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Our final podcast episode in this series is describing an important research project at the Center for the Study of Los Angeles (StudyLA) at Loyola Marymount University, conducted by expert Research Associate Francisco Jasso Magana who received his Doctorate from the University of Caifornia at Irvine, California. His subject is Measure G, designed for major government reform and funded by the Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation. At a time when the status of Democracy is being questioned, this Foundation is dedicated to supporting projects that promote ways for government to better serve the public. Francisco describes first of all how Measure G came about to be passed by the electorate in Los Angeles. There were several reasons but a major catalyst was a scandal of a leaked recorded conversation by prominent political City leaders that displayed racist attitudes and gross incompetence. The goals for this Measure G government reform is accountability, transparency and more fair representation - meaning people power. Listen to Francisco and learn how this Measure G will be changing Los Angeles and developing some new governmental structures that have not changed in over a hundred years. This kind of government reform has the potential to become a model to be imitated by others far and wide. To Contact: Email: [email protected]

We are continuing with the podcast series describing several research projects which are the centerpiece of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles (StudyLA) at Loyola Marymount University. The podcast guest, Chhandosi Roy is a Co-Principal Investigator of StudyLA and has a Doctorate in Political Science from the University of Buffalo, New York. In this episode she is telling us all about the “Angeleno Poll”, a survey that has been conducted every year since 2014, and is the largest of its kind in any metropolitan area of urban America. This research project is asking the people of Los Angeles (Angelenos) their opinion on some of the most pressing problems facing the City, and reaches more than 22,000 residents. The survey covers hundreds of hours of conversation on various topics such as the following: sense of belonging in Los Angeles, the Black experience, housing and the unhoused, the upcoming 2028 Olympics and Paralympics. Chhandosi reports that some of the conversations may include general ideas of how Angelenos feel about the future of the region, or how they think things are going for the City. Given that Los Angeles and California often have a worldwide impact, famous for innovation, creativity and optimism, listen to the answers to salient questions. At the same time in this 2026 year of much turmoil and duress, contemplate your own thoughts on these highlighted issues. The results of the Angeleno Poll are published on the StudyLA website and, as the Center’s Director has discussed, reveal important information for Los Angeles leaders and organizations to use in making policy decisions for the future. To Contact: [email protected]

It was a quiet, peaceful time as the year 2025 began in Los Angeles, California, in the first days of January. Then, suddenly, with winds of 100 miles an hour, a fire began that roared across the City with biblical destruction in its path. The fire came to be known as the Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires for the two neighborhoods that were decimated. In truth, like disasters that cause a public trauma, it affected the very spirit of Los Angeles and its impact lingers as a two year marking point is fast approaching. In this episode you will hear from Brianne Gilbert, Managing Director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University and a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Science and International Relations. Now referred to as StudyLA, the Center cultivates knowing how the people of the City are feeling and coping. Brianne is telling us of a particular effort called the Community Action Project (CAP.LA) funded by the R & S Kayne Foundation. It is comprised of unique teams of experts from three Universities; Loyola Marymount, University of Southern California and Harvard. These teams of disaster recovery experts came together to gather information for the households and businesses from the affected neighborhoods to be empowered with data as they struggled to make critical decisions for their recovery. Here is an example of the academic world leaving the ivory tower with information to help solve community programs. It is the Action in CAP.LA which is most important and reflects the vision of the Center founded by Fernando Guerra, to create a bridge between the University and the community. That morning of early January 2025, thousands were evacuated from walls of fire that were whipped as high as the sky with air that had a stench with gray smoke everywhere. There were many who had everything swept away in the burning. Brianne will describe how information was power from the likes of the Community Action Project and gave hope to the immediate fire victims and to the City of Los Angeles as a whole. To Contact: Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Professor Fernando Guerra has been a leader in linking the rigorous work of academic research to the community at large, empowering the voice of the people. This podcast episode is the beginning of a series highlighting the work at the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University with three subsequent conversations with expert Research Associates and their respective projects. Fernando began the Center in 1996 which is now referred to as StudyLA. It has grown in importance to the City based on the founding principle of what he calls the three Rs: Rapid Research Response. It is the theme of StudyLA which uses scholarship from data accumulated from surveys that can respond to immediate happenings with vital information. As a guest on this podcast program several times, he continues to be the best communicator on how to organize research surveys that can guide organizations and civic leaders when developing policies and programs. At a time when it is common for citizens to feel helpless in the face of so many societal difficulties, StudyLA with Fernando’s stewardship makes people of L.A. feel heard by being asked their opinion. For more information about StudyLA Email: [email protected]

