A diptych showing a "Hapa Project" participant's answers to the question, "What are you?" On the left, the participant is shown in 2001, and then again in 2025 on the right.
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Kip Fulbeck
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Topline:
To honor the 25th anniversary of "The Hapa Project," artist and photographer Kip Fulbeck brought the series back by revisiting around 150 original participants to see how their thoughts about being mixed race have changed over time.
About the project: Fulbeck started the project in 2001 — with the original installation featuring photos from about 1,200 people. The creative concept for the project consists of him photographing people who identify as hapa in the same way — from the collarbone up and without any external identifiers like clothing, jewelry or glasses. After taking their photo, he then has them "handwrite a response to the question, 'What are you?," which he stresses he never censors what his participants write in their responses.
More details: Meaning "half" in Hawaiian, the word "hapa" first entered the Hawaiian language in the early 1800s. Originally used to describe individuals of mixed Hawaiian and European ancestry, hapa has since grown to encompass those of mixed Asian descent, often someone who is half Asian or Pacific Islander and half white. While not inherently derogatory, there is some debate around the appropriate use of the word outside of its original Hawaiian context. That debate has captivated Fulbeck for decades.
Read on... for more details of the 25th anniversary of "The Hapa Project."
Meaning "half" in Hawaiian, the word "hapa" first entered the Hawaiian language in the early 1800s. Originally used to describe individuals of mixed Hawaiian and European ancestry, hapa has since grown to encompass those of mixed Asian descent, often someone who is half Asian or Pacific Islander and half white.
While not inherently derogatory, there is some debate around the appropriate use of the word outside of its original Hawaiian context.
That debate has captivated artist and photographer Kip Fulbeck for decades. As a hapa person himself — his mother is from China and his father is of English, Irish and Welsh descent — growing up half Chinese and half white was not easy for Fulbeck.
Raised in Covina, California, a city in the San Gabriel Valley region in Los Angeles County, Fulbeck told Morning Edition that he was considered "the white kid" at home and among his family, but known as "the Asian kid" at school. Checking boxes for his ethnicity as a child was a regular point of contention.
"I would check white sometimes. But then I was obviously not passing for white, and so I would check one, check the other. Sometimes there would [be] this other box that said 'Other, please explain,' and I would just write 'no.'" he said. "And it wasn't until, I think, 2000 where the U.S. Census actually allowed to check more than one box. So for 35 years of my life, I wasn't able to even legally do that."
It was this examination of his own identity that served as inspiration for creating "The Hapa Project."
"The Hapa Project" is a series of portraits of people who identify as multiracial. Each photo is accompanied by the subject's handwritten answer to a question about their identity. Fulbeck started the project in 2001 — with the original installation featuring photos from about 1,200 people. The creative concept for the project consists of him photographing people who identify as hapa in the same way — from the collarbone up and without any external identifiers like clothing, jewelry or glasses. After taking their photo, he then has them "handwrite a response to the question, 'What are you?," which he stresses he never censors what his participants write in their responses.
To honor the 25th anniversary of "The Hapa Project," Fulbeck brought the series back by revisiting around 150 original participants to see how their thoughts about being mixed race have changed over time.
In some participants' "before" and "after" portraits, changes in self-perception can be perceived alongside changes in physical demeanor.
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Kip Fulbeck
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Alongside physical changes in the before and after photos, "you also see these changes in attitude as we sort of mature and grow and change as adults," Fulbeck said.
In one portrait, the person wrote for their original photo, "What am I? Shouldn't you be asking my name first?" In their revisited photo, they wrote, "Hey! I'm Christine. Nice to meet you, too."
When "The Hapa Project" first launched, it initially sparked a varied response. Some — particularly those who identified as multiracial — found the project to be a valuable affirmation of their identities and a challenge to racial stereotypes. Others, however, questioned the appropriation of the term "hapa" by those without a direct lineage to the Hawaiian context from which it originated.
For Fulbeck, the sheer exploration of the hapa identity is the entire point.
"I've had people say, 'hapa means this.' Or, 'no, hapa means this,'" he said. "To me, it's not our place to tell someone else who they are. You're the only person who gets to define who you are. You get to say that."
The reclamation and reinterpretations of the word hapa are present in a majority of "The Hapa Project" portraits, and Fulbeck thinks it represents an evolution of how people have come to feel about themselves and the way the world sees them.
"Identity is internal, but it's also this external way we relate to others. And I think as we become more comfortable in our own skin and our place in the world and where we fit in, that depends on where you're living, too," he said.
Nearly 10% of people in the United States are of mixed race, according to the latest census. That is a 275% increase from just a decade before, and is only expected to grow. The states with the largest multiracial populations in the country include California, Texas and New York.
