Phil Jackson and Larry Mantle in the KPCC studios on May 28th, 2013.; Credit: Mae Ryan/KPCC

In May, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich caught up to one of former Lakers coach Phil Jackson's incredible records. Popovich tied Jackson for the most best-of-7 series sweeps in NBA history.

Does Jackson ever feel tempted to return to the sidelines to keep his stats up? He says he has no plans to return, but rumors continue to fly about various cities trying to tempt him, especially because of how close he came to returning to the Lakers at the start of the season. 

Jackson served as head coach of the L.A. Lakers from 2000 to 2010, winning five NBA titles for the franchise.  He was head coach of the Chicago Bills from 1989 to 1998, winning six NBA titles. Jackson also played professional basketball for the NBA championship-winning New York Knicks. 

In his new memoir, "Eleven Rings," the former Lakers coach talks about the love and spirituality that won all those games, swept all those series and scored all those rings.

Interview Highlights:

On how Bill Fitch's coaching style informed his own:
"Bill was a task master, that seemed to be the way college coaches were at the time. Militaristic, a lot of that hierarchy that was in the ranks of the military. Coming home during a Christmas holiday, having a bad game against the Univ. of Iowa, getting off the plane at 10:00 and going to right to practice through midnight. A three-hour practice to emphasize how badly we played and the discipline that would come after it. Bill was a young man at that time, 32, 33, so that was the style that he chose. He was a terrific NBA coach...but this is a style that I felt was not going to mesh with NBA players."

On how he gained the respect of his players:
"I think there's a deep respect for coaches that players have. Its ingrained. Some players have always rebelled, or maybe they started out in high school rebelling, but for the most part you're taught that your coach is your leader. He's going to direct the play and do what you have to get done. If you appeal to that part of them, you can win them over.

"There's a little exercise that was something my assistant coach John Bach got from Vince Lombardi, who coached his freshman Fordham basketball team. He had them all line up on the baseline and make a declaration. I would do that before the season started to let them physically know that they were buying into what we were going to do here. I would started out with God has ordained me and the owner to teach you and coach you about the system of basketball."

On how using rituals help solidify a team:
"Having grown up in a church, there's a certain thing that you fall into. One of the things that you find when you're in a religious service is the ability to relax when a ritual comes into play. It gives a person that's used to a ritual or format a comfort zone to feel like this is a place I belong. When you do that everybody seems to find a bond together. I use rituals and routines that I thought weren't too mundane, but brought some of the espirit d'corps into the group."

Excerpt from Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson

Morgan Neville, director of the documentary "Twenty Feet from Startdom," and singer Judith Hill, one of six singers in the film.; Credit: Maya Sugarman/KPCC

Award-winning documentary producer and director Morgan Neville wanted to give the limelight to an often unnoticed voice that has filled millions of American homes - the backup singer. In his new documentary, "Twenty Feet from Stardom," Neville featured the stories and voices of Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Tata Vega, and Judith Hill. 

You might not recognize their names, but you probably have heard their voices, singing on chart topping songs with Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. "Twenty Feet from Stardom" explores the power of their voices and their stories of lost record deals as they worked to make ends meet.

Gil Friesen, prolific music and film executive and former chairman of A&M Records, realized there was an untold story about the profession and the lives of backup singers. For the next two years, the producer and director interviewed about 70 backup singers, exhausted resources for footage and discovered that the core of this untold story was about community and family.

"Backup singing does go way back through all kinds of music history and beyond, but I really wanted to tell the story of these largely African American voices that came into pop music and the revolution they brought with them," said Neville on AirTalk.

For most of these singers, the beginning of their careers began in church choirs. Neville cited how that gospel background enhanced songs like "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones, which was originally sung by Merry Clayton and later by Lisa Fischer.

Singer Judith Hill said the difference for backup singers is caring for the group sound versus owning the stage as a soloist. Although she enjoys both roles, she said, "When I know that I’m going into a background singing situation, I find joy in the fact that these women are like sisters and we can create this moment"

One of the featured singers in "Twenty Feet from Stardom" is Darlene Love. Under her producer, Phil Spector, Love’s vocals powered "He’s a Rebel" and "Today I Met The Boy I’m Gonna Marry," but throughout her career, she remained largely nameless and sang song after song credited under someone else’s name. Love shares how she felt hearing her voice on the radio as she worked as a housekeeper to pay the bills.

