LA Podcast

LA Podcast
LA Podcast

A news and politics podcast for people who live in Los Angeles.

  1. 3D AGO

    CEQA No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

    Alissa, Hayes, Mike, and Carla recap another week of relentless ICE raids. The Trump administration sues LA over its sanctuary city status, and a coalition of immigrants rights groups sue the federal government right back. A ruling in the Alliance lawsuit raises questions about LA City’s homelessness count numbers. And the biggest-ever rollback of California’s often-abused environmental quality law, CEQA. The Trump administration sues LA for obstructing immigration laws: “Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. Here’s the flimsy case ACLU SoCal, Public Counsel, CHIRLA and other groups sue the Department of Homeland Security alleging that ICE has “unconstitutionally arrested and detained people in order to meet arbitrary arrest quotas set by the Trump administration.” Watch the press conference and read the full complaint Rep. Laura Friedman held a press conference for the No Masks for ICE Act, and new city motions from Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez are also demanding federal agents show ID and not mask Alejandro Orellana, a 29-year-old member of the Boyle Heights-based community organization Centro CSO, was indicted for handing out face shields during protests How the private prison company CoreCivic wants to expand its California City facility for ICE detainees LA Taco’s Daily Memo featuring Memo Torres is a must-watch. Also check out this Washington Post feature about LA Taco Cal Matters: “Taken: What happens after an immigration raid” Judge David O. Carter’s ruling says there is a “glaring lack of accountability for how the city spends money on homeless services and housing.” Here’s all 62 pages of the ruling LAist keeps reporting on inconsistencies with the homeless count An ongoing Rand study says homelessness declined in Hollywood and Venice, but not Skid Row The New York Times on the biggest CEQA rollback we’ve ever seen: “One of the bills signed on Monday will exempt from CEQA high-density projects as long as they are not on environmentally sensitive or hazardous sites. The other bill will create sweeping changes that are aimed at accelerating legal review and that will exempt numerous types of development projects, from farmworker housing to child care centers. The legislation will also make it easier to rezone areas to allow for more housing in some cities” Many environmental groups are not pleased; here’s a letter signed by 100 groups opposing the reform Should we give Abundance credit? Ezra Klein was even name-checked by the governor in his speech. Mike asks what books should be on Gavin’s nightstand instead? He recommends Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News by Alec Karakatsanis and Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond Speaking of reform: some good housing production legislation proposed by LA Councilmember Nithya Raman Listen to Mike’s exit interview with Rick Cole as he leaves the LA City Controller’s office Every day at La Placita: Summer of Resistance activities On the six-month anniversary of the LA firestorm, revisit Think Forward’s opinion essays on recovery and reconstruction and become a paid subscriber to LA Podcast at thinkforward.la Produced by Sophie Bridges

    1h 9m
  2. JUN 30

    For Mayor Consideration

    Alissa, Mike, and Godfrey track a third week of ICE raids that are more violent, more brazen, and raising more questions about how LAPD is assisting with these kidnappings. The Olympic Wage coalition strikes back with a new referendum to raise the minimum wage for *all* LA city workers. Plus, Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral primary win is huge news for New York City — and maybe for LA? ICE says 1,600 detained in Southern California, with data showing the majority are men with no criminal records, randomly taken off the street In an LA Taco video it certainly looked like LAPD was protecting ICE in downtown LA Tuesday The statement from LAPD only seemed to confirm this: “At one point, a partially handcuffed woman approached and stood near a LAPD officer. After several minutes, a Federal agent approached and assumed control of the woman. LAPD was not involved in her detention or arrest” As Ron Gochez of Union del Barrio told LA Taco during a ride-along: “They’re not going to call the police to defend them, they’re going to call us” A motion put forth by LA Councilmembers is asking for more clarity on: “to ensure the safety of City personnel and to prevent unlawful entry by Federal entities” Meanwhile, the Mayor of Huntington Park, Arturo Flores, formally directed the Huntington Park Police Department to enforce rules about federal agents self-identification, including unmarked vehicles: “We cannot allow Wild West-style bounty hunter tactics to unfold unchecked on our streets… Our residents deserve to know who is operating in their neighborhoods and under what authority” The hotelworkers union filed a state complaint about misleading signature gathering for the anti-Olympic Wage referendum — here’s the complaint letter and the state leaders they’ve gotten to sign onto it Now the union is trying to gather signatures for its own ballot measure which basically uses the misleading talking points in proposing to raise the minimum wage for all workers Zohran Mamdani won a convincing victory against the establishment, as a result of an unusual confluence of reasons, writes Josh Marshall Mamdani masterfully grabbed public attention, as Ezra Klein and Chris Hayes discuss. Ranked choice voting helped in the context of the partisan primaries, which we don’t have in California NYC Comptroller Brad Lander’s cross-endorsement with Mamdani was especially powerful Watch Anand Giridharada’s interview with Brad Lander about the election results and where things go from here (featuring strategist Waleed Shahid and messaging guru Anat Shenker-Osorio too) NYC is the most Jewish city in the country and Mamdani’s ability to win many Jewish New Yorkers’ votes despite massive spending by AIPAC-aligned funders has to be understood in the context of extensive, locally-rooted Jewish-Muslim coalition building, as Peter Beinart, Arielle Angel, Mari Cohen, and Alex Kane discuss. Listen to Mike Bonin speak with Ami Fields-Meyer about “Being a dissident in the United States” on the latest What’s Next, Los Angeles? On July 1, Reclaim the Streets marches against ICE are taking place all over the city: Eastside, SELA, Crenshaw, South LA Become a paid subscriber to LA Podcast at thinkforward.la Produced by Sophie Bridges

