” It’s been described as a companion piece to the earlier work, and this time around, the incident is told from the victim’s point of view, in particular an optometrist named Adi in Indonesia, whose brother was killed during the period of political upheaval.

Guest:

Joshua Oppenheimer, director behind the new documentary, “The Look of Silence” -- a companion piece to the Oscar-nominated “The Act of Killing,” which came out in 2012. “The Look of Silence” opens this weekend at the Nuart Theatre in West Los Angeles

Former Taco Bell executive Benjamin Golden of Newport Beach was arrested in November and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery for allegedly hitting 23-year-old driver Edward Caban.; Credit: screengrab from YouTube/CLS AMG

A Newport Beach man who was videotaped beating an Uber driver is counter-suing the driver for violating his privacy - claiming the video could not be recorded without his express consent.

Initially, Benjamin Golden was sued for assault (and fired from his job) after the dash-camera video posted on YouTube showed him drunkenly smacking driver Edward Caban.

The legal questions in this case center around Golden's reasonable expectation of privacy, plus whether a crime was committed might nullify Golden's privacy rights.

Guest: 

Art Neill, Public Interest Lawyer, New Media Rights, which provides legal services, education, and public policy advocacy for creators, entrepreneurs, and internet users

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump acknowledges the crowd as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center at Iowa State University on January 19, 2016.; Credit: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

It may be a new year, but many of the trends we’re seeing from the 2016 presidential campaign are very much the same.

For starters, Hillary Clinton’s private email server is once again a topic of discussion, thanks to a new report from Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough. First obtained by Fox News, the correspondence to the Senate Intelligence and  identifies a number of emails that may have been classified in a category known as “special access programs,” which is even higher than “top secret.”

The Clinton campaign responded by saying this was just another attempt to hurt the former Secretary of State’s campaign.

Another continuing trend is Donald Trump’s vice grip on national polls. The real estate mogul still holds a 19 percentage point lead over Ted Cruz in the latest Monmouth University poll despite the fact that Cruz’s poll numbers have been on the rise recently. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is still comfortably in first, leading Bernie Sanders by 13 percentage points.

What’s new here in 2016 is the latest addition to Trump’s backers. Former Alaska Governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced she’d be endorsing him. Palin has somewhat faded from the public’s political eye but is still popular with Tea Party supporters and other niche groups among conservatives.

Guests:

Ed Espinoza, democratic political and public relations consultant based in Southern California, Democratic National Committee member from Long Beach

Lisa Camooso Miller, Republican political strategist and partner at Blueprint Communications, a public affairs firm based in D.C.

A new report states that there may be more plastics than fish in the ocean by 2050.; Credit: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images

At the World Economic Forum in Davos today, a new report into the plastics economy says if production growth stays on course, the ocean is expected to contain 1 ton of plastic for every 3 tons of fish by 2025, and by 2050, more plastics than fish (by weight).

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, whose founder is a record-breaking sailor, is using its report to bring together manufacturers and policymakers to develop "moonshot" ideas to stop plastic waste before it meets coastlines. For instance, because biodegradable plastics are generally compostable only under controlled conditions, MacArthur experts are seeking "bio-benign" plastics to lessen impact.

While the report focuses largely on prevention, cleanup ideas and strategies become even more important if plastics continue to boom.

The Ocean Conservancy says over half of material leaked into the ocean comes from five rapidly developing countries: China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. Waste collection in these countries alone could reduce plastics in the ocean by 45 percent, but would cost billions of dollars (USD).

What are other innovations aimed at cleaning up plastics? How are they being implemented in California? How do strategies focused on coastlines compare to those focused on garbage patches on the open seas?

Guests:

Nicholas Mallos, Director, Trash Free Seas Program, Ocean Conservancy - an advocacy group founded in 1972; Ocean Conservancy's study "Stemming the Tide" (link)

Sarah Sikich, Vice President, Heal the Bay  - nonprofit environmental organization based in Santa Monica

"First Bite: How We Learn to Eat" by Bee Wilson.; Credit: Basic Books

We come into the world with milk as our only meal option, but how do we form our food choices once we’re weaned?

The answer depends on our parents, culture, gender and emotions, which means our palates may not always gravitate toward leafy greens and quinoa. The secret to reprogramming ourselves to reject unhealthy choices may mean learning what makes us go for the fast-food option in the first place.

Bee Wilson, author “First Bite: How We Learn to Eat,” talks to Larry Mantle today about our food habits and how we shape them. In her book, she delves into the hidden reasons behind our tastes and how to uncover what we learned to take those first bites, so we know how to improve our next ones.

Guest:

Bee Wilson, author of “First Bite: How We Learn to Eat,” (Basic Books, 2015), and a food journalist. She tweets from @KitchenBee

(L-R) Executive producer/director Chris Carter, Dana Walden, Co-Chairman-CEO, Fox Television Group, Gary Newman, Co-Chairman-CEO, Fox Television Group, actress Gillian Anderson and actor David Duchovny pose at the after party for the premiere of Fox's "The X-Files."; Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

In 1992, Chris Carter was working for Twentieth Century Fox Television when he came up with an idea for a show called ‘X-Files,’ which would focus on two detectives who investigate unsolved cases involving the paranormal and otherworldly.

