Producer, 'Press Play'
Amy Ta has worked in public media since 2010, having produced NPR's Tell Me More with Michel Martin, Weekend Edition and NPR Music. She also photographed several special events and guests at NPR. Before coming to KCRW, she worked on the independent podcast Tiny Spark: Investigating the Business of Doing Good.
Ethan Hawke on ‘Blaze’ and why he’s uneasy about his own fame Ethan Hawke’s latest movie, “Blaze,” is about little-known country folk singer Blaze Foley. Foley struggled for years, writing and performing in anonymity. Foley was shot and killed in 1989, at age 39.
Neil deGrasse Tyson on whether war in space is coming Neil deGrasse Tyson says astrophysicists are mostly peace-loving scientists, but have always been complicit in warfare. He also explains what war in space could look like, but why it’s unlikely to happen. His new book is titled “Accessory to War.”
Chloe Sevigny on playing a suspected axe murderer Since the ‘90s, Chloe Sevigny has acted in scores of TV shows and movies, including “Boys Don’t Cry,” which earned her an Oscar nomination. Now she’s starring in a new film about Lizzie Borden, who was suspected of murdering her father and stepmom in 1892.
How a White House staffer became a victim of the opioid crisis More than 70,000 people died from drug overdoses last year. Many more people are struggling with addiction and recovery. Former White House staffer Ryan Hampton spent 10 years as an addict. He’s now in long-term recovery.
Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown on his climate efforts Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation on Monday that commits the state to generating all its retail electricity from renewables, and becoming carbon-neutral by 2045. Some environmentalists applaud the move. But others say he needs to do more for California in particular, and has permitted some 20,000 new oil wells in the state.
CBS after Les Moonves Les Moonves ran CBS for 15 years. Then the New Yorker published a story that included detailed accounts of alleged sexual assault. On Sunday, CBS announced Moonves left the company and would not receive any of his exit compensation. CBS also said it would donate $20 million to a #metoo organization.
Elon Musk lights up on Joe Rogan's show Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on Joe Rogan’s podcast Thursday night. He smoked weed and used a flamethrower, and talked about all kinds of things: LA traffic, the end of the universe, virtual reality, why other people wouldn’t want to be him.
LA Latina rappers try to make it in a man's hip-hop world We meet two Latina rappers trying to make it in hip-hop, putting out a steady stream of mixtapes and videos on YouTube, and finding new fans overseas.
How José Andrés fed Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria hit José Andrés had been a critic of President Trump before Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. But when Andrés and his charity World Central Kitchen arrived in Puerto Rico to help, he was shocked by the slow speed of the response. He writes about his experience in a new book.
How Vinod Khosla could reshape California coastal policy Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla wants people off his beach, and he’s willing to spend billions of dollars to make it happen. He’s pushing his case to the Supreme Court. Khosla bought a whole beach village near Half Moon Bay in Northern California. But he hasn’t spent a night there.
Labor Day special: Why home staging makes houses more expensive In this special Labor Day rebroadcast, we look at the business of home staging in Los Angeles; learn the political history of Beverly Hills; ask if Amazon is getting shadier; and talk with actor Judd Apatow about his mentor.
The value of historic preservation v. new housing City leaders are considering making an old gas station in Silver Lake a historic monument. They only nominated it, however, when the property owner made plans to build a new apartment building. It’s one of several examples of historic preservation being used to foil real estate projects around the city.
Why is the government denying passports to Americans? Thousands of people who were born along the US-Mexico border are being targeted as possibly having fraudulent birth certificates. We talk to a lawyer who represents some of them. We also hear from a longtime Maryland resident whose passport application was denied because, he says, he was born in Guam.
When elites lead social change, who wins? As students head to college this time of year, many hope to change the world, and they might look up to elites and philanthropists who’ve donated millions of dollars to their schools. But these philanthropists not only put mere band-aids over a broken system, they’re why the system’s broken in the first place. That’s the argument in the new book, “Winners Take All.”
He was just keeping it real: James Baldwin's niece on his only children's book Acclaimed writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin wrote a picture book called “Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood.” It follows a 4-year-old boy named TJ in Harlem and tackles mature themes such as poverty, violence, crime, and drug addiction. It was published in 1976, but soon went out of print. English professor Nicholas Boggs spent some 15 years working to help it get published again. We speak with him, plus James Baldwin’s niece, who inspired one of the characters in the book.
Jordan Peele: Get Out Comedian Jordan Peele joins Elvis Mitchell to discuss his directorial debut Get Out. (REPEAT)
Why is Trump so behind on filling staff jobs, establishing concrete policies? Yesterday Donald Trump signed a “decision memo” to revamp the air traffic control system. But there was little legislative detail in the plan. There’s not much to other splashy announcements from the White House, including tax cuts and the arms deal with Saudi Arabia. And hundreds of positions are unfilled in federal agencies.
Claudio Magris: Blameless In Claudio Magris' Blameless, a museum of the implements of war and destruction is created to inspire peace. But this conversation is not just about war and peace.
In 'Speechless,' Scott Silveri combines comedy, family & disability Scott Silveri has written and produced sitcoms for more than 20 years. In all that time, he never encountered a TV family that looked anything like the one he grew up in -- with a mom, a dad...and a brother with cerebral palsy. He changed that with his show Speechless on ABC. Silveri tells us about looking to his own past for stories, and why he was determined to make a family comedy and not just a "disability show."