Peter Lee, Covered California executive director, will oversee implementation of the Affordable Care Act in California. ; Credit: Peter Lee

Key parts of the Affordable Care Act — popularly known as Obamacare — take effect in 2014, but by October this year, Californians will be able to shop for health insurance and compare plans through Covered California, the state's health insurance exchange.

In early June, Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, joins Larry for a discussion about how his team plans to implement the healthcare exchange in our state. (We'll update you on the exact date ASAP).

We'd also like to give you a chance to ask questions about how the health care exchange will impact your life.  

What would you like to know? Do you have any questions about how the exchange works? What about the possible impact it will have on California's finances? Will your healthcare costs go up?  We hope to get to as many as possible when Mr. Lee is on the show. 

Please post your questions in the comments below or contact us via AirTalk's Twitter or Facebook page. 

Actors Jaden Smith and Will Smith attend the "After Earth" premiere at Ziegfeld Theater on May 29, 2013 in New York City.; Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

Larry and KPCC critics Lael Loewenstein and Tim Cogshell review this week’s releases, including After Earth, Now You See Me, The Kings of Summer and more. TGI-FilmWeek!

After Earth

Now You See Me

The Kings of Summer

Guests:

Lael Loewenstein, film critic for KPCC and Variety

Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Alt Film Guide

Police reportedly removed several dogs and two men from a home in Antelope Valley where a woman was fatally mauled Thursday morning.; Credit: Courtesy NBCLA.com

The owner of four pit bulls that mauled to death a 63-year-old woman jogger in the Antelope Valley has been charged with murder. The 29-year-old Alex Jackson is scheduled to be arraigned today. If convicted, Jackson faces up to life in prison.

Jackson is also charged with growing and possessing marijuana for sale. Authorities had received three other complaints of Jackson’s pit bulls attacking other people since January. Murder charges are rare in fatal dog attacks. This case brings to mind another fatal dog mauling in California more than a decade earlier, when Marjorie Knoller was convicted of second-degree murder after her dogs killed her neighbor in the hallway of their San Francisco apartment building. Knoller’s husband was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

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

A dancer performs at a strip club.; Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

An investigation by Sacramento news station, KCRA, revealed an area strip club has been receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax credits, thanks to the contentious Enterprise Zone program.

The embattled state program was created 30 years ago to help create jobs in economically depressed regions. Gold Club Centerfolds gets $37,000 tax break for each server and clerk it employs.

The club's CEO, Mark Boyles conceded, "I’m loving this deal, but I don’t see where it necessarily makes sense for the taxpayers." The controversy comes at a time when Governor Jerry Brown is trying to revamp the program entirely, describing EZ credits as old tools for the old economy. Even though big businesses such as Costco and Federal Express are beneficiaries, supporters of EZ credits, say it's irrelevant which companies get the credits, what matters is creating jobs for folks who would otherwise be unemployed.

Guests:
Steve Smith, Spokesperson, California Labor Federation

Armando Jamjian, Certified Public Accountant and Managing Partner of Rivera, Jamjian & Dillard based in Pasadena

(L-R) Goaltender Jonathan Quick #32, Drew Doughty #8 and Slava Voynov #26 of the Los Angeles Kings celebrate their teams 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in game Seven of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Staples Center on May 28, 2013 in Los Angeles.; Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Tomorrow the Kings open their bid for a spot in the Stanley Cup final when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks on the road. Kings players will be energized by the idea of winning a second consecutive NHL title, but to write off the best-of-seven series with Chicago as a formality would be a huge mistake.

The Blackhawks are anything but pushovers. They are fast, defensively sound, the best transition team in the NHL, and their 25-year-old captain, Jonathan Toews is a force to be reckoned with. But Toews and company will have to figure out a way around Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, who has earned an air of invincibility, and sitting in front of Quick is a defense tough to unlock. The Kings are coming off a game seven victory against the San Jose Sharks which could give them the belief, or fatigue could be an excuse if the fast-skating Blackhawks come out of the blocks at the fast pace they’ve become known for. Can the Kings repeat their Stanley Cup win of 2012?

