LA Podcast

Alissa, Rachel, and Sophie talk about yet another new ICE detention center that’s opened in a former private prison in the Central Valley. How a new citywide adaptive reuse ordinance could convert vacant buildings into housing. Then, UCLA’s Los Angeles County Quality of Life Index dips to an all-time low. How bad are the vibes? CalMatters : “ ICE quietly opens another detention center in a former...

Alissa joins Mike and Godfrey to decipher LA’s new budget, Karen Bass’s second (or third?) State of the City, and which departments are getting more money this year. Then, how a plan to help Airbnb snuck into the budget, and fundraising updates for candidates as ballots for the June 2 election arrive later this week. Here are all LA’s budget documents and the press conference where Mayor Karen Bas...

Alissa, Mike, and Rachel on the 2 a.m. union deal that prevented an LAUSD strike. A major hack of sensitive LAPD information causes City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto to lose her police endorsement. Mad about pricey LA28 tickets? So are LA’s councilmembers. Then: how a whisper network of accusers ousted Eric Swalwell from the governor’s race — and Congress. LAist : “ A late-night labor deal averts...

Mike, Rachel, and Laura reveal the troubling story of the Neighbors First dark money network that’s mucking up LA City Council elections, including previously unreported details. Then: the latest in the ongoing Measure ULA saga, and a potential new progressive revenue stream for housing and basic services in the city of Long Beach Details about the dark money network in Los Angeles were first shar...

Scott, Mike, and Godfrey go long on Metro’s greenlighting of a major regional transit expansion – the northern extension of the K Line – and the politics that almost derailed the action. Plus, what recent polls say about LA Mayor Karen Bass’s reelection chances, and political attacks that backfired in the race for City Controller and Council District 9. Metro’s approval of the K Line northern exte...

Alissa, Mike, and Sammy discuss the resignation of Janisse Quiñones as head of LADWP and what this will mean for LA’s clean energy goals. Then, takeaways from the first LA mayoral debate and how climate is factoring into the governor’s race. And a new baseball season means more complaints about how the Dodgers can be doing more for the community. LADWP CEO Janisse Quiñones stepped down earlier thi...

Alissa, Rachel, and Sophie discuss the bombshell sexual abuse accusations against the late labor leader Cesar Chavez, including by Chavez’s fellow labor leader Dolores Huerta and two women who were abused as children. A reckoning is underway to erase Chavez’s likeness from public space and rename the March 31 holiday honoring Chavez to Farmworkers Day. Then: LAUSD teachers and staff are set to str...

Alissa, Rachel, and Mike discuss LA city’s six-year journey to end the racist and ineffective practice of pretextual stops by police. For the first time in a decade, the number of homeless people who died in LA County went down, not up; from a high of seven deaths per day to six deaths per day. Then: the Noma pop-up in Silver Lake is protested after allegations of abuse by Danish chef René Redzepi...

Mike, Godfrey and Oscar dive into two big charter reform debates: oversight of the LAPD and the role of LA’s city controller, which current Controller Kenneth Mejia is turning into a public battle. The Trump administration is planning to evict thousands of immigrant families, but community groups are fighting back. Plus, the proposed “Billionaire’s Tax” that’s dividing California Democrats. COME P...

Alissa, Mike, and Godfrey report back from the California Democratic Party state convention where endorsement battles plague the governor’s race. Will Republicans end up nabbing the top two spots on the November ballot? LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho is placed on leave after an FBI raid of his home and office. And Metro wants you to ride the D — with crop tops to match — on May 8. Join all...

Scott, Alissa, and Rachel dry off after yet another flash flooding event and absorb a new report that says LA County could eliminate half of its pavement. Casey Wasserman is leaving his own company but will apparently stay on as LA28 chair (?!?) as more elected officials call for him to step down. And LA’s City Council searches for more ways to not build more housing near transit by delaying imple...

Alissa, Mike, Rachel, and Olga unpack Nithya Raman’s surprise mayoral run. How the LA city councilmember’s last-minute decision to challenge incumbent Karen Bass has rattled establishment Democrats and angered activists on the left — and why comparisons to progressive officials in other cities don’t really hold up. Then: Trump’s attorney general Pam Bondi is suddenly worried about crime in Culver...

