LA Podcast

Alissa, Rachel, and Sophie come bearing (some) good news as 2000 National Guard troops are withdrawn from LA and a federal court ruling invokes a temporary restraining order that stops ICE agents from racial profiling. Plus: Children’s Hospital LA closes a clinic that’s served trans kids for 30 years, and Trump’s transportation department tries to revoke California’s high-speed rail funding. Trump...

Alissa, Mike, and Godfrey on the terrifying U.S. military invasion of MacArthur Park that sent LA Mayor Karen Bass racing to the scene. Why homicides in LA have hit a 60-year low (hint: it’s not because of cops). And when LA County voters approved the governmental-reform Measure G in 2024 they inadvertently invalidated the anti-incarceration Measure J, passed in 2020. Whoops! The Guardian : “The t...

Alissa, Hayes, Mike, and Carla recap another week of relentless ICE raids. The Trump administration sues LA over its sanctuary city status, and a coalition of immigrants rights groups sue the federal government right back. A ruling in the Alliance lawsuit raises questions about LA City’s homelessness count numbers. And the biggest-ever rollback of California’s often-abused environmental quality la...

Alissa, Mike, and Godfrey track a third week of ICE raids that are more violent, more brazen, and raising more questions about how LAPD is assisting with these kidnappings. The Olympic Wage coalition strikes back with a new referendum to raise the minimum wage for *all* LA city workers. Plus, Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral primary win is huge news for New York City — and maybe for LA? ICE says 1,600 det...

Alissa, Mike, Rachel, and Oscar give an update on LA under siege as at least 500 people are taken from their families in federal raids. Plus, the massive No Kings rally in Downtown LA ends in police violence, how CHIRLA’s rapid response team is monitoring detention centers, and widespread fear fuels an economic crisis across a city of immigrants.  The June 14 No Kings rallies may have been the lar...

Scott, Alissa, Rachel, and Mike recap an astonishing week as Los Angeles is occupied by the federal government. How the city and state are responding to ongoing ICE raids, the federalization of the National Guard, the handcuffing of Senator Alex Padilla at a Homeland Security press conference, and the deployment of the U.S. Marines on the eve of nationwide protests. The Guardian : “ ‘Kidnapped’: f...

Alissa, Mike, Godfrey, and Rachel discuss charter reform at the city and county, including the powerful new LA County CEO position voters will elect in 2028. Then, a referendum to overturn the Olympic Wage attempts to gather signatures, and homeowners accept buyouts to escape an ancient landslide in Rancho Palos Verdes. Note: This episode was recorded before LA saw ICE raids and detainments, count...

Mike, Hayes, and Carla discuss the growing desire among LA Councilmembers to rein in mayoral oversight of homelessness as they’re potentially being called into Judge David O. Carter’s federal courtroom. Plus, new city and state efforts to lure the entertainment industry back to LA, and a journalist investigated by former sheriff Alex Villanueva sues him (and LA County) for violating her First Amen...

Alissa, Mike and Godfrey give a full update on how LA City’s budget went from disastrous to just “very bad” — including actions from the council’s budget committee to reduce over 1,600 proposed layoffs to 600. Then, a new minimum wage for tourism workers has hotels threatening to pull their Olympics deals. And LA’s former deputy mayor of public safety pleads guilty to calling in a City Hall bomb t...

Alissa and Mike are joined by guest co-host Laura Raymond for a whole episode on homelessness and housing. Gavin Newsom orders cities to ban visible homelessness, again. Is Measure ULA’s “mansion tax” stifling housing production in the city of LA? And post-fire Altadena is championing new models of property ownership to combat speculation and displacement.  Help us to produce a new LA Pod episode...

Mike, Alissa, and Rachel discuss how LA’s budget crisis could lead to an LAPD with fewer officers and more accountability around its helicopter fleet. Metro hires a chief for its new in-house police department. Plus, why LA County approved a $4 billion settlement for thousands of sexual abuse claims, and what this means for survivors. Support LA Podcast -- become a paid subscriber today at thinkfo...

Scott, Hayes, and Alissa dive into LA City budget fallout: how positions were eliminated, which departments are getting funded, and why LA’s liability payouts are so much higher now. 100 days out from the fires, LA hits major recovery milestones. And former LA County sheriff Alex Villanueva is evaluated for emotional distress. The mayor’s budget summary FINALLY DROPPED 12 days later. On page 47, a...

