LA Observed

LA Observed

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4 min

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

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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

Inspired by childhood visits to Ghana, Eric Adjepong debuts his first collection of recipes.

from Good Food

This week, Robin Wall Kimmerer , Indigenous ecologist and author of “The Serviceberry: An Economy of Gifts and Abundance,” talks about the virtues of the ‘gift economy,” and explains…

from Life Examined

Zack Mack’s father went down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole that tore apart his family. Mack spent the past year making a podcast about it called “Alternate Realities.”

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

The Latest

The agony and ecstasy of March Madness were on full display this weekend for LA college basketball fans.

USC women’s hoops loses star to injury, UCLA advances to Final Four

The agony and ecstasy of March Madness were on full display this weekend for LA college basketball fans.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Johnny Carson was seemingly a friend to millions as the host of "The Tonight Show" for three decades.

Encore: Johnny Carson wasn’t the same on-air and in private, says new book

Johnny Carson was seemingly a friend to millions as the host of "The Tonight Show" for three decades.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

In the mid-1970s and ‘80s in SoCal, bands like Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, and Toto blended jazz, R&B, and pop to create a new soft style: yacht rock.

Encore: Yacht rock: Inside the appeal and repulsion of ‘70s SoCal music

In the mid-1970s and ‘80s in SoCal, bands like Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, and Toto blended jazz, R&B, and pop to create a new soft style: yacht rock.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

“Porcelain War” is a new documentary that vividly portrays the lives of civilians-turned-soldiers on and off Ukraine’s battlefield against Russia.

Encore: ‘Porcelain War’ juxtaposes war and art in Ukraine

“Porcelain War” is a new documentary that vividly portrays the lives of civilians-turned-soldiers on and off Ukraine’s battlefield against Russia.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Alex Hutchinson, science journalist and endurance athlete, discusses the science that drives human exploration.

Are we wired for discovery? Alex Hutchinson on the explorer’s gene.

Alex Hutchinson, science journalist and endurance athlete, discusses the science that drives human exploration.

from Life Examined

Anthrax – an example of how the US Government has worked to stop the spread of disease

One Health, One World, One Essential Partner: USAID

Anthrax – an example of how the US Government has worked to stop the spread of disease

from Second Opinion

Zach Braff reflects on 20 years of the “Garden State OST,” China Miéville talks 25 years of “Perdido Street Station,” and Cristin Milioti has The Treat.

Zach Braff, China Miéville, and Cristin Milioti on The Treat

Zach Braff reflects on 20 years of the “Garden State OST,” China Miéville talks 25 years of “Perdido Street Station,” and Cristin Milioti has The Treat.

from The Treatment

Filmmaker Zach Braff visits us ahead of a “Garden State” anniversary concert to discuss the impact of both the film and the soundtrack after 20 years.

Zach Braff reflects on 20 life changing years of the ‘Garden State’ OST

Filmmaker Zach Braff visits us ahead of a “Garden State” anniversary concert to discuss the impact of both the film and the soundtrack after 20 years.

from The Treatment