    48 min
  3. JUN 23

    ICE Guys Finish Last

    Alissa, Mike, Rachel, and Oscar give an update on LA under siege as at least 500 people are taken from their families in federal raids. Plus, the massive No Kings rally in Downtown LA ends in police violence, how CHIRLA’s rapid response team is monitoring detention centers, and widespread fear fuels an economic crisis across a city of immigrants.  The June 14 No Kings rallies may have been the largest single-day nationwide protest in US history, according to The Guardian, but when all the individual actions are counted up since Trump has taken office the second time, there is “dramatically more protest activity” in the U.S. now than his first term Los Angeles Times: “How the LAPD’s protest response once again triggered outrage, injuries and lawsuits” “I saw no evidence of violence on the part of protestors (the many thousands of them) before that moment.” Watch Matt Gutman and Jacob Soboroff reporting live on national TV when local law enforcement began to escalate their attacks on protesters (with a special shout out to Gutman for keeping his cool) Three different lawsuits — LAPD, LASD, DHS — have been filed on behalf of journalists and legal observers who have been injured in protests. A slideshow of injuries has been compiled by Press Rights Chair at Los Angeles Press Club Adam Rose: “In 2021, I made a slideshow based on 50+ incidents of police misconduct toward journalists. It covered all California over a 12 month period. The legislature responded with new laws to protect press. I just made a new one. It's bigger. It's worse. And it's just one week in Los Angeles” Brittny Mejia and Rachel Uranga put together an incredible account at the LA Times of the Hollywood Home Depot raid and what happened when a U.S. citizen was detained, including ICE agents bragging about the number of “bodies” apprehended — his phone recorded the whole thing De Los columnist Fidel Martinez: “What the Dodgers can learn from Angel City about community” “The population of the Adelanto Processing Center went from 350 to 1,200 in a matter of 10 days in June”: Members of Congress went to Adelanto with CHIRLA to see “inhumane” detention facilities So many representatives have tried to get access that DHS has now changed the rules -- in violation of federal law How the Home Depot in Westlake has become a resistance center On Friday, LA’s City Council introduced a series of motions related to the raids, including laying the groundwork for suing the Trump administration — we’ll get into these in more depth next week CalMatters: “Trump can keep troops in LA for now, appeals court rules” CHIRLA’s know-your-rights resources A group of faith leaders are holding a weekly prayer vigil on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. starting at La Placita, follow LA Voice for details Donate to the street vendor fundraiser organized by Community Power Collective, East LA Community Corporation, Inclusive Action for the City, and Public Counsel Join the Summer of Resistance: 30 days of actions at La Placita Ensure we can keep releasing new LA Podcast episodes every week -- become a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la. Produced by Sophie Bridges

