Synopsis
Host Madeleine Brand looks at news, culture and emerging trends through the lens of Los Angeles.
Episodes
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Could exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi be Iran’s next leader?
15/01/2026 Duration: 51minPlus, how climate change is prompting some Americans to move north, and Evan Kleiman learns a lot about food through niche newsletters. She shares her favorites.
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Can Democrats capitalize as ‘Abolish ICE’ regains momentum?
14/01/2026 Duration: 52minPlus, the billionaires working to defeat a wealth tax that’s not even on the ballot yet, how AI can help someone grieving, and what exactly is beef tallow?
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Altadena rapper Fat Tony on grief, resiliency, and…pickles?
13/01/2026 Duration: 50minPlus, the future of Iran’s regime after hundreds of protesters are killed, the Supreme Court hears two big trans rights cases, and why President Trump is so obsessed with Greenland.
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Remembering Christine Moore, her ‘famous hugs,’ and community she built at Little Flower
09/01/2026 Duration: 53minPlus, why rebuilding the Palisades and Altadena exactly as they were could be a huge missed opportunity, the controversy surrounding “Zone Zero” regulations, and a review of a horror film about a chimp gone wild.
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Palisades, Eaton victims mark a year since devastating wildfires
08/01/2026 Duration: 52minPlus, how the disaster turned ordinary people into activists, and an LA Times investigation reveals the Los Angeles Fire Department made big mistakes that could have prevented much of the destruction.
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R. Crumb’s Zwirner Gallery show a ‘culmination of his obsessions’
07/01/2026 Duration: 52minPlus, why President Trump is so interested in Venezuela’s oil, and new TV shows you might want to binge, including yet another Ryan Murphy production.
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What’s next for Venezuela after U.S. indicts Nicolás Maduro
06/01/2026 Duration: 54minPlus, the legal questions surrounding Maduro’s ouster, new so-called “Trump Accounts” seed a retirement-style investment for kids, and a new album celebrates women who sing Jewish religious music.
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‘Uptown Girl’ Christie Brinkley dishes on Billy Joel, becoming the 1980s’ biggest model
29/12/2025 Duration: 54minPlus, how one of the most reputable galleries in the world trafficked $80 million in fake art, and Susan Choi’s new novel about family and Korean politics.
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Christmas Eve special: Remembering musical visionary Brian Wilson
24/12/2025 Duration: 54minPlus, ‘Electric Nebraska’: the Bruce Springsteen album that never was…until now. And how to find new music in your fifties.
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Goodbye to ‘Stranger Things,’ the show that defined modern streaming
24/12/2025 Duration: 52minPlus, Wall Street investors are hoping to profit from LA County sex abuse settlements, KCRW’s Evan Kleiman eulogizes restaurants shuttered this year, and our weekly film reviews.
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DOJ may face contempt charges over unreleased Epstein files
23/12/2025 Duration: 51minPlus, CBS top editor Bari Weiss draws ire after pulling a segment critical of the Trump administration, Argentinian musician Juana Molina is back with a new album, and the playoff-bound Rams and Chargers could lead to an all-LA Super Bowl.
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Oscars move reveals what YouTube always wanted: to replace TV
19/12/2025 Duration: 52minPlus, the “slow-motion, slightly-off-the-front-page collapse” of the FBI under Kash Patel, our weekend film reviews, and Evan Kleiman has the best spice blends for last-minute stocking stuffers.
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Rob Reiner’s son’s struggles feel familiar for many families
18/12/2025 Duration: 52minPlus, President Trump’s chief of staff spoke candidly to Vanity Fair about her boss and others in the White House, and how to choose a holiday movie everyone will like.
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Rhea Seehorn on happiness, self-loathing, and optimism in ‘Pluribus’
16/12/2025 Duration: 52minPlus, an attack on Americans in Syria and the Bondi Beach antisemitic shooting renews focus on ISIS, and the origin story of the drunken, debaucherous SantaCon.
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Remembering Rob Reiner, and his ‘endlessly quotable’ films
15/12/2025 Duration: 51minPlus, nine former Justice Department attorneys resign over pressure to investigate antisemitism on UC campuses, and the band HAIM dishes on their new album, relationships, and Paul Thomas Anderson.
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Disney’s $1B Sora deal could upend Hollywood’s relationship with AI
12/12/2025 Duration: 52minPlus, our weekend film reviews (including the latest Knives Out entry) and Evan Kleiman brings brisket and salmon recipes ahead of Hanukkah.
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Restaurant critic Bill Addison on LA’s 101 best restaurants
10/12/2025 Duration: 52minPlus, why he’s going mask-off as a reviewer, assessing the first year of President Trump’s immigration agenda, and a look at the Best Books of 2025.
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A bear moved into Altadena man’s crawlspace. He won’t leave.
10/12/2025 Duration: 50minPlus, Australia bans social media for users under 16, Target continues to face backlash over its rollback of DEI efforts, and Paramount’s Landman drops us right in the middle of a West Texas oil boom.
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Remembering Frank Gehry, the ‘never pretentious’ star of the starchitects
09/12/2025 Duration: 52minPlus, Paramount’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, the Supreme Court considers expanding presidential power, and LA-based quintet SML blurs the lines between jazz and electronica.
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Caribbean boat strikes, Signal fiasco. Could Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s days be numbered?
05/12/2025 Duration: 53minPlus, why self-driving cars could be a “public health breakthrough,” a new documentary follows a woman in rural Iran who won a seat on her village council, and our weekly film reviews.