Guest:
Nicholas J. Cotsonika, NHL writer for Yahoo! Sports

Santa Monica; Credit: Photo by imjustcreative/Graham Smith via Flickr Creative Commons

On Saturday, the nonprofit environmental group Heal the Bay is hosting an event at Bay Street in Santa Monica to honor the life of Nick Gabaldon (1927-1951), a pioneering African-American surfer who died at the age of 24 while shooting the Malibu pier, but who became a symbol of a multicultural beach community.

Bay Street, also known by locals as “the Inkwell,” has been a popular beach amongst Los Angeles’ African-American community since the Jim Crow era in the United States, when the idea of the beach harkened images of blond hair and blue eyes. The Inkwell is seen by many as a literal beach head in the battle for the rights of non-whites to recreate and enjoy the beauty of California’s beaches, and Gabaldon is a lesser-known but equally important character in the early modern history of surfing, when the activity bloomed in American culture.

Guest:

Alison Rose Jefferson, public historian and one of the coordinators of the event to commemorate the life of Nick Gabaldon

Film critic Peter Rainer's new book, "Rainer on Film: Thirty Years of Film Writing in a Turbulent and Transformative Era"

Peter Rainer has been a film critic for 30 years. In his book, “Rainer on Film: Thirty Years of Film Writing in a Turbulent and Transformative Era,” Rainer gives an extensive history of films, directors, actors and more.

This nearly 550-page book includes some of his reviews, his take on the best and worst films and how film and the players involved have grown ... for better or for worse. Rainer joins AirTalk to discuss why he thinks "Fight Club" and "Zero Dark Thirty" are overrated and which films are underseen.

Is he right? What’s on your overrated and underseen lists? Do you follow the work of any particular directors or actors? Let us know in the comments.

Guest:
Peter Rainer, author of “Rainer on Film: Thirty Years of Film Writing in a Turbulent and Transformative Era,” film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor

Peter will be doing a book signing at Book Soup on June 10 at 7 p.m. and at Vromans on June 19.

A robot distributes promotional literature calling for a ban on fully autonomous weapons in Parliament Square on April 23, 2013 in London, England. The 'Campaign to Stop Killer Robots' is calling for a pre-emptive ban on lethal robot weapons that could attack targets without human intervention. ; Credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Governments around the world should stop research on lethal autonomous machines before it’s too late, according to a United Nations human rights expert. A group of researchers, including experts on drone technology that work for the Pentagon, warn that killer robot technology could arrive before nations have time to think through the implications.

Christof Heynes, a UN special rapporteur urged world leaders to press pause on research, saying “Time is of the essence.” Speaking to reporters in Geneva, he said programming machines to kill without humans making decisions could encourage more wars and make it more difficult to hold anyone accountable for war crimes. Autonomous, non-lethal systems are being developed by the Pentagon already. Their envisioned use includes crowd control while delivering humanitarian aid to danger zones.

Human Rights Watch wants an all-out ban on killer robots. But a different camp says the Pentagon ought to continue research and development because the U.S. can’t anticipate what it will need in future conflicts.

How quickly is the technology moving? Can a machine with artificial intelligence make the same battlefield judgement as a human soldier? Why can’t a human be kept in the loop, as occurs with current drone technology?

Guests:
Bonnie Docherty, Senior Researcher, Arms Division, Human Rights Watch; Lead author on "Losing Humanity: The Case against Killer Robots," a joint publication on fully autonomous weapons that was jointly published by Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic

Christopher Harmer, Senior Naval Analyst, Institute for the Study of War; Previously, Harmer served for 20 years as a career officer in the U.S. Navy

People gather on June 1, 2013 during a demonstration in support of Wikileaks whistleblower US Army Private Bradley Manning at Fort Meade in Maryland, where Manning's court martial will begin on June 3.; Credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

On Monday Bradley Manning, the 25-year-old former U.S. Army intelligence analyst, begins his military trial three years after being arrested for his involvement in the biggest leak of classified information in US history. Manning faces 22 charges, including violating the Espionage Act and a charge of aiding the enemy, which could bring a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Manning has already admitted to leaking over 700,000 government and military documents to the website Wikileaks and has already offered to plead guilty to 10 charges related to tampering with classified information which could put him behind bars for 20 years. But the prosecution is intent on pursuing the two biggest charges.

