Category: 1-HeadlineNews

Across Latin America, the political left is making a comeback not seen since the 2000s. Izquierdista presidential candidates won recent elections in Peru and Honduras. Activists are mounting protests against the conservative presidents of Brazil and Colombia.

The left’s biggest win so far is in Chile, where Gabriel Boric was elected president last month. He’ll take office in a country that’s about to rewrite its constitution, which was put into place by dictator Augusto Pinochet.

Today, L.A. Times Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell and Universidad de Chile professor Claudia Heiss speak with us about this “pink tide” and what it could mean for a region coming to terms with soaring inequality, a legacy of colonialism and a bloody, authoritarian history.

More reading:

Leftist lawmaker Boric wins polarized election in Chile, to become nation’s youngest president

Chile’s new president (Taylor’s version): Gabriel Boric is a Swiftie

Chileans approve rewriting of constitution in landslide vote

Hopefully the COVID-19 nightmare will soon wane, but it’s unlikely to be the last pandemic of our lifetimes. Because the virus that will cause the next pandemic is probably already out there.

Animals carry hundreds of thousands of viruses that have the potential to infect humans. Buffer zones between where people live and where wild animals live lower the risk of viruses jumping from another species to our own. But now human behaviors such as deforestation and urbanization, along with climate change, are erasing those zones.

Today, L.A. Times foreign correspondent Kate Linthicum, who recently traveled to the Amazon rainforest, and national correspondent Emily Baumgaertner, who focuses on medical investigations, explain the issue. And they talk about ways to solve the problem — or at least dial down the risks.

More reading:

Where will the next pandemic begin? The Amazon rainforest offers troubling clues

Op-Ed: What it will take to keep the next pandemic at bay

Letters to the Editor: Want to help prevent the next pandemic? Go vegan

Los Angeles Times congressional correspondent Sarah D. Wire knew she was in for a historic day when she walked into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. She was there to cover the counting of the electoral college votes for the 2020 presidential election.

Because of then-President Trump’s allegations of election fraud, she was expecting controversy. But she didn’t expect to be caught in the middle of an insurrection.

Today, Sarah tells us about the day a mob of pro-Trump extremists stormed the Capitol, and she shares never-before-heard interviews with the Congress members who sheltered with her for hours. It’s a glimpse into the minds of our lawmakers as they worried for their lives while chaos invaded the seat of American democracy.

More reading:

I’m in a roomful of people ‘panicked that I might inadvertently give away their location’

Jan. 6 committee prepares to go public as findings mount

Column: The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was bad. It may have set the stage for worse

Kevin Merida became the Los Angeles Times’ executive editor last summer at a tumultuous time. Newsroom morale was down, the publication had lost $50 million in 2020, and several of his recent predecessors hadn’t endeared themselves to staffers. So what drew him to the job?

Today, Merida reflects on the first six months of his tenure, talks about his vision for the L.A. Times and answers the eternal Southern California question: What does he think about In-N-Out?

More reading:

ESPN’s Kevin Merida named L.A. Times executive editor

‘I see nothing but opportunity.’ Meet L.A. Times’ new top editor Kevin Merida

Video: Kevin Merida takes helm of L.A. Times

Skateboarding is a mainstay of California street culture, from San Diego to San Francisco and beyond. It’s so popular that L.A. County filled outdoor skateparks with sand earlier in the pandemic so no one could grind on them.

But during the pandemic, skateboard sales surged — and communities long marginalized from the sport are now making their own spaces.

Today we talk to reporter Cerise Castle, who’s covering and participating in this rise, and skateboarders from various parts of America — including Washington, D.C., and the Navajo Nation — tell us why they skate.

An earlier version of this episode was published Nov. 5, 2021. 

More reading:

Skating can be a bridge in L.A. These 3 crews show how bonds form on four wheels

Skateboarding improves mental health, helps build diverse relationships, USC study says

From the archives: Skateboarders in urban areas get respect, and parks

Video games had always been a point of division between L.A. Times science reporter Deborah Netburn and her 12-year-old son. Then the pandemic hit, and the gap between them seemed to widen. 

Today, Netburn shares her journey from ignorance to understanding. She did it by playing the games.

An earlier version of this episode was published May 7, 2021. 

More reading: Video games came between me and my son in the pandemic. Could they bring us back together?

This year, the Chinese Communist Party kicked off its 100th anniversary by celebrating China’s economic success and ambitions to create a new world order. The festivities, of course, are carefully choreographed. For decades, the Communist Party has crushed any counter-narratives to promote a whitewashed version of Chinese history. Those who deviate from the party’s official narrative suffer retribution — and in recent days, records of that punishment have been expunged as well. 

Today, we focus on a newly revised volume of Communist Party history that aims to airbrush its past for a younger generation who have come of age in a tightly controlled social environment. And we highlight the young activists who are trying to bring attention to this whitewashing — and are getting jailed or exiled for doing so. Our guest is L.A. Times Beijing bureau chief Alice Su.

An earlier version of this episode was published July 2, 2021. 

More reading:

As Communist Party turns 100, China’s Xi rallies his compatriots and warns his critics

He tried to commemorate erased history. China detained him, then erased that too 

China offers a minority a lifeline out of poverty — but what happens to its culture?

Two years ago, the world watched as millions of people in Hong Kong marched in the streets to call for autonomy from China. Beijing responded by passing a national security law last summer that broadly defined acts of subversion, foreign collusion and terrorism. Critics say the law crushed civil liberties. Since it was enacted, many people have fled Hong Kong — some to neighboring Taiwan. Yet Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims as its territory, is at risk as well. 

Today, we start a two-part series on the Chinese Communist Party’s ambitions as it celebrates its 100th anniversary. This episode gets into the continued crackdown on freedom and democracy in Hong Kong, where authorities have arrested thousands of pro-democracy activists and shut down a major daily newspaper. We’ll also discuss China’s growing threats to absorb Taiwan. Tomorrow, how the Chinese Communist Party is rewriting China’s history.

An earlier version of this episode was published July 1, 2021. 

More Reading

Beleaguered pro-democracy Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily says it’s closing down

As democracy fades, Hong Kong’s political opposition become political prisoners

The most important company you’ve never heard of is being dragged into the U.S.-China rivalry

QAnon or New Age? Increasingly, in California’s vast health, wellness and spiritual worlds, there's an intersection between the two communities so pronounced that the phenomenon has a new nickname: “Woo-Anon,” and it’s coming to a yoga studio near you.

 Today, we speak with L.A. Times investigative reporter Laura J. Nelson and yoga instructor Seane Corn about the growing movement, as well as the broken friendships and business partnerships that are happening in a once-placid scene.

An earlier version of this episode was published July 13, 2021. 

More reading:

California’s yoga, wellness and spirituality community has a QAnon problem

‘Woo-Anon’: The creep of QAnon into Southern California’s New Age world 

Former La Habra police chief, now yoga instructor, indicted on Capitol riot conspiracy charges

For a few days this week, we’re highlighting the work of students from USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Maya Abu-Zahra started college with every intention of becoming a doctor. But about half of pre-med students end up choosing a different path. Today, she brings us down two of those paths, speaking with former pre-meds who ended up in very different careers.