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Beverly Hills resident Ray Mascolo died of a drug overdose in 2020. His passing led investigators to a sprawling, Hollywood-based drug-dealing network with a business model resembling a food-delivery app.
We tell this saga today.
Host: L.A. Times courts reporter Michael Finnegan
More reading:
How a man’s death in Beverly Hills exposed a sprawling Hollywood drug delivery business
California lawmakers target fentanyl as opioid overdoses surge
How drug overdose deaths surpassed 100,000 in one year
When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars for a joke the latter made about the hairstyle of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, it brought forth the politics of Black hair, especially the hair of Black women. Long maligned, it’s getting more attention than ever, from the sisterlocks of prospective Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to anti-discrimination bills passed on the state and local level.
Today, we talk about the issue with two L.A. Times writers who bring their own personal history to the subject.
Host: L.A. Times D.C. reporter Erin B. Logan
Guests: L.A. Times columnist Erika D. Smith
More reading:
Column: Will Smith’s Oscars slap of Chris Rock settles it. We’re done with Black hair jokes
California becomes first state to ban discrimination based on one’s natural hair
The world of Black hair magic, according to an icon of L.A.’s hair avant-garde
L.A. Times foreign correspondent Patrick J. McDonnell has covered Ukrainian refugees flooding into Poland and the funerals for Ukrainian soldiers in Lviv. He’s heard from mayors urging Americans to approve a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and men returning to their country to fight on the front lines.
Today, we hear some of Patrick’s stories.
Guests: L.A. Times Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell
More reading:
A funeral for Ukraine soldiers brings war to small town
Refugee flows from Ukraine mount. Meantime, aid and would-be fighters head in other direction
In Ukraine, the flood of displaced people fleeing the war only grows
Two brothers near Sacramento are fighting for compensation for the land they say was taken from their formerly enslaved ancestors during the Gold Rush. Their story got pulled into an even bigger debate happening right now in California. A first-of-its-kind task force is trying to decide: Will the state pay reparations to Black people? And if so, who should get it?
Guests: L.A. Times columnist Erika D. Smith
More reading:
Column: They say California stole their ancestors’ land. But do they qualify for reparations?
Column: It’s a guaranteed income program, but think of it as a test case for reparations
California created the nation’s first state reparations task force. Now comes the hard part
“Binge Sesh” is a new L.A. Times podcast taking a deep dive into the television shows everyone is talking about. For its inaugural season, the series gets into the HBO show “Winning Time,” which talks about the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s who dominated the NBA with its Showtime approach to basketball.
Host: Matt Brennan and Kareem Maddox
Guests: Author Jeff Pearlman
More reading:
‘Winning Time’ began as the seminal book on the Showtime Lakers; it’s Hollywood now
How a pair of unknowns made themselves into Lakers legends for HBO’s next big drama
Four years. Four coaches. Inside the off-court drama that made the Showtime Lakers
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has added and subtracted elements to this year’s Oscars. A roundtable of L.A. Times film and television experts discuss those changes, plus offer up other commentary and criticism about this Sunday’s Academy Awards.
Today, we’ve got a special episode from our sister podcast, “The Envelope.”
Host: Mark Olsen
Guests: Justin Chang, Glenn Whip, Mary McNamara
More reading:
The Oscars are embracing better movies. The show acts like it’s embarrassed by them
How the Oscars have, and haven’t, changed since Halle and Denzel’s historic victories
Column: ‘Belfast’ isn’t my favorite movie in the Oscar race. But it gave me the most hope
What lengths would you go to find someone you love? Even as their disappearance edges closer and closer to becoming a cold case? Today, we have the story of a family working to find their missing loved one.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times reporter Lila Seidman
More reading:
Was Jack here? A sister asks the beach community whether they’ve seen her missing brother
In the war for Ukraine, it’s Zelensky versus Putin. Two men with essentially the same first name fighting for their place in history — not just for their respective countries but for the ancestral roots that Russia and Ukraine share, and that both rulers claim to be the true defender of.
And a prince, who ruled more than 1,000 years ago — known in Russia as Vladimir the Great and in Ukraine as Volodymyr the Great — lies at the heart of that intertwined history. We get into that today.
More reading:
Putin’s rationale for Ukraine invasion gets the history wrong
In battle between Russia and Ukraine, even God is in dispute
For the past two decades, Disney’s reputation in the LGBTQ community has been stellar. It was one of the first Fortune 500 companies to offer same-sex couple benefits. And tens of thousands of people attend their unofficial Gay Days. More and more out characters are appearing in television shows, movies and cartoons. But critics now say Disney has thrown away all that goodwill. Just another thing to blame on…Florida.
Today, hearings will begin to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson’s a different type of judge, a Black woman for starters — she’d be the first ever on the Supreme Court — but she also brings unprecedented professional and life experiences. But even if she’s confirmed, how much influence can a history maker really have?
More reading:
Jackson supporters gear up to protect her historic Supreme Court bid from racist, sexist attacks
Biden nominates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court in historic pick
Column: The unsubtle racism of questioning Ketanji Brown Jackson’s qualifications