Headlines From The Times

In celebration of Juneteenth, this week we're running some of our favorite episodes about the Black experience. L.A. Times features writer Jeanette Marantos takes us from modern-day Southern California back to 1860s Massachusetts and Maryland for a look at an unsung civil rights hero. This episode first aired on Sep 24, 2021.Read the full transcript here. Host: L.A. Times features writer Jeanette MarantosMore reading:She was the Rosa Parks of her day. So why was she in an unmarked grave for 129 years?How we got the story of Ellen Garrison Jackson Clark and her courageous, unsung lifeLA Times Today: The ‘Rosa Parks of Concord MA,’ discovered in an unmarked grave in Altadena

In celebration of Juneteenth, this week we're running some of our favorite episodes about the Black experience. Today, we revisit the showdown centering on proposals to ban menthol cigarettes and how the tobacco companies enlists Black community leaders to ensure that any ban never happens. This episode first aired on Apr 26, 2022.Read the show transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times medical investigations reporter Emily Baumgaertner, and Ben Stockton of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

In celebration of Juneteenth, this week we're running some of our favorite episodes about the Black experience. Today, housing and affordability reporter Liam Dillon dives into the historical and continuing impact of the 10 freeway on Black communities in Santa Monica. This episode first aired on Jan. 31, 2022.Read the full transcript here. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times housing reporter Liam Dillon, and Santa Monica native Nichelle MonroeMore reading:Santa Monica’s message to people evicted long ago for the 10 Freeway: Come homeFreeways force out residents in communities of color — againTour Santa Monica’s once-vibrant Black neighborhoods, nearly erased by racism and ‘progress’

The Supreme Court’s decision on Roe vs. Wade in 1973 was supposed to end the debate on abortion once and for all. But instead, it has led to decades of division. In our “Future of Abortion” series, The Times looks at abortion from a number of perspectives. Today, we dig into where Roe went wrong.Read the full transcript here. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times reporter David G. SavageMore reading:Where Roe went wrong: A sweeping new abortion right built on a shaky legal foundationSupreme Court’s pending abortion ruling: What it may meanWhen will the Supreme Court make a decision on the fate of Roe vs. Wade?

In the wake of the Uvalde massacre, Emmett Till’s name is again at the forefront of a national conversation, this time about gun control. Till was the 14-year-old boy lynched by a group of white men in 1955 in Mississippi. Images of his mutilated body shocked the country and galvanized civil rights activists.As people inside and outside newsrooms struggle with whether showing brutal images of slain children might move people and politicians toward collective action, Emmett’s family talks about power and pain, and the impact and limitations of an image.Today, in honor of Juneteenth, we kick off a week of episodes about the Black experience with the question: Is this country in the middle of another “Emmett Till” moment?Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times reporter Marissa EvansMore reading:After Uvalde shooting, people consider an ‘Emmett Till moment’ to change gun debateHearts ‘shattered’: Here are the victims of the Texas school shootingHouse passes gun control bill after Buffalo, Uvalde attacks

Just this year, Singapore’s top court upheld section 377A. That’s a British colonial-era law prohibiting consenting sex between men. And while the government says it doesn’t strictly enforce that law, anyone who breaks it could face up to two years behind bars.Meanwhile, thousands of Queer Singaporean activists and LGBTQ allies will gather in Hong Lim Park this weekend for an annual gay pride event — and send a clear message to lawmakers that they’re done being denied their basic human rights. Read the full transcript here.Host: The Times producer David ToledoGuest: L.A. Times Asia correspondent David PiersonMore reading:Pink Dot: Singapore’s yearly pride celebration gets bigger and brighterA Singaporean erotic OnlyFans star faces months in prison — and sparks a debateSame-sex penguin parents spark literary controversy in Singapore

After more than a year of investigations and thousands of hours of depositions, the Jan. 6 committee is looking to prove that former president Donald Trump had a plan to overturn the 2020 election.Today, a look at the most explosive moments so far — and to come — as the committee lays out its case to show Trump’s connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and the role he may have played in spreading debunked conspiracy theories that the election he lost two years ago was rigged.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times reporter Sarah D. WireMore reading:Jan. 6 attack on Capitol was the ‘culmination of an attempted coup,’ panel chairman saysTrump ignored repeated warnings from Barr, advisors that election fraud claims were ‘bogus’What’s the TV schedule for the next Jan. 6 committee hearings?

