Headlines From The Times

Beyoncé is getting ready to bring the world her seventh studio album this Friday. Rumors are already swirling about what genre she’ll showcase, what themes she’ll explore and more.We already got a hint with the single “Break My Soul,” which has popped across dance floors all summer. Even if you’re not part of Beyoncé's Beyhive counting down the days until the album release, it’s hard to deny that the artist is iconic — a total game changer.But how did she get here, and how does she remain relevant? We get into that today. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times pop music critic Mikael WoodsMore reading:Beyoncé has made music history — again — with chart-topping ‘Break My Soul’Beyoncé's ‘Renaissance’ album cover is here. Saddle up and bow down to the queenBeyoncé returns with liberating house jam ‘Break My Soul’

Remember this number: 988. The new three-digit hotline is now the 911 equivalent for mental health emergencies. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people in the U.S., according to the National Institute of Mental Health. And experts say the pandemic, racial violence and political unrest are behind an uptick in suicides across the country. That’s why last weekend’s launch of the nationwide mental health crisis hotline couldn’t come soon enough.Today, as part of “For Your Mind,” Los Angeles Times’ new initiative exploring mental health from multiple angles, we talk about the hopes and challenges ahead for the 988 hotline. Will it help fundamentally change how the U.S. treats and considers mental health, or will it fail like so many efforts before it? Read the full transcript here. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: Jaclyn Cosgrove, assistant editor at the Los Angeles Times and manager of “For Your Mind”More reading:Op-Ed: Will the new 988 hotline be a game changer for mental health or a missed opportunity?New 988 hotline is the 911 for mental health emergenciesEditorial: For crisis response, press 988 — and pass a bill to keep it funded

When the annual Glastonbury music festival happened this year, performers openly criticized on stage the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, which happened that same week. It recalled a similar movement nearly 30 years earlier, when feminist rock groups started Rock for Choice and rallied a generation to fight for abortion access.Today, the history of that movement — and whether it can happen again. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times music reporter Suzy ExpositoMore reading:In the ’90s, a new breed of rock stars organized for abortion rights. Could that happen today?Phoebe Bridgers, Olivia Rodrigo and other performers slam Supreme Court at GlastonburyPOP MUSIC REVIEW : Bands get together for Rock for Choice

It’s Emmy season, so we’re dropping another episode of our sister podcast, the “Envelope." Today, an in-depth conversation with actor Simone Ashley. Ashley has always been a fan of the romance genre, but before being cast as Kate in “Bridgerton,” playing the lead in a period drama seemed improbable to her. “I never imagined that a woman who looked like me could be a part of one,” she says. In this episode of "The Envelope" podcast, Ashley discusses embracing the political aspects of her career, how acting on “Sex Education” prepared her for "Bridgerton" and how her upbringing taught her to dream big. Subscribe to the "Envelope" here and never miss an episode.

In 2018, the L.A. Times began to follow Mckenzie Trahan, a pregnant homeless woman living in Hollywood. Over the next four years, a Times reporter, photographer and videographer tracked Trahan’s life as she tried to find housing and become a mom. Today, we hear about her journey. Read the full transcript here. Host: L.A. Times photographer Christina HouseMore reading:Pregnant, homeless and living in a tent: Meet MckenzieShe spent decades as a nomad. But her daughter’s pregnancy brought her back to L.A.We chronicled one homeless woman’s motherhood journey since 2018

So many disasters, so little time. And it’s the same group of people on the front lines, year after year. What happens when they get tired? Today, our Masters of Disaster talk about burnout among firefighters, scientists, doctors and the people we trust to take on the biggest calamities nature throws at us — as well as how to hold on to a little hope. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times reporters Rong-Gong Lin II, Rosanna Xia and Alex WigglesworthMore reading:Hellish fires, low pay, trauma: California’s Forest Service firefighters face a morale crisisAlmost 9 in 10 Californians live in areas with high COVID-19 levels as BA.5 fuels infectionsEditorial: Let’s make 2022 the year we all get angry about climate inaction

He’s animal royalty in the City of Angels; an ambassador for conservation and for the random beauty this megalopolis offers. But P-22 is also a poster boy for something sadder. The mountain lion is thought to be about 12, and nearing the end of his life. He’s an eternal bachelor, cut off from the rest of his species and a symbol of what’s left of LA’s once-incredible ecosystems that are just barely holding on.Today, the story of the cougar who stole L.A.'s heart. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times enterprise reporter Laura J. NelsonMore reading:He’s terminally single and getting old. What’s next for P-22, L.A.’s favorite wild bachelor?A week in the life of P‑22, the big cat who shares Griffith Park with millions of peopleMust Reads: Mountain lions are being killed on freeways and weakened by inbreeding. Researchers have a solution