"Darlene just never got the hits under her name. Somebody said, ‘What’s the difference between a lead singer and a backup singer?’ And I said, ‘A hit,’" said Neville. "In Darlene’s case she actually had the hit, but she was in such a unique situation with Phil Spector, her producer at the time, that she just never got the proper credit; and she spent the rest of her life trying to get that credit."

Hill said about watching the completed film, "I was just like 'Oh my gosh' because I never knew the stories about Darlene and the things she went through, and it’s just really mind-blowing."

Morgan Neville says this documentary really changed how he listens to music. 

"If you just say to somebody, 'Name some songs with great backing vocals,' you can maybe come up with a couple, but you’re not trained to think about it that way," said Neville. "So the entire time I made the film, I had the radio on, and I would constantly discover amazing backing vocals in songs I heard a thousand times."

Perhaps "Twenty Feet from Stardom" even reminisces a different time in music, when background vocals subtlety brought a broader dimension to the songs. Hill said that artists now often overdub their own voices on tracks instead of using background singers.

Many critics have given this documentary quite a bit of attention because it’s smartly chosen topic. Neville said many people reacted to the movie asking, "Why hasn’t this happened before?"

"Nobody had done anything about backup singers — no documentaries, no books, hardly a website. It was really an invisible art, and I’m just so happy to finally give these people the glory they deserve," said Neville.

He hopes that this documentary will make audiences want to see these singers perform live on a tour of their own.

Also on AirTalk, Patt asked Judith Hill about her experience stepping into a more solo role. Hill teased listeners with an a capella snippet of "Desperation" and talked about singing Michael Jackson’s "The Way You Make Me Feel" on NBC’s "The Voice."

Hill said about her newfound fame, "In every chapter of your life, you enjoy it … so never take any of it for granted. And I’m just blessed to be in this position, and I know it’s also feast or famine because tomorrow I could be back in another place. So you just take it one day at a time and work hard."

Guests:
Morgan Neville, director of “Twenty Feet from Stardom”; founder of documentary company Tremolo Productions; producer, director and writer for Grammy-nominated “Johnny Cash’s America” (2008).

Judith Hill, singer and featured performer in “Twenty Feet from Stardom”; Hill was going to be part of Michael Jackson’s “This Is It Tour” and was a recent contestant on NBC’s “The Voice.” 

Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case that overturned California's same-sex marriage ban, became the first gay couple to wed in Los Angeles since 2008 at City Hall. Former mayor Antonio Villaraigosa officiated the ceremony.; Credit: Maya Sugarman/KPCC

It's been a big year in the gay rights movement and two couples here in California stepped into the spotlight to make history.

Back in 2009 when Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo joined Sandy Stier and Kris Perry to challenge the constitutionality of Proposition 8, they became the face of the fight for marriage equality in California and across the nation.

It took four years of legal back and forth but the couples fighting against Prop 8 finally won in June when the Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional. Two days later, Katami and Zarrillo rushed to city hall to be married by then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The two couples became the face of a movement and - together with a formidable legal team - brought down Prop 8, putting them at the top of the list for Californians of the Year!

Guest:

Paul Katami, Prop 8 plaintiff

Jeff Zarrillo, Prop 8 plaintiff

HENDERSON, NV - JULY 22: A shuttle picks up people touring the Zappos.com headquarters July 22, 2009 in Henderson, Nevada. ; Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The online retailer Zappos is making a major change to their company's management - they're getting rid of them all together.

The company's CEO Tony Hsieh has announced a radical 'self-governing' operating system where there will be no more managers, job titles, or hierarchy. The system, dubbed a "holacracy," still has some kinks to work out but Hsieh hopes their innovative approach will help the company thrive into the future.

Zappos isn't the first company to try this type of management-free structure and more will likely follow. But can a 'holacracy' work? Can you imagine your workplace without a manager?

Would anyone get anything done? Would you be more motivated to be productive? What alternative office structures have been the most effective?

Guests:

Aimee Groth, reporter who is currently working on a book about the Zappos CEO’s revitalization of downtown Las Vegas.

Ethan Bernstein, Assistant Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior, Harvard Business School.

