LA Observed

LA Observed

Hosted by
4 min

The week's top stories in LA media, politics and culture.

All Episodes

Warner Music just moved its employees to a new home in an old factory building in the Arts District.

Friends, family and fans continue to mourn the loss of rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was shot and killed over the weekend outside his clothing store in South Los Angeles.

The L.A. County Coroner’s Office has concluded that a man who died at the home of a prominent Democratic donor in West Hollywood overdosed on crystal meth.

Before former Governor Jerry Brown left office, last year, he put his pen to a couple, new transparency laws.  Both have to do with public access to internal police investigations and…

Think of Santa Monica and there are a number of things that come to mind: an idyllic, beachside setting; a tech-saturated economy; a bastion of liberal politics.

Those who cast their ballot in the LA Unified School Board election at a local school or church likely did so for the last time.

It’s the team that’s had to deal with a geography and identity crisis for years, with some of the most supportive fans in Major League Baseball. The L.A.

A landmark bill signed by then-Governor Brown last year is intended to make records of police misconduct available to the public.

More from KCRW

Critics review the latest film releases: “Smile 2,” “Anora,” “Woman of the Hour,” and “Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party.”

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Lawrence Kramer and Carolyn Korsmeyer take us on a philosophical and sensual journey exploring sound, taste, and touch.

from Life Examined

How can a country so rich in resources and farm production have people who still go to bed hungry?

from Second Opinion

The Latest

Ilana Glazer shares some feelings on the impersonal nature of stand-up as they prepare to drop their new special “Human Magic.”

Ilana Glazer speaks on their stand-up influences ahead of new special ‘Human Magic’

Ilana Glazer shares some feelings on the impersonal nature of stand-up as they prepare to drop their new special “Human Magic.”

from The Treatment

Filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer and legendary political firebrand James Carville fill us in on their new documentary “Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid.”

James Carville and filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer explain ‘Winning is Everything, Stupid’

Filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer and legendary political firebrand James Carville fill us in on their new documentary “Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid.”

from The Treatment

Matt Tyrnauer and James Carville speak on their new Carville documentary, Ilana Glazer fills us in on their stand-up special “Human Magic,” and René Redzepi has The Treat.

James Carville and Matt Tyrnauer, Ilana Glazer, and René Redzepi on The Treat

Matt Tyrnauer and James Carville speak on their new Carville documentary, Ilana Glazer fills us in on their stand-up special “Human Magic,” and René Redzepi has The Treat.

from The Treatment

Acclaimed chef René Redzepi discusses how, to him, hiking is a spiritual experience.

Hiking helps remind Chef René Redzepi that life is beautiful

Acclaimed chef René Redzepi discusses how, to him, hiking is a spiritual experience.

from The Treatment

In part two of our chat with “Apprentice” writer Gabriel Sherman and distributor Tom Ortenberg, we hear about unlikely sources of funding and navigating death threats.

‘The Apprentice’ writer Gabriel Sherman + distributor Tom Ortenberg: Part 2

In part two of our chat with “Apprentice” writer Gabriel Sherman and distributor Tom Ortenberg, we hear about unlikely sources of funding and navigating death threats.

from The Business

As David Ellison’s Skydance merger with Paramount begins, studio executives have been given some serious incentives to stick around through the transition process.

Game planning for Paramount; The accidental ‘Apprentice’ financier

As David Ellison’s Skydance merger with Paramount begins, studio executives have been given some serious incentives to stick around through the transition process.

from The Business

Rowan Jacobsen travels deep into the Bolivian Amazon to uncover the chocolate's origins.

Making a modern chocolate bar from rare cacao grown deep in the Amazon is even harder than it sounds

Rowan Jacobsen travels deep into the Bolivian Amazon to uncover the chocolate's origins.

from Good Food

Essayist and poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil explains the laborious process of cultivating vanilla and the fragile state of its existence.

Vanilla's existence is precarious. Is the global obsession with it making it worse?

Essayist and poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil explains the laborious process of cultivating vanilla and the fragile state of its existence.

from Good Food