Alissa, Mike, and guest co-host Matthew Reagan of The LA Local dive into accountability, litigation, and federal assistance in Boyle Heights after the Lineage fire. LAHSA as we know it is over. And on the same day as a safe streets rally, five Angelenos are killed when a driver crashes an SUV into a Metro bus, then a news helicopter covering the crash also crashes. Only in LA?
LA Podcast is only possible thanks to our paid subscribers. Our goal is 100 new subscribers by Election Day to cover our show’s costs so we can keep producing weekly episodes. Sign up today at thinkforward.la
Earlier this summer, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a $4.4 billion Notice of Funding Opportunity — a NOFO, if you will — directing aid money away from a “housing first” approach
Thank you to Charlotte Landes for producing this episode and to our production assistant Bianca Cockrell
The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward
Matthew Reagan is the assignment editor of LA Documenters, a program that trains and pays LA residents to put public meetings on the record. Documenter notes are published online and inform the community journalism produced by The LA Local
Handle with Childcare
Episode 322
Monday, September 14, 2026 • Duration 59:57
Mike, Memo, and guest co-host Faizah Malik look back on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and its legacies, including the Department of Homeland Security, which recently decided they will not (yet) revoke Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans. Then: childcare in Los Angeles is becoming more difficult and more expensive to find— but maybe a billionaire tax could help?
LA Podcast is only possible thanks to our paid subscribers. Our goal is 100 new subscribers by Election Day to cover the show’s costs so we can keep producing weekly episodes. Sign up today at thinkforward.la
CHIRLA, CARCEN-LA, and other advocates gathered to demand for TPS holders and their families
Don't Hate the Leia, Hate the Game
Episode 321
Monday, September 7, 2026 • Duration 58:19
Scott, Alissa, and Sophie attempt to understand the Lucas Museum’s decade-long arrival in Expo Park and what “narrative art” actually means. Does this mean the La La Land optimism of 2016 LA is back? MacArthur Park hosts a picnic — and potentially a new fence? And more major endorsements in the mayoral race.
LA Podcast is only possible thanks to our paid subscribers. Our goal is 300 new subscribers by election day (November 3rd!) to cover our show’s costs so we can keep producing weekly episodes. Sign up today atthinkforward.la
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will officially open on September 22 and everyone hasthoughts about it (you might like to revisit Christopher Knight’s 2017 remarks where he describes this project as the “Treacle Museum — a sentimental vanity gallery pumped up on soppy emotional steroids”)
Humid Beings
Episode 320
Monday, August 31, 2026 • Duration 01:07:09
Alissa, Mike, and Olga discover that extreme humidity pairs nicely with our already-crumbling infrastructure. Luckily, social media is the key to fixing potholes! Controller Kenneth Mejia tries to demystify LA28’s finances. And will DSA-LA make an LA mayoral endorsement — and does it matter?
Southern California is used to being the best at many things, but unfortunately this week we took the prize for highest humidity in the country
In cooler news: an LAUSD school in Westlake more than quadrupled their green space on campus, creating a shady oasis for their students, and there are plans for more district campuses to do the same
Are you tired of potholes in your neighborhood? Join LA Forward Monday night as we discuss what a Capital Infrastructure Program (CIP) could and should include to fix our streets
SOHA Me God
Episode 319
Monday, August 24, 2026 • Duration 01:04:43
Mike, Godfrey, and Olga dissect the heated mayoral debate at the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association. Will LA see a Paramount Skydance Warner Brothers lot? Uber and Lyft drivers won the right to organize, making labor history. Then: you can file to run for LA County CEO starting next month, but what does this job actually entail?
A poll showing Bass trouncing Raman by double digits was actually fake. Oops!
Raman plans to hire Fight Agency for some television ads: their other clients include Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former Senate candidate Graham Platner (who withdrew after being accused of sexual assault)
LA(Needs More)USD
Episode 318
Monday, August 17, 2026 • Duration 57:12
Alissa, Godfrey, and Loraine go deep on LAUSD’s many changes and challenges as this new school year begins. LA’s City Council is set to make big shifts on how to address homelessness, but the hardest part might be getting everyone to agree. And what will actually get Angelenos out of their cars?
Andres Chait has been officially appointed LAUSD superintendent and has some plans to address the slew of issues ahead
Newly approved screen time reforms are in place, eliminating digital devices for first graders and younger, setting age-specific time limits on older students, blocking YouTube access, and more
Unfortunately, Boyle Heights kids have more grounds than most to say —
Don’t Spray It’s Over
Episode 317
Monday, August 10, 2026 • Duration 57:16
Alissa, Mike, and Marco say a requiem for the Graffiti Towers. Nithya Raman receives endorsements from some big players, including Kenneth Mejia’s corgis. In the wake of the Lineage environmental disaster, which still reeks, LA’s City Council votes for more environmental disasters. And who will be LA County’s first elected CEO?