As the Chair of Jewish History at the UCLA Department of History, and for the 2026 - 27 academic year, on sabbatical at the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Professor David Myers walks through paths of hope and hate in his work. In this episode we begin the conversation by dissecting the phenomenon of antisemitism now and from ancient times. We end by David describing his UCLA Institute of Kindness and Compassion, pushing “the better angels” in humanity. In between, he does not mince words about the current dangers in American society with the rise of Islamophobia, anti-immigrant, anti-Asian, racism as well as antisemitism, as a foaming caldron spilling into all parts of USA life. Nevertheless, David Myers, steeped in the study of many dark times, commits to being an optimist, cheering us all on to keep hope for better times.

The City of Los Angeles began to build a magnificent architectural beauty for its Central Library in the downtown area. As part of the ceremony to mark the building’s site in 1925, a time capsule was created and buried. When the Central Library opened its doors in July of 1926, the Time Capsule was securely covered buried in a cornerstone made of Indiana Limestone. Did the Leaders of the City and the Library imagine then that this Time Capsule would not be seen nor opened for 100 years, until May of 2026? Todd Lerew, Director of Special Projects for the Los Angeles Library Foundation, tells us about that moment, the effort it took to retrieve it, and what was found once opened. For Todd, he considers that to be his greatest experience in his eleven year career at the Library. This historic event came about for the celebration of the Centennial of the iconic building’s architectural achievement and the importance of Libraries to the citizens of Los Angeles. The Time Capsule will be part of the July 11 Centennial Festival to be held at the Central Library, 630 West 5th Street, Los Angeles, 90071, phone (213) 228-7000. Come join the free fun on July 11th and throughout the year for CENTRAL 100, 1926 to 2026, with the theme, “Celebrating a Century of the Light of Learning”. To view the entire program go to LAPL.org/Central 100.

The approach and the entrance to the Los Angeles Central Library in the City’s downtown, is both dramatic and inviting. The experience can conjure the feeling of entering a Cathedral. One is walking through arches, rotundas, gothic high ceilings past large posters, rare paintings and sculpture, and ahead the awesome sight of escalators facing huge figurines hanging overhead. It is from the escalators that you will have a dizzying choice of reading rooms to visit like the International Room with books in over 100 different languages, the History Room, The Literacy Room for tutoring, and so many more to explore. Christina Rice, Senior Librarian of the Photo Collection and Madeline Pena, Director of Engagement and Learning Division, are the dynamic and creative team who for over the last two years have been preparing for a grand celebration of this very 100 year old building and its history. They named this Centennial, CENTRAL 100, 1926 to 2026. The theme is, “Celebrating a Century of the Light of Learning”. It is a celebration of the architecture, of the survival of the Central Library and its role as a “crown jewel” of a Library system of 73 branches beloved in a City that has gown with it in the last 100 years. The highlight of the year long activities is the July 11th Festival to be held all day, from 10:00 a. m. to 4:00 p. m. Listen to Christina and Madeline and hear their stories of an iconic building welcoming people from the diversity of Los Angeles and from around the world. To View the full program of the July 11th Free Festival go to the website, LAPL.org/Central 100 Central Los Angeles Library 630 West 5th Street Los Angeles, 90071, phone (213) 228-7000

From radio days as an Actress, to the political halls of California State and County governments, Sheila Kuehl has always excelled. In her youth and young adulthood she was in key roles on very popular T. V. programs for years. At Harvard Law School she was a leader in various campus organizations, and once a Lawyer, began to use her power and influence to make a difference for good. Los Angeles became the center of her activism and the issue that propelled her into public life was the way battered women had no protection, no laws that supported their needs. Listen to Sheila Kuehl and hear why she is a celebrity - from her acting days and in the world of public service. She has made a path in her long life on the forefront of creating pioneering legislation when at the California Assembly and the Senate. At the time she was the first openly Lesbian to be elected to both politics institutions and served their for 14 years. Her stand out legislative accomplishments to name a few were in family law for parental leave, establishing training for Judges to understand their personal bias, and water use in the State essential for its huge population and agricultural needs, and for gender and LGQBT in the work place. We are fortunate to have Sheila Kuehl among us who is a leader who leads with character and values and has always made peoples’ lives better in her distinguished and inspiring career as a public servant.

