Lindsay Lohan visits "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" at Rockefeller Center on March 6, 2014 in New York City. ; Credit: Theo Wargo/NBC/Getty Images for "The Tonight Sh

Jimmy Fallon’s affable, admiring hosting style earned him late-night praise and lasting virality online even before he took over as host of the Tonight Show in February. The former SNL comedian has an agreeable air about him -- he pals around with his A-list guests, many of them friends, and remakes hit songs with stars and his effortlessly cool backing band, The Roots.

In the Los Angeles Times, Mary McNamara calls Fallon the “Tom Hanks of hosting, able to project endearing uncertainty even as he clearly runs the show.” Fallon is accessible, easy to identify with, silly. And though he may not be a hard-hitting interviewer, he shines in skits and musical numbers.

The ratings have gone up, viewership has increased, and Fallon’s debut month as host of the Tonight Show has been labeled a success.

Why is Fallon such a popular host? What does the reaction to the new late night style reflect culturally? What does the future hold for Jimmy Fallon and the Tonight Show?

Guest:

Robert Thompson, Director, Bleier Center for Television & Popular Culture at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications

Singer Austin Mahone attends the 2013 MDA Show Of Strength at CBS Studios on July 31, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. ; Credit: Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images

A new study published in the January edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that young men are increasingly feeling pressure about their body image.

Previous research that had been more geared towards women focused on thinness and weight loss, but when Dr. Alison Field and her collaborators expanded their research to muscle tone and other areas, they found that boys and young men were more concerned about their bodies and weight.

While the more common eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia, were still much more prevalent in young women, the broadened research indicated that other disorders, like binge eating, were more equally spread between the genders. Young men feeling intensified pressure about their bodies were also more inclined to binge drink.

How do young men feel about their bodies? Is pressure to be thin or muscled just as difficult for boys as it is for girls? What kinds of societal and cultural norms impact male body image?

Guest: 

Alison Field, ScD,  Associate of Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, she is the author of the JAMA study and her research focuses on weight, weight gain, and disordered eating in children and adolescents

A woman holding a sign in support of the Affordable Care Act is seen as US President Barack Obama's motorcade returns to his vacation compound from the gym at Marine Corps Base Hawaii on December 29, 2013 in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.; Credit: KENT NISHIMURA/AFP/Getty Images

We’ve debated how the Affordable Care Act will affect the workforce and the economy. On a micro scale, it’s changing some peoples’ lives and choices already. As KPCC’s Stephanie O’Neill reports, it’s allowing early retirement for some and new small businesses for others.

Until late last year, Mike Smith, 64, of Long Beach worked about 60 hours a week and only dreamed of being able to retire early. Smith says, “At our age, with some pre-existing medical conditions, it would have been very costly to buy insurance on the open market - about $3,000 a month is what it would have cost us.”

Under ACA, Smith and his wife are enrolled in a private subsidized policy that costs about $200 a month. For young families, it’s meant the difference between a dead-end job and a new business venture.

UCLA health policy researcher Dylan Roby says, “We used to see people who had pre-existing conditions or high health care needs unable to leave a job they didn’t like and go start their own small business - because they were afraid if they tried to buy insurance on their own, an insurance company would reject them. And now that can’t happen.”

What’s the impact of the ACA - and Covered California - on your work life?

Guest:

Stephanie O’Neill,  Healthcare Reporter, KPCC

Nettelhorst Elementary School students eat their lunches March 20, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois.; Credit: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Many of the provisions of the landmark school lunch law - the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act - haven't even been implemented yet and already industry groups are gearing up to make major changes before it's reauthorized next year.

U.S. Department of Agriculture's revamped nutrition standards include limits on the amount of sodium that can be in school lunches, boosts whole grains and requires students to select either a half cup of fruit or vegetables with their meals.

Schools have been slow to adapt to the changes and a recent report from the Government Accountability Office shows a lot of hiccups in implementation. About a million fewer students participated in the school lunch program during the 2012-2013, leading to a loss of revenue for the districts.

Members of the School Nutrition Association, which represents school cafeteria leaders, recently met with lawmakers in Washington to ask for more flexibility in implementing the program.

The SNA wants some requirements on whole grains and sodium levels to be rolled back, claiming that students aren't accepting some of the new foods and instead tossing them out.

Is the 2010 school lunch law working? What changes should be made during the reauthorization period? Has the law been given enough time to work?