Scott, Mike, and Olga convene a transportation sickos roundtable to discuss Metro’s State of the Agency, how the system fared during the World Cup, and big changes to the board’s structure. Will the LAX people mover ever open — and will anyone actually call it SkyLink? Then: Karen Bass’s sudden pivot on the Lineage disaster in a mayorship that has been defined by disasters.
More than 560,000 fans attended the eight matches altogether, according to the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee. There were approximately 212,000 boardings to and from SoFi. This means about 1 in 5 fans going to the matches took Metro’s shuttle service
Mike, Godfrey, and guest co-host Carla Hall discuss the Sunset Boulevard sinkhole in West Hollywood. Then, the results of the 2026 homeless count are in. And Mayor Karen Bass’s informal advisor steps back.
For the LA Times, Hannah Fry reports that “there are about 547 miles of trunk line underground across the city. In 2019, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said roughly 29% of the city’s pipes were over 80 years old, approaching their typical lifespan of 100 years.”
The LA Times has a map of locations where water main leaks have happened since 2010
West Hollywood mayor John Heilman was there, and so was Mayor Karen Bass
Councilmember and mayoral candidate Nithya Raman was on the scene with Councilmember Chelsea Byers
All's Smell That Ends Smell
Episode 314
Monday, July 20, 2026 • Duration 01:00:21
Alissa, Oscar, and guest co-host Rudy Espinoza discuss accelerating immigration enforcement activity in LA as ICE murders three people in one week nationwide. Then, how an unbearable stench, rats, flies, and extreme heat are impacting the Lineage fire aftermath. And as the 39-day tournament ends, reflections on what LA got wrong and right with the World Cup.
Three ICE murders in one week across the country: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine, and an unidentified man in Miami. The Maine murder, where a man ran into traffic to escape ICE, is similar to the killing of Roberto Carlos Montoya in Monrovia last year
As reported by LAist’s Libby Rainey, advocates are receiving upticks in calls for help with ICE raids. Attorney Sarah Houston, who oversees calls, says: "I'm so happy that ICE hasn't ruined the World Cup by doing these mass raids, but they are still doing them piecemeal and one by one...In the background, the administration is still there, and these things are still happening. They're just not happening at SoFi Stadium."
Check out LA Forward’s teach-in about the most dangerous measures on the ballot this Tuesday on zoom
Some of the best editorial writing in LA is still coming from former LAT editorial board member, Robert Greene, who now writes at regular newsletter at Los Angeles Rules
Thanks to Charlotte Landes for producing and Bianca Cockrell for production assistance
The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward
Memo Torres is an award-winning journalist with L.A. Taco, where he covers ICE and immigration raids as host of the Daily Memo. He’s on Instagram at @el_tragon_de_los_angeles
Faizah Malik is a housing and civil right attorney, who ran as a progressive for LA City Council in District 11. She can be found at @faizahforla on Instagram
“I’ll take Raman’s “wonderful ideas and plans” — Bass’ words, not mine! — over the mayor’s record. For climate voters, this is an easy choice.” Sometime LA Podcast host Sammy Roth also endorses Raman
The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward
Scott Frazier is an original co-host of LA Podcast
Sophie Bridges is a writer and audio producer whose work has appeared on This American Life, Radiolab, and Reveal. She’s a proud graduate of LAUSD and the Writers Guild of America
Los Angeles Public Press reported on LAPD using infamous ordinance 41.18 to warn, cite, and displace vendors in MacArthur Park for at least the past year
Support LA Podcast by becoming a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la
Thank you to Charlotte Landes for producing this episode and to our production assistant Bianca Cockrell
The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward
(Gig drivers are still classified as independent contractors, but can now bargain for protections)
The filing window for LA County CEO opens next month. But what will the County CEO do, exactly? Is this election governed by campaign finance rules? What’s the structure of its future office? These questions and more are… stillbeingdecided
Whatever its scope, this change may be most helpful for unincorporated communities, who without local governments, rely on the Board of Supervisors for municipal services
The Governance Reform Task Force will review a final draft of these recommendations at its August 28 meeting: you can give public comment and lobby for your priorities
Support LA Podcast by becoming a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la
Thank you to Charlotte Landes for producing this episode and to our production assistant Bianca Cockrell
The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward
Raman and Bass will surely discuss housing among other issues during their debate hosted by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association on Wednesday evening
Many councilmembers made rather, er, harshcomments about this, which happened to coincide with news of Bass and Councilmember Imelda Padilla’s tiny home village opening
More on homelessness and visits from the Trump administration on the new L.A. World podcast, a project of L.A. Material, hosted by Hayes Davenport, Antonia Cereijido, and Julia Turner
Support LA Podcast by becoming a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la
The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward
Loraine Lundquist is chair of LA Forward’s board, an astrophysicist, and a sustainability policy expert who earned 49.4% of the vote as a candidate for LA City Council
Godfrey Plata is the deputy director of LA Forward and is @godfreyplata on Instagram
The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward.