Alissa, Mike, and Memo discuss the “No Secret Police Act,” which requires ICE agents to remove face coverings — and why LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell’s refusal to enforce it is such a red flag. Don Lemon’s federal detention highlights the double standards for LA journalists who are arrested during protests. LA Mayor Karen Bass delivers her (first) state of the city. Plus: why elected officials are call...

Alissa, Godfrey, and Sophie recount another week of accelerating immigration raids and how Angelenos are organizing against them. Why the “national shutdown” isn’t a general strike (yet). If ICE is going to the Winter Olympics, what does that mean for LA in 2028? And what about the World Cup this summer? And RIP to Shirley Raines who brought dignity, agency, and eyelash extensions to Skid Row resi...

Mike, David, and Carla do a deep-dive on state and local efforts to build and fund — and also stop and kill — housing, while changes are proposed to LA city’s ULA transfer tax, also known as the “mansion tax.” More charter reform proposals advance. Are 23 councilmembers enough? Should 16-year-olds get the right to vote in local elections? Then: California’s mountain lions might finally get endange...

Alissa, Rachel, and Godfrey remember Keith Porter Jr., who was killed by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve in Northridge. A new UCLA report shows how Metro’s unarmed ambassadors are helping Metro’s riders. A subway concept advances for the Sepulveda Corridor and Fred Rosen’s monorail might finally be dead. And LA City’s charter reform commission has begun the purge. “ Letter from a Birmingha...

Alissa, Mike, and guest co-host Golden State’s Mariel Garza talk about how local officials commemorated (or didn’t commemorate) the one-year anniversary of the fires, including a shocking statement from Councilmember Traci Park. Reality TV star Spencer Pratt is running for LA mayor. Gavin Newsom delivers his final State of the State address. And right-wing tabloid journalism is coming to the West...

One year ago this week Los Angeles was forever changed by the most destructive natural disaster in the county’s history. Alissa, Mike, and Kate survey the impact of the firestorms, and discuss what year two of recovery looks like for the thousands of Angelenos who are still displaced. Plus LAFD’s after-action report is deemed a “cover up,” and the real story behind the collapse of the state’s insu...

It’s the end-of-the-year episode! And what a horrible year it has been! Alissa, Rachel, and Mike recap the biggest stories, the stories that didn’t get nearly enough attention, and what to look forward to next year. (Yes, there are some things to look forward to!) Plus: predictions for 2026 and what will be a very big election year for LA. Check out  last year’s end-of-the-year show  to see what w...

Mike, David, and Godfrey go deep on one of the wildest LA City Council votes in recent memory as councilmembers quarrel over Karen Bass’s manufactured deadline to increase police hiring. LAPD reform finally makes it onto the charter commission radar, plus all the different ways that council expansion could happen (27 districts…. or 9 three-member districts?). Then: two important races for open sea...

Alissa, Rachel, and Sophie dig into an investigation that shows the City of Los Angeles stopped repaving its streets instead of implementing multimodal safety improvements. Remembering Robert Silverstein, the lawyer who tried to halt nearly every major Hollywood development. Plus: an appreciation of LA’s own hometown starchitect, the legendary Frank Gehry, who died at the age of 96. The Future Is...

Mike, Rachel, and Oscar check in on six months of still-escalating ICE raids terrorizing Los Angeles County. House Dems held a special Congressional hearing to collect powerful testimony about the state-sponsored kidnappings — and immigration advocates, mutual aid groups, and neighbors continue to fight back. Plus, LA’s City Council gives LAPD permission to use tear gas on protesters and journalis...

As the LA Podcast team takes off for the Thanksgiving long weekend, we’re featuring Mike’s recent one-on-one interview with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. In a wide-ranging conversation, they discuss Bass’s leadership style — she says she prefers to govern from the center — and how it has been tested by wildfires, ICE raids, and the ongoing homelessness crisis. The conversation, which took place on...

Alissa and Mike are joined by journalist Sammy Roth to answer all your questions about LA’s climate and environment goals. Why are green bins clustered on every corner? How can we save even more water? When are we weaning ourselves off coal? And is California slowly losing its status as a global environmental leader? Plus: a new way to think about getting to Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles Times : “ G...

Mike, Rachel, Godfrey, and Olga analyze the significance of last week’s vote by LA’s City Council to limit annual rent increases for 1.5 million tenants — and somehow explain it all using Dodgers metaphors. The LAPD and city attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto are bucking civilian oversight in a variety of shocking (or maybe not-so-shocking) ways. Then, how labor power is brewing at your local Starbucks...