Alissa and Mike are joined by guest co-host Oscar Zarate, director of external affairs at CHIRLA, to discuss how workers are mobilizing for immigrant rights on May Day. The Real ID deadline is on May 7, creating another barrier to travel in Trump’s America. And the first phase of LAX’s long-awaited rail connection has an opening date, while Inglewood’s pricey people mover gets revamped as a much b...

Alissa, Mike, Godfrey, and Rachel watch LA Mayor Karen Bass’s State of the City address and discuss why a speech that was hyped as a "fundamental overhaul of city government" didn’t deliver on that promise. And a first look at the city’s budget includes major layoffs and department cuts to cover a billion-dollar funding gap. Check out Bass’s proposed budget : cao.lacity.gov/budget Watch the State...

Alissa, Mike, and Rachel talk about how the Trump administration is attempting to stoke fear and uncertainty at the port, schools, and cultural organizations — and how some local institutions are resisting. Plus: LA28 is getting challenged on Olympics venues, and LA’s budget-busting $2.2 billion convention center expansion lives to see another day. LA Times: " As a center of global trade, L.A. cou...

Hayes, Alissa, and Mike are joined by guest co-host Carla Hall, former Los Angeles Times editorial board member, to discuss LA County’s dramatic decision to pull funding from the LA Homeless Services Authority. Plus County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath is making big moves in a role known for anything but. And a discussion about the future of the LA Times. LA County votes to move $300 million out of L...

Alissa, Mike, and Rachel discuss proposed changes to LA city’s slur-strewn public comment process. Karen Bass found her deleted text messages sent during the fires, but what conversations are we still missing? And Metro advances an incomplete street for Vermont Avenue. LA Times: " LA City Council seeks crackdown on the N-word and C-word at meetings ” In 2014 Michael Hunt  was paid a $215,000 settl...

Alissa, Godfrey, and Rachel gather on the first day of spring to try and figure out what the hell Gavin Newsom is doing with his new MAGA-platforming podcast. Plus, new LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman won’t resentence the Menendez brothers until they apologize for "all the lies that they have told.” And some real estate influencers want LA to suspend the Measure ULA transfer tax after t...

Scott, Hayes, and Alissa look back on how the pandemic has changed LA, five years later. Then, a scathing audit of homelessness services at the city and LAHSA, a famous content creator’s burglary raises questions about LAPD response rates, and the brazenness of Huntington Park’s corruption scandal, "Operation Dirty Pond." Listen to the March 16, 2020 episode of LA Podcast: “ SoCal Distancing ” Cov...

Alissa, Rachel, and Mike recap former LAFD chief Kristin Crowley’s failed attempt to appeal her firing and discuss the political repercussions from the fire union, UFLAC. LA Mayor Karen Bass faces a recall campaign. And revenue shortfalls are forecast for LA, meaning leaders will have to take action to address the city’s park funding crisis. Crowley lost her appeal to overturn her dismissal by LA...

Hayes, Rachel, Mike, and LA Pod producer Sophie Bridges discuss the ongoing political soap opera over the firing of LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley and lament that deeper questions are getting lost amid the drama. Plus, a big victory for LA County tenants, and more evidence of racism in the LAPD. Mayor Karen Bass  fired LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley , then Crowley  appealed her dismissal Crowley’s appeal...

Alissa, Hayes, and David discuss the local impacts of Elon Musk’s federal government takeover and reminisce about how he got his start right here in LA. And how other local billionaires are sucking up to Musk, including the one who owns the Los Angeles Times . Plus, new air and water quality testing results. Please fill out the LA Podcast listener survey to let us know what we're doing well and ho...

Alissa, Mike, and Godfrey discuss yet another new LA rebuilding effort focused on climate — and why this one could be different. Plus, California becomes even more uninsurable, and city leaders are colluding to stop affordable housing in Venice. And remembering Donald Shoup, the UCLA professor who changed the way LA looked at parking. UCLA’s new Blue Ribbon Commission "to promote a safe, resilient...

Alissa, Rachel, and Godfrey talk about the protests that are drawing attention to Trump’s mass deportation policies when California’s elected officials are not. Then: Rick Caruso launches his nonprofit, Steadfast LA, into a field that grows more crowded each day, and how Mayor Karen Bass should be thinking about rebuilding LA City infrastructure.  De Los: " Why LA students walked out of school and...

Alissa, Mike, and Hayes ask the big questions: is the fire department underfunded, who is really in charge of LA’s recovery, which electeds are taking all the blame, and why? Plus, emergency tenant protections are once again shelved by LA City Council.   Hayes’s Big City Heat story: “ The question no one is going on TV about ” " 24 hours that changed Los Angeles ” by the Los Angeles Times’ Laura N...