Pregnancy centers offer services like free pregnancy tests, and sometimes resources like diapers or baby clothes — even classes and counseling. Their main focus, though, is to persuade women not to have abortions — and support those who continue their pregnancies.Today, how religious organizations and state funding have led to the rise of these pregnancy centers, as abortion rights fall nationwide. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times Houston bureau chief Molly Hennessy-FiskeMore reading:The antiabortion movement fuels a growth industry: Pregnancy centersRead and listen to the rest of the L.A. Times “The Future of Abortion” series hereEven with Roe vs. Wade in place, low-income women struggle to get abortions in Texas

For most renters across the United States, having a refrigerator come with your unit is a given. Not in Southern California. For reasons no one can fully explain or understand, renters must furnish their living spaces with their own fridges, which has created an underground economy for the essential unit. Today, we try to crack this mystery.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times housing reporter Liam DillonMore reading:Why do so many L.A. apartments come without fridges? Inside the chilling mysteryReal Estate newsletter: Where are all the fridges?Landlords in California aren’t required to provide refrigerators

In the late 1980s, the Diggs family of Southern California came across a family Bible with an incredible backstory. Notes written in the margin documented their family history to an enslaved ancestor who learned to read and write — rare at the time. The Diggs eventually donated their heirloom to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., where it’s now on display. Historians say artifacts like the Bible are rare and offer a valuable portrait into legacy and resistance.Read the full transcript here.Host: L.A. Times Washington D.C. reporter Erin B. LoganMore reading:How a Black family’s Bible ended up at the Smithsonian InstitutionBlack genealogists get help tracing their rootsBehind these names, you’ll find stories of L.A.’s Black history

Drag culture is one of the most iconic forms of expression within the LGBTQ community. For outsiders looking in, drag culture looks fun and flamboyant. But for lots of queens, it’s about so much more than the flashy fun. It’s about family.Today, we dig deep into drag, specifically drag mothers who keep the culture afloat and show us what family can be for some in the LGBTQ community.Read the full transcript here.Host: Times producer Ashlea BrownMore reading:All hail the drag queens raising L.A.’s tight-knit familiesEssential California: A drag laureate for West Hollywood?How drag has changed the face of art, fashion, and beauty

This year’s midterm elections were expected to be a referendum on the economy, but as gun violence is on the minds of Americans, yet again, millennials and zillennials, who’ve grown up in an era of massacres, might prove a constituency that no politician can ignore. If they show up to the ballot box, that is.Today, we talk about how gun violence affects the politics of young voters.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times 2021-22 Los Angeles Times Fellow Anumita KaurMore reading:Newsletter: Essential Politics: Do mass shootings affect young voters?School shootings have increased recently; the violence in Texas is among the deadliestThousands protest outside NRA convention in Texas days after massacre in Uvalde

The Summit of the Americas. It’s when the leaders of all the nations of the Western Hemisphere get together every three to four years and and talk shop. This year’s edition is in the United States, for the second time ever — and the Summit will happen right here in Los Angeles.Today, we get into this conference — how it began. What usually happens. And whether the U.S. wields the same influence in the Americas as it has for two centuries.Read the full transcript. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times Washington D.C. correspondent Tracy WilkinsonMore reading:Summit of the Americas opens in L.A. as U.S. grapples with deteriorating relations and influence‘No more dictatorships’: The slogan that rings in the streets at the start of the Summit of the AmericasSummit of the Americas hobbles to its opening as Mexico’s president declines to attend

Ocean breezes, mountain views, stunning architecture, great food. Fala vocé português? Even if you don’t; Portugal is it right now, and has been for years. But recently, more Americans and especially Californians are looking to make their vacations in the small European country permanent.Today, why more Americans are trading in their SUVs and fast food drive-throughs for the affordable homes and easy living of Portugal. And what that means for local residents.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times European correspondent Jaweed KaleemMore reading:Welcome to Portugal, the new expat haven. Californians, please go homeThese Californians relocated to Portugal. They share their storiesGoodbye, L.A. and San Francisco. Hello, Riverside and Central Valley. California moves east