Marco Santana brings over a decade of leadership to the LA homelessness services sector and is a former candidate and active leader within local Democratic party politics. He’s at @Marco4LA on Instagram
Metro’s board is changing — and is about to undergo more significant changes. Two small city reps are no longer elected councilmembers, so they’re out: Whittier’s Fernando Dutra who lost his council race and Glendale’s Ara Najarian who didn’t run again. Long Beach mayor Rex Richardson is replacing Dutra, but the obscure L.A. County City Selection Committee rejected Santa Clarita councilmember Jason Gibbs
Due to Measure G, which expands the LA County Board of Supervisors to nine members, Metro’s board composition has to change. The board approved a motion — a combination of a staff recommendation, and motions from Bass, Janice Hahn, and Lindsey Horvath — that will recommend including two rider representatives. There are still a few final wrinkles to iron out, but soon these proposals will proceed as Metro’s recommendations to the state legislature, which may have its own ideas about changes to Metro governance
The LAX people mover contractor has now sued the city, raising even more concern over when/if the three-years-late, $1 billion over budget, 2.25-mile connection from the airport to the LAX Metro station will actually open
Meanwhile Lineage is getting hit by fines from both AQMD and the LA County Public Health Department for odors, vermin, flies, and more
“Bass’ summer has been beset by a string of negative news. Staff members on both her campaign and administration teams have left. She was away from the city — just as she was at the start of the devastating 2025 firestorms — when a blaze ignited at the Lineage cold-storage food warehouse in Boyle Heights, inundating the heavily Latino surrounding neighborhoods with noxious fumes,” writes Noah Goldberg at the LA Times
Support LA Podcast by becoming a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la
The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward
Scott Frazier is an original co-host of LA Podcast
Olga Lexell is a TV writer and local political organizer
Officials said anyone with property or vehicle damage can file a claim through LADWP at ladwp.com/claims
After two years of modest but promising decreases in homelessness, numbers are up in both the city of LA and the larger overall county of LA, LAHSA officially announces
State funding for homelessness, which had been very healthy and robust, got cut in 2025 - a lot of that money was going to limited rental subsidies, which were hugely successful. This past year, there were 5,000 fewer people that the county was not able to put into housing because they didn't have enough subsidies
The Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, shorthanded as LACAHSA, is investing over $228 million this fiscal year to help communities build and preserve affordable homes and to help prevent homelessness
Funding for support services and homelessness prevention is currently funded by Measure A dollars, and for LA city specific residents, some of this funding comes from Measure ULA
Mayor Bass is running for reelection against Council Member Raman - the numbers in Council District 4 are very different from the citywide numbers. The unsheltered population citywide was up 7.8%, and in Council District 4 it's down 49%
Mayor Bass publicly promoted Airbnb's housing assistance after the fire, and asked Lineage to contribute a significant amount of money to the California Community Foundation. Robb’s work for Mayor Bass was unpaid
For L.A. Material, Julia Wick reports that Robb stepped back from working with the mayor, saying “I'm not going to let unnecessary distractions get in the way of the important things that need to be done, so I'm not extending my volunteer advisory work for the Mayor,” via text message
Robb remained in three WhatsApp groups used by the mayor’s comms team for at least a week after stepping back
Support LA Podcast by becoming a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la
This week’s episode was produced by Charlotte Landes
Our digital producer is Victoria Alejandro
The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward
Ruben Vives reports for the LA Times that Manuel Orozco, owner of Jim’s Burgers, and his workers wore face masks inside the mostly empty diner. Not far from the Lineage warehouse, Orozco said “No one is coming and it’s because of the smoke…It’s been a difficult time.”
The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward
Oscar Zarate is director of external affairs at Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA). He is @straight_outta_papeles on Instagram
Rudy Espinosa is executive director of Inclusive Action for the City, a nonprofit, Community Development Financial Institution based in Los Angeles. Follow him at @rudyespi
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