Synopsis
Host Madeleine Brand looks at news, culture and emerging trends through the lens of Los Angeles.
Episodes
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Artemis II heads to the dark side of the moon
03/04/2026 Duration: 52minPlus, war in Iran may be a boon for California pistachio farmers, our weekend film reviews, and what to bake for Passover and Easter with Good Food’s Evan Kleiman.
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For LA City Council President, police reforms are personal
01/04/2026 Duration: 51minPlus, President Trump’s shifting goals in Iran, how American children became such picky eaters, and safety tips for rattlesnake encounters on hiking trails.
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‘No Kings’ protests and CPAC symbolize a nation divided
30/03/2026 Duration: 51minPlus, the Supreme Court hears a case that could redefine birthright citizenship, high gas prices push drivers to e-bikes, and rapper IDK served time and found freedom in music.
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The déjà vu of the 1970s oil shock after a Middle East war
26/03/2026 Duration: 53minPlus, the IOC bans trans athletes, our weekend movie reviews, including arthouse body horror and a Vince Vaughn crime caper, and Evan Kleiman on how to cook an underappreciated vegetable: the leek.
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Writer Annabelle Gurwitch on the ‘unexpected joys’ of cancer
25/03/2026 Duration: 52minPlus, a jury finds Meta and YouTube liable in a groundbreaking personal injury lawsuit. Why is flying so awful? Blame 1970s deregulation. And a requiem for Echo Park’s beloved restaurant Taix.
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Writer McKay Coppins on his 'year as a degenerate gambler'
24/03/2026 Duration: 54minPlus, think LA city politics are boring? Think again. The week before the deadline to file as a candidate in the mayoral election was filled with drama. And Saudi Arabia may be pushing President Trump to continue the war with Iran.
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James Blake’s ‘Trying Times’ and how he sees the world
23/03/2026 Duration: 52minPlus, two Republicans lead the California governor’s race, the Supreme Court appears skeptical of mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day, and LA’s Darwinian left turns at a yellow light.
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Fallout for the farmworker movement Cesar Chavez led
19/03/2026 Duration: 53minPlus, California moves to rename Cesar Chavez Day, how to detox from your phone, reviews of the new Ryan Gosling movie and other big releases, and the hot weather has Evan Kleiman thinking soft serve.
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Cesar Chavez biographer on rape, sexual assault allegations
18/03/2026 Duration: 52minPlus, LA County DA Nathan Hochman says ICE is interfering with his prosecutions, the prolific career of composer Philip Glass, and Reuters purportedly identifies mysterious street artist Banksy.
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Iran’s $200/barrel oil threat could mean $8 gas in California
18/03/2026 Duration: 51minPlus, President Trump restarts an oil pipeline in California to lower prices, why he talks about Hannibal Lecter like he’s a real person, and the Sklar Brothers preview the NCAA basketball tournaments.
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Is Israel preparing to occupy Lebanon again?
16/03/2026 Duration: 51minPlus, President Trump loses a court battle against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a free music showcase called The Rehearsal at a downtown market, and remembering the philosopher who coined the term “the public sphere.”
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What makes good casting as the Oscars add a new category
12/03/2026 Duration: 52minPlus, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s first public statement raises questions about the health of Iran’s supreme leader. And our weekend film reviews include a Colleen Hoover drama all about yearning.
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Iran War could prompt a fresh look at alternative energy
11/03/2026 Duration: 51minPlus, a preliminary report says the U.S. fired the missile that hit an Iranian school, new shows starring Tracy Morgan, Rachel Weisz, and Steve Carrell, and Evan Kleiman on how to make the simple potato sing.
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Why air power alone is destined to fail in the Iran War
10/03/2026 Duration: 51minPlus, California Republicans are scrambling to hold power after Congressional maps were redrawn to favor Democrats, and how a school in rural Louisiana managed to send so many kids to elite colleges.
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Buck Meek looks in 'The Mirror' to face fear, find self-acceptance
09/03/2026 Duration: 53minPlus, Live Nation settles with the Justice Department, The New York Times details years of abuse by celebrated chef René Redzepi, and how some Academy members skirted new rules for Oscar voting.
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LA has a trash problem. The meth crisis is a big part of it
06/03/2026 Duration: 52minPlus, the CIA has been secretly arming the Kurds, possibly encouraging them to mount a revolution in Iran, our weekend film reviews, and Evan Kleiman expresses her love for an ugly vegetable.
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Wagner Moura on ‘The Secret Agent’s’ real-life inspiration
05/03/2026 Duration: 52minPlus, should low-polling Democratic candidates drop out of the California governor’s race? The state party chair says yes. And people are betting on real-world events, like the war in Iran.
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The big winner in the war with Iran? Benjamin Netanyahu
04/03/2026 Duration: 54minPlus, the Supreme Court temporarily blocks a California law that protected trans kids from being outed by their teachers, the leader of an activist group sailing to Cuba with supplies, and the phenomenon of “stay-at-home sons.”
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Assessing the “known unknowns” of Trump’s war with Iran
03/03/2026 Duration: 58minPlus, who will lead Iran after the assassination of the supreme leader, if the airstrikes are legal, and a hip-hop legend on Salt-N-Pepa’s fight to own their master recordings.
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Art Insider Carolina Miranda previews Frieze Los Angeles
26/02/2026 Duration: 52minPlus, the FBI raid of Alberto Carvalho’s home and office may be tied to a dodgy AI company, our weekend film reviews, and when life gives you lemons, Evan Kleiman is here with suggestions.