Category: 1-HeadlineNews

“Trot” is a Korean music genre that has been around for decades. But in recent years, it has exploded in popularity in Southern California. The biggest fans? Immigrant seniors.

Today, we talk about trot’s history, staying power and role in the Korean American community. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Asian American communities reporter Jeong Park

More reading:

K-Pop isn’t the only hot ticket in Koreatown — how ‘trot’ is captivating immigrants

Koreatown’s elderly immigrants find the lure of the casino bus a blessing and a curse

Club helps older Korean immigrants find their political voice

When Joe Biden won in 2020, he became the oldest president in U.S. history. If he runs again in 2024 and wins, he’ll beat own record. Is that a problem?

Today, we talk about the grumbles from Republicans and Democrats alike over Biden’s age. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporter Courtney Subramanian

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Column: Are Joe Biden and Dianne Feinstein too old to do their jobs?

Newsletter: Joe Biden, the bumbling old president who outwitted Republicans

‘What an old politician understands’ — Biden turns the age issue to advantage

Farmacias Similares is the largest privately owned chain of pharmacies in Mexico, and has a cute mascot — Dr. Simi — who is beloved across the country. What could possibly be wrong about this scenario? Many things.

Today, we talk about what the rise of Dr. Simi says about Mexico’s broken healthcare system. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times foreign correspondent Leila Miller

More reading:

Mexico promised healthcare for all. Its failure to deliver made this smiling mascot famous

El Dr. Simi es una estrella de TikTok. También es una muestra de la crisis del sistema de salud de México

"Foretold" is the newest podcast from the L.A. Times, and we're sharing the first episode with you here today. 

In the fall of 2019, reporter Faith E. Pinho received a tip from a woman named Paulina Stevens. Paulina claimed she had grown up in an insular Romani community in California, where she was raised to be a wife, mother and fortuneteller — until she decided to break away. That first call unraveled a story spanning multiple continents, hundreds of years, and complex metaphysical realities. 

 Follow "Foretold" to hear new episodes every Tuesday. 

Check out photos and more information about this episode. 

Read the episode transcript. 

Dive deeper: Our Romani cultural consultant's op-ed describing how her heritage fits into her own life.

An FBI investigation tried to expose malfeasance in the world of NCAA men’s basketball. Instead, the mirror was turned on the agency itself when one of the lead agents abused his position.

Today, you’ll hear the story of how that came to be — and whether the investigation turned up anything. Read the full story here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times sports investigative reporter Nathan Fenno

More reading:

How an FBI agent’s wild Vegas weekend stained an investigation into NCAA basketball corruption

10 charged in college basketball corruption probe

Congressional committee wants answers in college basketball bribery scandal

Democrat and Republican lawmakers are pushing for a U.S. ban on TikTok, arguing the Chinese-owned social media app is a national security risk. But many of its users argue that will severely harm their businesses.

Today, we hear from some of them. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporter technology reporter Brian Contreras and L.A. Times business reporter Jaimie Ding

More reading:

For some, TikTok is a path to riches and the American dream. With a ban, it could all disappear

TikTok might get banned after ‘disaster’ testimony. Why do some TikTokers not care?

The Biden administration’s threat to ban TikTok: Here’s what you should know

For centuries, communities across Latin America have relied on curanderos — healers who rely on indigenous tradition — for their physical and mental health. Will mainstream American health ever embrace it?

Today, we examine the subject. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times utility reporter Karen Garcia

More reading:

Some Latinos don’t trust Western mental health. That’s where curanderos come in

Curandera’s spell may soothe your soul

Bringing medicine from the village into the public eye

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden decried U.S. border policies enacted by the Trump administration as racist. But Biden has not only not rolled some of them back — in some cases, he’s doubled down.

Today, we try to figure out what changed. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times immigration reporters Hamed Aleaziz and Andrea Castillo

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Top Democrats warn Biden: Don’t restart family detentions

Biden immigration plan could force asylum officers to break law, union warns

Asylum seekers face decision to split up families or wait indefinitely under new border policy

The indictment of former president Donald Trump has provoked praise and criticism alike. So what’s next? We talk to two of our political wizards to figure it out.

Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times political columnist Mark Z. Barabak, and L.A. Times national security reporter Sarah D. Wire

More reading:

Full coverage: Trump hush-money probe

Trump indicted in alleged hush-money scheme, becoming first former U.S. president in history to be prosecuted

Column: Scandal after scandal, Trump has defied political physics. Will this time be different?

Lucy Jones, California’s beloved earthquake expert, sits down with environment reporter Rosanna Xia to discuss her new project: using music to inspire people to take action against climate change. Listen to hear Lucy go through her process, her collaborators explain the psychology behind it all, and  — of course — a sampling of the compositions. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Rosanna Xia

Guests: Lucy Jones

More reading:

Column One: Can music inspire more people to care about climate change? 

Lucy Jones is leaving her job - to shake up more than just earthquakes