It’s Emmys season, and the “Envelope” is here for it. So once a week for the next couple of weeks, we’re going to feature an episode of our sister podcast in “The Times.” First up: Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, who recently wrapped up their much-beloved Netflix series, “Grace and Frankie.” In this episode, the duo laugh and cry with us while reflecting on their decades long friendship, their mutual admiration for their “9 to 5” co-star Dolly Parton, who reunited with them for the final episode, and the lies people tell about aging and death. Subscribe to the "Envelope" here or wherever you listen to podcasts. Read the full transcript here.

For over a year, L.A. Times entertainment reporter Stacy Perman tried to track down Lora Lee Michel, a former child star whose custody case scandalized 1940s Hollywood. Michel went through a string of marriages — and then disappeared.In Part 2 of our miniseries, Perman finds out Michel’s shocking fate. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times entertainment reporter Stacy PermanMore reading:Podcast: What happened to Lora Lee? Part 1A child star at 7, in prison at 22. Then she vanished. What happened to Lora Lee Michel?Explaining Hollywood: Your child wants to act. What do you need to know?

Throughout the history of Hollywood, child entertainers have consistently clashed with their parents and guardians who manage their money and lives. The stories of kid stars like Britney Spears and Gary Coleman are well known. But long before them, was child actor Lora Lee Michel. In the 1940s, Michel became a famed Hollywood actress at age 7, working alongside screen legends like Humphrey Bogart and Gary Cooper. But by the time she was 22, she landed in prison. Then she disappeared.Today, part 1 of a two-part series tracing Michel’s life. It’s a story that reveals the underbelly of Hollywood’s Golden Age and the perils facing child actors. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times Company Town reporter Stacy PermanMore reading:A child star at 7, in prison at 22. Then she vanished. What happened to Lora Lee Michel?An old VHS tape gives a son a glimpse of his father’s shot at fame in 1960s HollywoodExplaining Hollywood: Your child wants to act. What do you need to know?

Lawmakers want California to eliminate the state’s carbon footprint altogether by 2045. They’re taking all sorts of steps to get to that ambitious goal; from phasing out gas-powered engines in new cars and lawnmowers to electrifying home stoves. But there’s an even bigger plan ahead, one that environmental experts say could derail it all.Today, we talk about California’s plan to pump carbon gas into the ground. It sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, but that’s exactly what California says is key to be able to make the state carbon neutral. Can it work? Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times air quality reporter Tony BriscoeMore reading:Pollution from California’s 2020 wildfires likely offset decades of air quality gainsHow California will fight Supreme Court’s limits on EPA climate enforcement

In the 5 months since Russia’s invasion, the American public’s attention has turned back to problems at home — and US President Joe Biden hasn’t gotten a good grade for his handling of them. But last week, he was able to lead major policy breakthroughs at the NATO and G7 summits.Today, can President Biden’s push to spread democracy abroad help him deal with various crises back home? Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times White House reporter Eli StokolsMore reading:News Analysis: Bold in shoring up democracy abroad, Biden is criticized as timid on the domestic frontBiden commits to more U.S. forces in Europe as NATO invites Sweden and Finland to joinImplored by Zelensky, Biden and G-7 allies will increase Ukraine defense aid, economic support

Randall Emmett had built a career for himself in Hollywood over the past decade as a producer of schlocky action films featuring cameos of iconic actors like Bruce Willis and Al Pacino. But in recent years, he was at the cusp of finally gaining mainstream respect. He had a recurring role on the reality TV hit “Vanderpump Rules” and produced Martin Scorsese’s last two films. But a Times investigation found that multiple former assistants and people who worked for Emmett alleged improper behavior.Today, we get into the rise and fall of Emmett, and what it says about the Hollywood of today. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times corporate media reporter Meg James and L.A. Times senior entertainment writer Amy KaufmanMore reading:The man who played Hollywood: Inside Randall Emmett’s crumbling empireBruce Willis halts acting career after diagnosis with cognitive disorderRandall Emmett’s drive to produce films is paying off

Few things are more beautiful on a California summer evening than the sight of lowriders cruising slow and low and bouncing up and down through the streets. But for decades, municipalities across the Golden State have been declaring war on lowriding.Today, why cities banned car cruising in the first place and how activists are finally winning. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Tammy MurgaMore reading:California Assembly urges cities to repeal bans on cruisingPodcast: Lowriders. Cruising. A Southern California ritual returnsDuring pandemic, trash and crime increased on Whittier Boulevard. Lowrider clubs said: Enough

Classic cars are a staple of California culture, but they have a dirty secret – they're gas guzzlers. And with gas prices so high, collectors are beginning to convert their cars into electric vehicles. In this episode, L.A. business reporter Ronald D. White talks about the creative ways that Californians are getting their hands on electric cars.