As the number of people in the U.S. who intermarry gets larger and larger, Fulbeck's advice for parents raising hapa kids is a "million-dollar question."
"As a parent myself, I ask myself this all the time. People have asked, 'Do you talk to your kids about being hapa?' And I was like, 'I don't … because they're dealing with dad doing this all over the world. They don't want to hear about this.' My kids — they want to play Fortnite. They just want to be kids," he said. "So I always just tell parents, you just got to love your kids. Be open to them. When they want to explore it, then be willing to do it. But you can't sit there and force it."
While Fulbeck's advice for raising hapa kids isn't so definite, his opinion on the importance of defining yourself and determining your own identity is certain. "If you don't say who you are and define it correctly, other people are going to do it for you, and they're going to do it wrong," he said.
"The Hapa Project" relaunched on May 23 at the Museum of Us in San Diego and will make additional stops at the Museum of Chinese in America and Waseda University later this year.
The broadcast version of this story was edited by Ashley Westerman. The digital version was edited by Treye Green. Copyright 2025 NPR
Cato Hernández
has scoured through tons of archives to understand how our region became the way it is today.
Published January 30, 2026 11:00 AM
Some of the contents of the hundred year old capsule
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Cato Hernandez
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LAist
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Topline:
History fans, rejoice: the L.A. Central Library’s time capsule has been unearthed and opened after 100 years. It’s the first time the public has gotten a chance to see what’s inside.
The backstory: The time capsule was placed in the Central Library’s cornerstone during its construction. Staff also put a second time capsule inside that belonged to a teaching school there decades prior.
Why now: The reveal happened in the Central Library on Thursday. Both of these time capsules were opened to kick off the building’s 100th birthday.
What’s inside: Inside a sealed copper box were dozens of relics from L.A. in the 1880s and 1920s. It captured a snapshot of the city’s culture, government and education system during two eras of great transition.
Read on…. to see the time capsule’s contents.
The Central Library building in downtown Los Angeles turns 100 this year. And on Thursday, library staff kicked off a year-long celebration by opening a very old box buried during its construction: a time capsule.
The opening was historic because the contents haven’t been shown publicly until now. Here’s how we got here, plus some items that caught our eye.
The Central Library cornerstone is laid on 5th Street, along with the time capsule, with City Librarian Everett Perry, and Board of Library Commissioners Frank H. Pettingell, Katherine G. Smith, and Frances M. Harmon-Zahn.
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LAPL Institutional Collection
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About the time capsule
In May 1925, more than 100 library staff members came together with the Board of Library Commissioners for an informal ceremony to dedicate the Central Library’s cornerstone, which is a giant limestone block on the outside.
Inside a specially carved pocket in the stone, they placed a copper box filled with relics about the library and broader L.A. The 1881 time capsule from the California State Normal School, which previously occupied the land, was also put inside. (Fun fact: that school later became UCLA.)
Library officials weren’t even sure the box was still there — much less how to get it out. A team drilled a small hole into the grout to find it. From there, Todd Lerew, special projects director at the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, said it took about a year to figure out how to remove it.
“ When we were doing our tests with a little borescope camera to locate the capsule itself, we also found that the wall behind the cornerstone was not structural,” Lerew said.
That meant it could be broken down safely. To get the box, they took out a couple of historic wall panels, capped off the plumbing and got to work busting down a wall in the men’s bathroom. It took about a week to get it out.
The box was made of copper, but had been custom-made and soldered shut on all sides. They had to cut into it with shears, Lerew said.
The copper box, which had been soldered shut, had to be cut into with shears
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Cato Hernandez
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LAist
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Exploring the contents
No one knew what to expect inside the box. When it was opened, to much anticipation, it turned out to be a unique snapshot of L.A. in the 1880s and 1920s. Inside were dozens of documents, photos and keepsake items that spanned everything from government records to community memories.
There were annual reports from city departments, rulebooks, portraits of library leaders and even employee lists that included janitors. It had multiple editions of the city charter — essentially L.A.’s constitution — and a population count from 1881 on a small card that showed just 11,000 Angelenos.
Some of the contents of the capsule
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Cato Hernandez
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LAist
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A scrapbook was also inside to document where the central library was before the main building (learn more about that here). It had newspapers from both time periods — including ones in Spanish, German and French. For some reason, the Normal School’s capsule included a copy of the Oshkosh Northwestern.
“ We’re still putting together why a newspaper from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, made its way into the 1881 time capsule, but I had a very puzzled look on my face when I pulled that out,” Szabo told the crowd.
Another oddity? The Normal School also had a memento from President James Garfield’s funeral, which happened in Cleveland, Ohio. He had been assassinated just months before the time capsule’s burial.
