Today on AirTalk, LAist reporter Erin Stone tells us what happens to our food waste after trash day and how it is being made into fuel here in L.A. Scientists say that monarch butterflies may soon be classified as a "threatened species." And, a new study asks: Are couples who live separately better off? According to an L.A. city audit, one in every four city-funded homeless shelter beds are going unused. California’s unemployment insurance program is $20 billion in debt and the Legislative Analysts Office (LAO) released a report that says the state program's current model is fiscally unsustainable. We're discussing how the debt got so bad and the LAO's four recommendations to fix the program. What was your holiday shopping experience like before malls? Call in and tell us.

Today on AirTalk:

- How food waste becomes fuel (0:15)

- Will the monarch butterfly go extinct? (19:21)

- Why are couples living apart? (36:25)

- 1 in 4 city-funded shelter beds unused according to LA audit (51:42)

- CA's $20 billion debt in unemployment insurance (1:07:31)

- Holiday shopping pre-malls (1:29:04)