The Times: Essential news from the L.A. Times
“The Times" is a podcast from the Los Angeles Times hosted by columnist Gustavo Arellano along with reporters from our diverse newsroom. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, our podcast brings listeners the most essential stories from the L.A. Times. We've got the West Coast angle on the most interesting news stories of the day, taking on topics like entertainment, the environment, immigration, politics, the criminal justice system, the social safety net, food and culture and more, and delivering it in a tone that isn’t so stressed or intense. Through interviews and original stories, we are the audio guide you need to understand the day’s news, the world and how California is at the epicenter of it all.
Episodes
Trans surfers are beginning to find community among themselves in a sport that too often isolates and even shuns them.
Today, we hang out with some at the beach, to hear their joy and pain. Read the full transcript here.
Host: L.A. Times senior producer Denise Guerra
More reading:
Biden sports plan angers transgender advocates and opponents
Black surfers find moments of reflection, rejuvenation at ‘A Great Day in the Stoke’
In a live taping, three of our Masters of Disasters talk about how they got into covering catastrophes, why they continue to do it — and how they try to convey hope. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times earthquake reporter Rong-Gong Lin, L.A. Times wildfire reporter Alex Wigglesworth, and L.A. Times coastal reporter Rosanna Xia
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After a decades-long decline in automobile fatalities, numbers began to go up with the dawn of smart phones. Laws banning use of cellphones while driving haven’t stopped the rise — and the dawn of smart cars seems to be making things worse.
Today, we talk about efforts to stop distracted driving — and why they don’t seem to work. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times auto industry reporter Russ Mitch...
“Trot” is a Korean music genre that has been around for decades. But in recent years, it has exploded in popularity in Southern California. The biggest fans? Immigrant seniors.
Today, we talk about trot’s history, staying power and role in the Korean American community. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times Asian American communities reporter Jeong Park
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When Joe Biden won in 2020, he became the oldest president in U.S. history. If he runs again in 2024 and wins, he’ll beat own record. Is that a problem?
Today, we talk about the grumbles from Republicans and Democrats alike over Biden’s age. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times reporter Courtney Subramanian
More reading:
Column: Are Joe Biden and Dianne Feinstein too old to do their jobs?
Farmacias Similares is the largest privately owned chain of pharmacies in Mexico, and has a cute mascot — Dr. Simi — who is beloved across the country. What could possibly be wrong about this scenario? Many things.
Today, we talk about what the rise of Dr. Simi says about Mexico’s broken healthcare system. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times foreign correspondent Leila Miller
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"Foretold" is the newest podcast from the L.A. Times, and we're sharing the first episode with you here today.
In the fall of 2019, reporter Faith E. Pinho received a tip from a woman named Paulina Stevens. Paulina claimed she had grown up in an insular Romani community in California, where she was raised to be a wife, mother and fortuneteller — until she decided to break away. That first call unraveled a story spanning multiple co...
An FBI investigation tried to expose malfeasance in the world of NCAA men’s basketball. Instead, the mirror was turned on the agency itself when one of the lead agents abused his position.
Today, you’ll hear the story of how that came to be — and whether the investigation turned up anything. Read the full story here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times sports investigative reporter Nathan Fenno
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Democrat and Republican lawmakers are pushing for a U.S. ban on TikTok, arguing the Chinese-owned social media app is a national security risk. But many of its users argue that will severely harm their businesses.
Today, we hear from some of them. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times reporter technology reporter Brian Contreras and L.A. Times business reporter Jaimie Ding
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For centuries, communities across Latin America have relied on curanderos — healers who rely on indigenous tradition — for their physical and mental health. Will mainstream American health ever embrace it?
Today, we examine the subject. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times utility reporter Karen Garcia
More reading:
Some Latinos don’t trust Western mental health. That’s where curanderos come in
During the 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden decried U.S. border policies enacted by the Trump administration as racist. But Biden has not only not rolled some of them back — in some cases, he’s doubled down.
Today, we try to figure out what changed. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times immigration reporters Hamed Aleaziz and Andrea Castillo
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The indictment of former president Donald Trump has provoked praise and criticism alike. So what’s next? We talk to two of our political wizards to figure it out.
Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times political columnist Mark Z. Barabak, and L.A. Times national security reporter Sarah D. Wire
More reading:
Full coverage: Trump hush-money probe
Trump indicted in alleged hush-money scheme, becoming first ...
Lucy Jones, California’s beloved earthquake expert, sits down with environment reporter Rosanna Xia to discuss her new project: using music to inspire people to take action against climate change. Listen to hear Lucy go through her process, her collaborators explain the psychology behind it all, and — of course — a sampling of the compositions. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Rosanna Xia
Guests: Lucy Jones
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Over the last couple of years, RVs in Los Angeles turned from a vehicle for camping to shelter for people who are unhoused. That’s led to multiple complaints — and deaths.
Today, we examine how L.A. got to this point. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times columnist Erika D. Smith
More reading:
The real and complicated reasons why Los Angeles still has so many RV encampments
For over 100 years, college athletes couldn’t make money competing in their sports. A new NCAA rule around name, image and likeness, or NIL, has changed that. The biggest winners? Gymnasts.
Today, we talk to a few current and former gymnasts at UCLA, including Olympians Jordyn Wieber and Jordan Chiles, about how this rule change has affected their lives. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times college ...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, Ukrainian military officials have set up a hotline for Russian soldiers to call in and surrender. Is it working to end the war?.
Today, we talk to the people behind it. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times global affairs correspondent Laura King
More reading:
Lots of Russian soldiers want to surrender. Ukraine makes it easier with a high-tech hotline
This year’s historic storms have hit communities of color like Pajaro, Calif., especially hard. It’s a recurring problem that could’ve been avoided entirely.
Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times investigative reporter Susanne Rust
More reading:
Residents left in flooded California farm town feel ‘abandoned’ as levees fail
Spring storm sets sights on Southern California with strong wind, heavy rain
Ariadna López was found murdered on the side of a road in Mexico, one of thousands of women murdered every year in the country. But her death outraged the country like never before.
Today, the problem of femicide in Mexico — and whether Lopez’s death will help change that. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell
More reading:
When inflation is high, the Federal Reserve has historically raised interest rates. But the recent failures of banks like Silicon Valley Bank have sparked worries about the stability of our banking system. Now the feds must weigh whether the banking system could withstand the turmoil that raising interest rates could bring. To get inside the mind of Fed chair Jerome Powell, we look to a previous era of high inflation, the late 1970...
U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez is known for overturning gun bans. Derided and hailed in equal measures, he’s now presiding over a case with far-reaching consequences.
Today, we talk about his history and impact. Read the full transcript here.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times enterprise reporter Laura J. Nelson
More reading:
The judge upending California’s gun laws: ‘Blessed’ jurist or ‘stone-cold ideologue’?
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