Lerew said the newfound contents are helping restore library records, largely because a devastating arson fire in 1986 destroyed a fifth of its collection at the time.
“ We’re constantly trying to fill gaps in our collections,” he said. “When we’re able to do that for our own institutional history, that’s such a special thing and doesn’t come along every day.”
The capsule’s next steps
The Central Library has centennial programming all year long — and the time capsule will be part of that.
A selection of the contents will be on display soon outside the literature and fiction department on the third floor. The rest will be stored in the special collections department, which you can make an appointment to see here.
And if you’ve ever wanted a chance to see a time capsule get made, the Central Library plans to create a new one sometime this year.
The Department of Justice released more than 3 million pages, including more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, in its files tied to the death and criminal investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Why it matters: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says Friday's release means the DOJ is now in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed last November and which legally required the DOJ to release all the files.
Epstein files political saga: The release of the Epstein files is the latest development in a political saga that has dogged Trump's second term in office and caused bipartisan backlash against Trump's conflicting and shifting commentary on the subject.
Read on... for more about the release of the Epstein files.
The Department of Justice released more than 3 million pages, including more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, in its files tied to the death and criminal investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says Friday's release means the DOJ is now in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed last November and which legally required the DOJ to release all the files.
Members of Congress who passed the law had earlier complained that the DOJ had failed to meet its deadline of mid-December to release all the files.
Blanche at a press conference on Friday morning said more than 500 lawyers and others worked through weekends and holidays to comply with the law, while making sure to protect victims' information. He said they had to review more than 6 million pages — "two Eiffel Towers of pages" — to decide what to release. They're continuing to withhold documents that depict violence or involve attorney-client privilege, he said. The department also said it discarded any duplicates or unrelated materials.
"I take umbrage at the suggestion, which is totally false, that the attorney general or this department does not take child exploitation or sex trafficking seriously, or that we somehow do not want to protect victims," Blanche said.
He also said the DOJ wasn't seeking to protect President Donald Trump while releasing the files, though some of the files contained sensational and false claims about the president and others.
"Through the process, the Department provided clear instructions to reviewers that the redactions were to be limited to the protection of victims and their families," the DOJ said in a statement. "Some pornographic images, whether commercial or not, were redacted, given the Department treated all women in those images as victims. Notable individuals and politicians were not redacted in the release of any files."
Epstein files political saga
The release of the Epstein files is the latest development in a political saga that has dogged Trump's second term in office and caused bipartisan backlash against Trump's conflicting and shifting commentary on the subject.
Trump amplified conspiracy theories about the files relating to his onetime friend Epstein on the campaign trail, vowing to publicize information about the financier's crimes and ties to powerful people that he alleged was being covered up by the government. But once he returned to the White House, Trump fought efforts by lawmakers and his supporters to release those files.
"There's this mantra out there that, oh, you know, the Department of Justice is supposed to protect Donald J. Trump," Blanche said on Friday. "That's not true. That was never the case. We are always concerned about the victims." He said Trump has directed the DOJ to "be as transparent as we can."
Separately, Blanche said the Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the death of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen who was shot by two immigration enforcement officers last weekend in Minneapolis. The investigation is being led by the FBI, but it is also coordinating with the DOJ's civil rights division, which is led by Harmeet Dhillon.
He also said the investigation was being done in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.
"I don't want the takeaway to be that there's some massive civil rights investigation that's happening; I would describe this as a standard investigation by the FBI, when there's circumstances like what we saw last Saturday," Blanche said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Copyright 2026 NPR
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If you want to tune into the Grammys on Sunday and get out of the house, we’ve got you covered.
The basics: The 2026 Grammys are happening this Sunday at 5 p.m. Pacific at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. They’ll air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ Premium, but you can also watch at several bars and restaurants across Los Angeles.
Read on … for details on where to watch the Grammys in L.A.
The Grammy Awards this Sunday are happening here in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena, hosted for the sixth and final time by comedian Trevor Noah.
The televised ceremony will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ Premium at 5 p.m. Pacific on Sunday and be available on-demand on Paramount+ on Monday.
Here's who we know is performing, and some bars and restaurants where you can tune into the awards around L.A.
The performers
Sabrina Carpenter has been announced as the show’s first performer, with Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Pharrell Williams, Clipse and ROSÉ also set to perform.
All eight of the Best New Artist nominees — Addison Rae, Leon Thomas, Olivia Dean, The Marías, Alex Warren, KATSEYE, Lola Young and SOMBR — will also perform
Reba McEntire, Brandy Clark and Lukas Nelson will take the stage during the ceremony’s In Memoriam tribute.
Lauryn Hill is also leading a tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack, who both passed away in 2025. Post Malone, Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, Duff McKagan and Slash will perform a tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne.
