Headlines From The Times

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The sketchy test sending moms to prison Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

There’s a test used across Latin America to determine whether a baby was born dead or alive. And depending on the result, it could allow prosecutors to bring murder charges against mothers who might have had a still-born birth. And there’s an even bigger problem. This test is 400 years old and very unreliable.

Today, how the so-called flotation test is sending women to prison for killing their newborns, when they say that they’re innocent. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times foreign correspondent Leila Miller

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An unreliable 400-year-old test is sending mothers to prison for killing their newborns

Across Latin America, abortion restrictions are being loosened

Thousands of feminists march in Mexico City: ‘I am scared to simply be a woman in Mexico’

The rise, fall and rise of Lula Sep 30, 2022

Show notes

Brazilians are heading to the polls on Sunday to choose between two very different candidates: current president Jair Bolsonaro and a former one, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, more popularly known as Lula. The icon of the left spent years in prison on corruption charges but is now on the cusp of regaining the presidency.

Today, we talk about how that happened. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Latin America correspondent Kate Linthicum

More reading:

Three years ago he was in prison. Now he’s poised to be Brazil’s next president

Echoing Trump, Brazil’s president prepares for election loss by declaring vote rigged

COVID-19 cautionary tales from India and Brazil

The fight to become L.A. County sheriff Sep 28, 2022

Show notes

Alex Villanueva was elected as Los Angeles County sheriff in 2018 with support from progressives riding an anti-Trump wave. But since he took office, he has shifted to the right. His opponent in the November election, retired Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, leads in the polls.

But at a time when issues surrounding law enforcement are part of a national conversation, how much do they differ? We talk about it, as we hear from both candidates at a debate this month. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times law enforcement reporter Alene Tchekmedyian

More reading:

Luna, Villanueva trade charges in antagonistic L.A. sheriff debate

Alex Villanueva thought his ‘Quien es más Latino?’ strategy would sink his opponent. Nope

Sheriff Villanueva in tight race as challenger Robert Luna has edge in new poll

Masters of Disasters: Broken records! Sep 26, 2022

Show notes

Record heat. Record drought. Record floods. Record hail. Record bad air. In a world where climate disasters seem to break records every year, do records even mean anything anymore? And if not, then what’s next when it comes to measuring climate misery?

Today, we reconvene our Masters of Disasters to examine this existential question. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times wildfire reporter Alex Wigglesworth, L.A. Times energy reporter Sammy Roth, and L.A. Times air quality reporter Tony Briscoe.

More reading:

Destructive rain in Death Valley, flooded Vegas casinos mark a summer of extreme weather

As forests go up in smoke, so will California’s climate plan

California’s epic heat wave is over. Here’s what we learned

Crimes for rhymes? Sep 23, 2022

Show notes

There are dozens if not hundreds of cases involving prosecutors using rap lyrics that are about crimes as evidence of actual crimes, even when there was no other credible evidence. But finally, the recording industry and California lawmakers are pushing to put an end to the practice.

Today, we talk about groundbreaking legislation that could limit how music is used as evidence in criminal court. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times columnist Erika D. Smith

More reading:

Column: America loves rap, not Black people. Don’t be fooled because this bill protects lyrics

Rapper ‘Tiny Doo’ and college student arrested under controversial gang law get day in court against police

San Diego council approves $1.5M payout to two men jailed under controversial gang law

Legal pot in California sparks corruption Sep 21, 2022

Show notes

Ever since California legalized cannabis in 2016, the state’s weed market has become a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s estimated to be the largest legal market of its kind in the world. But whenever you get that much money anywhere; well, you’re gonna get political corruption.

Today, our investigation into how illegal moves around marijuana are plaguing city halls across the state. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times investigative reporter Adam Elmahrek

More reading:

$250,000 cash in a brown paper bag.’ How legal weed unleashed corruption in California

Legal Weed, Broken Promises: A Times series on the fallout of legal pot in California

Would this California town have become so pro-cannabis if not for a councilwoman’s pot industry ties?

How L.A.’s next mayor will handle homelessness Sep 19, 2022

Show notes

Housing L.A.’s homeless population has unsurprisingly proved to be a herculean task. With tens of thousands of people on the streets, it’s become a top issue for this year’s mayoral election in November. But until now, neither candidate — Congresswoman Karen Bass and real estate developer Rick Caruso — had offered specifics on the type of housing they would create, where it would be or how much it would cost.

So we asked. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporters Ben Oreskes and Doug Smith

More reading:

Bass and Caruso have talked big on homelessness. Now they’re offering some details

Can Bass or Caruso solve the L.A. homeless housing crisis? Here are their divergent plans

Bass, Caruso sling mud over USC scholarship, alleged hacks and homelessness fixes

Back to the moon — and beyond? Sep 16, 2022

Show notes

Sometime soon, NASA plans to launch a powerful new rocket. The launch is part of an ambitious quest to get people back to the moon for the first time in half a century — and just maybe, even further.

Today, why the U.S. and its partners are determined to go back to the moon and the role politics plays when we reach for the stars. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times business reporter Samantha Masunaga

More reading:

NASA’s return to the moon is delayed again after scrub because of fuel leak

Column One: 50 years after Apollo 11, the moon’s allure still resonates

Readers remember the Apollo 11 moon landing, 50 years later

How illegal cannabis smoked California Sep 14, 2022

Show notes

California voters legalized cannabis in 2016, and one of the issues that was supposed to be solved was the violence and environmental wreckage associated with the drug’s illegal trade. But that hasn’t happened.

Inside California’s famed “Emerald Triangle,” a region north of San Francisco known for its weed, there’s an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 illegal cannabis farms alone. The under-the-radar cultivation is messing with once-peaceful communities. Today, we get into this issue. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times investigative reporter Paige St. John

More reading:

Legal Weed, Broken Promises: A Times series on the fallout of legal pot in California

Nobody knows how widespread illegal cannabis grows are in California. So we mapped them

The reality of legal weed in California: Huge illegal grows, violence, worker exploitation and deaths

A wildfire with your Airbnb? Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

A Los Angeles Times analysis found that thousands of short-term Airbnb rentals are in California’s most hazardous fire zones. But the company does not provide warnings or evacuation information to guests when they make a reservations, and some customers say the company’s refund policy adds to the potential dangers.

Today, as climate change threatens so many aspects of our lives, are even our vacations not safe anymore? Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporters Ben Poston and Alex Wigglesworth

More reading:

In California’s high-risk fire country, Airbnb offers guests no warning or escape plan

Is your vacation rental in a risky wildfire zone? What you need to know

California fires are burning faster, hotter, more intensely — and getting harder to fight