Category: 1-HeadlineNews

Monkeypox is on the rise, and now officially considered a global health emergency. Cases in the U.S. number in the thousands and only took a week to double here in Los Angeles. The viral disease has, so far, mostly affected the LGBTQ community, but anyone can get it. So how worried should we be?

Today, we talk about what to know and answer listener questions. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times breaking news reporter Grace Toohey

More reading:

Monkeypox spreads in L.A. County, but vaccine shortage persists. What to know

World Health Organization declares monkeypox a global emergency

San Francisco officials declare state of emergency as monkeypox spreads

A drought has drained the reservoirs that provide most of the water for 5 million residents who live around Monterrey, the financial capital of northern Mexico. The crisis has sparked widespread upheaval. Anger is mounting at government officials who allow the region’s factories to continue pulling water from the strained aquifer via private wells while some residents are left without water for days.

Today, we take a look at the city and an unfolding crisis that experts say is a stark warning for the rest of Mexico and the American West. Read the full transcript.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times foreign correspondent Kate Linthicum

More reading:

Taps have run dry in Monterrey, Mexico, where there is water for factories but not for residents

Podcast: Drought wants your carne asada and iPhone

Western megadrought is worst in 1,200 years, intensified by climate change, study finds

 

The Jan. 6 House subcommittee investigating the events of that day have poured through thousands of hours of videos. But during the hearings, the public also got a sneak preview of even more moments caught on tape — from a documentary that tells the events of the U.S. Capitol insurrection through a behind-the-scenes view of Donald Trump.

Today, we’re talking with documentary filmmaker Alex Holder about his movie “Unprecedented,” which aired this month on Discovery Plus. The documentary offers an inside view into the Trump organization right as Jan. 6 was happening. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: Filmmaker Alex Holder

More reading:

Jan. 6 panel to receive Trump family footage from 2020 election and Capitol insurrection

Five takeaways from the Trump Jan. 6 documentary ‘Unprecedented’

A new Trump doc was subpoenaed by Jan. 6 committee. It’s not as revelatory as it sounds

It’s Emmy season, so we’ve got another episode of the “Envelope” for you. This time, it’s an in-depth conversation with Gillian Anderson, who plays Eleanor Roosevelt in “The First Lady.” Anderson talks about how Eleanor Roosevelt was the brains behind the FDR presidency, the focus on Roosevelt’s loving relationship with journalist Lorena Hickok in “The First Lady,” and why it took her some time to click with “Sex Education.” Taking on a historical figure isn’t new for Anderson — who also plays Margaret Thatcher in “The Crown” and Catherine’s mother, Joanna, in “The Great.” Nor is portraying a character who stays in her lane, which wasn’t a stretch from Anderson’s own personality. Follow the "Envelope" wherever you listen to podcasts.  Read the full transcript here.

Beyoncé is getting ready to bring the world her seventh studio album this Friday. Rumors are already swirling about what genre she’ll showcase, what themes she’ll explore and more.

We already got a hint with the single “Break My Soul,” which has popped across dance floors all summer. Even if you’re not part of Beyoncé's Beyhive counting down the days until the album release, it’s hard to deny that the artist is iconic — a total game changer.

But how did she get here, and how does she remain relevant? We get into that today. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times pop music critic Mikael Woods

More reading:

Beyoncé has made music history — again — with chart-topping ‘Break My Soul’

Beyoncé's ‘Renaissance’ album cover is here. Saddle up and bow down to the queen

Beyoncé returns with liberating house jam ‘Break My Soul’

 

Remember this number: 988. The new three-digit hotline is now the 911 equivalent for mental health emergencies. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people in the U.S., according to the National Institute of Mental Health. And experts say the pandemic, racial violence and political unrest are behind an uptick in suicides across the country. That’s why last weekend’s launch of the nationwide mental health crisis hotline couldn’t come soon enough.

Today, as part of “For Your Mind,” Los Angeles Times’ new initiative exploring mental health from multiple angles, we talk about the hopes and challenges ahead for the 988 hotline. Will it help fundamentally change how the U.S. treats and considers mental health, or will it fail like so many efforts before it? Read the full transcript here. 

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: Jaclyn Cosgrove, assistant editor at the Los Angeles Times and manager of “For Your Mind”

More reading:

Op-Ed: Will the new 988 hotline be a game changer for mental health or a missed opportunity?

New 988 hotline is the 911 for mental health emergencies

Editorial: For crisis response, press 988 — and pass a bill to keep it funded

When the annual Glastonbury music festival happened this year, performers openly criticized on stage the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, which happened that same week. It recalled a similar movement nearly 30 years earlier, when feminist rock groups started Rock for Choice and rallied a generation to fight for abortion access.

Today, the history of that movement — and whether it can happen again. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times music reporter Suzy Exposito

More reading:

In the ’90s, a new breed of rock stars organized for abortion rights. Could that happen today?

Phoebe Bridgers, Olivia Rodrigo and other performers slam Supreme Court at Glastonbury

POP MUSIC REVIEW : Bands get together for Rock for Choice

It’s Emmy season, so we’re dropping another episode of our sister podcast, the “Envelope." Today, an in-depth conversation with actor Simone Ashley. 

Ashley has always been a fan of the romance genre, but before being cast as Kate in “Bridgerton,” playing the lead in a period drama seemed improbable to her. “I never imagined that a woman who looked like me could be a part of one,” she says. In this episode of "The Envelope" podcast, Ashley discusses embracing the political aspects of her career, how acting on “Sex Education” prepared her for "Bridgerton" and how her upbringing taught her to dream big. 

Subscribe to the "Envelope" here and never miss an episode.

In 2018, the L.A. Times began to follow Mckenzie Trahan, a pregnant homeless woman living in Hollywood. Over the next four years, a Times reporter, photographer and videographer tracked Trahan’s life as she tried to find housing and become a mom. Today, we hear about her journey. Read the full transcript here. 

Host: L.A. Times photographer Christina House

More reading:

Pregnant, homeless and living in a tent: Meet Mckenzie

She spent decades as a nomad. But her daughter’s pregnancy brought her back to L.A.

We chronicled one homeless woman’s motherhood journey since 2018

So many disasters, so little time. And it’s the same group of people on the front lines, year after year. What happens when they get tired? Today, our Masters of Disaster talk about burnout among firefighters, scientists, doctors and the people we trust to take on the biggest calamities nature throws at us — as well as how to hold on to a little hope. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporters Rong-Gong Lin II, Rosanna Xia and Alex Wigglesworth

More reading:

Hellish fires, low pay, trauma: California’s Forest Service firefighters face a morale crisis

Almost 9 in 10 Californians live in areas with high COVID-19 levels as BA.5 fuels infections

Editorial: Let’s make 2022 the year we all get angry about climate inaction