Michael Jackson performs during the Halftime show as the Dallas Cowboys take on the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII at Rose Bowl on January 31, 1993 in Pasadena, California. Credit: George Rose/Getty Images

Jury selection begins today in the lawsuit of the Jackson family against AEG Live. If AEG Live is found liable for Michael Jackson's death, AEG Live will pay the family billions of dollars, an estimate of what Michael Jackson could have made in the remainder of his lifetime if he had not died in 2009.

The Jackson family says AEG Live, Michael Jackson's last concert promoter, is accountable for hiring Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctor who used a surgical anesthetic to treat Jackson's insomnia for the "This Is It" tour. Murray is currently serving time for Jackson's involuntary manslaughter.

AEG Live will argue that the company had no role in choosing Dr. Murray, saying that the doctor worked for Jackson, not AEG Live. The company may also bring up Jackson's eccentric personality and previous accusations involving drug addictions and child molestation. Jackson's mother and children, Prince and Paris, will testify in court about his final days. 

Should AEG Live be held responsible for Jackson's medical care? Does Jackson, the patient, bear any burden for medical choices? Was AEG Live eager to profit from Jackson's tour and put pressure on Dr. Murray?

Guest:
Stanley Goldman, Professor of Law at Loyola Law School and Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Genocide at LLS

Is grouping students by ability an effective learning model? Credit: Larry W. Smith/Getty Images

The concepts of ability grouping and tracking are familiar even to those who haven’t experienced them firsthand. Ability grouping is the practice of splitting a versatile classroom of children into groups based on skill level – advanced and lower-level reading groups or fast and slow math groups are common in elementary school classrooms, though they may go by different age.

Tracking, which builds whole classes based on ability, is more common in middle and high school, where honors courses and AP and IB programs are popular. Even though ability grouping and tracking are part of modern U.S. education, they have been less popular in recent decades than they were at the outset. Ability grouping and tracking fell out of favor in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s after being stigmatized as racist and classist. But these programs have had a resurgence of late, as new studies reveal that students who are grouped by ability test better than their peers – regardless of whether they are placed into upper or lower level performance groups.

What are the benefits of ability grouping and tracking? What are the potential drawbacks? How do programs that rely on ability grouping work in LAUSD?

Guests:
Tom Loveless, former sixth-grade teacher and Harvard policy professor; Currently Senior Fellow, Governance Studies at Brookings Institution - focusing on student achievement, education policy, and reform in K-12 schools.

Brandon Martinez, Assistant professor of Clinical Education, USC Rossier School of Education, expert in K-12 education with an emphasis on student engagement

Jered Weaver #36 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim throws a pitch during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on April 1, 2013 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Angels started their season on the road in Cincinnati on Monday, where they went 13 innings to earn a 3-1 win after some deft managing by Mike Scioscia, who reconfigured his players in the 11th inning in hopes of breaking a 1-1 tie. Angels fans will hope Scioscia can keep recreating that magic. The team has spent big this year, racking up a $170 million wage bill this season, though, if baseball fans know anything it’s that big spending alone does not a World Series trophy buy.

While the Angels have lingered in the shadow of their “crosstown rivals,” the Dodgers, who have spent lavishly on team and stadium, the Angels could certainly be a force to be reckoned with, especially if Scioscia can continue to manage creatively. Will the Angels have the legs and brains to go the distance?

Guest:
Mike Giovanna, Los Angeles Times sports reporter who follows the Angels

What will happen under California's new pilot program for "dual eligibles," senior citizens that are under Medicare and Medical? Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Call it Obamacare, call it health care reform, call it whatever you want. The overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act just had its third birthday. Some provisions are already in place and by 2014, major parts of the law are supposed to be up and running.

Still, many people are confused as to how the law will impact them personally. Take one group for example: seniors. Reimbursement for Medicare Advantage, which provides care for seniors who opt to get their Medicare benefits through private insurance plans, was supposed to be slashed under health care reform. But the government said on April 1 that it is actually going to raise the program’s payment rate for 2014 as opposed to cutting it. California is among 15 states that will start a pilot program to enroll “dual eligibles” – seniors with both Medicare and Medi-Cal – into a managed care plan this year.

How would health care reform affect seniors? How would proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage impact seniors with Medicare? Is the “dual eligibles” program beneficial for low-income seniors?