New baby monitors such as Mimo and Sproutling will gather information including heart rate and temperature. ; Credit: Nasreen atik/flickr Creative Commons

Personal health tracking is on the rise. Adults use devices like Fitbit and Jawbone to measure every aspect of their lives, from heart rate and breathing to the number of steps taken, and how deeply they sleep. But can similar devices designed to monitor babies help parents understand their children better?

Companies like Mimo and Sproutling are introducing more extreme baby monitors – technology attached to onesies or designed to wrap around a baby’s ankle to tell parents whether their child is breathing, running a temperature, is flipped on their back or stomach, and more.

Options for baby monitoring have moved far beyond the simple audio monitor in a child’s room, but how much tracking is necessary to understand your child? What are the benefits of more evaluative monitors, and how can parents use them most effectively? Are there any drawbacks to relying on these kinds of devices? Which populations need them most?

Guests: 

Dulcie Madden, founder and CEO of Mimo

Dr. Tanya Altmann, Pediatrician, Author, Parenting Expert

Michael Schumacher of Germany and Mercedes GP prepares to drive during the final practice session prior to qualifying for the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix in November 2012.; Credit: Paul Gilham/Getty Images

One racing champion Michael Schumacher is still comatose after a skiing accident in the French Alps last Sunday. Although he was wearing a helmet and reportedly didn't take great risks on the slopes, he hit his head on a rock and suffered a brain injury.

The seven-time world champion in F1 racing is no stranger to risk. His other hobbies including skydiving, speed bikes, and horseback riding. "What I love with those things is finding the limit, being on the limit and still controlling it. Just to find this fine edge is something I have always liked," he said in an interview last year.

What's your risky sport of choice? How does danger factor into your fun? How do you measure risk? And how much enjoyment do you get from being scared?

Guest: 

Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg, MD, Author, “Adrenaline Junkies Bucket List: 100 Extreme Outdoor Adventures Before You Die” (St. Martins, 2013); practicing physician in mountain, occupational and emergency medicine

Guillermo Cespedes is LA's outgoing anti-gang czar. ; Credit: Frank Stoltze/KPCC

Guillermo Cespedes, director of Los Angeles' Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development, will leave his job on Thursday for a new position with Creative Associates International, an organization that works to reduce violence and improve education programs in Central America.

Related: Guillermo Cespedes, LA anti-gang czar, takes strategy to Central America

For the past four years, Cespedes fought gang violence in L.A. with innovative programs that included using ex-cons to convince gangsters and wannabes to take another path. The strategy has contributed to an historic drop in crime.

Guest host Frank Stoltze talks with Cespedes about his tenure, and UCLA professor Jorja Leap about the future of the city’s anti-gang efforts post-Cespedes.

Interview highlights:

On why he is leaving his post as anti-gang czar:
"I think that for me this is a natural evolution of the work that we've done in LA. It's sort of interesting that people are framing it as me leaving LA, rather than the work is evolving. To me it's a logical next chapter. 

"Most of this started back in 2011, I was called into an officer involved shooting in Rampar/Pico-Union, a 17-year-old got killed, he happened to be gang-involved. I'm giving the mother the news and about 14 members of his family. She says to me, 'I need to call his father and give him the news'...It dawned on me that she was calling El Salvador. I went back to the office and said to the staff that our concept of a grid zone is much larger than what we think, and probably about three months later I made my first trip to El Salvador. The motivation for it was to connect the work that we're doing here with I think very important work that is being done there and those two elements need to connect. 

On his work to concentrate resources in specific gang-heavy grid zones:
These are very small areas that have a 40 percent higher level of gang crime than the rest of the area. The rest of the city about 35 percent of youth that are on probation, that attend LAUSD schools in those zones, about 55 percent of foster care youth that are LAUSD attend schools in those zones. Anywhere from 29 to 40 percent od the youth that live in those zones, their grandparents are financially responsible for them. 30 percent of families in those zones live below the LA poverty line, as compared to 19 percent for the rest of the city. These are communities at the highest level or risk

On seeing LA's communities as transnational in scope: 
Finally the academic literature has caught up with that, and there's a lot of literature on transnational families. That is the phenomenon that I believe we're dealing with in some of the neighborhoods in LA. In particular it related to Central America, because we're both geographically connected, there's been a lot of both legal and illegal immigration back and forth. But the central point for me is that when that kid got killed in Rampart, the reverberation of that in El Salvador through his family and his family's neighborhood was very much felt. I think that anytime you have a body bag in a neighborhood, the whole neighborhood gets contaminated with it.`What happened that night was I started to conceptualize the neighborhood as much larger than just a grid zone. 