A 22-year-old woman and an abortion doctor from California played key roles in the legal fight that eventually led to Roe vs. Wade. But now that Roe’s been struck down, is that history our future? Today, we look at what it was like for women seeking abortions in California and the doctors who served them before the procedure was legalized, and what that past might say about a future without the constitutional right to abortion. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times reporter Brittny MejiaMore reading:Her illegal abortion paved the way for Roe. 56 years later she shares her story“The Future of Abortion” seriesCalifornia will see rush of people from out of state seeking abortion care, study says

For decades, weekly lunches between the American president and his vice president have piqued the interest of D.C. insiders. Today, we take a look at this unique tradition and examine what the most exclusive meal in D.C. tells us about the evolution of the vice presidency. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times White House reporter Noah BiermanMore reading:It’s not just a meal: Inside the nation’s most secretive and exclusive power lunchOpinion: Obama and Biden do lunchGorbachev, Reagan, Bush to Lunch

President Biden has vowed to help protect the ability of those who seek abortions to travel to other states. California and other states have stepped up to offer expanded access. And now companies are vowing to do what they can to help their employees continue to access abortion. But how much do those vows from private businesses really matter?Today, we talk about how corporations are stepping up when the government won’t. But are they actually changing anything in a meaningful way? Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuest: L.A. Times business reporter Sam DeanMore reading:Companies vow to help employees access abortion after Roe vs. Wade is overturnedHollywood companies vow to pay travel costs for abortions after Roe vs. Wade decisionHow Apple, Levi Strauss and other U.S. companies are creating a brand-new abortion benefit

We’ll be having fun all summer long ... or not. Hazards are everywhere this season — in the bonfires we set, the trash we leave behind, the sunburns we get. Today, our Masters of Disasters talk about all the hazards out there, including us. Read the full 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 coast reporter Rosanna XiaMore reading:In California’s high-risk fire country, Airbnb offers guests no warning or escape planWhere are California’s dirtiest beaches? This list might surprise youFirst suspected cases of monkeypox in Riverside and Santa Clara counties reported

More than 20 states have already worked to ban or severely limit abortion in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs. Wade. But in California, access to abortion will continue to be protected. In fact, the state’s Democratic leaders want to expand the right to abortion — for those who live here, and even for those who don’t.Today, how and why California is setting itself up as a “beacon of hope” for people who want an abortion.Read the full transcript here. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times California government reporter Melody GutierrezMore reading:What happens in California with Roe vs. Wade now dead?Newsom signs bill protecting California abortion providers from civil liabilityIn an America divided by abortion, guns and COVID, California and Newsom seize the moment

Roe vs. Wade protected the constitutional right to an abortion for nearly 50 years. Now that the Supreme Court has overturned it, at least 20 states are banning or putting extreme limitations on access to abortion.The outcome was expected, but the country still erupted when the ruling posted — abortion opponents gathered in celebration while abortion-access advocates reacted with anger.Over the last few months, The Times has looked at the issue of abortion from a number of perspectives to help understand how we got to this historic moment. Today, we revisit five episodes from “The Future of Abortion” series.Listen to the full episodes here:Future of Abortion Part 1: MedicineDr. Warren Hern has performed abortions since before Roe vs. Wade. He speaks about his career — and the fears he has for the future.Future of Abortion Part 2: ChurchThe complicated story of how evangelicals mobilized around restricting abortion, and one Christian woman’s place in it all.The Future of Abortion Part 3: MoneyHow Texas has made it nearly impossible for low-income women to get an abortion. And how other states want to copy that.The Future of Abortion, Part 4: Keeping ItPregnancy centers have grown in numbers with the backing of antiabortion religious organizations. What’s their future like in a post-Roe vs. Wade world?The Future of Abortion, Part 5 : LawWhat went wrong with Roe vs. Wade and why the court’s effort to resolve the abortion controversy back in 1973 has instead led to decades of division.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times reporters Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Jaweed Kaleem and David G. SavageMore reading:“The Future of Abortions” print seriesIn historic reversal, Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade, freeing states to outlaw abortionThe four key turning points that led to the fall of Roe vs. Wade

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