Guests:

Jerry Kominski, Professor at UCLA’s Department of Health Services. And Director of the Health Economics and Evaluation Research Program at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

Avik Roy, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a columnist for Forbes and National Review

Head coach Mike Rice of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights coaches from the sideline against the Villanova Wildcats during their first round game of the 2012 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 6, 2012 in New York City. Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images

How far should a coach go to motivate players? According to Rutgers University, men’s basketball coach Mike Rice went way too far. The university fired Rice today, a day after a video of his vitriolic coaching style was put online. The footage, taken from the team’s practices between 2010 and 2012, shows Rice shoving and kicking his players, as well as shouting obscenities and sexually discriminatory slurs.

This is not the first time Rice has run into problems with his questionable coaching tactics. In December, Rice was suspended by Tim Pernetti, Rutger’s athletic director, for three games and was fined $50,000. ESPN’s Outside the Lines, which broke the story, is reporting that the suspension came after Pernetti viewed a 30-minute video of the team’s practices.

Rice’s dismissal was announced by Rutgers via Twitter. The tweet said: “Based upon recently revealed information and a review of previously discovered issues, Rutgers has terminated the contract of Mike Rice.”

Guest:
Chris Dufresne, college basketball & football columnist for the Los Angeles Times

A new bill in California includes language that could legalize hemp production in California if the federal government changes its hemp laws. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Yesterday in Sacramento, a Senate committee passed a new bill that could legalize hemp production in California if - and that's a big “if” - the federal government ever changes hemp’s illicit status. The fight over hemp cultivation has been going for years across the country. Law enforcement worry the plant can be used to camouflage recreational, illegal marijuana. Some businesses say the economics make enforcement worth our while. In the meantime, those textile, soap and food businesses import hemp legally from countries including Canada and China.

Nearly a dozen states have passed mostly symbolic legislation supporting hemp farming. However federal law still prohibits the business. This new bill includes language that recognizes that fact, potentially avoiding veto by the Governor Jerry Brown.

How else could legalized hemp complicate law enforcement efforts? Is the fate of hemp forever tied to the legal status of marijuana? Would importing hemp still be cheaper even if it were legal to grow in California?

Guests:
Patrick Goggin, California Legal Counsel for Vote Hemp

John Lovell, Government Relations Manager, California Police Chiefs Association

Carl Hall No. 22 of the Wichita State Shockers dunks the ball in the first half while taking on the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the third round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Salt Lake City. Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

As we watch the Final Four of both men’s and women’s NCAA basketball this weekend, during commercial breaks we can debate whether student athletes should be paid or if they should play for the pure love of the game and their school.

Former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon and others who’ve joined him in what could end up being a class-action lawsuit know how they feel on the topic. With all the money being made from their talents and their likenesses, they feel like athletes deserve a cut of the money schools get from the NCAA. O’Bannon isn’t alone. Many experts and fans think that, as lawyer and Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College Warren Zola writes, “NCAA amateurism is an illusion, and quite likely an antitrust violation.”

Do you think college athletes should get a cut of the money they help bring into schools? Or should scholarships, opportunities, and love of university be enough?

Guests:
Warren Zola, lawyer and Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College

Andrew Zimbalist, Robert A. Woods Professor of economics at Smith College and author of  “Unpaid Professionals: Commercialism and Conflict in Big-Time College Sports” (Princeton University Press, 1999)

After seven years, the housing market is finally recovering and sale prices are finally up again, according to a recent report by analytics firm CoreLogic. But do these numbers keep away real estate investors? Credit: Leslie Berestein Rojas/KPCC

After seven years, the housing market is finally recovering and sale prices are finally up again, according to a recent report by analytics firm CoreLogic. In February, sale prices rose by 10.2 percent compared to last year, the highest annual gain since March 2006. CoreLogic also projects that sale prices will steadily rise. The report shows this is a national trend, but the states topping the list are Nevada, Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Idaho.

Interestingly, do these numbers keep away real estate investors? MoneyWatch reported that the number of institutional investors and investment properties are decreasing. When the housing market was low, investors seized the opportunity to buy foreclosures and flip them or rent them out, but with sale prices on the upswing, the properties are no longer lucrative investments.

How do these two factors affect the economy? Will traditional sales make up the loss from investment purchases? Why is the housing market changing?

Guest:
Paddy Hirsch, Senior Producer of Personal Finance at Marketplace; author of “Man vs. Markets: Economics Explained (Plain and Simple)" (HarperBusiness, 2012)

How will AP style on how we refer to immigrants change everyday language? Credit: Associated Press

Times change and so, thankfully, does the use of outmoded, inaccurate or offensive terms.  Associated Press, long the arbiter of style for journalists, has revised its Stylebook year after year, ultimately shedding archaic terms like “Oriental,” “mentally retarded” and “homophobia.”  The latest language to go under the knife is “illegal immigrant” when referring to someone who is living or immigrating to a country illegally.  It’s a change that’s long overdue, say immigrant advocates.