On how a gang-related killing can reverberate across borders:
If I have a cousin who gets killed and I hear he got killed in the US or in the next neighborhood by a gang members from X group. I may not be gang involved at that point, but my anger about losing my cousin may in fact push me to say you know what I've got to get them back. Besides the emotional and understandable grieving that families go through, there's this issue of gang identity that travels back and forth every time a family member in El Salvador gets killed and their member's here and vice versa. I think we need to take a look at that, not just in El Salvador, but Guatemala and Honduras. 

On LA's MS-13 and 18th Street gangs:
The two main groups that are perpetrating a great deal of violence in Central America were born in Rampart/Pico-Union. I think there has been a lot of overdramatizing of those two groups. They're clearly perpetrators of violence, but I think we really need to understand the historical development and the families that are caught in the middle. This is a transnational family problem that requires, the same way that LA developed a comprehensive, community-based strategy, I believe that is our next challenge...to develop a community based, comprehensive strategy that is transnational in nature. 

On images of gang members in Central America:
I think all those pictures with the tattoos...There was a time in LA when you said you were going to Watts, people assumed you were going to get killed. You've spent time in Watts you know that's not the case. There's a difference between the hype and what actually takes place. This work needs to be developed from inside neighborhoods. The work in LA was developed inside neighborhoods. Municipal government gave shape to it, but the leadership of it on the ground came from inside the neighborhoods. 

On the biggest accomplishments of his tenure: 

I think that since 2007 we've been able to cut gang crime in LA almost by 50 percent. The most successful piece of my work here was really making a conscious decision to go inside of municipal government to continue the work. I came to the Mayor's office in 2007...The most important thing was the programatic ideas and the programatic concepts were always clear to me. I think having the platform of the Mayor's office and the funding helped to shape and direct those programs. 

On the basis of his programs to reduce gang violence:
Number one, you have to engage the people who are perpetrating the violence if you want to reduce violence. You cannot put up a lightbulb and hope that lighting up the neighborhood is going to reduce violence. You have to physically engage in an ethical way with the people who are perpetrating the violence. Number two, I believe we have to focus on behavior, not identity. We learned that from LAPD that blanketing a neighborhood based on a person's identity backfired all through the '70s, the '80s and the '90s. You have to look at specific behavior, who i perpetrating that behavior, not the entire neighborhood. 

"Statistically, what we know from empirical data is little at 3 percent and as high as 15 percent of youth living in those marginalized communities that we talked about will likely become gang members. I'm by training a social worker, I've been a social worker for 38 years, my profession I don't think historically we distinguished. We used to think of dangerous neighborhoods, we used to think of youth violence, as if that came with the term, youth. I think if we look at data, this might not be the most violent generation of youth in decades, but yet youth violence seems to be like  a first and last name... In LA we really had to break apart some assumptions, including what we think a family is."

Guests:

Guillermo Cespedes, the City of Los Angeles' outgoing anti-gang czar

Jorja Leap, Adjunct Professor of Social Welfare; Director, Health and Social Justice Partnership at UCLA

Joe Buscaino, Los Angeles City Councilman and Chair of Public Safety Committee

Australian actor Geoffrey Rush and Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore pose during a photocall for the film 'The Best Offer' shown at the 63rd Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin February 12, 2013.; Credit: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images

Guest host Frank Stoltze and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein, Henry Sheehan and Claudia Puig review this week's releases, including The Best Offer, Interior. Leather Bar., Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, Grudge Match and more. TGI-Filmweek!

The Best Offer

Interior. Leather Bar.

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Grudge Match

Guests:

Lael Loewenstein, film critic for KPCC and Variety

Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and CriticsAGoGo.com

Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler host the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel International Ballroom on January 13, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. The duo will also host the ceremony in 2014 and 2015.; Credit: Handout/Getty Images

Trailers for the Golden Globes and the Oscars have been floating around the internet, circulating on social media, and sneaking in some screen time in preparation for awards show season.