    50 min
  4. JUN 16

    LA Misérables

    Scott, Alissa, Rachel, and Mike recap an astonishing week as Los Angeles is occupied by the federal government. How the city and state are responding to ongoing ICE raids, the federalization of the National Guard, the handcuffing of Senator Alex Padilla at a Homeland Security press conference, and the deployment of the U.S. Marines on the eve of nationwide protests. The Guardian: “‘Kidnapped’: families and lawyers desperate to contact LA workers arrested in Ice raids” LA Times: “What really happened outside the Paramount Home Depot?” "What happened to me is not about me; This is about something much bigger.” SEIU California president David Huerta was freed from federal detainment after thousands rallied for his release in Grand Park This is a must-watch: In her remarks to LA’s City Council, Angelica Salas, CHIRLA’s executive director, provides more details of the raids, describes how the rapid response network is activated, and explains how difficult it has been to track detainees “You’re asking me to warn you about an enforcement action being taken by another agency before it happens? We can’t do that,” said LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell as he disagreed with councilmembers on LAPD’s role in cooperating with federal agents “If we know someone is coming here to do warrantless abductions of the residents of this city, those people are not our partners.” Watch this statement from LA City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson Tech reporter Brian Merchant on the weaponization of Waymo at his newsletter Blood in the Machine Watch California Governor Gavin Newsom address the ICE raids: “Democracy is under assault” Senator Alex Padilla explains how he was tackled and removed from a press conference in the Westwood federal building Watch an angry LA Mayor Karen Bass and dozens of local leaders proclaim “This is Los Angeles” The Dodgers and many other sports institutions remained silent about the raids Alissa wrote about how the raids are impacting upcoming megaevents, including a Club World Cup tournament happening at the Rose Bowl right now Even former chief Michel Moore agreed that the feds should not bring in the troops How outrage about Glendale holding ICE detainees in its jail led to the termination of the contract by the city State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez on how direct actions are forcing ICE out of hotels in smaller LA County cities Read LA Taco’s on-the-ground reporting After we recorded, the No Kings rallies that took place on Saturday drew tens of thousands of protesters to dozens of LA-area locations and may have been be the biggest protests in U.S. history (yet) Save CHIRLA’s rapid response line to your phone contacts (1-888-624-4752), donate to Ktown for All’s vendor buyouts, volunteer for Polo’s Pantry food distributions, join the LA Tenants Union’s defense centers at Home Depots, get resources and information for your workplace from Day Laborer Network Coming up this week: Mike’s interview with Ami Fields-Meyer on What’s Next, Los Angeles? Become a paid subscriber and keep LA Podcast publishing weekly at thinkforward.la Produced by Sophie Bridges

    1h 8m
  5. JUN 9

    Let’s Get It Chartered In Here

    Alissa, Mike, Godfrey, and Rachel discuss charter reform at the city and county, including the powerful new LA County CEO position voters will elect in 2028. Then, a referendum to overturn the Olympic Wage attempts to gather signatures, and homeowners accept buyouts to escape an ancient landslide in Rancho Palos Verdes. Note: This episode was recorded before LA saw ICE raids and detainments, countywide protests, and deployment of the National Guard. We’re watching developments closely and will get into all of that next week Mayor Karen Bass finally made her charter commission appointments for the city At the county, the Measure G task force meetings are underway “That person will absolutely become the most powerful person”: Politico on the new County CEO role, featuring quotes from Mike Los Angeles Times: “Businesses seek to overturn hotel and airport wage hikes by forcing a citywide election” What the story doesn’t mention: Delta Airlines, which is bankrolling the referendum, is an LA28 partner! If you see this referendum trying to gather signatures, don’t sign it! Report signature gatherers and get more information at defendthewage.la Meanwhile, a new Living Wage for All movement launched last week  Ground movement in Palos Verdes started moving again after two wet winters — this was a KNOWN problem and the city was warned not to build there. LAist has a great backgrounder In late 2024, homeowners were offered buyouts from the state and the feds; now 23 homeowners are taking the buyouts The architectural treasure Wayfarers Chapel was rapidly disassembled as it was about to slide off the cliff, and may have found a new home Meanwhile the city of Rancho Palos Verdes is going bankrupt trying to slow the ground movement Take action to save city worker jobs and build affordable housing in Venice Listen to the Bitchuation Room’s live show podcast featuring Rachel Be sure to catch upcoming episodes of Mike’s show What’s Next, Los Angeles? Become a paid subscriber to support LA Podcast at thinkforward.la Produced by Sophie Bridges