They’ve long maintained that these terms, used either as adjectives or as nouns, reduce the complicated gradations of immigration status to a black-and-white, either-or issue. For example, many immigrants described as “undocumented” actually do have papers that allow them to be living in the country legally.  From now on, AP instructs writers to use these words to refer to actions, rather than descriptions:

“illegal immigration, but not illegal immigrant. Acceptable variations include living in or entering a country illegally or without legal permission.”

The AP admits that the new language may be awkward for writers. But eventually, accuracy should win out over facility – just in time for the big immigration policy battle heating up in Congress, and the slew of news coverage it will inevitably bring.  

Have you been bothered by the term “illegal” to describe immigrants?  Does changing the way media refers to a class of people lead to change in public attitudes?  Are there archaic or offensive labels still out there in common use that you’d like to see retired for good?

Guest:
Phuong Ly, executive director, The Institute for Justice and Journalism; founder of Gateway California, a nonprofit that connects journalists and immigrants

"Rest in Pieces," by Bess Lovejoy

Hugo Chávez’s death reverberated around the world, and so did the news that Venezuelan officials wanted to embalm the body for permanent display. It ended up not happening, but bodies of other famous people have gone through some odd adventures.

This topic inspired Bess Lovejoy to do some research. She found out Eva Perón’s corpse travelled across countries, that Lenin wanted a simple burial instead of mummification, and that Alexander the Great’s body was a required visit for aspiring leaders, however clumsy or thievish.

In Bess Lovejoy’s book, “Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses,” she included some of her favorite stories, like the very mysterious life and death of “Russia’s greatest love machine” and mystic Grigori Rasputin, whose preserved genitals was later proven to be a sea cucumber. Lovejoy ordered her favorite stories thematically in order to show how ancient and modern societies have dealt with death.

Although we may not keep the organs of deceased loved ones in drawers like Mary Shelley, author of “Frankenstein”, do we still need physical objects to venerate leaders and loved ones? Have societal views towards death shifted? How do we deal with death today? Is it healthy?

Guest:

Bess Lovejoy, author of “Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses” (Simon and Schuster)

After two weeks of intense negotiations, the United Nations General Assembly this week voted to approve a landmark new arms trade treaty that is designed to curb sales of arms that could end up in the hands of terrorists, dictators and other humanitarian offenders. Credit: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images

After two weeks of intense negotiations, the United Nations General Assembly this week voted to approve a landmark new arms trade treaty. The language of the treaty establishes common international standards requiring states to ensure that arms and weapons exported to other countries are not to be used “to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law.” The treaty is designed to curb sales of arms that could end up in the hands of terrorists, dictators and other humanitarian offenders, and covers exports of  arge-caliber artillery, combat aircraft, tanks and vehicles, warships, missiles, small arms and the like. While approval by the UNGA was overwhelming, the decision was not unanimous; the final tally was 154-3, with Iran, North Korea and Syria voting against it and 23 countries abstaining.

President Obama is expected to sign the treaty, but it will face an uphill battle for the 2/3 majority needed to pass in the Senate: over 50 Republican senators have expressed opposition. Critics, including the National Rifle Association, claim that language in the treaty could potentially supercede Americans’ Second Amendment rights, threatening gun ownership legislation already in place.  And detractors also point out that, while well-intentioned, the treaty  is unlikely to have the teeth needed to affect the $60 million global arms trade.  In fact, they say, many of the nations who abstained or voted against are those least likely to abide by its restraints.

Is the Arms Trade Treaty a step towards a solution to global arms proliferation,or just a feel-good, band-aid measure? Or is it something worse - a threat to one of the tenets of our Constitution?  Does it have any chance of getting passed by the Senate?  How do you feel about linking arms trade to humanitarian causes?

Guests:
Daryl G. Kimball, executive director, Arms Control Association

Ted R. Bromund, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation

Aaron Foss and Serdar Danis win $50,000 from the FCC for their "robocall" blocking techology called "Nomorobo." Credit: Nomorobo Screenshot

How many times have you picked up the phone at home only to hear an automated computer voice on the other end? The Federal Trade Commission gets about 200,000 complaints every month related to “robocalls” – computer-dialed, prerecorded messages – and it recently sponsored a national contest to find the best blocking technology for these unsolicited calls.  

