LA Podcast

Alissa, Scott, Hayes, and Mike try to decipher the electoral intentions of LA City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and preview other key city and county races as local candidates launch their campaigns for the June primary. Plus, a devastating Supreme Court decision upholds ICE’s discriminatory roving patrols. And remembering legendary California legislator John Burton: “I yell because I care.”

The Supreme Court reversal of a previous federal ruling means half the population of Southern California now meets ICE’s criteria for reasonable suspicion

There’s not much California leaders can do, especially when ICE no longer req...

Alissa, Mike, and LA Taco’s Memo Torres break down three months of ICE raids and explain why a Labor Day lull doesn’t mean the feds are letting up. LA County passes a law that says your landlord must keep your apartment below 82 degrees, and LA City may follow suit. California sets up its own CDC amid a major COVID spike. And yet another major setback for Frank McCourt’s gondola — will this project ever get off the ground?

Memo’s Daily Memo has become a must-watch to keep up with LA’s ongoing siege. Read it at LA Tac...

Alissa, Rachel, Mike, and Godfrey discuss how LA’s Unarmed Model of Crisis Response had a very successful first year of diverting 911 calls away from LAPD. What is the Save Our Services campaign claiming to prevent budget cuts and why is Airbnb behind it? And a debate about housing between Scott Wiener and Imelda Padilla highlights all the ways LA’s leaders weaponize land-use decisions.

LA City’s Unarmed Model of Crisis Response program is assessed in a year in review report which shows that 6,700 calls were diverted from 911 dispatch and fewer than 4.1% of calls required police backup...

Alissa, David, and Carla sweat it out during LA’s first major heat wave of the summer and wonder if the city is any better prepared for catastrophic fires. Former LAFD chief Kristin Crowley files a defamation claim against LA Mayor Karen Bass. The Trump administration is trying to extort $1 billion dollars from UCLA. Plus, the latest state transit-upzoning bill, SB 79, makes its way through the California legislature.

“Kristin Crowley and her lawyers accuse Bass of ousting her, and repeatedly defaming Crowley as Bass sought to shift blame for the way the city handled the catastrophic Palisades fire...

Alissa, Mike, and Rachel talk about how LAUSD plans to protect students from their federal government. ICE crashes Gavin Newsom’s redistricting press conference. DC is invaded by Trump, just like LA leaders warned would happen. Then: DIY crosswalk battles and why you should support a subway beneath the Sepulveda Pass. (Just say no to Fred Rosen’s monorail!)

The first day of school included training teachers and volunteers on how to patrol campuses 

A 15-year-old disabled LAUSD student was detained outside Arleta High School by ICE at gunpoint and, thanks to the intervention of the p...

Mike and Godfrey are joined by Spectrum 1 News’ Kate Cagle to talk about new “Trojan Horse” immigration raids, Trump launching a new LA28 White House task force while continuing to bash LA, and the escalating war over the potential redistricting of congressional seats in Texas and California. Plus, Kate discusses her recent interview with LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.

Federal agents continued their reign of terror, using a Penske rental truck as a “Trojan Horse” to target day laborers and raid a Home Depot near MacArthur Park. An embedded Fox News reporter accompanied the agents. Acting U.S. Attorne...

Alissa, Mike, and Godfrey discuss the next era for LA’s homeless services with a newly named interim CEO for LAHSA and a terrifying executive order from the Trump administration. Then LA’s charter reform commission is finally underway, starting with tackling much-needed infrastructure reforms. And Kamala Harris won’t run for governor — so what (and who) defines the race now?

LA Councilmember Traci Park has filed a motion to assess evacuation routes after last week’s tsunami advisory that seems to take aim at denser housing (no one tell her that scientists now recommend “vertical evacuation” where you go t...

Alissa and Mike sit down for a full assessment of recovery efforts six months after the January fires — and discuss why a key rebuilding effort went off the rails. Plus, we check in on the accomplishments of the fire-recovery billionaires, and try to figure out why one of those billionaires, Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, announced he’s taking the paper public.

Cleanup was astonishingly fast, but as this LA Times summary of progress notes, only 800 rebuilding permits have been filed so far across both burn zones 

One reason: there are a lot of conce...

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 orders 2000 National Guard troops to leave LA — but 2000 National Guard troops and about 700 Marines still remain

The New York Times talked to a some Marines and National Guardsmen who said morale is so low tha...

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 troops were deployed to a mostly empty MacArthur Park in the neighborhood of the same name for about an hour, some on horseback and others in armored military vehicles. Agents were also operating an a...

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 law, CEQA.

The Trump administration sues LA for obstructing immigration laws: “Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. H...

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 detained in Southern California, with data showing the majority are men with no criminal records, randomly taken off the street

In an LA Taco video it cert...

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 largest single-day nationwide protest in US history, according to The Guardian, but when all the individual actions are counted up since Trump has taken office the second time, there is...

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’: families and lawyers desperate to contact LA workers arrested in Ice raids”

LA Times: “What really happened outside the Paramount Home Depot?”

"What happened to me is not about me; This is...

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, countywide protests, and deployment of the National Guard. We’re watching developments closely and will get into all of that next week

Mayor Karen Bass finally made her charter commission appointments for the ci...

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 Amendment rights.

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For the past several years, the City and th...

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 threat.

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Los Angeles Times: “LA City Council approves $14-bil...

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 every week – start a paid subscription at thinkforward.la today!

"There are no more excuses." Gavin Newsom wants homeless people to go away but isn’t necessarily offering permanent housing 

"Tough Talk...

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.

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It is almost certain that LAPD will be reduced to its lowest numbers since 1995, despite LA Mayor Karen Bass’s goal to hire more officers

A JPL...