Unorthodox, though it was at the time, Fox jumped at the chance, and a cult classic was born. It premiered in 1993 and spanned nine seasons, ultimately ending in 2002.

The show launched the acting careers of stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and became an iconic part of American pop culture.

Fast forward 14 years, and X-Files is coming back to TV. Fox announced it would be reviving the show as a miniseries, with Duchovny and Anderson returning to reprise their roles as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

The first episode premieres Sunday, January 24th at 7p PT.

Today, X-Files creator Chris Carter joins Larry on AirTalk to look back on the show as a body of work and ahead to its revival in 2016.

Guest:

Chris Carter, writer, executive producer, and creator of the X-Files

Governor Jerry Brown delivered his State of the State address Thursday morning.; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Governor Jerry Brown delivered his State of the State address earlier this morning and the budget and infrastructure were a couple of the highlights the fourth-term Governor addressed.

He urged fiscal responsibility in an unknown economic future, and echoed his budget proposal in suggesting a big rainy day fund be created.

He also wants to see movement on infrastructure projects like high speed rail and road repairs.

You can read more analysis on the State of the State and the full text of the speech here.

Guests:

Donald Wagner (R-Irvine), State Assembly Member representing California’s 68th Assembly District, which includes Irvine, Orange, and Anaheim

Steven Bliss, director of strategic communications with the California Budget & Policy Center, a nonpartisan public policy research group

The belief that we shouldn’t wait until the last minute is regarded as more practical way to be productive, but pre-crastination, or the impulsive need to complete tasks ASAP, could be counter-intuitive to the quality of our work.; Credit: Evan via Flickr

Procrastination has gotten a bad rap.

The belief that we shouldn’t wait until the last minute is regarded as more practical way to be productive, but pre-crastination, or the impulsive need to complete tasks ASAP, could be counter-intuitive to the quality of our work.

In one study from Pennsylvania State University, results showed that pre-crastinators may be prone to doing tasks incorrectly, such as responding to an email without taking extra time to include the right information or check for misspelled words. They may also perform the hardest version of physical duties, such as taking all the grocery bags inside at once, instead of making less strenuous multiple trips.

A New York Times article recently cited procrastination as a way to promote creativity. Bill Clinton, Steve Jobs, and Frank Lloyd Wright are all notorious procrastinators, as well as Aaron Sorkin, who prefers the term “thinking” to the “p” word.

David Rosenbaum co-authored the study on pre-crastination at Penn State. He talks with Larry Mantle today about the pros and cons of pre-crastination and why we may want spend more time getting things done.

Guest:

David Rosenbaum, distinguished professor of psychology at Pennsylvania State University and co-author of the study, “Pre-Crastination: Hastening Subgoal Completion at the Expense of Extra Physical Effort”

Paolo Zanotto, researcher at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Sao Paulo, speaks during a press conference. Researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal are in Brazil to train local researchers to combat the Zika virus epidemic.; Credit: NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images

The suspected number of cases of microcephaly, a rare brain defect in babies, continues to rise in Brazil, reaching 3,893 since authorities began investigating the surge in October, Health Ministry officials said Wednesday.    

Fewer than 150 cases of microcephaly were seen in the country in all of 2014. Brazil's health officials say they're convinced the jump is linked to a sudden outbreak of the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease similar to dengue, though the mechanics of how the virus might affect babies remain murky.    

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week advised pregnant women to avoid traveling to Brazil and several other countries in the Americas where Zika outbreaks have occurred. The warning comes months ahead of the Aug. 5-21 Olympic Games, which Rio de Janeiro is hosting, and some tourism professionals have voiced concern that it could scare visitors away.

Two days ago, health officials say a baby born in a Hawaii hospital is the first in the U.S. with a birth defect linked to the Zika virus, and a traveler in the Houston area has been identified with the virus.

How worried should Americans be?

With AP files

Guests:

Camilla Costa, reporter for BBC Brazil who’s been covering the story. She tweets from @_camillacosta

Dr. Amesh Adalja, MD,  a Senior Associate at the Center for Health Security at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he specializes in studying and preventing the epidemics and infectious diseases. He tweets from @AmeshAA

Dr Philip Nitschke holds up a drug testing kit which is used as part of assisted suicides following a workshop on the subject on May 5, 2009 in Bournemouth, England.; Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

The assisted suicide law in California will soon take effect, so the California Medical Association has issued guidance for doctors asked to prescribe lethal narcotics to terminally ill patients.

The guidance explains the complicated legal and medical steps that physicians must take before they can authorize lethal drugs.

The new law does not obligate physicians to assist, advise, nor counsel a patient with suicide if they are opposed for reasons of conscience, morality or ethics.

How will doctors decide whether to provide this new legal option to patients?

