Lifestyle
From political change to spooky traditions, check out these new podcasts
Halloween and election night are right around the corner. Whether you’re casting ballots or spells, add these public media podcast recommendations from the NPR One team to your playlist.
The podcast episode descriptions below are from podcast webpages and have been edited for brevity and clarity.
(SPF 1000) Vampire Sunscreen – KUT
In (SPF 1000) Vampire Sunscreen host Laurie Gallardo simply asks one question of her guests: What is the darkness to you? Or, what is dark to you? The conversations that arise from this range from heartbreaking to inspiring, and get to the heart of the guests’ personal philosophies, internal struggles, and creative journeys. In having these conversations, Laurie hopes to inspire listeners to reflect on their own experiences with darkness, and perhaps connect to others on their own journey.
Start listening to, “Urban Heat: Dark Like Me.”
StoryCorps – NPR
Elections can bring out the worst in people. The very nature of the thing is that we take sides – but when the stakes are high, sometimes we go too far, demonizing those we disagree with. Or maybe it all feels too overwhelming and we retreat so as to avoid engaging altogether.
But is that inevitable? Is there another way? In this season of the StoryCorps Podcast, we’re telling stories about people who decided to venture out of their corners and engage with others, even if it was a struggle. Those who chose to step up and embrace the difficulties of the world— because there was no other way to make it better.
Start listening to, “Stepping Up.”
Scandalized – Boise State Public Radio
In each episode of Scandalized, political scientists Charlie Hunt and Jaci Kettler unpack a political scandal from American history: the story, its scandalous details, the political meaning and motivations behind the act. What can political science teach us about what happened? How has the scandal and its aftermath changed American politics? And what on earth were these politicians thinking?
Start listening to, “The Golden Opportunity.”
What The Vote? – Michigan Radio Presents
Young voters aren’t always politicians’ first priority. But in a presidential race this tight–maybe they should be. On this episode of What the Vote?, reporter Adan Quan looks at what it means for Gen Z to have a seat at the political table. And we’ll explore how young people are using their voices, and their votes, to create political change. What the Vote? is a six-episode series all about what matters to Gen Z this election. New episodes drop on Tuesday and Thursday.
Start listening to, “Gen Z’s political power.”
Snap Judgment Presents: Spooked – KQED & PRX
As an engineer, Forrest is used to being able to solve problems and find solutions. But while working in the remote North Slope of Alaska, he learns that there are things in this world that just can’t be explained.
Friday the 13th of September Spooked kicked off a ritual as old as our treachery: Season of the Wolf. Brand new episodes will drop each and every week until All Hallows’ Eve.
Start listening to, “Northern Frights.”
Fact Check Arizona – AZPM
Close All Tabs – KQED
Welcome to Close All Tabs, a special KQED podcast series exploring the intersection of internet culture and politics. In this first episode, host Morgan Sung takes us through the evolution of online campaigning—from the early days of dial-up modems to today’s Twitch streams. We’ll revisit iconic moments like “the Dean scream” and “Pokemon Go to the polls,” examine how memes became a legitimate political force, and discuss why Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are turning to podcasters and streamers to reach voters.
Listen to, “From the Dean Scream to Brat Memes.”
NPR’s Jessica Green and Jack Mitchell curated and produced this piece.
Lifestyle
L.A. Affairs: He brought paper bags on our date. ‘We may need these if we hyperventilate’
He handed me a brown paper bag — mind you, just a regular lunch-size kraft paper bag that was still flat and folded — and in all seriousness said, “Just in case you need it.”
Turning to look at him — an almost-stranger I was about to embark on a coffee date with — I asked, “Is this in case I get nauseated?”
“That too,” he grinned sheepishly. “But I was thinking something more like this …”
As his voice trailed off, I watched wide-eyed as he pulled out a paper bag, snapped it open, covered his mouth and forced it to open and closed with controlled breathing. “We’re both so nervous,” he explained matter-of-factly. “We may need these if we hyperventilate.”
Like a released champagne cork, laughter exploded and bubbled over, and the chemistry in the car changed from frigid temps to cozy and comfortable. We chatted like old friends as we hopped on the 57 freeway headed to the Orange Circle, where we talked over coffee at the Pie Hole, strolled with our hands stuffed in our pockets and planted the beginning seeds of friendship.