Winners for the contest were announced earlier this week. The winners are Aaron Foss, a freelance software developer, and Serdar Danis, a computer engineer. Each will receive $25,000.

How does “Nomorobo” work? Can consumers expect to see Nomorobo on the market soon? What are the laws governing robocalls nationally and in California now?

Guests:
Shaun Dakin, founder of National Political Do Not Contact Registry and an anti-robocall advocate

Aaron Foss, independent software developer based in Long Island, NY

Is Consumer Watchdog the right choice for the Insurance comminsion? Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In response to rising health insurance rates, California's insurance commissioner has been reviewing rate hikes with the help of a consumer advocacy organization. As reported in the L.A. Times, the insurance industry is complaining that using Consumer Watchdog for government work creates political and financial conflicts of interest.

A spokesperson with the state's Insurance Department tells KPCC that Consumer Watchdog's analysis is just one piece of information their department uses. Governance expert Jessica Levinson says, "While I'm not saying [Consumer Watchdog] won't do a good job. In a perfect world, you've have someone who doesn't have skin in the game."

Why does the Department of Insurance have to rely on analysis of outside groups? Is there anyone else who could fulfill that role? Does using a consumer-advocacy group help balance the influence of analysis from health-company lobbyists?

Guests:

Janice Rocco, Deputy Commissioner of Health Policy, California Department of Insurance

Jessica Levinson, Professor, Loyola Law School and governance expert

North Korean soldiers, led by their national flag bearers, march on a street in Pyongyang, North Korea on Saturday, March 16, 2013. Credit: David Guttenfelder/AP

As military tension escalates in North Korea, the U.S. is left wondering about the nation’s true nuclear capabilities. North Korea has moved a missile to its coast, and according to South Korean military officials, it has “considerable range,” though not enough to reach American shores, according to reports.

North Korea has been famously ambiguous about its true technological strength, frequently making claims to possess missiles and weapons they don’t and notoriously doctoring photos to create a public image of increased arms strength. North Korea has threatened an attack on the U.S. with “smaller, lighter and diversified” nuclear weapons, but South Korean defense has said that missile movements could be for testing or drills, and many analysts doubt the range and accuracy of North Korean weapons.

What is North Korea’s true nuclear capability? How would the United States handle an attempted attack, even if a missile couldn’t reach American shores? Could an attack on South Korea inspire U.S. retaliation?

Guest:
Joseph Cirincione,  President of Ploughshares Fund. He is the author of "Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons and Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Threats” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2005)

Is it important to know the details of where your meat comes from? Proposed new labeling regulations would offer much more information. ; Credit: Justin Lane/EPA/Landov

A new proposal for detailed labelling of meat products in the U.S. is upsetting some in the agriculture industry as well as foreign producers. The plan would see grocery-store packages specify where livestock was born, raised and slaughtered. Currently, meat labelling is required, but not specific. For example, a single package of hamburger might say "U.S, Canada and Mexico."

RELATED: Kosher scandal skewers Doheny meat market: Treyf hits the fan in LA

Proponents of labelling have said consumers want, need and deserve to know the origins of meat products. Critics say it’s too costly and unfairly protectionist against countries such as Canada and Mexico. The World Trade Organization agreed with foreign producers, so the new proposals are supposed to rectify that. The deadline for comments on the issue is coming up on April 11.

The Department of Agriculture is hearing praise from some consumer and U.S. farm groups, but lots of complaints, too. Research shows most consumers aren’t aware origin lables exist on products.

Does product origin affect what you buy? Are you willing to pay more to absorb the extra costs? Is it feasible considering many processing facilities deal with animals from myriad ranches? Why are foreign producers still unsatisfied with the new rules?

Guest:

Glynn Tonsor, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University; Tonsor has researched consumer demand of country of origin labelling, including under a grant from the U.S.D.A.

Actor Vincent Cassel, actress Rosario Dawson and director Danny Boyle attend the premiere of Fox Searchlight Pictures' "Trance" hosted by The Cinema Society & Montblanc at SVA Theater on April 2, 2013 in New York City.; Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Larry is joined by KPCC film critics Tim Cogshell and Claudia Puig to review this week’s releases, including Trance, The Company You Keep, Evil Dead, and more. TGI-FilmWeek!

Trance

The Company You Keep

?

Evil Dead

?

