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LA PodcastAuthor: LA Podcast
A news and politics podcast for people who live in Los Angeles. Language: en Genres: News, News Commentary, Politics Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Casey Closed
Episode 291
Monday, 9 February, 2026
Alissa, Mike, and Memo discuss the “No Secret Police Act,” which requires ICE agents to remove face coverings — and why LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell’s refusal to enforce it is such a red flag. Don Lemon’s federal detention highlights the double standards for LA journalists who are arrested during protests. LA Mayor Karen Bass delivers her (first) state of the city. Plus: why elected officials are calling for LA28 chair Casey Wasserman to step down.At a press conference, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell “described two state laws that were passed by the state legislature in response to the ICE raids — one banning face coverings, the other requiring law enforcement officers to identify themselves — as ‘not a good public policy decision,’” LA Taco reportsMike writes about how McDonnell is setting the city back: “In his 15 months as chief, McDonnell has consistently shown contempt for civilian authority, tolerance for police violence, hostility toward the press, and a drive to militarize LAPD under the guise of mega-event security. He is rebuilding the old LAPD that had only recently been partially dismantled.”After deadly shootings, ICE says it will start using body cameras for transparency (where have we heard that before?). Read Copaganda’s Alex Karakatsanis on why body cameras are bad, actuallyAttorneys for Keith Porter, Jr.’s family are calling for an investigation of his murder at the hands of an off-duty ICE agentDon Lemon and Georgia Fort were two of four Black journalists detained after covering a protest in St. Paul. Lemon talked more about his arrest on his YouTube channel. ”We’re having a constitutional crisis,” Fort said on Democracy Now!LA Mayor Karen Bass was publicly defending Lemon but hasn’t defended journalists arrested by LAPD at protests, including LA Taco reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray who was detained by LAPD at a protest in downtown the same weekendAdam Rose, deputy director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, was out sounding the alarm about these arrests and had some very harsh words for BassBass delivered her first of two State of the City addresses: here’s the address as delivered and here’s Alissa’s thread from the eventLA28 chair Casey Wasserman is facing calls to resign due to associations with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell revealed in the latest Department of Justice releaseBass declined to call for Wasserman’s resignation, saying instead: “Ultimately, any decision on the LA28 leadership must be made by the LA28 Board. As you know, they are a separate and independent nonprofit organization."Alissa’s tracking which elected officials, organizations, and clients are calling for Wasserman to step downLindsey Horvath and Monica Rodriguez both went on TV calling for Wasserman to step downAnd yes, after we recorded, Horvath opted not to run for LA mayor, but, in a huge surprise, Councilmember Nithya Raman did. We’ll talk about that more next weekThis episode was produced by Kristen TorresThe reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA ForwardBecome a paid subscriber at thinkforward.la to keep this podcast weekly! A fun gathering exclusively for paid subscribers is coming up Saturday, March 21!