Guest:  

Tarini Parti, Agriculture Reporter for POLITICO

This picture taken on March 10, 2014 shows students at Hailiang International School lighting candles to pray for the passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in Zhuji, in China's Zhejiang province. Relatives of Chinese passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 were still clutching to faint straws of hope for their loved ones on March 11, four days after the aircraft went missing. ; Credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images

The mystery surrounding the tragic disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 has captured global attention since it went missing with 239 people on board last Saturday. CNN has provided nearly nonstop coverage of the news and speculation surrounding the plane’s disappearance and ongoing search.

The lack of new evidence in the search for the missing plane has not halted the public’s interest and has led to a number of conflicting accounts and conspiracy theories. Currently, Malaysian authorities have expanded the search for the missing plane westward toward India, after some evidence indicated that the plane may have continued flying after its last reported contact.

How does the continued speculation hurt or help the search for missing flight 370? Have you been following the search for the missing jetliner?  

Guests:

Finn Brunton, Assistant Professor in Media, Culture and Communication at New York University. He is the author of “Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet” (The MIT Press, 2013)

Michael Wood, a psychologist from the University of Winchester in England and an expert on the psychology of conspiracy theories

Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd arrives at the premiere of AMC's "The Walking Dead" 4th season at Universal CityWalk on October 3, 2013 in Universal City, California. ; Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

It’s not an understatement to say sci-fi is in Hollywood producer and screenwriter Gale Anne Hurd’s DNA. Her producing credits include some of the most iconic films in the genre in the last three decades: “The Terminator” series, the “Aliens” films, “Armageddon” (1998), “The Incredible Hulk” (2008). In the last few years, Hurd has turned her attention to the small screen, as one of the producers behind the AMC hit “The Walking Dead.”

Hurd’s entry into Hollywood came courtesy of B-movie czar Roger Corman. A friend had recommended Hurd for an assistant job at Corman’s production company, and under his tutelage, she began learning the ins and outs of the business. Today, films produced by Hurd have generated an estimated $3 billion in the global box office. Buffo aside, these films also showcased strong female leads, think Linda Hamilton in “The Terminator” or Sigourney Weaver in “Aliens.”

An analysis of the top 250 grossing films of 2013 by Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University has found a significant drop since 1998 in the percentage of women directing, writing, producing, editing and shooting films.

AirTalk contributor Patt Morrison speaks with Hurd about this troubling decline, as well as about her role in making “The Walking Dead” one of the most watched, and most talked about, shows on TV today.  

Guest:

Gale Anne Hurd, Producer of Academy Award-winning films and Emmy-winning programs - including Executive Producer of AMC’s “The Walking Dead;” Producer and Co-Writer, “The Terminator;” Producer, “Aliens,” “Armageddon,” “The Abyss” and more

Actor Rohan Chand, director/producer/actor Jason Bateman and actress Kathryn Hahn arrive at the "Bad Words" premiere during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at Ryerson Theatre on September 6, 2013 in Toronto, Canada.; Credit: Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images

Guest host Patt Morrison and KPCC film critics Wade Major and Peter Rainer review this week’s releases, including Bad Words, Veronica Mars, Le Week-End and more. TGI-Filmweek!

Bad Words

Veronica Mars

Le Week-End

Guests:

Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and producer and host for IGN’s DigiGods.com podcast.

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

“Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security, and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance”(Times Books, 2014) written by Julia Angwin.

We are in the midst of a data revolution, and driving this seismic change isn't just Facebook or Google, but information we readily give up everyday through our online activities.

In "Dragnet Nation," journalist Julia Angwin reports from the front lines of America's surveillance economy, offering a look at how the government, private companies, and even criminals use technology to indiscriminately sweep up vast amounts of our personal data.

In the book, Angwin details a series of experiments she took to try to protect herself, ranging from quitting Google to carrying a "burner" phone, showing how difficult, and expensive, it is for an average citizen to resist the dragnets' reach.

Guest:

Julia Angwin, author “Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security, and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance”(Times Books, 2014) and a senior reporter for Propublica.

Actor Stellan Skarsgard attends a photocall for "Nymphomaniac" at Soho Hotel on February 21, 2014 in London, England.; Credit: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images

Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac: Vol. I is part of the writer-director’s two-part series, and tells the story of a self-professed nymphomaniac who winds up in the care of an older bachelor.

The film stars Charlotte Gainsbourg as a woman recounting erotic stories from her youth and Stellan Skarsgård as a charming older man who rescues her after finding her beaten in an alley.