Neighboring Sounds

Guests:

Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Alt Film Guide

Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today

Film critic Roger Ebert gives his trademark thumbs-up as he arrives for the premiere screening of Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke's new film "Training Day" at the Toronto International Film Festival Sept. 7, 2001.; Credit: J.P. MOCZULSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Influential film critic Roger Ebert died yesterday at age 70 after a public battle with cancer that lasted a decade. His friend and iconic filmmaker Martin Scorsese said it's a personal loss for him and for many more, "[Ebert's death is] an incalculable loss for movie culture and for film criticism."

The Chicago Sun-Times writer rose to national popularity in the early 1980s as co-host of "Siskel & Ebert" - a weekly, movie-review television show. His counterpart at the Chicago Tribune, Gene Siskel, was the perfect co-star. As the Sun-Times obituary illustrates, "the trim, balding Siskel, perfectly balanced the bespectacled, portly Ebert."

Still it was really his passionate and prolific writing on film that won respect. He wrote hundreds of reviews a year. After his cancer diagnosis, he scheduled treatments around film premieres and screenings. His energy never seemed to flag until earlier this week when he announced a leave from regular writing due to further cancer illness.

On AirTalk, we'll remember Ebert's life and work and also talk with our film critics about their major influences as critics, as well as the different schools of film criticism pioneered by icons like Pauline Kael, Andrew Sarris and others.

What did Ebert and his on-screen partner, Roger Ebert, bring to the genre? What influence did he have on movies and movie reviews?

Guests:
Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Alt Film Guide

Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today

Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and dearhenrysheehan.com

Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and for the Christian Science Monitor

Should Plan B be available over the counter to women of all ages? ; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Since 2011, only women over 17-years-old can get Plan B One-Step—what’s commonly known as the morning-after pill—without a prescription. That’s quickly about to change, after today’s ruling from a federal judge in New York ordering the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make the pill available to any woman over-the-counter, regardless of age. It’s taken more than a decade for the morning-after pill to be available to all women.

In 1999, the FDA approved the drug as a prescription emergency contraception. Seven years later, the FDA revised its decision to allow the drug to be sold without a prescription to women 18 or older. A decision made by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in 2011 limited over-the-counter sales of the drugs to women 17 or older, despite FDA’s push to make the drug available over-the-counter to all women. 

Judge Edward Korman this morning called Sebelius’ decision at the time, "politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and contrary to agency precedent." Is today’s federal court ruling the right one? Should teens have accessed to the pill?

Guest:

Donna J. Harrison, M.D. Executive Director and Director of Research and Public Policy at the American Association of Pro-LIfe Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Hikers walk through Eaton Canyon Park on Wednesday afternoon, March 27.; Credit: Molly Peterson/KPCC

Two lost hikers have been found alive in Trabuco Canyon. But the five-day search involved hundreds of personnel and led to the hospitalization of one rescuer, seriously injured in a 60-foot fall. This morning, five hikers are reportedly lost in Eaton Canyon.

Why do hikers ignore warning signs not to leave the trail and strike out into dangerous areas? Should there be more signs, fences and other deterrents, or would that ruin the pristine beauty of our natural wilderness areas? Should we continue to deploy rescuers at taxpayer expense, or should those who venture into the wild be forced to take their chances at survival?

Guests:
David Whiting, Columnist, The Orange County Register; and an avid hiker

John McKinney, Renowned Trailmaster; Author of numerous hiking guides including “Hike Smart” that can be found on trailmaster.com

President Obama pauses while speaking during an event in the East Room of the White House April 5, 2013 in Washington, DC.; Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

In a continuing effort to reach consensus on a way to reduce the federal deficit, President Obama has come up with a set of proposals that has managed to annoy both sides of the aisle. His budget, to be released next week, includes cuts to Medicare and Social Security achieved by lowering the cost-of-living adjustment – so-called “chained CPI” – along with revenue increases to come via changes in the tax code aimed at the wealthiest Americans.  

Not surprisingly, GOP leaders have rejected the tax hike plank.  And Democrats are equally vocal in objecting to entitlement cuts, including a change in the consumer price index.  The result of that change would be to shave a small amount off the checks of veterans, seniors and other groups, resulting in an estimated $390 billion in savings over the next 10 years.

The presidential budget is non-binding and is largely seen as symbolic, leading Hill-watchers to speculate that this proposal is an opening gambit on Obama’ part, a sign that he’s willing to take on any and all sacred cows for the sake of budget consensus.  Does the president have any chance of having his budget pass?

Guest:     David Mark, Editor-in-Chief of Politix, former Senior Editor of Politico.com

Guest:

David Mark, Editor-in-Chief of Politix, former Senior Editor of Politico.com