The need for calm, for compassion, to feel centered, all attributes that can be result of meditating according to return guest to the podcast, Dr. Marvin J. Southard. He carries an expertise about meditation not only professionally as a leader in the field of mental health, but personally as a long time practitioner. Listen to his ideas of what meditation is, how it can benefit your daily life and instructions on how to begin. Living in a world of constant crisis, as we are, with a sense of turmoil and an increase of violence and anger toward others, it seems a perfect time to introduce a tool that can calm the spirit and open a path to a more peaceful inner life. It may be a tool that each of us in our own way can use to make the world around us a better place.

Podcast Guest Professor Paul Bergman easily expresses a kind of joy and delight he has enjoyed in his over 40 years as a Professor at the UCLA School of Law. As retired and now with the status of Emeritus, he continues to allow his students at the Law School to contemplate their upcoming profession in a special light. Listen and you will hear from a pioneering educator who chartered new directions in how to teach law with great creativity. He added also a most crucial element; a determination to have his students see the practice of law as helping people at a most difficult time in their life. Bergman insists that his students understand their role as advocates for their clients so that they may have a better life. In general his contribution to the UCLA School of Law, which was transformative, was the idea of developing clinical education where real cases are used as teaching tools, dissected and analyzed, with role playing. An evolution from this idea came his next innovation based on his enthusiasm for films to present famous courtroom scenes in movies in his classes. Bergman discovered that using these movie scenes had a certain power in preparing future Lawyers for courtroom experiences. Today, Professor Paul Bergman is as active as ever, continuing to teach a class at the Law School, writing books and bringing his creative approach to classes he teaches in the community. He is the Author of 15 books including THE COURTROOM GOES TO THE MOVIES.

Los Angeles, the City of promise, a history where people came to start life anew, native born Americans and people from around the world. Once again, Dr. Fernando Guerra is a guest on the podcast program for the third time. This year 2025 is closing, a year like no other in Los Angeles. Dr Guerra, Founder and Director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles (StudyLA) at Loyola Marymount University, a distinguished local University, has been on the frontlines engaging residents and community leaders regarding the impact of this turbulent year. It began with unprecedented wildfires, walls of fire never seen before decimating two historic neighborhoods. Then as June arrived, the United States Federal government descended upon the City disrupting the life of the City with raids conducted by Immigration Agents in tandem with the military National Guard. They came to a City still in grief and stunned by the fires’s destruction and began spreading fear and terror among immigrant households with a focus on Latino neighborhoods. StudyLA faced these calamities with their traditional method of surveying to find information that could make a difference in the operation of a City facing multiple and unexpected challenges. Listen to Fernando Guerra and learn what the people of Los Angeles are thinking and what kind of remedies Dr. Guerra is suggesting to solve these festering problems. He began the Center inspired by his teaching of young college students. Now he is even more determined to foster civic leaders of the future ready to be agents of change for a better and more equitable City and world. TO CONTACT - Dr. Fernando Guerra, email, [email protected]

It is the Summer of 2025, a time like no other in Los Angeles, California. There is drama on the streets, especially in Latino neighborhoods, where masked men jump out of unmarked cars and grab people who look like they might not have citizenship papers. It is at this time that the Latino Theatre Company has decided to mount their famous play, AUGUST 29, originally premiered in 1990, about a crisis and a killing in 1970 in East Los Angeles, a mostly Mexican American - Chicano area. Listen to Evelina Fernandez, founding member of the Latino Theatre Company now celebrating their 40th year, who knows the history of abuse toward Latinos in Los Angeles and cities across the USA, and can give first person tales of the back story of the play, AUGUST 29. The theatrical work created long ago inspires us to contemplate where we are as a society in 2025.. AUGUST 29’s last performances at the Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) in downtown, Los Angeles are August 22, 23, and 24. Performances will be held in other venues throughout September. It is being produced in partnership with the students of the Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy. CONTACT: LATC Ticket Office for performance information, (213) 489-0994 FREE ADMISSION The Los Angeles Theatre Center - Theater 1 Friday, August 22 - 8:00PM Saturday, August 23 - 8:00PM Sunday, August 24 - 4:00PM https://www.latinotheaterco.org/august29 Box Office: (213) 489-0994, [email protected] 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013 Plan Your Visit: DIRECTIONS & PARKING East Los Angeles College August 29, 2025 at 8:00 PM (Sold Out) S2 Recital Hall https://www.latinotheaterco.org/august29 Box Office: (213) 489-0994, [email protected] 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez Monterey Park, CA 91754 Mt. San Antonio College September 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM September 19, 2025 at 7:00 PM Sophia B. Clarke Theater https://www.latinotheaterco.org/august29 Box Office: (213) 489-0994, [email protected] 1100 N. Grand Ave., Walnut, CA 91789