I had recently muddled through a marathon seven-year divorce that left me shattered and devastated, and my family, friends and children knew that I would never date again — and without a doubt, I’d never get married. I had only agreed to go to coffee because I knew of him through our 19-year-old boys. Their inseparable friendship during their junior high years had caused our paths to cross. We shared numerous drop-offs and pickups as I mustered through divorce paperwork and he navigated a grief-stricken home with the death of his wife.
But now, years later, as he walked me to the door, he asked, “Can I see you again?”
On our second date, he took me to “The Sound of Music” at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Tears streamed down my face the whole night because of his cologne and my allergies. When we said goodbye at the door, I cautiously admitted, “I don’t think I can see you again. I’m terribly allergic to you.”
Surprised, he said, “I thought you were moved by the singing!” That night he texted me a photo of a hammer crushing his cologne bottle.
A few days later, we strolled by the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton and heard live music floating through the park. Our curiosity got the best of us, and we rambled onto the grounds to find an intimate wedding reception taking place in the courtyard below. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand, and we were dancing under the moonlight while the trees twinkled with floating bulbs and antique street lamps lit up as if on cue. It was as if we were on the set of “La La Land” — something magical and unforgettable. This was the night he said he fell in love with me.
As partners in crime, we began planning surprise adventures for each other over the course of two years: an enchanted night walk through the botanical gardens of Palos Verdes; a day trip to San Francisco to eat at Red’s Java House and watch the Giants play ball; ice skating at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego and a caroling trolley ride; “The Lion King” at the Pantages in Hollywood; dinner downtown at Perch prior to the closing performance of “Peter Pan Goes Wrong” with Neil Patrick Harris at the Ahmanson Theatre; a day at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades; and an enchanting dinner in a private cabana at the Firefly in Studio City.
So it was no surprise when he texted, “Are you available all day on Sept. 21?”
I wrote back, “It’s my day off. Absolutely!”
He arrived early and whisked me off to the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. We spent hours lingering in the Chinese gardens, eating in the glass tea house and gazing over the koi-filled pond. We strolled through rose gardens, exhibitions and the never-ending gift shop. By the time 3 p.m. came around, we collapsed satisfied and exhausted on a shaded park bench.
“We can call it a day if you like,” I said, yawning. “It’s already been amazing.”
According to my event coordinator, the day was just getting started. Our next stop was Culver City, where he gave me a music box that played “Edelweiss.” It was a clue to our next destination: the Hollywood Bowl for “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music Sing-A-Long.” But first we had to eat at Lustig, an Austrian restaurant where we ordered schnitzel with noodles (otherwise known as spaetzle), sausages and a bowl of divine butternut squash soup recommended by our uber-friendly waiter.
At the Hollywood Bowl, we hissed at the Baroness, booed at the Nazis and shot off confetti poppers when Maria got her first kiss. When Captain von Trapp sang “Edelweiss” to his children, the whole amphitheater joined their voices together, flooding the Hollywood Hills with a surprisingly heartwarming sound of music.
I fell asleep contentedly on the drive home but awoke as we pulled into our favorite spot at the Muckenthaler.
“You want to take a walk?” he asked. Sleepily I followed him to a picnic bench glowing amber in the lantern light.
“I want to give you the same gift I gave you on our very first date ….”
Puzzled, I challenged him: “You didn’t give me a gift on our very first date.”
Slowly he handed me a brown paper bag — mind you, just a regular lunch-size kraft paper bag, still flat and folded. “Remember this?” he smiled nervously. “I’m guessing you’re going to need it right now.”
And he was right, because at that moment he dropped to one knee.
The author is a librarian for the Fullerton Public Library system. On her days off, she explores new places and embarks on all-day adventures with her partner in crime and newly acquired fiancé. In her spare time, she also enjoys reading, baking, writing, spending time with her family and her latest hobby — planning a wedding and honeymoon.
L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for romantic love in all its glorious expressions in the L.A. area, and we want to hear your true story. We pay $400 for a published essay. Email LAAffairs@latimes.com. You can find submission guidelines here. You can find past columns here.
Lifestyle
Lin-Manuel Miranda's new musical is based on a cult movie — and is for your ears only
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton, and playwright Eisa Davis, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, have created a new Broadway musical — which is not actually on Broadway.