The U.S. has lost more than 1 million people to COVID — and the virus isn’t done with us yet. Frontline hospital workers have experienced the devastation up close and in real time. And for one L.A. Times photographer who documented the losses and wins against COVID, looking back at the images she captured and revisiting the hospital rooms where people fought for their lives — spaces a hospital chaplain now calls ‘sacred ground’ — has helped her process the pain and remember the moments of connection and hope.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times photojournalist Francine OrrMore reading:The fight against COVID, a chaplain says, unfolded on ‘sacred ground’U.S. reaches 1 million COVID deaths — and the virus isn’t done with us

Ukraine was never a utopia for gays and transgender people, but activists there say things have improved over the years. Now, though, people are worried that Russia’s invasion could put all of that progress at risk. Today we talk to two LGBTQ+ Ukrainians, one who’s fighting against Russia for his country — and another who fled Ukraine but is continuing her fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Read the full transcript here.Host: The Times: Daily News from the L.A. Times producer David ToledoGuests: L.A. Times Latin America correspondent Kate Linthicum

Patriots for America patrols the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, stops migrants, and questions children. They call it faith-based ministry work; civil rights groups say they’re just another racist group of extremists. Today, we follow them in action. Read the full transcript here.Host: Molly Hennessy-FiskeMore reading:Texas border militia stops migrants and shoots video of kids. Rights groups say they’re racistTexas militia sanctioned by sheriff seeks government support to halt flow of migrantsMinutemen Project begins recruiting volunteers to man U.S. border

Unprecedented water restrictions in Los Angeles County are going to ensure the slow demise of lawns. And now, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is ready to deal green lawns a final blow. Today, how Southern Californians will have to get used to browner lawns — and why even that might not make a dent in a historic drought.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times water reporter Ian JamesMore reading:Newsom urges aggressive water conservation and warns of statewide restrictionsCalifornia just adopted new, tougher water restrictions: What you need to knowCalifornia bans watering ‘nonfunctional’ grass in some areas, strengthening drought rules

It’s pitting neighbors against neighbors in suburbs across the United States. Tempers are flaring. Tension is high. And nope, all the drama has nothing to do with politics or COVID or any of the usual suburban suspects. The culprit now: pickleball.Today, we serve you the rapid rise of a sport whose popularity boomed during the pandemic and the intense backlash rising right alongside it. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuest: L.A. Times investigative and enterprise reporter Connor SheetsMore reading:Pickleball noise is fueling neighborhood drama from coast to coastPickleball is a godsend for older players. L.A. needs to fund new courts Pickleball is a smash hit in SoCal. Now younger players are picking up the paddle

Overdose deaths in the United States have risen rapidly during the pandemic. It’s a trend driven largely by the spread of fentanyl.In California, the push to save lives and stop the fallout has led some activists and politicians to propose safe injection sites — places where people can take drugs with clean needles, without fear of arrest. There’s already one site like this operating in San Francisco.But in Vancouver, Canada, there’s a neighborhood that has hosted a safe injection site for almost 20 years. In today’s episode, we go visit it.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuest: L.A. Times columnist Anita ChabriaMore reading:Column: Vancouver’s safe drug-use sites are wrenching to see. California should open them anywayIn a bid to stop overdose deaths, California could allow drug use at supervised sitesWith overdose deaths rising, here’s how to test drugs for fentanyl

Today we talk about California’s huge role in influencing gun control laws in the U.S. and about the backlashes. We discuss the state’s historic 1989 ban on assault weapons and why a federal judge issued an order to overturn that ban. And we talk to the mayor of San Jose, who wants his city to be the first in the United States to require gun owners to buy liability insurance.Read the full transcript here. An earlier version of this episode was published Aug. 23, 2021.

