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California, the abortion sanctuary state Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

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 Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times California government reporter Melody Gutierrez

More reading:

What happens in California with Roe vs. Wade now dead?

Newsom signs bill protecting California abortion providers from civil liability

In an America divided by abortion, guns and COVID, California and Newsom seize the moment

Special Edition: The Death of Roe vs. Wade Jun 24, 2022

Show notes

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: Medicine
Dr. 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: Church
The complicated story of how evangelicals mobilized around restricting abortion, and one Christian woman’s place in it all.

The Future of Abortion Part 3: Money
How 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 It
Pregnancy 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 : Law
What 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 Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporters Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Jaweed Kaleem and David G. Savage

More reading:

“The Future of Abortions” print series

In historic reversal, Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade, freeing states to outlaw abortion

The four key turning points that led to the fall of Roe vs. Wade

She was the Rosa Parks of the 1800s Jun 24, 2022

Show notes

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 Marantos

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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 life

LA Times Today: The ‘Rosa Parks of Concord MA,’ discovered in an unmarked grave in Altadena

Big Tobacco, Black trauma Jun 23, 2022

Show notes

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 Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times medical investigations reporter Emily Baumgaertner, and Ben Stockton of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Home was where the freeway is Jun 22, 2022

Show notes

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 Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times housing reporter Liam Dillon, and Santa Monica native Nichelle Monroe

More reading:

Santa Monica’s message to people evicted long ago for the 10 Freeway: Come home

Freeways force out residents in communities of color — again

Tour Santa Monica’s once-vibrant Black neighborhoods, nearly erased by racism and ‘progress’

The Future of Abortion, Part 5: Law Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

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 Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporter David G. Savage

More reading:

Where Roe went wrong: A sweeping new abortion right built on a shaky legal foundation

Supreme Court’s pending abortion ruling: What it may mean

When will the Supreme Court make a decision on the fate of Roe vs. Wade?

An ‘Emmett Till moment’ for guns? Jun 20, 2022

Show notes

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 Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporter Marissa Evans

More reading:

After Uvalde shooting, people consider an ‘Emmett Till moment’ to change gun debate

Hearts ‘shattered’: Here are the victims of the Texas school shooting

House passes gun control bill after Buffalo, Uvalde attacks

To be queer in Singapore Jun 17, 2022

Show notes

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 Toledo

Guest: L.A. Times Asia correspondent David Pierson

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Pink Dot: Singapore’s yearly pride celebration gets bigger and brighter

A Singaporean erotic OnlyFans star faces months in prison — and sparks a debate

Same-sex penguin parents spark literary controversy in Singapore

The biggest Jan. 6 bombshells Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

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 Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporter Sarah D. Wire

More reading:

Jan. 6 attack on Capitol was the ‘culmination of an attempted coup,’ panel chairman says

Trump ignored repeated warnings from Barr, advisors that election fraud claims were ‘bogus’

What’s the TV schedule for the next Jan. 6 committee hearings?

The Future of Abortion, Part 4: Keeping It Jun 15, 2022

Show notes

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 Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Houston bureau chief Molly Hennessy-Fiske

More reading:

The antiabortion movement fuels a growth industry: Pregnancy centers

Read and listen to the rest of the L.A. Times “The Future of Abortion” series here

Even with Roe vs. Wade in place, low-income women struggle to get abortions in Texas