How The Breakdown In US-Mexico Relations Exacerbated The Fentanyl Crisis
Fentanyl was responsible for two-thirds of U.S. drug overdoses in 2021. On average, the drug kills one person in the U.S. every seven minutes, according to a seven-part investigation by the Washington Post. With Mexican cartels seeking to meet increased U.S. demand, seizures of the synthetic opioid at the southern border have continued to reach record numbers. As Fentanyl trafficking escalates, the deterioration of U.S.-Mexico cooperation worsens an already difficult crisis. Today on AirTalk, we discuss the breakdown in the U.S.-Mexico drug response with Nick Miroff, immigration reporter with the Washington Post, and John Feeley, former career diplomat and U.S. ambassador who served as the second in command at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico from 2009 to 2012.
Not Everyone Agrees On What Determines Death. A Committee Is Reviewing Whether The Definition Needs An Update
You might think determining when someone is considered dead should be left to a physician, but families and attorneys are increasingly at odds with the diagnosis of death. For the last 40 years, death has been determined in a couple ways, one being that the heart and lungs quit working and the second being what’s most commonly known as brain death. In recent years, some families or loved ones have objected to brain-death evaluations. Some have even filed lawsuits. The rise in disputes has led a committee that is part of the Uniform Law Commission to weigh whether the Uniform Determination of Death Act needs an update and if so, what it should look like. Will the group be able to come to a consensus though? Alexander Capron, professor of medicine and law at USC where he's an expert in health policy and medical ethics, Ariane Lewis, M.D., professor of neurology and neurosurgery at NYU Langone Health and author of “Death Determination by Neurologic Criteria,” (Springer, 2023), and Laurie Zoloth, the Margaret E. Burton professor of religion and ethics at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School and author of “Second Texts and Second Opinions” (Oxford University Press, 2022), join AirTalk to discuss.
New Report Finds LA’s Homelessness Crisis Was Curbed By Government Economic Assistance
Despite the city of Los Angeles’s dealing with a serious homelessness crisis right now, a new report notes that it could’ve been worse if not for government intervention. A new report from the Economic Roundtable notes that a moratorium on evictions and added unemployment benefits helped with keeping folks off the streets.
Today on AirTalk, we discuss this with Economic Roundtable president Daniel Flaming and Kevin Klowden, chief global strategist of the Milken Institute’s Center for Regional Economics and California Center.
International Hostage Expert On Orchestration Of Prisoner Swaps Like The One That Brought Home Britney Griner
WNBA star Britney Griner is back on U.S. soil dunking basketballs, having barbecue and enjoying the simple pleasures in life like Dr. Pepper, following her months-long imprisonment in Russia. The U.S. and Russia negotiated a prisoner swap that sent arms dealer Viktor Bout back to Russia in exchange for Griner, a deal that was executed late last week and brought Griner home in time to spend the weekend with her wife and family at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. So, how was this deal brokered, and how have others like it been brokered in the past? Who are the major players in negotiations like this? How do heads of state, diplomats and NGOs actually orchestrate these high profile prisoner swaps that often have major implications for the relationship between the countries involved?
Today on AirTalk, we’ll speak with Dartmouth College U.S. Foreign Policy and International Relations Fellow Danielle Gilbert, who is an expert on international hostage negotiations and diplomacy, to find out more about how exactly the prisoner swap for Britney Griner was coordinated and carried out, the statecraft that goes into brokering these deals, and we’ll look back on some other notable prisoner swaps in U.S. history to find out how they affected relations between the countries involved.
TV-Talk: ‘Kindred,’ ‘Last Chance U: Basketball’ Season 2 & Best Shows of 2022
Have you felt completely overwhelmed when deciding what new show to watch these days? Us too. There’s just so much content out there between network tv and numerous streaming platforms. Each week, we’re going to try to break through the noise with TV watchers who can point us to the must-sees and steer us clear of the shows that maybe don’t live up to the hype. This week, Larry talks to NPR television critic Eric Deggans and Kathryn VanArendonk, television critic for Vulture.