Von Trier takes viewers on a psychosexual journey, linking protagonist Joe’s sexual exploits to art, music, and fly fishing. Stacy Martin, who plays the sexually-charged young Joe recounts a steady stream of lovers and sexual adventures, drawing comparisons and parallels from Skarsgård’s Seligman.

Though the film is incredibly explicit, there’s depth behind Von Trier’s sexual storytelling, Seligman and Joe delve into familial relations and walking the thin line between childhood and adulthood.

Nymphomaniac Vol. I, out March 21, is only the beginning – the series ends with Nymphomaniac Vol. II, due to be released in April.

How does a film walk the line between near-pornographic explicitness and artistic and emotional depth? How did the actors prepare for the intensity of these roles?

Guest:

Stellan Skarsgård, actor, producer, and co-star of Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac series

McDonald’s workers in California, New York, and Michigan have filed a class action suit against the chain and several of its franchises over wage disputes.; Credit: Photo by _skynet via Flickr Creative Commons

McDonald’s workers in California, New York, and Michigan have filed a class action suit against the chain and several of its franchises over wage disputes. The suit follows months of strikes about wage theft, unpaid overtime, timecard issues, and unfair payment.

McDonald’s has been criticized by its employees for its low wages, even acknowledging itself in an guide for its workers that they may need second jobs to earn a livable wage. The cases filed yesterday allege that employees were forced to work off the clock, had time taken from their documented hours, and were not paid overtime.

McDonald’s is expected to argue that the corporate offices aren’t responsible for franchise practices.

Who’s really in charge of employee wages at large companies? How much control and liability does corporate McDonald’s have when it comes to franchisees and employees? How will the suit pan out -- is it about the money, the information, or the publicity?

Guest:

Josh Eidelson, staff reporter at Salon.com specializing in labor and politics

Lisa Klerman, Lecturer in Law at the University of Southern California and mediator with her own private practice in employment law disputes  

“Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and The Second World War” written by Mark Harris.

Before World War II, Hollywood had a rocky relationship with Washington. The hugely influential motion picture industry was viewed suspiciously—seen by some as too foreign, too Jewish, or too “un-American.” But when the U.S. government sought to rally Americans behind the war effort, they turned to American cinema’s premier directors to win the hearts and minds of the country.

Author Mark Harris’ latest book, ‘Five Came Back,’ tells the story of how John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra and George Stevens lent their movie-making prowess to the war effort. Harris explores how these directors’ creative visions shaped American perceptions of World War II—and how World War II forever shaped these legendary directors.

These men abandoned Hollywood at the height of their careers to join the war effort in different capacities. Frank Capra ran Washington’s propaganda efforts, including his seven “Why We Fight” films—which all GIs were required to watch. William Wyler joined the Army Air Force, lost his hearing, and made war-related films including “The Best Years of Our Lives”—a drama about servicemen readjusting to civilian life after World War II.

John Ford joined the Navy and filmed the battle of Midway—one of the war’s most important naval battles—which became the documentary “The Battle of Midway.” The product of five years of archival research, ‘Five Came Back’ reveals the untold wartime experiences of these five men and explores how the war transformed  Hollywood.

Guest:

Mark Harris, author of “Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and The Second World War.”

A job seeker holds an organizer with an American flag sticker on it as he waits in line to meet with a recruiter during the San Francisco Hire Event job fair on November 9, 2011 in San Francisco, California. ; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California's Employment Development Department has been slammed for missing out on over 500 million dollars in revenue. In a new report, the state auditor described the beleaguered department as "appalling" after it ignored federal assistance to help recover millions in overpaid unemployment benefits.

EDD officials told auditors they lacked the manpower and finances to make necessary software upgrades in order to join  the Treasury Offset program in February 2011. Yet a whistleblower informed the auditor's office that EDD would have needed just 323 thousand dollars in staff time to make the changes.

This comes amid calls from California lawmakers to explain why the EDD is denying so many unemployment insurance claims. What issues have you had with the EDD? How long has it taken you to deal with a claim?

Guest:

Marc Lifsher, business reporter in the Sacramento bureau at the Los Angeles Times.

People at work on computers in an office at a National Westminster bank, circa 1990. ; Credit: Steve Eason/Getty Images

Work emails can be sent at all hours from smartphones and presentations prepared on laptops in coffee shops. But with an increase in flexible work schedules, are we still tied to working a traditional 40 hour week?

Americans now spend more hours working than those in Britain, Germany, France and Sweden. Plus, the number of hours spent on free time hasn’t increased in the United States since the Great Depression.

