Loyola Marymount University
Professor of Literature and Writing at Loyola Marymount; journalist, author and performer, his books include the forthcoming Desert America: Boom and Bust in the New Old West
PROFILE
Ruben Martinez
Guest
FROM Ruben Martinez
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
U.S. “Looking Away” From Mexican Crisis? Has the American media been ignoring the crisis sparked in Mexico by the disappearance and probable murder of 43 student-teachers? One writer says yes, and argues that we should be paying closer attention.
Which Way, L.A.?
LA Before It Erupted The Rodney King beating was videotaped by a bystander and broadcast on newscasts worldwide. Two weeks later, a 15-year-old black girl, Latasha Harlins, was shot to death by a Korean-American liquor-store owner, Soon Ja Doo. That incident was also videotaped by a surveillance camera and was repeatedly broadcast. Soon Ja Doo was convicted of second degree murder and granted probation. After the Rodney King beating, Mayor Tom Bradley appointed a commission headed by former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, which recommended reforms of the LAPD. Then came the verdicts and the rioting. It became clear that the LAPD was completely unprepared for the violence and had no plan. Governor Pete Wilson called in the National Guard, which patrolled the streets for 17 days. After the riot, it was Rodney King who asked the most important question, "can't we all just get along?" Since then, two of the LAPD officers — Lawrence Powell and Stacey Koon — were convicted of federal civil rights crimes. King received $3.8 million in a settlement with the City of LA. We've heard about the mood of tension that gripped Los Angeles in the late 80's and early 90's, for a multitude of reasons. Today, we speak with four "survivors" of the riots. (We also hear the voices of poet Wanda Coleman , Congresswoman Karen Bass , LAPD Chief Charlie Beck , former Mayor Richard Riordan , Rodney King and others.) (L-R) Warren Olney, Raphael Sonenshein, Erin Aubry Kaplan, Bonghwan Kim and Rubén Martínez
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The United States is far behind Russia when it comes to military dominance in the Arctic The ice melting in the Arctic has reached a record low this year. That means that there are parts of the Arctic Ocean that are now accessible to navigation for the first time. That also means a lot of untapped resources are surfacing like fossil fuels, diamonds and metals, and the U.S. is far behind Russia and China in the race to exploit those resources.
Orange County Line
OC GOP Wonders What Awaits Them in 2020 Party leaders debate how to win back congressional seats and regain its power in Orange County.
The Business
Kristoffer Polaha on Hallmark movies; Netflix's Lisa Nishimura In 2015, actor Kristoffer Polaha booked what he thought would be a one-off gig in a Hallmark TV movie. Now, he’s got 5 Hallmark films under his belt. He tells us how he and the Hallmark Channel fell in love. Then, KCRW's Matt Holzman sits down with Netflix's Lisa Nishimura. The head of original documentaries and comedy programming for the streamer tells us how she decides what will become a Netflix original.