In his opening statement, Capt. Joe Morrow said, “this is a case about a soldier who systematically harvested hundreds of thousands of documents from classified databases and then dumped that information onto the internet into the hands of the enemy.” Manning, meanwhile, when releasing the classified cables wrote that he hoped to spark “worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms.”

While the letter of the law might find indeed Manning guilty of treason and of aiding the enemy, the decision of the court carries symbolic weight over the future of secrecy and transparency in military and foreign policy affairs. The Wikileaks cables have indeed sparked a public conversation, and it’s understandable why so many people consider Manning a hero.

How should the court rule? Do the ends justify the means? Are supporters of transparency and civil liberties naive about how much Manning’s actions endangered our security? What’s an appropriate punishment?

Guests:
Jeffrey Addicott, professor of law at St. Mary's School of Law in San Antonio, where he is also the director of the Center for Terrorism Law

Faiza Patel, Co-Director of the Liberty & National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice

A mobile testing program manager uses a photographer's finger to demonstrate how to obtain a blood sample to test for HIV inside a mobile HIV screening lab in Los Angeles, California.; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Unified School District and the STD-test sharing site Qpid.me have joined forces to encourage students to get tested for sexually-transmitted diseases and share those test results with potential partners.

The site, shows users where the nearest STD testing center is located. The results of the test are then sent via text message to the user. The LAUSD is targeting seventh through twelfth grade students and demonstrating how to use Qpid.me in health classes. They say the service will hopefully encourage teens to demand to know the STD-status of potential sexual partners. Critics, however, say that Qpid.me encourages young people to engage in pre-marital sex.

Does a service like Qpid.me encourage promiscuity? How do users protect their privacy? Does the site stigmatize users with negative test results? Will users receive accurate information?

Guests:
Ramin Bastani, Founder & CEO Qpid.me

Dr. Diane Foley, board member at the National Abstinence Education Association and practicing pediatrician in Colorado Springs, Colorado

An exterior view of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

In a 5-4 decision split not along the usual political lines, the Supreme Court ruled this morning that both state and federal law enforcement agencies have the right to collect DNA of people arrested for “serious” crimes, regardless of whether or not they are eventually convicted of the crime.

The State of Maryland argued that DNA collection has become a powerful tool for law enforcement and that collection upon arrest does not violate our Fourth Amendment right protecting us against warrantless search. But Justice Antonin Scalia, writing in the dissent, suggested that the founding fathers wouldn’t have consented “to open their mouths for royal inspection.” Currently, 27 states collect DNA material from arrestees in felony cases, and this ruling allows them to continue to do so.

Is DNA collection upon arrest a violation of individual rights? Or should law enforcement not be denied an effective tool in crime solving? How will law enforcement define “serious crime” in order to collect DNA? How will DNA be stored? DNA is different than a fingerprint, but should the use of DNA be limited to a simple identity tool?

Guest:
Lisa McElroy, Associate Professor of Law, Earle Mack School of Law, Drexel University; Supreme Court scholar

Soldiers salute at a remembrance service for the 13 victims killed in the Ft. Hood attacks in Killeen, Texas on November 5, 2010.; Credit: Ben Sklar/Getty Images

A military judge has allowed Maj. Nidal Hasan to represent himself in court. Hasan is charged in a 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage that killed 13 people and wounded more than two dozen. Hasan has asked for another three months to prepare his defense and said he will use a "defense of others" argument, according to the Associated Press.

How common is it for suspects to represent themselves in military court? Why would he be allowed to defend himself? What could Hasan be considering as a defense?

Guests:
Ray Locker, National Security Editor for USA Today

Geoffrey S. Corn, Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law; retired lieutenant colonel and veteran army prosecutor

The crime scene after a police car chase in downtown Los Angeles. ; Credit: Erika Aguilar/KPCC

In East L.A.on Saturday, a 23-year-old man was killed when his sedan was rammed by a car fleeing police at high speed. Julio Cesar Reyes-Salvador was stopped at an intersection as the hot pursuit approached. Three other cars were nearly demolished, as well, injuring four more people. The Los Angeles Police Department say the suspect was being chased for suspicion of driving recklessly. That suspect has been charged with vehicular manslaughter for the death Reyes-Salvador. The pursuit lasted only a few minutes, according to NBC 4. It's the second time in a week that an innocent bystander has been killed during a police pursuit.