    1h 1m
  6. JUN 2

    Streaming, Crying, Throwing Up

    Mike, Hayes, and Carla discuss the growing desire among LA Councilmembers to rein in mayoral oversight of homelessness as they’re potentially being called into Judge David O. Carter’s federal courtroom. Plus, new city and state efforts to lure the entertainment industry back to LA, and a journalist investigated by former sheriff Alex Villanueva sues him (and LA County) for violating her First Amendment rights. We’re producing new LA Podcast episodes every week only thanks to your financial support! Become a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la For the past several years, the City and the County of Los Angeles have been embroiled in a federal lawsuit over their handling of homelessness. Here’s a great backgrounder by LAist on the case and its unpredictable judge, David O. Carter Now Councilmembers and other city officials, including Mayor Karen Bass, may end up being subpoenaed to testify Meanwhile at City Hall, councilmembers are growing frustrated with Bass’s handling of homelessness and are discussing curbing her emergency powers so they can have more oversight of programs and spending  Listen to the LA Podcast episode 247, All Is Not LAHSA, for our previous discussion about Judge Carter’s courtroom, including his threat to put the City of Los Angeles into receivership One area where Bass has *not* been using her emergency powers is advancing previously approved homelessness housing in Venice. LA Forward Institute's Housing Justice Working Group has a special meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. on the City’s efforts to block the Venice Dell project. RSVP here With concern deepening over a loss of entertainment jobs in California, both Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom are taking steps to revive an industry that is central to the LA economy and public identity Even game shows like “The Floor” are fleeing: “Fox flies the show’s host, Rob Lowe, and 100 American contestants thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean to answer trivia questions about dogs, divas and Disney characters at a studio in Dublin. It makes more financial sense than filming in California” Bass issued an executive directive to make filming easier in LA Newsom is offering a series of state tax incentives which he called Make America Film Again (and got ratioed on Bluesky for calling it that) Wired: “Trump’s Tariffs Won’t Make Hollywood Great Again, but There’s a Plan That Can” The industry might be struggling, but the development of new soundstages in LA is booming, as Hayes wrote earlier this year on Big City Heat Former LA Times reporter Maya Lau filed a federal lawsuit against Los Angeles County and former sheriff Alex Villanueva, alleging that a criminal investigation into her activities as a journalist violated her First Amendment rights A reminder that Villanueva’s tenure was marked by aggressive efforts targeting the press, including the arrest of LAist journalist Josie Huang and threatened investigation of LA Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian Produced by Sophie Bridges

    51 min
  7. MAY 26

    Wage Against the Machine

    Alissa, Mike and Godfrey give a full update on how LA City’s budget went from disastrous to just “very bad” — including actions from the council’s budget committee to reduce over 1,600 proposed layoffs to 600. Then, a new minimum wage for tourism workers has hotels threatening to pull their Olympics deals. And LA’s former deputy mayor of public safety pleads guilty to calling in a City Hall bomb threat. We’re producing new LA Podcast episodes every week with your help! Become a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la Los Angeles Times: “LA City Council approves $14-billion budget, scaling back Bass’ public safety plans” LAist’s Frank Stolze on the ongoing union discussions to prevent even more layoffs Madeleine Brand interviews LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell about helicopters on KCRW’s Press Play Sammy Roth’s LA Times column: “Climate change is cooking Los Angeles. Does Karen Bass care?” “This budget is far from ideal, but this is the beginning of a longer process to set our city on a path to long term fiscal solvency and economic sustainability. There are still investments I want to see restored, and we’ll keep pushing for them, especially if our labor partners are willing to negotiate.” A message from Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who served as budget chair LA’s Olympic and Paralympic Wage means that tourism workers in the city will make $22.50/hour by July with an escalator to $30/hour by 2028, plus a healthcare credit starting next year “As LA pushes a $30 minimum wage for hotel workers, eight hotels are withdrawing from the LA28 Olympic room block, citing financial strain,” according to the Daily Breeze. Although, as the story notes, some of the hotels threatening to withdraw made deals with the city to receive a share of room tax revenue as an incentive to build hotels in LA… for the Olympics Mark Beccaria of Hotel Angeleno told KTLA: “Common sense says you cannot raise wages over 30% in less than a year when revenue is flat. If this increase in labor costs passes, we will be forced by the City to consider converting this hotel in the heart of residential Brentwood into a homeless shelter” In 2024, Long Beach passed Measure RW, which raised its tourism minimum wage to the highest in the country at $23/hour Interestingly, Long Beach isn’t seeing a tourism slump and has been outpacing the rest of LA County: Visit Long Beach CEO Steve Goodling told SFGATE that 33,000 hotel rooms were booked in March for conventions alone: “We’re up 9.6% in revenue per available room over last year” Alissa’s story on the Olympic and Paralympic Wage from over a year ago U.S. Attorney’s Office: “Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Agrees to Plead Guilty to Threatening to Bomb LA City Hall Last Year” Brian Williams pleaded guilty to calling in the bomb threat himself. As The New York Times reports: “According to the plea agreement, Mr. Williams, while participating in a virtual morning meeting, used a voice application on his personal cellphone to call his city phone. He then called the Los Angeles Police Department to say that an unknown man had just threatened to bomb City Hall.” Watch Alissa talk transit on the May 21 episode of Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney over at Netflix Rachel will be a guest at The Bitchuation Room live show this Friday, May 30 at the Elysian Theater Produced by Sophie Bridges

