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Point Roberts, Wash., long prospered as an appendage of Canada. Its economy thrived on sales of gasoline, groceries and alcohol at prices considered a bargain by Canadians, whose frequent visits helped make the border station one of the busiest crossing points between the two countries. Then on March 21, 2020, in response to the pandemic, U.S. and Canadian officials abruptly closed the border to nonessential travel — squeezing the peninsula like a tourniquet. It’s stayed closed ever since. Today, L.A. Times Seattle bureau chief Richard Read brings you the story of a town where life has stopped and is slowly going away — another consequence of the ongoing pandemic.

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A U.S. town marooned at the tip of a Canadian peninsula

A Bit of U.S. Clinging to Canada, Point Roberts Waits for Boom

A woodsy Northwest retreat gets the water it wanted--with a flood of development

In 2018, Katie Hill made national news when she beat an incumbent to win the 25th congressional district in Southern California. She was part of a wave of progressive, women Democrats who promised to take on then-President Trump. But less than a year later, congresswoman Hill resigned. Intimate photos of her leaked online. She was a victim of revenge porn. Now, the former congresswoman is pushing her former colleagues to make the sharing of intimate pictures without consent a federal crime. On today's episode, we talk to L.A. Times political reporter Seema Mehta, who has covered Hill's downfall and current advocacy work. And we hear from the former congresswoman herself.

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Katie Hill fights to make revenge porn a federal crime and ponders another run for office 

Katie Hill ordered to pay $220,000 in attorneys’ fees in revenge porn case 

Column: Why Katie Hill has to pay legal fees for a newspaper that published nude photos of her

Despite mass vaccinations and lower rates of infections in the U.S., the post-COVID-19 recovery is far from over. This includes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, to new or continuing symptoms with little to no relief available. Today, we’ll talk about the lingering physical and emotional effects of COVID-19, and how we can get to a place where those afflicted can heal. Our guests are Dr. Jonathan Sherin, director of Mental Health for Los Angeles County, and Fiona Lowenstein, a COVID-19 survivor who started a support group for those who continue to endure its aftermath.

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‘I was just bawling in my PPE’: Surge fades, but anguish remains for healthcare workers 

Signs of depression have tripled in the U.S. since the COVID-19 pandemic got underway

Op-Ed: The kids who aren’t all right — the pandemic’s lasting toll on youth mental health

Whether by horse, on foot, or in a car, Americans have loved watching lawmen chase bad guys for ages, going all the way back to colonial times. In this era of social media and livestreaming, high-speed car pursuits are as popular as ever and now are broadcast everywhere. Today, we'll talk to University of South Carolina criminology professor Geoffrey Alpert, who studies car chases, and to Zoey Tur, a pioneering TV news helicopter pilot who was one of the first people to ever cover them in Los Angeles, the undisputed capital of car chases. We'll also hear from our senior producer Steven A. Cuevas. All three guests disapprove of our host Gustavo Arellano's car-chase obsession and will try to break him of his habit. Can they succeed?

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Are Los Angeles police chases worth the risk to bystanders? Last year saw record injuries

Police pursuits cause unnecessary deaths and injuries, L.A. County grand jury says

10 crazy Southern California police car chases

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics for a year, a debate has been raging in Japan and beyond over whether the worldwide competition should even happen. The vast majority of the country doesn’t want the event to go on, even as the Japanese government and Olympic officials push ahead. But for athletes who have trained for years, if not a lifetime, to represent their country in the Olympics, canceling the Games would be devastating — and a global reminder that we’re still not truly over the coronavirus yet. Today, we speak to L.A. Times Seoul correspondent Victoria Kim about Japan and the Olympics. We also speak to Brandon Loschiavo, an Orange County diver who just qualified for the Olympics and is excited to compete for a gold medal this summer.

