Podcasts about Los Angeles, California

In an April episode of Rebuilding L.A., a firefighter recalls hiking to the end of the hose lines on January 2, the day crews were told to pack up the Lachman fire. He found no one else there: "that's where I noticed hot coals underneath the ashes." He says he reported it, and new orders never came. Los Angeles Times investigative reporter Aileen Chekmidian discusses that memory in relation to the Palisades Fire. The episode also asks about a fire department after-action report that, the episode says, never examined the days leading up to it.

Who knew, and who has to answer for it, is the thread running through the Los Angeles shows worth hearing now. The city's own arguments are still open. On September 29, 2026, AP reported that homelessness had risen over the previous year. Mayor Karen Bass blamed federal cuts and policies, while challenger Nithya Raman argued for faster housing construction. On September 18, 2026, the state insurance department said State Farm and Allstate had submitted plans to resume writing residential policies, but that neither was yet open for new business.

Sport, though, is here in volume. As reported on September 28, 2026, the Dodgers reached 100 wins while the Rams and Chargers both lost. The feeds carry that split mood: Chargers titles refer to an 0-4 start, Rams titles refer to a comeback in Philadelphia, and Lakers shows discuss LeBron James's move to the 76ers.

What Los Angeles is

Los Angeles is a city in Southern California, beside the Pacific Ocean, covering roughly 469 square miles. It had an estimated 3,878,704 residents in July 2024. Its economy and international identity take in film and television production and a major container port.

Who decides

Imperfect Paradise, from LAist Studios, is the clearest route into civic stakes. In the Wasserman episode, host Nereida Moreno takes one question and follows the money.

• The Wasserman episode. In February, the show looked at Casey Wasserman, who stayed at the head of LA28 after emails between him and Ghislaine Maxwell surfaced in the Epstein files. Reporter Libby Rainey counts five of 15 council members calling for him to step down. The episode then explains why the mayor cannot remove him: "That was the deal LA made to host the Olympics."
• The ticket-price episode. In April, the show hears from fans who walked away rather than spend $500 on preliminary badminton. It then finds city officials unhappy that LA28 defines "local" spending as anywhere in five counties.
• The voter-data episode. A January episode covers the federal push for California's voter data, a fight the show says is not over. It leads naturally to the California page.

790 KABC carries talk with a different job. In Nithya Raman opposes cleaning homeless encampments in Traci Park's District, the host calls Raman "the communist member of the L.A. City Council." He treats her vote against an encampment ban in Park's district as proof of her politics. That is commentary, plainly delivered. The same episode also includes a report from a cleanup where one man sounds hopeful about tiny homes.

The KABC feed also carries the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association's show. There, the group's president, John Kupal, vows to close what he calls the "Upland loophole" in Prop 13 law. Heard beside Imperfect Paradise, the difference between explaining a decision and campaigning on one is easy to hear.

From Where We Are is made by student journalists at USC's Annenberg school. Its From the averted LAUSD strike to National Donate a Book Day marks the Central Library's centennial. It recalls the 1986 fire that destroyed some 400,000 books and kept the building closed until 1993.

After the fires

Rebuilding L.A., hosted by Kate Cagle, treats recovery as a systems story.

In It’s Been Over a Year. Now Where Do We Go?, Times reporter Noah Haggerty and Grace Dewey cite a Redfin report. It found that about 40 percent of sales in the Palisades and Altadena went to private developers. They also describe the Palisades Bowl mobile home park being offered for sale as a development opportunity. The episode points out that Altadena had many ways out; the problem, it says, was that people weren't told to evacuate in time.

A December 2025 interview has Edison International's Pedro Pizarro explaining a fast-pay compensation track. In that interview, the show notes that the official investigation into the Eaton fire's cause was unfinished. Expect accounts of loss in the series.

