Honoring country music legend Kris Kristofferson, who died at 88
Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and an A-list Hollywood actor, has died. Kristofferson died at his home on Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, family spokeswoman Ebie McFarland said in an email. He was 88. McFarland said Kristofferson died peacefully, surrounded by his family. No cause was given. Starting in the late 1960s, the Brownsville, Texas native wrote such country and rock ‘n’ roll standards as “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “Help Me Make it Through the Night,” “For the Good Times” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” Kristofferson was a singer, but many of his songs were best known as performed by others, whether Ray Price crooning “For the Good Times” or Janis Joplin belting out “Me and Bobby McGee.” He starred opposite Ellen Burstyn in director Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” and starred opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1976 “A Star Is Born,” With his long hair and bell-bottomed slacks and counterculture songs influenced by Bob Dylan, he represented a new breed of country songwriters along with such peers as Willie Nelson, John Prine, and Tom T. Hall. Today on AirTalk, we get into the life and legacy of Kristofferson with Chris Willman, senior music writer and chief music critic at Variety.
SoCal's inextricable ties to donuts and the Cambodian refugees who made them
Donut shops are an integral part of Southern California's landscape, with an independent mom-and-pop on almost every corner. But, how did they become so prevalent? And how did they all come to use the same pink box to signify that fluffy goodness inside? SoCal's donut scene owes much of its legacy to Cambodian refugees, who came to California during the Khmer Rouge's civil war. In fact, your local corner shop is most likely thanks to one man in particular: Ted Ngoy, the Donut King. Ngoy fled Cambodia in 1975, and eventually opened his first donut shop in La Habra called Christy's. Although small donut shops existed before Christy's, Ngoy's donut recipe and signature pink box soon became the standard, largely because Ngoy would help other Cambodian immigrants open shops of their own.
Today on AirTalk, we learn about Ted Ngoy's legacy and the Cambodian donut shop that has made SoCal the donut capital of the world. Joining us is Alice Gu, director of the documentary The Donut King and Phung Huynh, artist and educator. You can see Phung’s Pink Donut Boxes series at Cal State Long Beach as part of their Against Monoculture exhibit.
Katy Perry’s latest album is a flop. But are female pop stars ever fairly scrutinized?
Following Katy Perry’s release of her newest album “143” came a torrent of negative reviews. “Failed,” “phoned in,” and “out of touch,” are some of the ways it's been described by reporters. There seems to be a general consensus that the music is…bad. But as some critics point out, it’s not just about the music; it’s also the timing, and the changing landscape of streaming, stardom and pop. Katy Perry was pop royalty a decade ago. What does longevity look like for a female pop star? And how is this moment in pop music making way for new artists and leaving others behind? Joining us today on AirTalk is Maura Johnston, freelance writer for Rolling Stone and adjunct instructor in the journalism department at Boston College, where she teaches classes on music journalism and Phoebe Hughes, lecturer in musicology in the Binghamton University Music Department in New York.
How’s meddling and misinformation taken shape this election cycle?
The video was seen millions of times across social media but some viewers were suspicious: It featured a young Black woman who claimed Vice President Kamala Harris left her paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident in San Francisco 13 years ago. Immediately after the video was posted on Sept. 2, social media users pointed out reasons to be wary. The purported news channel it came from, San Francisco’s KBSF-TV, didn’t exist. A website for the channel set up just a week earlier contained plagiarized articles from real news outlets. It’s one case, following many presidential election cycles where bad faith actors have looked to share misinformation and attempt to shape its outcome. So how’s 2024 compare to prior election cycles? Have fake accounts and news been combatted more effectively? Joining us to break this down is Bret Schafer, senior fellow and head of the Alliance for Securing Democracy’s information manipulation team, and Michael Wilner, Chief Washington Correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers.
With files from the Associated Press
OpenAI looks to shift away from nonprofit roots and convert itself to for-profit company
OpenAI’s history as a nonprofit research institute that also sells commercial products like ChatGPT may be coming to an end as the San Francisco company looks to more fully convert itself into a for-profit corporation accountable to shareholders. The artificial intelligence company’s board is considering a decision that would change OpenAI into a public benefit corporation, according to a source familiar with the discussions who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about them. While OpenAI already has a for-profit division, where most of its staff works, it is controlled by a nonprofit board of directors whose mission is to help humanity. That would change if the company converts the core of its structure to a public benefit corporation, which is a type of corporate entity that is supposed to help society as well as turn a profit.
Joining us today on AirTalk is Matt O’Brien, covering the business of technology and artificial intelligence for The Associated Press and Sam Ransbotham, Professor of Business Analytics at Boston College with a research expertise in artificial intelligence.
Growing up with household political beliefs and the decision to go against them
A number of us grow up in a household that’s already drawn the blue or red line in the sand. This is a big influencer in what we grow up to think and believe when it comes to politics, but some people flip their allegiance as they get older. This isn’t always welcomed and can cause a lot of family strife. Today on AirTalk, we want to know what the experience of that shift in beliefs was like. What made you start questioning the status quo? Were you open with your family about how you were feeling? Were the differences in opinions met with respect or vitriol? What was this shift in affiliation like for you overall? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722 or email atcomments@laist.com. Joining the conversation as well is Tania Israel, professor of counseling psychology at UC Santa Barbara and author of “Facing the Fracture: How to Navigate the Challenges of Living in a Divided Nation.”