Last week, we partnered up with KCRW for a live mayoral debate with some of the city’s top candidates for the top job.It was the final group debate before the primary on June 7. And in it, three candidates talked a lot about a housing-first approach and took progressive stances on the issue of homelessness.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo Arellano and KCRW housing reporter Anna ScottGuests: Rep. Karen Bass, L.A. councilmember Kevin de León, and activist Gina ViolaMore reading:With Caruso absent, L.A. mayoral candidates argue for progressive moves on homelessnessL.A. on the Record: Renters are getting short shrift in the mayor’s race, advocates sayL.A.’s mayoral candidates agree homeless encampments need to go. The question is how

In this episode of the “Border City” podcast from our sister paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, longtime U.S.-Mexico border reporter Sandra Dibble brings us to an awful time for Tijuana: the three-year window from 2008 to 2010. Cartels ramped up violence to horrifying levels, targeting cops and doctors. Police tried to purge traitors from their ranks — and went too far. But through it all, the spirit of Tijuana stayed alive. In the darkness, there were still sparkles of music and art and joy.Read the full transcript here.Host: Sandra DibbleMore reading:Must Reads: Meth and murder: A new kind of drug war has made Tijuana one of the deadliest cities on EarthImages from the front lines of Tijuana’s deadly drug warReporter’s Notebook: Behind the story: How The Times reported on Tijuana’s massive rise in homicides

The pandemic has made a lot of us rethink a lot of things. On the forefront of that existential rethink: restaurant workers. This realignment of priorities and personal interests drove lots of restaurant workers to quit. Now, two years after COVID-19 upended the restaurant industry, so many food spots are still short-staffed and help-wanted signs are seemingly everywhere. That's motivating employers to offer better pay, conditions and perks. Today, L.A. Times business reporter Samantha Masunaga discusses why the labor shortage is still a big problem for restaurant owners across the country and how they can persuade workers to come back. Read the full transcript here.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which detains hundreds of thousands of people nationwide, typically says fewer than a dozen detainees die in its custody each year. But if the agency releases a person in dire health, they're not in custody when they die — so ICE doesn't need to count that death. Today, L.A. Times immigration reporter Andrea Castillo tells the stories of two people who were abruptly released by ICE just days before their deaths and pulls back the curtain on the system that allows this to happen. Read the full transcript here.

The ups and downs of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin can bring quick wealth — or quick bankruptcy. It's the hope for a huge payoff that keeps people hooked on these fluctuations, to the point where their attention turns to addiction. Today, in the wake of the crypto market's recent crash, we look at how obsessing over digital currency can affect people and their lives. Read the full transcript here.

On Saturday, a heavily armed 18-year-old white man rolled up to a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, N.Y., and killed at least 10 people. The suspect is said to have committed the act to stop the so-called “Great Replacement,” a conspiracy theory that gained popularity among the far right across the world in recent years.Its premise says that a secret cabal of elites are supposedly helping people of color take the place of white people. In the United States, the great replacement theory was turned into political strategy and policy long ago. And it started here, in California.Today, we hear how the Golden State helped the fringe conspiracy go mainstream. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times columnists Erika D. Smith and Jean GuerreroMore reading:Column: I’m part of the ‘great replacement.’ It’s not what believers say it isColumn: Buffalo shooting is an ugly culmination of California’s ‘Great Replacement’ theoryColumn: How the insurrection’s ideology came straight out of 1990s California politics

In the late 1990s, a turf war between the Arellano-Felix and Sinaloa cartels in Tijuana led to mayhem and corruption. But as the cartel-fueled violence continued, residents in the city lived their lives.Sandra Dibble was a reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune at the time, and she treated her visiting mom to handmade corn tortillas, Cafe de la olla, and eggs drenched in mole in Tijuana’s upscale neighborhood. She took her brother to Tijuana’s famous Mercado Miguel Hidalgo to buy tamales. And she got on stage to play a noblewoman in a Tijuana Opera performance of “Romeo and Juliet.”During the day, though, she reported on the mayhem. She talks about this dichotomy in Episode 5 of “Border City.” Read the transcript here.Host: Sandra DibbleMore reading:The collapse of Mexico’s ‘invincible’ drug cartelLos Tucanes de Tijuana: Banned in their namesake border cityArts are beginning to blossom in Tijuana

Roe vs. Wade is expected to be struck down this summer, which would mean abortion will no longer be a federally protected right. If that happens, about half the states will probably ban abortion altogether, or make getting one a lot more difficult. But for those who live in Texas, especially in the Rio Grande Valley, it’s already hard to get an abortion.Today, we look at how Texas has made it nearly impossible for low-income women to get an abortion. And how other states want to copy that. Read the transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times Houston Bureau Chief Molly Hennessy-FiskeMore reading and listening:Even with Roe vs. Wade in place, low-income women struggle to get abortions in TexasPodcast: Future of Abortion Part 1 | MedicineFuture of Abortion Part 2 | Church