Would ditching the Monday to Friday ‘nine to five’ grind increase leisure time? Can working fewer hours make employees more productive? Or if you’re an employer, could a shorter work week lead to a decline in the amount of work completed?

Guest:  

Jacob Morgan, co-founder of the managing consultancy, Chess Media Group, and author of the upcoming book ‘The Future of Work’ (Sept. 2014)

Anna Coote, head of social policy at the New Economics Foundation, a London-based think tank promoting social, economic and environmental justice.

A Harmony Hills Elementary School student enjoys his morning orange juice in Silver Spring, MD, on Friday, March 8, 2013.; Credit: Lance Cheung (USDA) via Flickr Creative Commons

Los Angeles Unified School District elementary and middle schools will begin serving breakfast in the classroom this April. So far, 500 schools already serve breakfasts, but a mandatory new program will require the rest of the district’s schools to introduce classroom breakfast -- no school can opt out.

Some parents and teachers are speaking out against the program, arguing that dedicating class time to meals and clean up distracts students. Other worry about allergies, dietary restrictions, and overeating, though LAUSD assures that no student will be forced to eat breakfast.

Many students qualify for free or reduced price meals, and LAUSD says attendance is up and tardiness is down in schools offering a breakfast in the classroom program.

Should LAUSD schools have mandatory classroom breakfast? What are the potential benefits or drawbacks to the new program? What’s the best way to make sure students eat before school?

Guests:

Warren Fletcher, President, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA)

Dr. William McCarthy, professor, UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health; McCarthy specializes in nutrition and has devoted most of his 30-year career to intervention studies designed to encourage members of special populations to adhere to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Jen Furmaniak, Parent of LAUSD student at Castle Heights elementary school

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft (L) taxis on the tarmac of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Feb. 26, 2007.; Credit: Tengku Bahar/AFP/Getty Images

The mystery of missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 continues to baffle experts, the media and the world alike.

"All right. Good night," is the last communication received by air traffic controllers from MH370 at 1:19 a.m. on March 8. After that, according to authorities, the transponder of he plane was shut off and radar contact with the plane shortly after.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has said publicly that he suspects someone deliberately steered the plane off track. Authorities are currently investigating the flight crew and the homes of both pilots, Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah and 1st Officer Fariq Ab Hamid have been searched.

So far, the search has spanned 11 countries, vast oceans and includes the coordinated efforts of 26 nations.

What are the possible theories surrounding the plane's disappearance? What safety measures are in place to prevent losing contact with commercial jets? If the plane crashed into the ocean, how likely is it to be found?

Guest:

Capt. John M. Cox, A veteran major airline, corporate and general aviation pilot and CEO of Safety Operating Systems

Army wife (C) holds her daughter Annalise and a welcome home sign while waiting to greet her husband Spc. Eric Henry of the U.S. Army's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, during a homecoming ceremony in the Natcher Physical Fitness Center on Fort Knox on February 27, 2014 in Fort Knox, Kentucky. About 100 soldiers returned to Fort Knox after a nine-month combat deployment conducting village stability operations and working alongside Afghan military and police forces.; Credit: Luke Sharrett/Getty Images

A considerable amount of time, money and effort has been spent to track and curb suicide among military service people. Now suicide prevention advocates are pressing Congress to also track suicides of military family members.

Though no data is available to compare whether suicide among this group has increased as it has for soldiers, anecdotal evidence hints that suicides of military family members is on the rise.

A recent report released by the Defense Suicide Prevention Office outlines an approach for tracking military family member suicides. The proposal would link the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS), which tracks military dependents, with Center for Disease Control information on cause of death. This would allow the Department of Defense to review back data on suicides from 1983 forward.

According to the DSPO report, it would take 18-24 months to complete the project and cost $681,600 in the first year, $502,200 subsequent years to maintain. This approach would mainly track suicides of children and spouses (i.e. dependents), and not that of parents and siblings.

Is there a need for tracking suicides among military family members? Should suicides of parents and siblings also be tracked? Is this effort worth the price tag? What mental health options currently exist for military families?

Guest:  

Susan Lindau, clinician and associate professor of military social work at USC; Licensed by the Department of Defense to work with active-duty soldiers. Works with Military Family Life Consultant program, a Department of Defense contract program

LINK

U.S. President Barack Obama gives a statement on the situation in the Ukraine in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on March 17, 2014 in Washington, DC. The U.S. and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Russian and Ukraine officials in response to their actions that supported the referendum for Crimean separation. ; Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The Crimean Parliament is moving quickly to split from Ukraine after voters in the region overwhelmingly voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. Officials say that nearly 97% of Crimean voters sided with Russia on the referendum that would split Crimea from Ukraine.