The shows have always been hyped up, but in recent years, the announcement of who will host the shows, contracts for years in advance, and trailers for the big events have become a more important part of attracting viewers.

While ratings for the shows fluctuate and producers attempt to capture audience interest, some shows have proven adaptable and others have floundered. The Tony Awards, for example, have been praised by critics as increasingly entertaining, while the Academy Awards have struggled to find reliably funny hosts.

How far in advance do we want to see Ellen psyching people up for the Oscars? How long should Tina Fey and Amy Poehler be locked into the Globes? Are these multi-platform advertising efforts truly engaging and effective?

Guests: 

Barry Adelman, Producer, the 70th Annual Golden Globes

Tom O’Neil, Editor and CEO Gold Derby

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer attends The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce & The Hollywood Sign Trust's 90th Celebration of the Hollywood Sign at Drai's Hollywood on September 19, 2013 in Hollywood, California.; Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

When he ran for City Attorney last year, Mike Feuer promised to make Los Angeles a safer place. His vision included creating a gun violence prevention unit and expanding the Neighborhood Prosecutor Program created by former City Attorney Rocky Delgado.

Guest host speaks with Feuer six months after he was elected as Los Angeles' newest City Attorney on the progress he's made on both fronts. Also, they'll be discussing the enforcement of the voter-approved Measure D, which caps the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles to 135. Thus far, Feuer's office has filed more than 65 criminal cases against dispensary operators and owners.

Guest: 

Mike Feuer, Los Angeles City Attorney

A person walks past a 12-story building alleged in a report on February 19, 2013 by the Internet security firm Mandiant as the home of a Chinese military-led hacking group after the firm reportedly traced a host of cyberattacks to the building in Shanghai's northern suburb of Gaoqiao. Mandiant said its hundreds of investigations showed that groups hacking into US newspapers, government agencies, and companies 'are based primarily in China and that the Chinese government is aware of them.'; Credit: PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images

The ubiquitous photo app Instagram was bought by Facebook for $1 billion back in 2012. Yahoo bought Tumblr, the popular social network, for $1 billion in 2014. It’s only three days into the new year and already we have a new tech entrant into the $1 billion acquisition club.

The company is Mandiant. Who, you ask. Mandiant is the Virginia-based cybersecurity firm that rose to fame last year when it pinpointed the location of an elite Chinese military unit of hackers that was allegedly involved in hacking U.S. companies. FireEye, a tech company in the Silicon Valley, is the buyer. The generous price tag signals the importance of cybersecurity in our hyper-connected world, but the Mandiant sale isn’t the first major M&A deal in the industry.

Guests: 

Anurag Rana, Senior IT Analyst at Bloomberg Industries

George Kurtz, CEO and co-founder of CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm based in Irvine

Slices of pizza made by the Little Caesars Love Kitchen, a mobile pizza kitchen in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Americans typically pick going on a diet as their New Year's resolution but many don't make it past the end of January. If you're having trouble swearing off the chocolate cake or large sodas, could an addiction to sugar be the culprit?

Science is still split on whether or not people can become clinically addicted to food the same way they can to drugs like cocaine or alcohol. Research shows that humans have a strong reaction to sugar, fats and food additives but is there a difference between a serious love of junk food and an actual addiction? Research shows that eating foods heavy on the sugar and fat light up the same receptors in the brain that affect drug addicts.  

Last year, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse spoke publicly about the commonalities between food and drug addictions. Despite that endorsement, food addiction still has not made it into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-V, the influential list of recognized disorders written by the American Psychiatric Association.

What does the current research say about food addictions? Is the brain's dopamine response to food more similar to other non-physical addictions such as love and attraction or to chemical drugs? Have you experienced addiction symptoms when it comes to food?

Guests: 

Robert Lustig, MD, professor of pediatrics in the division of endocrinology at UCSF

Barry Levin, MD, Professor of neurology and neurosciences at New Jersey Medical School at Rutgers.

Dr. Martha Perez examines Maria Lebron in a room at the Community Health of South Florida, Doris Ison Health Center on February 21, 2013 in Miami, Florida. ; Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

New results released from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment — a study of people who randomly received healthcare coverage via lottery in 2008 — has put into question the Obama administration’s assertion that expanded Medicaid would lower emergency room visits.