In Santa Ana last Thursday, 33-year old Andrew Scott Reisse was walking on Flower Street when a white Dodge Charger ran over him, killing the young man. Police were pursuing the Charger for twenty minutes before the collision. Those suspects are now in custody.

Why did these police pursuits result in the death of bystanders? What are the rules governing when a police cruiser should stand down or when a police helicopter should be called in? Is there any way to make pursuits safer on public streets?

Guests:
Andrew Neiman, Lieutenant, Los Angeles Police Department

Geoffrey Alpert, Professor of Criminology, University of South Carolina

A masked hacker, part of the Anonymous group, hacked the French presidential Elysee Palace website on January 20, 2012. Anonymous, which briefly knocked the FBI and Justice Department websites offline in retaliation for the US shutdown of file-sharing site Megaupload, is a shadowy group of international hackers with no central hierarchy.; Credit: JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP/Getty Images

American businesses are at a loss as to what they could do to end cyber-espionage and intellectual property theft. One Internet security firm estimates that an organization is hit by malware every few minutes, and there’s very little companies can do to protect themselves or seek recourse.

So how about putting into practice the old adage, an eye for an eye? It’s a divisive idea that is nonetheless gaining traction in some computer security circles. The Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, a private task force that counted former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and former Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair as its members, released a report recently that called for retaliatory counter-hacks against cyber attackers to be become legal.

"These attacks would raise the cost to IP thieves of their actions, potentially deterring them from undertaking these activities in the first place," the report said. "Only when the danger of hacking into a company’s network and exfiltrating trade secrets exceeds the rewards will such theft be reduced from a threat to a nuisance."

So-called “hack back” is illegal under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which was passed in 1984. But some legal scholars argue that the law contains enough gray area to make the practice legal. Legal or not, opponents think giving companies the power to retaliate is just a bad idea. The American Bar Association is expected to weigh in on the debate with the impending release of a report on "hack back."

Guests:
Stewart A. Baker, a partner at the law firm, Steptoe & Johnson; he is the former first Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security where he set cybersecurity policy

Stan Stahl, President of Citadel Information Group, which provides information security management to companies; President of the Los Angeles Chapter of Information Systems Security Association

Pedestrians in Koreatown are seen at the intersection of Wilshire and Western in Los Angeles.; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

When Missing Persons lead singer Dale Bozzio jabbed, “Nobody walks in L.A.,” she wasn’t being sarcastic. In most American cities, you have to have grit and determination to make it, but in Los Angeles, you need a car. America’s most sprawling city seems unwalkable to most, but as Angelinos look for ways to escape their cars, a new walk-friendly mindset is blossoming.

Why has L.A. been seen as tough on pedestrians? What would make it more walkable? What are great examples of walkable cities, and how could Los Angeles emulate them better? Which neighborhoods are best for walking?

Guests:
Jeff Speck, author of “Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time”

Margot Ocañas, Pedestrian Coordinator for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation

Are marijuana possession arrests racially biased?; Credit: Bruce Chambers/Orange County Register

The American Civil Liberties Union studied the racial backgrounds of those arrested for marijuana possession. Their report shows that African Americans are almost four times more likely to be arrested for possession than white people.

Guest:
Ezekiel Edwards, director of the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project and primary author of the marijuana report

The California Capitol Building; Credit: David Paul Morris/Getty Images

A heavyweight in California political circles is pitching a major reform idea. Dan Schnur, former chairman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, wants to see a ban on fundraising for lawmakers while the California legislature is in session.

Schnur says  undue political influence is more likely under current rules because "enterprising legislators can schedule a fundraising reception within a five-minute walk from the floor of the state Assembly or Senate, rush out to scoop up a stack of campaign contributions, and be back at their desk before the ink on the checks has dried," he wrote for The Sacramento Bee.