It’s barely spring in 2022 and California has already broken record heat and drought levels never before seen in 1,200 years. Major reservoirs across the American West are at record lows. Groundwater is drying up. It’s projected to get even worse in the upcoming summer months. Come June 1, millions of Southern Californians will have to learn how to live with the region’s most severe water restrictions ever.So who can we blame? Today, our Masters of Disasters tell us. Read the transcript here. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times earthquake reporter Rong-Gong Lin II, L.A. Times wildfire reporter Alex Wigglesworth and L.A. Times breaking news reporter Hayley SmithMore reading:A drought so bad it exposed a long-ago homicide. Getting the water back will be harder than everIt’s not even summer, and California’s two largest reservoirs are at ‘critically low’ levelsYour lawn will suffer amid the megadrought. Save money and put it out of its misery

The arrest in Russia earlier this year of WNBA superstar Brittney Griner made worldwide headlines. But few dug into why she was playing abroad in the first place.Today, we hear how Griner is just one of many female athletes who find themselves abroad year after year to play the games they love, geopolitics be damned. All because they can’t get a fair wage in the United States. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuest: L.A. Times sports editor Iliana Limón RomeroMore reading:Brittney Griner’s arrest in Russia: What you need to knowWNBA to honor Brittney Griner with decal on teams’ floorsCommentary: Why Brittney Griner was in Russia, and what it says about women’s sports in the U.S.

Mickey Mouse has been the mascot for Disney going back to the days of, well, Walt himself. But the copyright for the mouse that Disney has zealously guarded for decades is set to expire in just two years. That means the black-and-white version of Mickey Mouse depicted in “Steamboat Willie” would be in the public domain, where anyone can do anything with him and all of his magic and fame.A group of Republicans, mad at some of Disney stances on social issues recently, want that to happen. Disney though, ain’t going to let Mickey go without putting up a hell of a fight. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times travel reporter Hugo MartínMore reading:Republicans are trying to exterminate Mickey Mouse. Does anyone care?Whose mouse is it anyway?Disney Wins Big in Battle to Keep Company IconsDisney Led Push to Add 20 Years to Copyrights

Aerial strikes, targeting civilians, cutting off supply chains: Russia’s brutal war tactics in Ukraine are shocking, but also hauntingly familiar. These are tactics the country has used before.Six years before Russia launched its brutal attack on Ukraine, it began another horrific military operation in Syria. Today, we talk about what we can learn about Russia’s strategy in Ukraine from its involvement in Syria. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times Middle East correspondent Nabih BulosMore reading:Syrian fighters ready to join next phase of Ukraine warHumanitarian corridors, from Syria to Ukraine, explainedRussia has been Assad’s greatest ally — as it was to his father before him

More and more companies worldwide are making the switch to a 32-hour work week. And in California, there’s even talk of making it the law. Today, we discuss what the State Legislature is discussing. And we hear from people at companies that already have done that. And guess what? Worker productivity, at least according to them, is as great as ever. Read the transcript. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times breaking news reporter Hayley Smith, and Andrew Barnes, 4 Day Week Global co-founderMore reading:Proposed bill would shorten California workweek to 32 hours. Here’s what you need to knowEditorial: What if every week was a four-day workweek?Working 7 to 5—Four days a week : Companies are increasingly turning to a compressed workweek to meet anti-pollution laws and to recruit workers.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has been campaigning to become the next president of the Philippines via the power of TikTok and other social media. And Bongbong’s whitewashing of his family’s violent past has him on the cusp of victory.Today we go to the Philippines, where the presidential election is taking place next week. And we talk about how social media disinformation, yet again, might put a populist onto the global stage of power. Read the transcript.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times Asia correspondent David PiersonMore reading:Dictator’s son uses TikTok to lead in Philippine election and rewrite his family’s pastTroll armies, a growth industry in the Philippines, may soon be coming to an election near youThe Marcos diary : A lust for power, an eye on glory