Guests:

Francisco Silva, General Counsel, California Medical Association

Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, MD, Kilbride-Clinton Professor of Medicine and Ethics, The University of Chicago

Actor John Krasinski and President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Cheryl Boone Isaacs announce the nominees for Best Actress in a Leading Role during the 88th Oscars Nominations Announcement.; Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

How can the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ensure more diversity among its nominees and members?

Increase the number of nominees in the best picture and actor categories? Allow potential members to self-nominate rather than requiring sponsorship from its current largely-male, largely-white members?

Those are just some of the proposals the Academy is scheduled to grapple with at this coming Tuesday’s closed-door meeting.

The meeting is the latest shoe to drop in the ongoing outcry over this year’s all-white nominee slate in the acting categories, following Jada Pinkett and Spike Lee’s announced boycott of the ceremony and actors Charlotte Rampling and Michael Caine’s push back that black actors should be “patient.” Do you think certain measures will improve future outcomes? Could they have unintended consequences that could ultimately backfire?

Guest:

Pete Hammond, awards columnist at the entertainment news site, Deadline

Kaiser and Blue Shield are being sued by Consumer Watchdog and others for allegedly dodging a state tax on health insurance premiums.; Credit: Ted Eytan/Flickr

A court hearing in Los Angeles today against two of California’s biggest health insurance providers could bring billions of dollars to the state coffer.

Kaiser and Blue Shield are being sued by Consumer Watchdog and others for allegedly dodging a state tax on health insurance premiums. The suit wants the two companies to start paying the tax, plus about $10 billion in state back taxes.

Kaiser and Blue Shield say that they should not be taxed because they are not technically insurers. And if they end up being on the hook for a huge tax bill, they might have to raise premiums on consumers.

Besides Kaiser and Blue Shield, Anthem Blue Cross and Health Net are also facing a similar lawsuit.

The four insurance providers make up 70 percent of California’s health insurance market.   

Guests:

Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, the organization that’s bringing the lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield of California, Anthem Blue Cross, and Health Net

Charles Bacchi, President and CEO of California Association of Health Plans, which represents all the managed health plans in California

A Lyft car drives along Powell Street on June 12, 2014 in San Francisco, California. ; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

GM announced yesterday (Jan 20) the launch of its new car-sharing service, Maven, on the heels of its $500 million investment in ride-sharing service Lyft, and acquisition of the assets and technology of out-of-business Uber rival, Sidecar.

GM’s president Dan Ammann said that the company sees “changes in consumer behavior and we see significant opportunity as that changes occurs. We want to make sure we’re at the forefront of this.”

Analysts see this as a means for GM to place a stake in the future where more people’s transportation habits are shifting. Mother Jones has even released an article on self-parking cars, and a study from the University of Michigan found that fewer Americans are getting drivers licenses.

What are the latest consumer trends in ride-sharing and vehicle ownership? What is the role of technology (apps, the emergence of autonomous vehicles) in shifting preferences? How are other car makers re-aligning their assets to adapt to this change? Or are low gas prices enticing more people to purchase a car? As the WSJ reported, US car sales jumped to a record high last year. Conversely, the publication also reported that millenials may not become car buyers.

Guests:

Michelle Krebs, Senior analyst for AutoTrader.com

Jeremy Carlson, Senior Analyst, Automotive Technology, IHS, a marketing research firm

Los Angeles International Airport is seen during National Landmarks Illuminated.; Credit: Jason Kempin

Tomorrow the L.A. City Council is set to vote on proposed tightened penalties for taxicab drivers at LAX who discriminate against riders based on race.

This, after a recent undercover investigation by two black officers who were denied taxi rides 20 percent of the time at LAX. That investigation was spurred by an essay written by ESPN analyst Doug Glanville, "Why I Still Get Shunned by Taxi Drivers." What has your cab-catching experience been like at LAX? Have you ever felt that you were discriminated against by an LAX cab driver?

Do you agree with adopting tightened penalties, or is this an overreach?

Guests:

Bob Blumenfield, the LA City Councilman who proposed the tightened penalties

Biju Mathew, secretary of the National Taxi Workers Alliance of the AFLCIO. He’s also an associate professor of business at Rider University and author of “Taxi! Cabs and Capitalism in New York City”

People walk outside Harvard Law School's Langdell Hall on May 10, 2010 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.; Credit: Darren McCollester/Getty Images

A recent report put out by Making Caring Common, a project looking at reforming the college admissions process at Harvard University, wants schools to put more emphasis on an applicant's commitment to doing a greater societal good, rather than on his or her standardized test scores.

Over 50 admissions deans and educators, including those from MIT and the University of Virginia, have thrown their support behind the report and have pledged to make changes in their own admissions process. Yale, for instance, is adding an essay question in next year’s application asking applicants to detail their involvement with their communities.

What do you think of the report and its recommendations? Can they be achieve? realistically? One of the stated goals is to reduce the stress of applicants applying to college, would these recommendations help?

Guests:

Richard Weissbourd, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-director of Making Caring Common, which has put out the report

Steve Cohen,  co-author of “Getting In,” about the college admissions process. He is a contributor to Forbes magazine, writing about college admissions and public policy