Category: 1-HeadlineNews

Something unexpected is going on in traditionally conservative Saudi Arabia.

Over the last few years, the kingdom has been announcing a loosening of social restrictions at a surprising rate. Movie theaters are reopening, new professional opportunities for women are popping up and the country is hosting Western-style music festivals.

It’s all part of a plan by the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who says he wants to dramatically transform his country.

Today, how the prince’s push comes with a price: While dancing in Saudi Arabia might be in these days, political dissent is still most definitely out. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Middle East bureau chief Nabih Bulos

More reading:

Dancing is in, dissent is out as Saudi Arabia’s crown prince transforms his country

Saudi Arabia is giving itself an extreme makeover with ‘giga-projects.’ Will it work?

Saudis sentence U.S. citizen to 16 years over tweets

The Colorado River begins in the Rocky Mountain snowpack, which provides the water that starts off the river on its epic journey. But as the American West gets hotter, that snowpack keeps getting smaller and smaller.

Today, the second in our six-part special on the future of this vital waterway. New episodes will publish every Friday through Feb. 10. Follow the project here. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times water reporter Ian James and L.A. Times video journalist Albert Lee 

More reading:

Our full Colorado River series

Listen to the first episode in this series, “Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 1: A Dying River”

Video: The Colorado River is drying up. Climate change and drought have taken a major toll.

This month’s record-setting rain and snow across California also comes with terms many of us know but can’t explain. Today, we do that with our Masters of Disasters. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times earthquake reporter Ron Lin, L.A. Times Fast Break disasters reporter Hayley Smith, and L.A. Times water reporter Ian James

More reading:

California snowpack is far above average amid January storms, but a lot more is needed

Deadly results as dramatic climate whiplash causes California’s aging levees to fail

California storm death toll reaches 17 as more rain, winds arrive. Damage could top $1 billion

The Golden Globes is going to air this week on NBC after a year-long hiatus in the wake of a scandal over its parent company, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Can its comeback stick? Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Company Town reporter Stacy Perman, and L.A. Times film business reporter Josh Rottenberg

More reading:

‘It took a crisis in order to make changes,’ says new Golden Globes owner

Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. approves sale of Golden Globes assets to Todd Boehly

Golden Globes voters in tumult: Members accuse Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. of self-dealing, ethical lapses

The Colorado River is the water lifeline for tens of millions of people across the American Southwest, which couldn’t have developed the way it is today without it. But all the damming and diversion done to the Colorado has put it at a tipping point where a future with no water is no longer just fantasy but perilously possible.

Today, “The Times” kicks off “a six-part special on the future of this vital waterway. New episodes will publish every Friday through Feb. 10. Follow the project here. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times water reporter Ian James

More reading:

Colorado River in Crisis

They sounded alarms about a coming Colorado River crisis. But warnings went unheeded

Video: Desert suburbia is growing. But the Colorado River, and Arizona’s groundwater, cannot keep up.

The Supreme Court appears ready to abolish affirmative action later this year. The case seeking to declare it unconstitutional has schools that consider race in admissions worried about how they can continue to build diversity among their students without affirmative action.

Here in California, though, we already know what happens when programs like affirmative action are banned. In 1996, voters passed a first ballot initiative in the country to ban the consideration of race or gender and public education.

Today, how the University of California system has dealt with a 25-year ban on affirmative action. And what we can learn if a national ban does happen. Read the full transcript here. 

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporter Teresa Watanabe

More reading:

California banned affirmative action in 1996. Inside the UC struggle for diversity

Are Asian American college applicants at a disadvantage? Supreme Court debate stirs fear

Column: Affirmative action challenges aren’t about ending discrimination. Their goal is white supremacy

Some audio in this episode is courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library. 

A new Republican-led House of Representatives convenes tomorrow, and after decades as a Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi is stepping away from the helm. Undoubtedly, her strength was in unifying her caucus — something that Kevin McCarthy, the G.O.P frontrunner for the speakership, has already struggled to do. Today, we look back on Pelosi's career — and what could be ahead for House leadership. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Justice Department reporter Sarah D. Wire

More reading:

The end of a political era: Nancy Pelosi’s leadership legacy in Washington

Column: Nancy Pelosi’s indelible mark

Column: ‘There’s this very toxic energy circulating.’ Alexandra Pelosi on her mom, dad and a new documentary

This year, Beyonce blessed fans with her album, “Renaissance,” the Daniels — Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — released the surreal trip of a movie “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” and Bad Bunny released banger after banger after banger.

And those were just some of the brightest cultural moments that we couldn’t stop talking about. 2022 had its dark side, too — who could forget Will Smith’s slap or the racist rants of Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West?

Today, we review both the highs and lows of Hollywood, music, culture and more. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times pop music critic Mikael Wood, film and television critic Glenn Whipp, music reporter Suzy Exposito
and film business reporter Ryan Faughnder

More reading:

For global phenomenon Bad Bunny, Puerto Rico remains his playground, battleground and muse

The top 10 Hollywood fiascoes that defined 2022 for the entertainment business

Review: Beyoncé's ‘Renaissance’ is a landmark expression of Black joy (and you can dance to it)

What happens to ‘Emancipation’ after the slap?

 

Ukraine, abortion, midterms, racist tape leaks — 2022 was a lot, politically. We gather our newsroom experts to break down the year. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times U.S. Supreme Court David G. Savage, California politics columnist Mark Barabak, and L.A. city politics reporter Julia Wick

More reading:

News Analysis: Supreme Court likes separation of powers, but not of church and state

Hate grows, L.A. politics go berserk and Gen Z saves democracy: Columnists dissect 2022

L.A. on the Record: KDL, absurdist theater and a trick play

This year, we saw a pandemic that just won’t quit, a face-melting heatwave and an underwater volcano eruption that wreaked all kinds of havoc. 2022 brought with it plenty of doom and gloom when it comes to natural disasters. But we also saw an effective new earthquake early warning system, a toilet sink that’s great at reducing water and energy use and more good news for our changing climate.

Today, our Masters of Disasters kick off a week of looking back the biggest wins and fails of 2022 by talking about the year’s most memorable disasters. But it’s not all bad: the scribes of scary also offer up some hope as we enter 2023. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times earthquake reporter Ron Lin, L.A. Times coastal reporter Rosanna Xia and L.A. Times energy reporter Sammy Roth

More reading:

Massive volcano eruption in Tonga could wind up warming the Earth

How washing my hands with ‘toilet water’ cut my water bills in half

L.A. County coronavirus threat eases for now, but a second wave after Christmas possible

Why NASA’s new mission will study Earth’s water from space