We repeat our episode from last year on Cinco de Mayo because it’s that good. Axios reporter Russell Contreras takes us to the forgotten history of the holiday that’s more American than Mexican, and offers a case for why we should celebrate it. Read the transcript here. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: Axios reporter Russell ContrerasMore reading:If it’s Cinco de Mayo, the cooking should be MexicanOp-Ed: Cinco de Mayo -- a truly Mexican American holidayFive ways to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at home

On June 7, voters in Los Angeles will elect their preferred candidates in the primary. A couple of races — the mayor’s seat, L.A. County Sheriff, a possible recall of Dist. Atty. George Gascón — are earning national attention against a backdrop of voters angry with what they think is out-of-control crime and homelessness.Today, we air a live panel on all this and more, originally held during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times columnist Erika D. Smith, L.A. Times mayor’s race reporter Julia Wick, and L.A. Times sheriff’s department reporter Alene Tchekmedyian.More reading:Rick Caruso’s campaign spending tops $23 million in L.A. mayor’s raceColumn: Sheriff Villanueva acts like he’s above the law in L.A. County. What if he’s right?First eyewitness account of Sheriff Villanueva lying in a cover-up revealed in filing

In this installment of the podcast “Border City” from our sister paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, longtime border reporter Sandra Dibble talks about what it was like covering the assassination of a police chief in Tijuana and the arrest of a powerful drug suspect.She also moonlights as an opera singer in Tijuana, puts on a concert for friends from both sides of the border and navigates living a binational life after 9/11, which changed the flow of traffic from one side of the border to the other.Read the full transcript here.Host: Sandra DibbleMore reading:Listen to all the “Border City” episodes

Streaming services were one of the few winners from the pandemic, especially Netflix. But the pandemic’s binge boom seems to have burst.Today, the winners and losers in the streaming wars and how providers are handling the post-quarantine subscriber drop. Read the transcript. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times film business reporter Ryan FaughnderMore reading:After Netflix’s week from hell, why streaming is becoming more like ‘just TV’Same-day streaming film releases are ‘dead,’ cinema group leader saysLayoffs at Netflix have some staffers questioning company strategy and culture

After South L.A. erupted in anger 30 years ago, government officials promised to end the community’s economic disparity once and for all, and invest. It’s a promise that many residents say remains unfulfilled. But is that finally going to change?Today, Part Two of our L.A. riots anniversary coverage will focus on the Crenshaw Line, a light-rail system that some South L.A. leaders say will help the neighborhood improve — and others fear will bring gentrification. Read the transcript. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times business reporter Samantha MasunagaMore reading:Facing schedule delays, L.A. Metro seeks $120 million more for Crenshaw LineMeet six artists making the public art you’ll soon see on Metro’s Crenshaw/LAX LineOpinion: The Crenshaw Line is a start, but L.A.'s most transit-dependent neighborhoods need more options

April 29, 1992. A date that forever changed Los Angeles. Six days of chaos erupted after the acquittal of four police officers in the videotaped beating of Rodney King, an unarmed Black motorist. This is the first of two episodes on the 30th anniversary of the L.A. riots.Today, Black, Latino and Asian communities reflect on the uprising. We also discuss the racial reckoning of the L.A. Times newsroom in its aftermath. Read the transcript. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times columnists Sandy Banks and Frank ShyongMore reading:Column: What we got wrong about Black and Korean communities after the L.A. riotsColumn: He was murdered during the L.A. riots. We can’t forget Latinos like himThe damage went deep

For more than a decade, #BlackTwitter — a community of millions that has harnessed the power of the social media platform to create real-world change — has been a cultural phenomenon. But with Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, many Black activists fret for the future of the space they created and say they might not stick around to see what changes the platform’s new owner will make.Today, how Twitter’s influential Black community is reacting to the controversial new leader — and where Black online social activism might thrive next. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times columnist Erika D. SmithMore reading:Column: With Elon Musk in charge, it’s the beginning of the end for #BlackTwitterElon Musk reaches $44-billion deal to buy TwitterBlack Tesla employees describe a culture of racism: ‘I was at my breaking point’

