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3 men of color, 3 LAPD encounters. 3 deaths Jan 25, 2023

Show notes

In a span of 25 hours, three men of color died after encounters with Los Angeles police officers. Could a change in tactics long asked for by activists have prevented the deaths?

Today, we talk about the incidents, the aftermath — and what’s next. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times investigative crime reporter Richard Winton and L.A. Times metro columnist Erika D. Smith

More reading:

Column: MLK had a dream about ending police brutality. In L.A., we’re clearly still dreaming

LAPD’s repeated tasing of teacher who died appears excessive, experts say

Amid concerns over three deaths, LAPD releases video

A massacre in Monterey Park Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

A gunman shot and killed 10 people just after a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park, California. This attack, one of California's worst mass shootings in recent memory, is sparking concerns about public safety and conversations about anti-Asian hate — and renewing calls for gun control. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Asian American communities reporter Jeong Park

More reading:

Authorities identify 72-year-old man as suspected gunman in Lunar New Year mass shooting

Terror at Monterey Park dance studio: What we know about Lunar New Year mass shooting

Lunar New Year shooting: A grim moment in Monterey Park, America’s first suburban Chinatown

Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 3: The Dam Jan 20, 2023

Show notes

The main way the American West harvests the Colorado River for its water use is by dams that create reservoirs, which are quickly drying up because of climate change. Can knocking some dams down help?

Today, in our continuing series on the Colorado River, we go to Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell to talk to some people who think so. Read the full transcript here.

Host: “The Times” senior producer Denise Guerra

Guests: L.A. Times water reporter Ian James

More listening:

Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 1: A Dying River

Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 2: The Source

Colorado River in Crisis homepage

How the California GOP lost its national sway Jan 18, 2023

Show notes

For decades, Republicans across the country looked to California for conservative stars and ideas even as the GOP lost its way in the state. Not anymore.

Today, we talk about how how Kevin McCarthy’s tortuous path to become Speaker of the House was yet another loud death rattle for the California GOP. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times politics columnist Mark Z. Barabak

More reading:

Column: Kevin McCarthy ‘won’ the House speakership. Now the country will pay the price

Listen to “The Battle of 187”

Today’s GOP could snub even Reagan

Dance raves in, dissent out as Saudi Arabia's crown prince dictates new social order Jan 16, 2023

Show notes

Something unexpected is going on in traditionally conservative Saudi Arabia.

Over the last few years, the kingdom has been announcing a loosening of social restrictions at a surprising rate. Movie theaters are reopening, new professional opportunities for women are popping up and the country is hosting Western-style music festivals.

It’s all part of a plan by the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who says he wants to dramatically transform his country.

Today, how the prince’s push comes with a price:While dancing in Saudi Arabia might be in these days, political dissent is still most definitely out. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Middle East bureau chief Nabih Bulos

More reading:

Dancing is in, dissent is out as Saudi Arabia’s crown prince transforms his country

Saudi Arabia is giving itself an extreme makeover with ‘giga-projects.’ Will it work?

Saudis sentence U.S. citizen to 16 years over tweets

Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 2: The Source Jan 13, 2023

Show notes

The Colorado River begins in the Rocky Mountain snowpack, which provides the water that starts off the river on its epic journey. But as the American West gets hotter, that snowpack keeps getting smaller and smaller.

Today, the second in our six-part special on the future of this vital waterway. New episodes will publish every Friday through Feb. 10. Follow the project here. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times water reporter Ian James and L.A. Times video journalist Albert Lee

More reading:

Our full Colorado River series

Listen to the first episode in this series, “Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 1: A Dying River”

Video: The Colorado River is drying up. Climate change and drought have taken a major toll.

California's stormy weather, explained Jan 11, 2023

Show notes

This month’s record-setting rain and snow across California also comes with terms many of us know but can’t explain. Today, we do that with our Masters of Disasters. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times earthquake reporter Ron Lin, L.A. Times Fast Break disasters reporter Hayley Smith, and L.A. Times water reporter Ian James

More reading:

California snowpack is far above average amid January storms, but a lot more is needed

Deadly results as dramatic climate whiplash causes California’s aging levees to fail

California storm death toll reaches 17 as more rain, winds arrive. Damage could top $1 billion

Can the Golden Globes come back? Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

The Golden Globes is going to air this week on NBC after a year-long hiatus in the wake of a scandal over its parent company, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Can its comeback stick? Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Company Town reporter Stacy Perman, and L.A. Times film business reporter Josh Rottenberg

More reading:

‘It took a crisis in order to make changes,’ says new Golden Globes owner

Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. approves sale of Golden Globes assets to Todd Boehly

Golden Globes voters in tumult: Members accuse Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. of self-dealing, ethical lapses

Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 1: A Dying River Jan 06, 2023

Show notes

The Colorado River is the water lifeline for tens of millions of people across the American Southwest, which couldn’t have developed the way it is today without it. But all the damming and diversion done to the Colorado has put it at a tipping point where a future with no water is no longer just fantasy but perilously possible.

Today, “The Times” kicks off “a six-part special on the future of this vital waterway. New episodes will publish every Friday through Feb. 10. Follow the project here. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times water reporter Ian James

More reading:

Colorado River in Crisis

They sounded alarms about a coming Colorado River crisis. But warnings went unheeded

Video: Desert suburbia is growing. But the Colorado River, and Arizona’s groundwater, cannot keep up.

California's fight with affirmative action Jan 04, 2023

Show notes

The Supreme Court appears ready to abolish affirmative action later this year. The case seeking to declare it unconstitutional has schools that consider race in admissions worried about how they can continue to build diversity among their students without affirmative action.

Here in California, though, we already know what happens when programs like affirmative action are banned. In 1996, voters passed a first ballot initiative in the country to ban the consideration of race or gender and public education.

Today, how the University of California system has dealt with a 25-year ban on affirmative action. And what we can learn if a national ban does happen. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporter Teresa Watanabe

More reading:

California banned affirmative action in 1996. Inside the UC struggle for diversity

Are Asian American college applicants at a disadvantage? Supreme Court debate stirs fear

Column: Affirmative action challenges aren’t about ending discrimination. Their goal is white supremacy

Some audio in this episode is courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.