Headlines From The Times – Details, episodes & analysis

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’

For transgender kids, a frantic rush for treatment amid bans

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

More reading:

Read Rong-Gong LIn II’s stories here

Read Alex Wigglesworth’s stories here

Read Rosanna Xia’s stories here

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

More reading:

Top Democrats warn Biden: Don’t restart family detentions

Biden immigration plan could force asylum officers to break law, union warns

Asylum seekers face decision to split up families or wait indefinitely under new border policy

Street takeovers. Street races. Burnouts. They’re the latest manifestations of car culture in the region — cousins to the drag races, lowrider cruises, V-dub love-ins and other gear-head gatherings that’ve gone on here for decades. But what you’re seeing right now — a lot of people say the scene feels different. And some people say the film franchise “Fast & Furious” is to blame.

In a region where car culture is king and stunts are all over social media, residents, politicians and law enforcement have had enough. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporter Nathan Solis

More reading:

Inside L.A.’s deadly street takeover scene: ‘A scene of lawlessness’

19 cars seized, 27 arrested in illegal street takeover in Pomona

LA Times Today: Dangerous street takeovers take a deadly toll on L.A.

There’s a Gold Rush right now happening in Wyoming — for wind. Billionaire developers are putting up wind turbines to help power California and turn the American West, long a place where fossil fuels ruled, into a green energy powerhouse.

But not everyone is happy. Today, we get into the challenges around what’s planned to be the largest wind farm in the country. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times energy reporter Sammy Roth

More reading:

Read our “Repowering the West” series here

This power line could save California — and forever change the American West

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Mexico president Andrés Manuel López Obrador came into office promising to get the military off the streets. Instead, he’s more than doubled their numbers. He claims there’s just no other way to handle Mexico’s narco-violence.

Today, we look at Mexico’s delicate dance with its military. It’s an institution that’s among the most trusted in the nation, and potentially its most dangerous. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Latin America correspondent Kate Linthicum

More reading:

Mexico’s president vowed to end the drug war. Instead he’s doubled the number of troops in the streets

Mexico’s military gains power as president turns from critic to partner

Mexico sent in the army to fight the drug war. Many question the toll on society and the army itself

For her role as Shauna in “Yellowjackets,” Melanie Lynskey has an Emmy nomination for lead actress in a drama series. 

Today, we've got another episode from our sister podcast "The Envelope." Lynskey joins host Yvonne Villarreal to dish on how this year has helped her feel more empowered and less underestimated, arriving at a place of self-love after struggling with an eating disorder, and why now is the time for ferocious female characters. She also busts out her Drew Barrymore impression and gets a brief, adorable visit from a special guest. Read the full transcript here. 

Host: Yvonne Villarreal 

Guest: Melanie Lynskey

More reading: 

‘Yellowjackets’ star Melanie Lynskey is celebrating her Emmy nod by ... buying a fridge

‘Yellowjackets’ creators break down ‘heartbreaking’ finale — and your fan theories

Sebastian Stan, Melanie Lynskey and more discuss teaching directors about acting

Millions of Americans who attended college could have their debt completely canceled or reduced under a plan announced by President Joe Biden last week. But the move is unsurprisingly stirring debate among the right and left, but for completely different reasons.

Today, we talk about how this announcement might impact the midterms. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times national reporter Arit John

More reading:

For many with student loans, the interest hurts the most. This congressman would know

Student loan forgiveness: Everything you need to know

Why Californians with student loans will gain massively from forgiveness plan

After displacement from Haiti, an exodus from South America and an epic journey through the Americas, what became of Haitians’ American dream? Today, in the final episode of the “Line in the Land” podcast produced by Texas Public Radio and the Houston Chronicle, we hear from Haitian migrants about where they ended up. Read the full transcript here.

Hosts: Joey Palacios of Texas Public Radio, and Elizabeth Trovall with the Houston Chronicle

More reading:

Listen to all “Line in the Land” episodes

The Times podcast: Our nation’s Haitian double standard

Haitians in L.A. Spread Out and Blend In

This podcast is made possible by the Catana Foundation, supporting the asylum seeker advocacy project, providing more than 100,000 asylum seekers in the U.S. with community and legal support. Learn more at asylum.news. For the Spanish version of this episode, listen here.

One year ago this month, U.S. forces left Afghanistan after 20 years of war. Some 94,000 Afghan nationals, American citizens and lawful permanent residents have arrived in the U.S. as part of Operation Allies Welcome, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Today, we hear some of their stories. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times diaspora reporter Sarah Parvini and photojournalist Marcus Yam

More reading:

They escaped Afghanistan for California and beyond. But war’s struggles followed them

The things they carried when they fled Afghanistan

The cadence of war and its human toll: A photojournalist’s perspective

A Times journalist’s diary inside the fall of Afghanistan