New Episodes

Episode Parenting in a diet culture, Sri Lankan cuisine, farmland water
Virginia Sole-Smith exposes society's anti-fat bias and the issues surrounding childhood obesity. Restaurateur Karan Gokani revels in his first tastes of Sri Lankan food and traditional hoppers made of fermented rice and coconut.
Episode Presidential hopeful Mike Pence evokes Reagan, carves anti-Trump lane
Mike Pence is officially running for president as a Reagan-style conservative, but do GOP voters want retro? The dam collapse in Ukraine flooded the front lines and raises questions about whether Russia was responsible. And is Saudi Arabia now running the world of golf?
Episode You Sure You Want to Eat That Sentient Being?
Peter Singer knows it is difficult to make a lonely stand against the mega corporate food processing machine.
Episode ECMAScript program Amid changing abortion laws, OC clinic workers seek union protection
Reproductive health workers nationally have been turning to unions for support since the fall of Roe v. Wade. Planned Parenthood in Orange County could be next.
Episode News media layoffs, artist Keith Haring’s iconic images
The Los Angeles Times joins a slate of news and media companies, including Spotify, Buzzfeed News, and NPR, that have laid off employees in recent months.
Episode Will LA see more ‘social housing?’
California and LA are seeing major pushes for “social housing,” which is government-supported, not owned by a for-profit entity, and is affordable to people of different income levels.
Episode ‘Ghost students’ try scamming colleges, violence erupts over Pride month
In California, an estimated 1 in 5 community college applications are scams, amounting to hundreds of thousands of "ghost students” who are trying to steal financial aid.
Episode The Fight for Abortion Training
The overturning of Roe v. Wade has severely restricted how doctors can access training in abortion care and it’s already having a devastating ripple effect on patients seeking all kinds of reproductive care. Two medical residents in abortion-restricted states fight for training and for the future health of their patients. Plus, the centuries-long battle over who gets access to abortion training in the first place.
Episode Troff document Some VA benefits get in the way as veterans try to secure housing
Some disabled veterans are shut out of supportive housing due to VA disability income. It’s a catch-22 that reflects larger challenges in filling subsidized units.
Episode Patricia Arquette looks back on career, Apple pushes out VR headset
Patricia Arquette talks about “High Desert,” a twisted comedy about a former drug dealer who struggles to remain sober and cope with her mom’s death.
Episode From This is Uncomfortable: The Price of Eggs
From This is Uncomfortable, we bring you the story of Ashleigh Griffin. She hoped the fertility industry could put her on the road to financial stability. But the decision to donate her eggs had some unexpected costs.
Episode C source code Are you doing any good by throwing food waste into green bins? Yes
If you put food scraps into a green bin with your yard waste, are you truly helping the planet? For LA residents, the answer is definitely yes.
Episode PS document AI remixes music industry, directors and studios reach deal
AI is reviving voices of deceased musicians and creating new tracks by contemporary artists. The tech could mean job loss, especially for people in technical roles such as mixing and mastering.
Episode Meat consumption and human health (part 2)
While consuming meat can negatively impact our health, it also affects meat processing workers and those living near these processing plants.
Episode object code Emilio Estevez, Maggie Bullock and Joe Manganiello on The Treat
This week on The Treatment, Elvis welcomes back actor and director Emilio Estevez who stops by to chat about the re-release of his 2010 film “The Way.”
Episode Python Source Effective altruism and our collective human heritage
Philosopher Will MacAskill argues that protecting the future of humanity is the moral priority of our time. Historian Tyrone McKinley Freeman explains philanthropy’s rich tradition within the African American community.
Episode Chinese doughnuts and comfort food, vegetarian Vietnamese
Jean Trinh shares the story of her refugee family's connection to Chinese crullers. Cookbook author, teacher, and omnivore Andrea Nguyen offers vegetarian Vietnamese recipes for the home cook. Bill Addison finds comfort at Luyixian in Alhambra.
Episode The resilience of the movie theater industry and Cannes during the writers’ strike
While the WGA strike continues in the U.S., many writer-directors, actors were off promoting their films at Cannes. Did that weaken the WGA effort? Then, former National Association of Theatre Owners CEO John Fithian speaks about the industry navigating the pandemic, and why he is optimistic about its future.
Episode In American Prisons, You’re Nothing More Than a Number
Often overlooked, ignored and damned, the cycle that throws people in the prison system and spits them out is a calamitous yet integral part of the American experience.
Episode ‘Pretty dang good?’ Debt ceiling deal clears key House hurdle
The House agrees to raise the debt ceiling. Ron DeSantis recovers from his Twitter debacle as he hits the campaign trail. What the “Succession” finale says about our politics and our lives?
Episode Troff document Meet the bumble bee Census counters
As bumble bees decline, local volunteers fan out to find them. Together they’ll create the California Bumble Bee Atlas to help guide conservation decisions. June ushers in Pride month and with it celebrations and remembrances.
Episode AI screenwriting, lemon-lime thirst quenchers, weekend film reviews
How serious is the threat of artificial intelligence replacing Hollywood writers? It’s a point of contention in the current Writers Guild strike.
Episode Quantifying your garbage footprint — to reduce it
Sometimes the best way to cope with anxiety over the climate crisis is to focus on something you can control. So why not start with your trash?
Episode Love and immigration in film, curbing LA traffic with fees
Celine Song’s film “Past Lives” is about what happens when a girl from Korea emigrates and leaves behind her childhood sweetheart, and they reconnect decades later.
Episode C header The Fourth Trimester
Jess was overjoyed when she got pregnant. But after giving birth, her reality spiraled out of control. She didn’t know it, but she had postpartum psychosis, a mental health condition that occurs after about 1 in every 500 births.
Episode Small businesses near Hollywood studios feel financial pain of writers’ strike
Small businesses that support the film/TV industry are feeling the economic ripple effects of the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike.
Episode ‘Succession’ writer on finale, Rufus Wainwright on folk music tradition
Georgia Pritchett says the joy of writing “Succession” is seeing the characters develop, often in disturbing ways. She breaks down the series finale.
Episode Memorial Day special: ‘Elephant Whisperers,’ ‘Dinner with the President’
On this Memorial Day, Press Play rebroadcasts some favorite interviews from the year.
Episode C header The impact of meat consumption on human health
The relationship between meat consumption and human health is complicated.
Episode Brooklyn Sudano, Aidan Levy, and Sam Wasson on The Treat
Director Brooklyn Sudano on Donna Summer’s career, writer Aidan Levy on Sonny Rollins, and Hollywood chronicler Sam Wasson talks Tom Waits.