Critics of the proposal say the unintended consequences would wreak havoc. Deep-pocketed folks with political ambition would rise to the top. Incumbents would not stand a chance. Moreover, more money would go to special interest groups, and more ads, than campaigns themselves.

Have there been examples of fundraising leading to corruption in the California legislature? When would elected representatives have to time to raise money considering the fairly constant schedule in Sacramento? Where does this fit in the bigger picture of handling the relationship between money and politics?

Guests:
Dan Schnur, Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC and adjunct faculty at USC Annenberg School; Schnur has started a petition to ban fundraising while the California legislature is in session; Former chairman of the California fair Political Practices Commission

Steve Maviglio, Democratic Strategist and Former Legislative Staffer

A box from Amazon.com; Credit: Flickr/Aurelijus Valeiša

The hyper-competitive grocery market in LA is expecting a major new player in the coming days. Reuters reports Amazon.com will offer grocery delivery to your doorstep, including fresh organic produce, meat and dairy. AmazonFresh, as its grocery section is called, has been testing in its hometown of Seattle for the last five years. It's expected to add LA, San Francisco and 20 other urban markets if all goes well.

The fear for other grocers, large and small, is that Amazon.com will treat its food business as a loss leader - just one more way to attract consumers buying more expensive wares such as electronics. Regardless, market watchers have seen many grocery businesses fail, both online and off.

If you're a regular Amazon shopper, will you add milk and strawberries to your power blender order? If you're not a regular on Amazon, could rock-bottom prices make you switch from your current market? Why is Amazon taking this step? What will Amazon do differently to try to ensure success?

Guest:
Keith Anderson, Vice president of the Digital Advisory practice at RetailNet Group, a market.research firm for the global retail and consumer goods industry

Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees during a game in 2012.; Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

With summer almost upon us, the MLB season is in full swing, pardon the pun, and this week it’s produced action both on and off the field. In a surprise feature on ESPN this morning, it came to the fore that the league is looking into lengthy suspensions of about 20 players connected to a Miami-area clinic embroiled in a performance-enhancing drug scandal.

Players under investigation include MLB superstars Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun, and if the league followed through on punishments, it would seem to be a turn toward confronting doping in baseball in a profound way. If players are found to be doping, what’s a fair punishment?

Also breaking this morning, a judge ruled that former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and current club ownership can’t keep details of their financial relationship secret. But odds are Dodgers fans aren’t too distraught by the news, because, after a lackluster beginning to their season, a star in the making has suddenly arrived in the dugout by the name of Yasiel Puig. The Cuban connected on three of his four at bats last night against the San Diego Padres, and the result was a double, a solo homerun, and a two-run homer that pushed the Dodgers safely past the Padres, 9-7. Can Puig save the Dodgers?

Education reform activist Michelle Rhee's new memoir, "Radical: Fighting to Put Students First"

Education activist Michelle Rhee has made quite the name for herself in education reform. While being a chancellor in the Washington D.C. school district, she closed 25 schools and laid off and fired about 300 teachers, principals and district office workers. The reason? “Students first” — Rhee’s slogan and guiding principle in education reform. During her time as chancellor, Rhee boasts that the pay-off for her drastic changes was seeing math and reading scores increase in the Washington D.C. school district, graduation rates rise and education funding increase.

In her new memoir, “Radical: Fighting to Put Students First,” the book begins with a glimpse into Rhee’s first experience as a young teacher in a difficult school district, where she had no control over her classroom and her students. By watching another teacher, she realized that it was not her students who were bad, but it was herself that needed to improve as a teacher. From there, she began to develop the belief of needing to let go of poor-performing teachers, regardless of tenure, and being able to measurably increase students’ math and reading scores.

Michelle Rhee tells AirTalk about her memoir and her current battles in education reform. Rhee supported California Senator Ron Calderon’s proposal to hold teachers accountable by more evaluations. How does she feel about that bill failing to pass? Also, Rhee weighs in on Governor Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula Proposal to increase funding for low-income students and English learners.

Does Rhee have any regrets about her past actions? Is there anything she would have done differently? What is vital to education reform in California?

Guest:
Michelle Rhee, author of “Radical: Fighting to Put Students First;” founder and CEO of StudentsFirst; former chancellor to the District of Columbia Public Schools