    58 min
  8. MAY 19

    Shelter Skelter

    Alissa and Mike are joined by guest co-host Laura Raymond for a whole episode on homelessness and housing. Gavin Newsom orders cities to ban visible homelessness, again. Is Measure ULA’s “mansion tax” stifling housing production in the city of LA? And post-fire Altadena is championing new models of property ownership to combat speculation and displacement.  Help us to produce a new LA Pod episode every week – start a paid subscription at thinkforward.la today! "There are no more excuses." Gavin Newsom wants homeless people to go away but isn’t necessarily offering permanent housing  "Tough Talk, Bad Policy": Mike’s story on Newsom’s ongoing attempts to criminalize encampments Under Karen Bass’s leadership, the Mayor’s Fund pivoted to homelessness prevention, and, according to a new LMU study of 30,000 program participants, is keeping people housed: "Nearly 75% of survey participants reported improved housing stability after seeking help from We Are LA" LAist reported that auditors in Judge David Carter’s court couldn’t verify 1,400 new shelter beds. LAHSA issued a statement claiming the funding data about the shelter beds has been shared Whistleblowers at LAHSA claimed that outgoing director Va Lecia Adams Kellum "withheld accurate data about Mayor Karen Bass’ signature homelessness program, Inside Safe, 'because [Adams] Kellum did not want Mayor Bass to look bad'" LACAHSA, the LA County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, is LA’s regional housing agency that’s funded by one-third of Measure A dollars. You can find upcoming meeting information here "We are setting up the infrastructure where we can actually create more affordable housing." Read Alissa’s Report Forward interview with LA County Supervisor and inaugural LACAHSA board chair Holly Mitchell: "What is LACAHSA and how can it prevent homelessness?" The United to House LA city dashboard includes all sorts of information about what Measure ULA dollars are doing UCLA Lewis Center’s report: "The Unintended Consequences of Measure ULA" See the United to House LA coalition’s letter of opposition to state legislation AB 698 "Compounding Disaster: A Spatial Analysis of Housing Risk and Speculation in Post-Fire Altadena": a new report by SAJE "As developers swoop in post LA fires, one nonprofit offers an alternative to Altadena sellers," writes Josie Huang in LAist  State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez introduced SB 658, which would create a Community Opportunity to Purchase Program Alissa’s Report Forward on social housing models in Vienna Community ownership and land banking are the topline recommendations of a preliminary report from the UCLA Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire-Safe Recovery. A LA Times story about the preliminary report includes commentary from Mike "In Altadena, the fire’s embers have been extinguished, but a new threat is spreading. In order to stave off an impending land grab and community displacement, state and local leaders must act quickly to establish a community land banking strategy." Doug Smith’s essay for Think Forward "The right kind of government action can peel back layers of inequality and redirect our region towards a more just, environmentally resilient future." Alfonso Directo’s essay for Think Forward Produced by Sophie Bridges

    53 min
4.8
out of 5
412 Ratings

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A news and politics podcast for people who live in Los Angeles.

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