The Parliament in Crimea has formally asked Russia to annex the republic and is moving to sever ties with Ukranian authorities in Kiev. International criticism over the referendum has been an underlying concern throughout the process.

In a U.S. sponsored U.N. resolution that would have invalidated the referendum, China abstained, leaving Russia as the only vetoing nation, “isolated,” according to U.N. Ambassadors from the U.S. and Britain.

While many Ukrainians are feeling dejected about the loss of Crimea, the Ukrainian government has spoken out strongly against the referendum, which it has declared illegal, and has said Ukraine is prepared to use military force. President Obama has authorized sanctions on Russian officials over the Crimea vote.

How will things proceed in Crimea? Will the escalation of tensions in the region instigate military action? What role does the U.S. play in Russia/Ukraine/Crimea negotiations?  

Guest:  

Will Pomeranz, Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center, a Washington, D.C. think tank focused on international affairs

A sign outside a massage parlor in San Francisco, Calif. ; Credit: Daniel Spiess via Flickr Creative Commons

Sacramento lawmakers are under pressure from municipalities complaining that a state law allows  rampant growth of prostitution parlors masquerading as massage therapy. The 2008 law created a non-profit group - the California Massage Therapy Council - empowered to certify massage businesses.

Since then, individual cities have spent thousands of dollars policing illicit parlors. Earlier this month, South Pasadena's City Council voted to reject the state law and place a moratorium on new massage businesses, as reported by the Pasadena Star-News.

How can sex trafficking be prevented without stifling the growth of the massage-therapy industry?

Guests:

Marina Khubesrian, South Pasadena Mayor

Ahmos Netanel, CEO, California Massage Therapy Council

Orange County restaurants currently display health ratings, but don't use letter grades, like many other major municipalities nationwide. The county is now considering a color-coded system
; Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Orange County—which has long used small, subtle orange decals to inform restaurant patrons how establishments fared on health inspections—is now considering a simpler, more noticeable color-coded system, the Los Angeles Times reports.

An Orange County grand jury recommended the stoplight-style color code in a report released earlier this month. County leaders have considered instituting a letter grade system, like the one in place in Los Angeles County, but cost concerns prevented the change.

Under the proposed color-coded system, a green sign would be used to designate a restaurant that passed inspection, a yellow sign would indicate the restaurant passed conditionally and is due for reinspection, and a red sign would mean the restaurant was closed due to major violations.

The report argues that the color code would be cheaper to put in place than a letter grade system, as it better aligns with the County’s current inspection protocols.

Some critics of the color code are concerned it’s too out of step with neighboring L.A. County and other municipalities—and could confuse customers. The Orange County Board of Supervisors has about three months to officially respond to the report.

Do you pay attention to the health inspection placards in the windows of restaurants you visit? What system do you think is best? Would you prefer a stoplight color code system to letter grades? How would such a system impact businesses?

Guest:

Christine Bruhn, professor of food science and technology at UC Davis

A traveler undergoes a full body scan performed by Transportation Security Administration agents at the Denver International Airport on November 22, 2010 in Denver, Colorado.; Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

Passengers at American airports have been enduring long security lines and invasive screening techniques for more than a decade now in the name of preventing more incidents of terrorism. But a new report suggests that all the money being spent on airport security might not be worth the cost. 

The report published in the March issue of the Journal of Air Transport Management suggests that airports are not good targets for terrorism and therefore it would make sense to actually cut back on some security measures.

The study, titled "Cost-benefit analysis of airport security: Are airports too safe?" relied on data from Los Angeles International Airport before the Nov. 1 attack that killed a TSA agent and wounded several others.

The researchers looked at several potential terrorist attacks at the airport including a gunman and several types of bombs and concluded that it would not be worth the money to beef up security by adding bomb sniffing dogs, permanent vehicle search checkpoints or blast deflection walls at the airports.

Travelers might complain about the extra hassles of airport security, but is it still worth it? Is spending vast amounts of money on extra airport security worth the cost given the rarity of these incidents? How much security is too much?

Guest:

John Mueller, political science professor at Ohio State University and author of ‘Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Threats, and Why We Believe Them’ (Free Press, 2006)