A visit to the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese gives the opportunity to enter a world envisioned by the L. A. Archbishop Jose Gomez, and Pope Francis just days after his passing. And how can we describe that vision? One way is to picture the great power of a Church with a following of five million across the expanse of Parishes in Southern California, dedicating this power to making a better life for all, Catholic and non-Catholic. The vision manifests itself clearly in the subject of this episode - the Archdiocese Office of Life, Justice and Peace. Michael Donaldson, Office Director, and Jeanette Gomez Senerviatne, Director of the Whole Person, are carrying forward all that Pope Francis and Archbishop Gomez would hope for. They are addressing the most pressing issues in every community they serve, giving voice to the voiceless, collaborating with and creating partnerships to bring supportive resources to individuals and families. Listen to how their programming acts as a showcase for good emanating from a global city like Los Angeles. At this time, as the three of us sat together in conversation, grateful for Pope Francis, we are dedicating the episode to him, and remembering the way he brought us to focus on the suffering while celebrating the joy of life. The Office of Life, Justice and Peace will continue developing projects and activities in that spirit. “Hope never disappoints”, is what he said in his last Easter message to the world. TO CONTACT: [email protected] - for Michael Donaldson [email protected] - for Jeanette Seneviratne

As the podcast theme of community emergency outreach programs at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) comes to an end for the month of December, 2024, it is clear that creative innovation is making a difference. In this episode, Francisco Tan, Psychologist and head of the LACDMH Psychiatric Mobile Response Team (PMRT) takes us into the field with his description of what his program does and how his Teams function. We learn about his eight Teams that include various skilled professionals who may include a Social Worker, a Nurse and a Community Health Worker, perhaps a Peer, someone with lived experience who has dealt with emotional distress. The Teams of PMRT are available 24/7 and can be reached by calling the LACDMH Access telephone number, (800) 854-7771. Members of a Team are ready to respond wherever the person is located to provide a multipurpose service - to evaluate, to collaborate with other agencies and resources, and to provide consultations and linkages for continued services when necessary. The overriding goal for the PMRT, as well as for all the programs in the Emergency Outreach and Triage Division of LACDMH, is to promote the opportunity for people to remain in their community with necessary supports. It is the most satisfying outcome for those in a mental health crisis. As this 2024 year draws to an end, we hear the bells ringing - “Goodwill Toward Humankind and Peace on Earth”. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Line is #988

Miriam Brown leads the way at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) with the broadest view of the ways the department can and will respond to a long menu of emergencies in a City like Los Angeles, California. Her expertise, and even more, her dedication, has brought her to the position at LACDMH of Deputy Director of the Emergency Outreach and Triage Division. Her many years of work in this field has made LACDMH an innovator and a model leading the way for mental health departments throughout the USA and beyond. Miriam admits you have to have a certain kind of personality to face the demands and difficulties of mental health community outreach work with emergencies that are presented to her staff every day on a 24/7 basis. These emergencies often require close cooperation and training with Police, Fire, Public Health, and Probation departments, community organizations and not least of all, School Districts. She has spent decades forging links to all these important partners in responding effectively to those in need. The width and breath of what she overseas with her staff is enormous. Here are a few examples; threat assessments reported by a school official, a criminal act committed due to a mental illness, a family argument out of control, a person displaying high risk behavior. Miriam wants us to understand that this outreach is a reflection of the aggressive way LACDMH is reaching into all corners of the Los Angeles community hoping to help people avoid incarceration, hospitalization, encouraging ways people with mental illness may be able to function in the community with necessary supports. She brings the necessary wisdom and devotion to these varied tasks and with her steady leadership makes a healthier and better Los Angeles. The LACDMH 24/7 access number for help is 1-800-854-7771 The National Suicide Crisis Line is #988