Home, and the lack of it

Stories From Skid Row is testimony with an openly stated fundraising purpose. Its latest episodes date from 2024. In Becky Yarrow shares her URM story, Yarrow recalls methamphetamine taking over her life and her son telling her "Mom, I can't help you no more." She then spent a year in the mission's Damascus program, and she credits her recovery to God and to the women who supported her, including a chaplain named Lisa. Take the hosts' appeals as advocacy for the mission.

The Thing About Helen & Olga, a Dateline series, sees the same streets from a darker angle. It follows two women who befriended men without homes and held large insurance policies on them. One of those men was Kenneth McDavid, approached one Sunday afternoon at Hollywood Presbyterian. The series involves hit-and-run deaths. It also gives a man named Jimmy room to describe himself: "I'm a person without permanent housing."

Across the freeways

Bike Talk, a cycling advocacy show based in Los Angeles, explains the city from the saddle. In 26/09 New Jersey Versus Ebikes, a host describes routing around big freeway ramps: "sometimes you have to go way out of your way, because you can't cross the freeway." The show is openly pro-bike, and it says so.

The teams

The Lakers feeds split by temperament.

• Lakers Nation Podcast: Trevor Lane works from the box score. Lakers BEAT Rockets In Game 1! walks through Luke Kennard's 27 points in a 107 to 98 win.
• The Lakers Legacy Podcast: Jonathan Hernandez reasons in the LeBron episode. After LeBron's signing, he says he believes the Lakers' reported fondness for Bronny James.
• Lakers Lounge: with Anthony Irwin, this show argues that same week that players rarely drop from the max to the minimum for their own team.
• The D’Marco & Travis Afternoon Show: this one asks the local question, whether Luka Doncic already feels like a Laker, while one host says LeBron does not resonate with the fan base.

Dodger Talk lives in the hours around the games. In Off Day Dodger Talk (7-23-26), guest Greg Amsinger of MLB Network argues against the Dodgers trading for Tarik Skubal, on grounds of parity. Dodgers on Deck (7-2-26) catches Dave Roberts at 1,000 wins.

Bleav in Chargers pairs Lorenzo Neal with Matt "Money" Smith. April's Why not go get Dexter Lawrence? gave way by October to Chargers 0-4 | How to save this season?. Guilty As Charged: An LA Chargers Podcast has gone further, with How Joe Hortiz Failed The Chargers. DOWNTOWN RAMS PODCAST, with Alexis Kraft and Jake Ellenbogen, has run a mock draft against a timer.

On KINGS OF THE PODCAST, John Hoven and Dennis Bernstein host former King Jason Allison. One of them tells him hockey has rarely been the sport here: "This has been a Dodger town. It's been a Laker town." On ClipCast. The Best Clippers Podcast., Chris Wylde and Henry Dittman toast a 15th straight winning season, finished exactly one game over .500.

History, told sideways

L.A. Meekly: A Los Angeles History Podcast, from Greg Gonzalez and Daniel Zafran, buries its research under jokes and still delivers it. The Revolution Will not be Podcasted (Activists) runs 117 minutes. It covers Ricardo Flores Magón, whose mixed legacy the hosts lay out. It then moves to the Brown Berets and Upton's run for governor, when 350,000 people registered as Democrats in California in seven months.

Where to start

• For the civic-minded: Imperfect Paradise, 'Astronomical' LA28 Olympics ticket prices have shocked fans. But could a more expensive games benefit taxpayers? Listen for where the financial risk of the Games actually sits.
• For anyone following the recovery: Rebuilding L.A., Where There's Smoke: Uncovering the Origin Of The Palisades Fire. It is the clearest account of the warning that went unheeded.
• For true-crime listeners: The Thing About Helen & Olga, 1 – Nothing to Lose. Everything to Gain, the series' first episode.
• For a fan mapping the city's loyalties: KINGS OF THE PODCAST, KOTP Ep. 260 with guest Jason Allison.
• For history with laughs: L.A. Meekly: A Los Angeles History Podcast, The Revolution Will not be Podcasted (Activists).

The Los Angeles feed on this page plays clips from these shows.