The study, which is considered to be a gold-standard for its incorporation of a large random sample, shows that there is an almost 40 percent relative increase in emergency room use for those newly receiving expanded Medicaid. Cailfornia, which has already experimented with expanded coverage, witnessed a similar bump in usage, but also featured a modest decline after a period.

Will California’s case be a model for the country? Will emergency rooms be able to handle a surge resulting from expanded Medicaid? Will the study weaken the Obama administration’s credibility in regards to claims about the already-troubled healthcare system? Or are these simply the growing pains of the ACA?

Guests:

Katherine Baicker, PhD, Professor of Health Economics at the Harvard School of Public Health and co-author of “Medicaid Increases Emergency-Department Use: Evidence from Oregon's Health Insurance Experiment.”

Dylan Roby, Director of Health Economics and Evaluation Research at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

Yevgeniy Feyman, Fellow at the Center for Medical Progress at the Manhattan Institute 

A pedestrian walks past an advertising banner for new home sales in Alhambra, California on September 26, 2013.; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Frustration has characterized the experience of many aspirant homebuyers in Southern California. Despite the stabilization of housing prices in Los Angeles and Orange counties in the last few months, low inventory and bidding wars are still the rules of the game.

There are new rules and possible tax expirations in 2014 that could impact the housing market this year. With Spring homebuying season just around the corner, we've invited two experts to talk about their predictions for the housing market this year.

Would we see more houses hitting the market? Would prices go up? If you are in the market for a home, what could you do to improve your chances?

Guests:

David Krohn, Vice President of Property Masters Realty, a real estate firm in Glendale

Chris Thornberg, Principal at Beacon Economics

A sale pending sign is posted in front of a home for sale in July 2013 in San Anselmo, California. Must a property seller disclose a “neighbor from hell?”; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Searching for a new house is no easy process. After countless hours, you’ve found a home perfect for you and your family. Perfect, that is until you discover your neighbor is unfriendly, rude, and hostile.  Unfortunately for one New Jersey Woman this nightmare neighbor has become her reality.  

Cyndee Phoenix sued Lennar Homes in Atlantic County Court claiming that she was promised a “wonderful lifestyle” in a planned community while the seller failed to warn her of a hostile neighbor. Since moving in to her new home in Mays Landing, NJ  Phoenix alleges that her neighbor’s hostility has included spitting, blocking her driveway and even death threats.  Phoenix alleges that Lennar Homes knew that her neighbor had engaged in harassment and hostile behavior in the past.  

Must a property seller disclose a “neighbor from hell?” California real estate agents are obliged legally to disclose “material facts” during escrow, but does a nuisance neighbor qualify as a material fact? Who defines what makes a bad neighbor?

Guest:

James A Gallo, a real estate attorney in Pasadena with the Law Offices of James A Gallo, with over 30 years of experience in litigation in the Los Angeles area

The Coaches' Trophy is on display during the Vizio BCS National Championship media day news conference January 4, 2014 in Newport Beach, California. Florida State and Auburn University will face off tonight at Pasadena's Rose Bowl Stadium. ; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

No. 1 Florida State ( 13-0) vs.No. 2Auburn (12-1) will play tonight in the BCS Bowl. Though Florida is favored to win, but Auburn won two lucky games this season that some sports analysts say signaled a huge turn around for the team. Next season, BCS bowl  moves to a four-team playoff system- ending the controversial system that currently exists.  

People queue to enter the Supreme Court in Washington in March 2013. The justices were hearing arguments on California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage and on the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Today, The Supreme Court blocked further same-sex marriages in Utah while state officials appeal a decision allowing such unions.; Credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

The Supreme Court on Monday stepped in to block more same-sex marriages from being performed in Utah while state officials appeal a decision allowing the unions. It's the latest in a series of back and forth decisions that has allowed, then retracted, same-sex marriage rights in the state. Utah's path to legalizing same-sex marriage is starting to look very similar to the drawn out legal battle over California's marriage rights that ultimately went to the Supreme Court.