Menthol-flavored cigarettes have been controversial for decades, and the Food and Drug Administration is weighing a national ban on them. But tobacco companies are not a fan of losing out on millions of dollars with that possible move. So they’ve enlisted leaders in a community that has long been the biggest consumer of menthols: Black people.Read the show transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times medical investigations reporter Emily Baumgaertner, and Ben Stockton of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.More reading:How Big Tobacco used George Floyd and Eric Garner to stoke fear among Black smokersAddicted to menthol: Big Tobacco’s targeting of Black communities could soon endOp-Ed: Big Tobacco helped destroy Black Americans’ health. Banning menthols could help improve it

As Russia’s war against Ukraine enters its third month, ordinary Ukrainians continue to upend their lives to protect their homeland. Today, we’ll hear the stories of three Ukrainians who came to the aid of their country in its hour of greatest need.Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times foreign correspondent Kate LinthicumMore reading:Full coverage of the war in UkraineUkraine war heroes: A student spiriting supplies to soldiers. A DJ answering calls about the missingUkrainian citizens trapped as Russia attacks hospitals, schools and refuses evacuations

The strict lockdowns and zero-tolerance COVID policies that were once praised for keeping China largely infection-free; they’re back. And they’re now pushing people to their limits.Today, how the recent lockdown in Shanghai is testing China’s zero tolerance strategy, and what it means for the country’s communist government. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times China correspondent Stephanie YangMore reading:Strain of Shanghai’s COVID lockdown tests China’s zero tolerance resolveHuman toll from Shanghai lockdown fuels public frustration‘It’s a nightmare’: Hong Kong runs low on coffins as Omicron exacts deadly toll

Earlier this month, Mexico had an election. But it wasn’t business as usual. The vote was a first in Mexico — a recall referendum on the country’s president. The person pushing to recall the president … was the president himself.Today we get into the curious history of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times foreign correspondents Leila Miller and Kate LinthicumMore reading:Mexicans vote on whether to recall the president, an election he pushed forLópez Obrador on track to retain control of Mexico’s Congress, but with reduced majorityAmid journalist killings, Mexican president tries to shame famous reporter who wrote about his son

Since AriZona iced tea launched in 1994, a can of the stuff has cost 99 cents. It’s a business anomaly, yet one that has turned the company into a multibillion-dollar outfit. And the owner vows to keep his iced tea at that price even during the worst inflation the United States has seen in 40 years, which is eating into the company’s revenue.Today, we get into this odd business ideology.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuest: L.A. Times business reporter Sam DeanMore reading:As inflation soars, how is AriZona iced tea still 99 cents?Read the episode transcript

In Chapter 3 of “Border City,” a podcast from the San Diego Union Tribune and L.A. Times, Sandra Dibble continues her story about living and working as a journalist in Tijuana. It’s both sides of Tijuana that eventually make Sandra feel like she’s not just passing through anymore, but like she’s finally found her place and purpose.From drug cartels, a kidnapping and an attempted murder of a journalist, to building real friendships, a surprise birthday party, tennis lessons, aerobics and intimate concerts in Tijuas, Sandra’s real-life experiences bring the border town’s sharp contrasts into focus — the bitter and the sweet.Host: Sandra DibbleMore reading:Jesus Blancornelas, 70; writer exposed actions of drug cartelsHere’s something you didn’t know about Tijuana: It’s a great weekend escape for food loversFrom the Archives: Amid all the bustle, Tijuana has classic lilts

Some of the biggest names in the music industry have played the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival since it debuted in 1999 on large grass fields out in the California desert. It turned into a global phenomenon and tastemaker in the process. But for the past two years, along with the rest of the live-music industry, Coachella went on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic...but it’s BACK.Today, what Coachella’s return this past weekend and next weekend says about the state of the music industry.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times pop music reporter Mikael WoodMore reading:Live updates from Coachella 2022The best moments of Coachella 2022 in photosInside the Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia’s very last-minute Coachella collab

In anticipation of the Supreme Court making its landmark abortion decision this summer and very likely undoing Roe v Wade, The Times is looking at the issue from a number of perspectives. Today, we’ll tell the complicated story of how evangelicals mobilized around restricting abortion — and one women’s place in it all.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times national correspondent Jaweed KaleemMore reading:Read the L.A. Times’ “The Future of Abortion” seriesAs Supreme Court weighs abortion, Christians challenge what it means to be ‘pro-life’The pastor thought Trump was ‘evil.’ So he quit his conservative church