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 letter notes that “there has been confusion” over animal services funding, and the budget hearings confirmed that $5 million had been restored to keep shelters open

Alissa’s story about 24 percent of positions...

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 better transit solution.

Join CHIRLA and other immigrant rights advocates at May Day 2025 on Thursday, May 1, International Workers Day, starting at 9 a.m. at Olympic Blvd and Figueroa Street d...

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 of the City address: mayor.lacity.gov/SOTC2025

The New York Times: "Los Angeles is rebuilding, but new crises are mounting and Mayor Ka...

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. could be in for a bumpy ride after Trump tariffs"

“Expensive cars, expensive trains, expensive bikes, expensive everything,” writes Streetsblog

Rebuilding after the fires is also going to get more expensive

At le...

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 LAHSA and start new homeless agency

"We are making forward movement. We must keep building on this and confronting our challenges, together.” Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithy...

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 settlement after wearing a KKK hood to a city council meeting

Adam Smith’s original songs have elevated public comment to an art form

The LA Times asked Mayor Karen Bass...

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 the fires — can the City do that?

Supporters held a rally for the Menendez brothers after a resentencing hearing was delayed by LA District Attorney Nathan Hochman

ABC: "DA...

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”

Coverage of the court-ordered audit of LA’s homelessness programs in the Daily News, LAist, and LA Times, plus the audit report ordered by Judge David O. Carter

Leaders at the county and city...

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 Mayor Karen Bass; now she’ll take a new job as assistant chief of the Valley Bureau

LA Times: “Bass aides were warned of growing fire danger before she flew...

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 vote, originally scheduled for last Friday, has been changed to Tuesday, March 4

Libby Denkmann's deep dive into sexism, harassment and retaliation in LAFD in 2021 is important context for the e...

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.

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Join Big City Heat and LA Forward for LA Power Hour, a live comedy show where we fix all of LA...

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 recovery” announced by LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath

The Science Moms Super Bowl ad that benefitted California Community Foundation’s wildfire recovery fund

LAT: “Palisades checkpoints to remain, Bass says, reversin...

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 protested mass deportations"

Boyle Heights Beat on how LAUSD is working to protect immigrant families

Here’s how you can order red cards or print your own

LA Ti...

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 Nelson

UCLA study: "Altadena’s Black residents disproportionately hit by Eaton fire”

How Steve Soboroff, the city’s rebuilding czar, is going to help th...

On January 8, 2025, Angelenos woke up to a city that had been irrevocably transformed overnight. On a special live show recorded on Zoom, Alissa, Mike, and Rachel discuss the fires, the city and county response, and where LA goes next. Also joining: Eater LA reporter Mona Holmes on Altadena, Hayes on housing, and Public Counsel’s Faizah Malik on emergency housing justice initiatives

The Guardian on LA’s “perfect storm” 

NPR: What LA did right before the fires — and why it wasn't enough

Julia Wick on LA Mayor Karen Bass’s fire response: "Only time will revea...

It’s the final episode of 2024! Scott, Alissa, Rachel, and Mike discuss the biggest (or most under-reported) stories of the year including the implosion of local media, trust in elected officials, 2028 Olympics leadership, and the breakdown of LA City services. Plus, the co-hosts make some predictions for 2025 and beyond.

Take Mike’s local media survey! Mike will be interviewing journalists on his podcast, What’s Next, Los Angeles?

The Guardian: “LA Times owner asks editorial board to ‘take a break’ from writing about Trump - report"

California Democrats shifted right due to the state’s cost...

Alissa, Rachel, Mike, David, and Hayes discuss last week’s election results, including the déjà vu-inducing national swing to the right, a mixed bag of state props, and many local progressive wins, including the passage of Measure A. And then: where we're finding hope and focusing energy in the weeks ahead.

LA County election results

California State election results

The AP VoteCast data on the Latino vote nationally and @Vanessid’s thread on the disaggregated data

LA Times: “This election showed LA voters are fed up with City Hall corruption and scandal”...

Alissa and Rachel are joined by Mike Bonin, Godfrey Plata, and David Levitus to talk about all the tricks and treats on your ballot, including the key local races in next week’s election, a slew of state props, and very consequential county and city measures. Plus, some exciting changes are in store for the podcast!

LA Forward Voter Guide

"What is LACAHSA and how can it prevent homelessness?" Alissa’s Report Forward piece on the new housing authority funded by Measure A

The "more powerful offspring of Measure H”: read Hayes Davenport on Measu...

“Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it?” LA Times sports writer Bill Shaikin went in search of answers last year

“The secret to reducing car trips in LA is often much simpler than what well-connected consultants might want you to believe.” Alissa’s gondola story from 2020

Supervisor Hilda Solis’s motion with 31 requirements for the gondola developer

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez’s motion requesting a Dodger Stadium traffic study

NOlympics LA’s 2021 report on community benefit agreements

Join one of LA Forward’s ballot-filling parties: February 29 in DTLA, March 4 on Zoom

“At the...

Revisit our emergency episode from one year ago

"I can still hear Nury’s poisonous slurs and cruel laugh, and Kevin’s conspiratorial whisper and malicious tone." Former Councilmember Mike Bonin reflects on what he hears one year later

Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo file lawsuits that claim they said nothing wrong on the recording but yet somehow it also ruined their reputations

Tavis Smiley hosted an excellent 2-hour special which aired after we recorded (Part 1, Part 2)

The third episode of LAist's "Nury & the Secret Tapes" podcast airs this week ...

Scott and Alissa are joined by former LA Podcast host turned Council District 4 staffer Hayes Davenport to discuss the council’s 12-3 vote to approve huge raises for LAPD and what that means for the city’s non-police services. Plus, a look back on how the city’s approach to addressing homelessness has changed — and what still needs to change.