As more and more states become embroiled in legislative action over same-sex marriage, at what point should the federal government step in? Would a federal decision on same-sex marriage relieve a lot of uncertainty and turmoil over the patchwork of state laws? Or would that strip necessary rights from individual states? Where is the tipping point? Will we be left with a split nation where half of the states allow same-sex marriage and the others don't? How will that work when couples move across state lines?

Guests: 

Brad Dacus, lawyer and President of Pacific Justice Institute

David Codell, Gay rights lawyer and co-counsel for the National Center for Lesbian Rights

David Koch, executive vice president of Koch Industries, attends a meeting of the Economic Club of New York on April 11, 2011. ; Credit: Mark Lennihan/AP

Conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch have built an unprecedented massive political network that shields the identities of donors, according to a report conducted by The Washington Post with help from the Center for Responsive Politics.

The Post’s analysis of new tax returns and other documents found that the Koch brothers’ coalition raised more than $407 million for the 2012 campaign—using a network of tax-exempt groups and limited liability companies.

With monikers like SLAH LLC and ORRA LLC, the groups have raised major funds to advance limited-government policies—outpacing other independent groups on the right and at least matching the contributions of labor unions on the left.

Late last year, the IRS launched an effort to rein in the use of tax-exempt groups in political campaigning.

What rights should the Kochs and others have to infuse money into politics without disclosure? Should the Kochs be more accountable for how they’re using their money and power? If two men can hold this much power, what does that say about the U.S. political system?

Guest:

Matea Gold, Reporter focused on money & politics, The Washington Post

A pregnant woman poses in March 2011 in Ygos-Saint-Saturnin, south western France. A new study out of Denmark study out of Denmark actually concludes women who drank moderately, equaling about two drinks a week, had children with better mental health than those who abstained from alcohol completely.; Credit: LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images

Pregnant women are used to hearing the list of things they're not allowed to do for nine months. At the top of that list is usually drinking alcohol. Official recommendations in the US are that pregnant women should abstain from alcohol since no amount has proven to be safe. But is that really true?

A new study is adding to the evidence that some light drinking in pregnancy might not actually be harmful. This study out of Denmark actually concludes women who drank moderately, equalling about two drinks a week, had children with better mental health than those who abstained from alcohol completely.

Many physicians still don't see that as a pass for the occasional cocktail. There are several competing studies that say even small amounts of alcohol can be harmful. Studies are conclusive that heavy drinking during pregnancy can seriously damage a child's physical and mental health but will a glass of wine now and then cause any harm? With so much conflicting information, how can women know which information to trust? Is the US too cautious when it comes to pregnancy recommendations or is it better to not take the risk?

Guests:

Emily Oster, Economics professor at University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Author of “Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong.”

Tom Donaldson, President of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

On Monday Dec. 9 Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca held a press conference to respond to the F.B.I. arrests of 17 Los Angeles sheriff's deputies. ; Credit: Ken Scarboro/KPCC

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca announced Tuesday morning that he will retire at the end of the month and confirmed that he would not run for re-election. His term was supposed to last until December and Baca recommended that that Assistant Sheriff Terri McDonald serve as sheriff until the upcoming election. Sheriff Baca said he had personal reasons for not wanting to seek re-election but also cited the "negative perception" the upcoming campaign for sheriff has reflected on the department.

The sheriff's department has suffered a number of scandals during Baca's four-term tenure including incidence of racial profiling in the Antelope Valley and charges have been filed against several deputies for allegations of physical violence against inmates, unjustified detentions and attempting to obstruct an FBI investigation into the Sheriff's  Department.

Baca was also praised for his push to increase education and rehabilitation programs inside the county jails and for outreach to the Muslim community after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. His surprise announcement leave the race for LA County Sheriff wide open. What was the motivation for Sheriff Baca to retire? What candidates might appear in the sheriff’s race now that Baca is out?

Guest: 

Zev Yaroslavsky, LA County Supervisor, 3rd District, which encompasses Malibu, Hollywood, and parts of the San Fernando Valley

Miriam Krinsky, Executive Director of Los Angeles County’s Citizens’ Jail Commission on Jail Violence. She also serves as a Lecturer at the UCLA School of Public Policy

Peter Eliasberg, Legal Director of the ACLU of Southern California

Brian Moriguchi, President, Professional Peace Officers Association