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Tokyo Olympics loom, with only 2% of Japanese fully vaccinated and fears over thousands of visitors 

Will the Tokyo Olympics happen? NBC is banking on it 

Brad Loschiavo qualifies for Olympics

Nearly a century ago, government officials pushed a Black family from their beachfront property in the Southern California city of Manhattan Beach. Now, in what could be a landmark in this nation’s efforts to correct past injustices to African Americans, the County of Los Angeles wants to give Bruce’s Beach back to the family that once owned it. Today, our senior producer Denise Guerra speaks with the historians, family members and grassroots organizers who championed this cause for years until it could not be ignored. We also speak with L.A. Times environmental reporter Rosanna Xia about her work, which amplified the story of Bruce’s Beach to the world.

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Manhattan Beach was once home to Black beachgoers, but the city ran them out. Now it faces a reckoning

Black descendants of Bruce’s Beach owner could get Manhattan Beach land back under plan 

Editorial: Pay back the Bruces for Bruce’s beach

Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Central America and Mexico as part of the Biden administration’s strategy to address this country’s immigration issues. Supporters expected a kinder approach than that of the Trump administration. But with three simple words — “Do not come” — Harris ignited controversy. Today, we talk to L.A. Times immigration reporter Cindy Carcamo about the backlash over Harris’ remarks, and whether President Biden’s immigration policies are markedly different from those of his predecessor. We also hear from Giovanni Batz, a Guatemalan American scholar, about how U.S. foreign policy has long pushed Guatemalans out of their homeland and toward El Norte.

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‘Do not come’: Kamala Harris’ three words to Guatemalans stir debate and backlash 

Guatemalan lives are thrown into upheaval by failed immigration bids

Documents Reveal CIA Guatemala Assassination Plots

The greaser. The hot tamale. The gangster. The maid. The narco. These and other stereotypes are how Hollywood has traditionally portrayed Latinos for over a century. Even as they have become America’s largest minority, and as their box-office clout has increased, tired tropes continue. Today, the L.A. Times published a huge package about Hollywood's Latino culture gap, and this episode is a continuation of that coverage. We’re going to talk about this forever trend with legend Edward James Olmos and beloved star Cristela Alonzo. Host Gustavo Arellano will also weigh in on controversy surrounding the recently released film "In the Heights" and its lack of full Afro-Latino representation.

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Hollywood has failed Latinos for 100 years. Here’s how to change that

Keeping Close to the Street : When It Comes to Being a Role Model, ‘Miami Vice’ ‘s Edward James Olmos, From East Los Angeles, May Be the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business 

Cristela Alonzo’s ‘Mixtape Memoir’ Is an Ode to Her South Texas Roots 

‘We fell short’: Lin-Manuel Miranda is sorry for ‘In the Heights’ Afro-Latinx erasure

Scientists have determined a mega-earthquake happens every 100 years on average in California. The last time a Big One — like a magnitude 7.8 quake, like the stuff of nightmares — the last time one of those hit Southern California, it was about 164 years ago. Back then, L.A. had a population of just over 4,000 people. The metro area is now over 12 million. So to coach us through earthquake anxiety, we’re getting together today with L.A. Times reporters Rong-Gong Lin II, Rosanna Xia and Alex Wigglesworth, who cover wildfires, the coast and, of course, earthquakes. It’s our monthly panel of peril, our colleagues of catastrophes. In this episode, it's the second installment of our series — cue ominous voice — "Masters of Disasters."

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Read "Unshaken," the L.A. Times' guide to earthquake preparedness

Where would a major tsunami strike? Malibu, Venice and Long Beach, get ready 

From the archives: 112 years ago: Images from San Francisco’s devastating 1906 earthquake

On Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu lost the prime minister's post after opponents in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, approved a coalition government led, for now, by his one-time protege, Naftali Bennett. Netanyahu will now serve as leader of the opposition.  The new government is an unlikely group of politicians and parties from the left, right and center, united only by their opposition to Netanyahu. The vote to oust him may prove easier than the next part: What happens now? Today, we speak to L.A. Times global affairs correspondent Laura King about Netanyahu’s legacy and his downfall, and whether the new government can bring any peace to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We’ll also hear from Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian Canadian who lost family members to an Israeli attack, yet has emerged as a leading advocate for ... peace.

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Benjamin Netanyahu ruled Israel as a man of many faces 

He ‘won the lottery’ of Israeli politics. But Naftali Bennett remains an enigma

First priority for anti-Netanyahu coalition: Stay united long enough to get sworn in