Erika D. Smith

columnist for the LA Times

Guest/Host

Erika D. Smith is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times writing about the diversity of people and places across California. She joined The Times in 2018 as an assistant editor and helped expand coverage of the state’s housing and homelessness crisis. She previously worked at the Sacramento Bee, where she was a columnist and editorial board member covering housing, homelessness and social justice issues. Before the Bee, Smith wrote for the Indianapolis Star and Akron Beacon Journal. She is a recipient of the Sigma Delta Chi award for column writing, a graduate of Ohio University and a native of the long-suffering sports town of Cleveland.

Erika D. Smith on KCRW

Can Watts — the community famous for its political organizing and trucemaking — come together in the face of renewed violence?

Watts community strives for peace after fatal shootings

Can Watts — the community famous for its political organizing and trucemaking — come together in the face of renewed violence?

from Greater LA

Food waste is part of any restaurant business. An increasingly popular app helps connect the leftovers — for a cheap price — with Angelenos who aren’t too picky.

Angelenos are buying restaurant leftovers to fight climate change

Food waste is part of any restaurant business. An increasingly popular app helps connect the leftovers — for a cheap price — with Angelenos who aren’t too picky.

from Greater LA

Workers throughout Hollywood are weighing the pros and cons of AI, which could disrupt careers of everyone from makeup artists to lighting techs to animators.

With AI, Hollywood work will require new skills

Workers throughout Hollywood are weighing the pros and cons of AI, which could disrupt careers of everyone from makeup artists to lighting techs to animators.

from Greater LA

More from KCRW

Pride Riders LA is a group of queer motorcyclists who want to bring Dykes on Bikes to LA.

from KCRW Features

A project called Los Angeles Speaks is looking at how language evolves and affects communities, including neighborhoods impacted by recent wildfires.

from KCRW Features

Irish rock band U2 held an impromptu performance on a rooftop in Downtown Los Angeles 38 years ago.

from KCRW Features

Rebecca Lemov, a professor of the history of science at Harvard University, explores the origins of brainwashing and delves into the concept of how our minds can be influenced through…

from Life Examined

Point Fermin Lighthouse in San Pedro celebrates its 150th birthday this year. Its storied history includes two sets of female lighthouse keepers.

from KCRW Features

The LA central library’s Octavia Lab provides free access to recording studios, 3D printers, video editing software. All you need is a library card.

from KCRW Features

This spring, the first residents will move into Cotino, a Disney-themed planned community. The entertainment giant is eyeing more real estate investment.

from KCRW Features

AI is increasingly being used to collect and process clinical information. Whether this is a good thing depends on who you ask.

from Second Opinion

A house that modernist architect Richard Neutra built in the Hollywood Hills for a German art dealer 90 years ago will soon fulfill the original owner’s vision.

from KCRW Features