Instead, it’s a concept album, meant to be listened to in one sitting. That idea came about because Miranda wanted to write something about The Warriors, the 1979 cult-classic movie about members of a Coney Island street gang who are trying to get back home to Brooklyn after they’re accused of assassinating a leader advocating for peace.
It’s one of his favorite movies. And he couldn’t stop thinking about how he could do his own love letter to it. Then he brought Davis on board — and they started thinking about the 1970s.
“We were inspired by the concept albums from the ’70s that we love,” Miranda said, “where you would sit on your living room floor and read the liner notes to your vinyl. And we wanted to create that feeling.”
The album tells the Warriors’ story by using music that crosses genres, including hip hop, rock, ska and salsa; it’s sung by a cast that includes everyone from artists like Lauryn Hill, Nas, Ghostface Killah and Billy Porter to Broadway stars Phillipa Soo, Jasmine Cephas Jones and Amber Gray.
“We just got this dream team” of musical artists, Miranda said. “So it was very freeing, always full of joy.”
Mixing it up
Miranda and Davis flipped the gender of the Warriors so that, in their version, the gang is all women. This means a central romance is one between women as well.
“The gender flipping allowed us to angle in on the sexism and homophobia in the film and make sure that we left that in ’79,” Davis said. “We’re in 2024 here.”
Miranda and Davis say they have no plans for Warriors to come to Broadway, but that “We’d love to see a stage adaptation of this down the road.”
There likely won’t be a movie version, though, because, as Miranda says, “That already exists.”
Ciera Crawford edited the audio and digital versions of this story. Chloee Weiner mixed the audio.
Lifestyle
Patrick Mahomes Sr. Told Cops Arrest Would 'F*** With' Son, Cost Chiefs Super Bowl
Patrick Mahomes Sr. tried to use his son’s name to get out of his DWI stop earlier this year … with police video — obtained by TMZ Sports — showing the elder Mahomes tell cops multiple times that an arrest would likely cost the Chiefs star and his team Super Bowl LVIII.
It all happened back on Feb. 3 — after authorities in Tyler, Texas pulled over Mahomes Sr. following allegations he was driving a white four-door Genesis that didn’t have updated registration.
Initially, Mahomes Sr. — wearing a hat with his son’s branding on it as well as a “Kansas City Vs. Everybody” sweatshirt — was cooperative and cordial with cops. The police video shows he handed over all of the information and paperwork that officers wanted — and he even passed along an open can of Coors Light that he had in his center console cupholder.
You can see in the footage, he also admitted to drinking “a couple beers” prior to getting behind the wheel — and during ensuing field sobriety testing, he remained polite.
However, once cops slapped the cuffs on him after he seemed to stumble his way through the tests … his demeanor notably shifted.
Mahomes Sr. can be heard on the officer’s body camera asking, “Are y’all serious?” … before he told them, “I’m supposed to be going to the Super Bowl to watch my son play football, and this is what we’re doing?”
Seconds later, after he was placed into a squad car … he made repeated pleas for cops to let him go for the sake of his son and the quarterback’s upcoming Feb. 11 championship game against the 49ers.
“Can I say one thing?” Mahomes Sr. asked. “My son is getting ready to play in the f***ing Super Bowl, OK? Just listen to me. I am not drunk. I promise you. I’ve had some drinks. But he can’t have this right now. Listen, this can’t happen.”
Mahomes Sr. can be heard telling his arresting officer minutes later, “Dude. This is crazy. My son is getting ready to play in the f***ing Super Bowl and I’m doing interviews — five or six a day. And then, now, this s***’s going to be on the news which is going to f*** with him, and it’s probably going to f*** him up.”
“And he probably won’t win the Super Bowl. But that’s fine. If that’s what y’all want to do, that’s good.”
Despite all of Mahomes Sr.’s efforts, law enforcement still took him to a nearby jail … where officials alleged blood tests showed he had a BAC of .23.
The 54-year-old was ultimately released hours after the arrest … and he did attend the Big Game in Las Vegas later that week, where he was able to see his son beat San Francisco in an overtime thriller.
However, Mahomes Sr. was charged with a felony count of DWI third or more — and he eventually received a five-year probation sentence after reaching a deal with prosecutors late in the summer.
Following his sentencing, Mahomes Sr. told reporters the arrest was “an eye-opener” for him — and he “hasn’t had a drink since.”
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