Where to watch
Park and Lex Grammy Watch Party
Sunday, February 1, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Park and Lex Productions 941 East 2nd Street, Arts District COST: $5-10 suggested donation; MORE INFO
Park and Lex Productions is hosting a BYOB Grammy Watch Party with light bites, showing the awards ceremony shown on a 4K projector screen.
1212 Santa Monica Grammy Watch Party
Sunday, February 1, 5 p.m. 1212 Santa Monica 1212 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Watch the show on the Santa Monica restaurant’s projector screen and TV. They’ll have Happy Hour specials all night (as they do every day).
La Boheme Grammy Watch Party
Sunday, February 1, 5 p.m. La Boheme 8400 Santa Monica Blvd, WeHo COST: FREE; MORE INFO
The West Hollywood Mediterranean restaurant will be showing the Grammys on their projector screen and offering Happy Hour specials all night (which they also offer every Monday-Thursday and Sunday).
Outloud Presents Grammy Day at The Abbey
Sunday, February 1, 2-10 p.m The Abbey 692 N Robertson Blvd, WeHo COST: FREE; MORE INFO
The LGBTQ+ music festival is putting on its second annual Grammy Watch Party at The Abbey. They’ll have live performances from 2-5 p.m., then the live broadcast and an after party that will go until 10 p.m. RSVP is preferred.
Perry’s Beach Grammy Party
Sunday, February 1, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Perry’s Beach Club 930 Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica COST: Starting at $23.18; MORE INFO
The Santa Monica-based beach club will stream the Grammys and offer happy hour specials from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., which includes a $2 discount on food and half off cocktails. Eddie Makabi and EC Twins will DJ the event.
Steven Tyler’s 7th Annual Jam for Janie Grammy Awards Viewing Party
Sunday, February 1, 3 p.m. start with cocktail reception Hollywood Palladium 6215 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood COST: Donation levels start at $500; MORE INFO
This charity event is decidedly not free, but all proceeds go to benefit Janie’s Fund, which provides resources for young women who have experienced abuse and neglect. The event will be hosted by actress Melissa Joan Hart and include a jam performance featuring Tyler and other artists including Belinda Carlisle of The Go-Go’s, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes and Robin Zander of Cheap Trick.
President Donald Trump plans to nominate former central banker Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, in hopes that Warsh will follow his roadmap toward much lower interest rates.
More details: Warsh served on the Fed's governing board from 2006 to 2011 after working as an economic adviser in the George W. Bush administration. He beat out other shortlist contenders for the Fed job, including National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett and Fed governor Chris Waller.
Why now: Trump has repeatedly complained that the current Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, is too timid about cutting rates, even though the Fed is supposed to operate at arm's length from the White House. Powell's term as Fed chair expires in May.
Read on... for more about Warsh.
President Donald Trump plans to nominate former central banker Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, in hopes that Warsh will follow his roadmap toward much lower interest rates.
Warsh served on the Fed's governing board from 2006 to 2011 after working as an economic adviser in the George W. Bush administration. He beat out other shortlist contenders for the Fed job, including National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett and Fed governor Chris Waller.
"I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best," Trump wrote in a social media post. "On top of everything else, he is "central casting," and he will never let you down."
Trump has repeatedly complained that the current Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, is too timid about cutting rates, even though the Fed is supposed to operate at arm's length from the White House. Powell's term as Fed chair expires in May.
Warsh will undoubtedly face questions during his confirmation hearing about whether he's willing to buck pressure from the president.
Warsh has ties to Wall Street
During the financial crisis, Warsh served as the Fed's primary ambassador to Wall Street, where he made good use of the contacts he'd made while working at Morgan Stanley. He's currently a visiting fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution. His wife is heiress to the Estee Lauder fortune.
While Trump is counting on Warsh to lower interest rates despite inflation that is well above the Fed's target, Warsh was on the opposite side of the fence during his previous term at the central bank. He frequently warned of inflation that didn't materialize, even as the unemployment rate hovered near 10%.
Warsh could join a divided Fed
While the Fed chair serves as the public face of the central bank, interest rates are set by a 12-member committee, consisting of the seven Fed governors and a rotating group of regional Fed bank presidents. In recent months, the committee has been divided over whether interest rates should be lower to cushion possible job losses or higher to curb stubborn inflation.
Since September 2024, the central bank has lowered its benchmark interest rate by 1.75 percentage points. But Trump has repeatedly called for bigger cuts, berating Powell for acting, in Trump's view, "too late."
In addition to jawboning the Fed, Trump has worked to replace members of its governing board with people who are more likely to do his bidding. When Fed governor Adriana Kugler abruptly resigned last summer, Trump appointed White House economist Stephen Miran to fill out the remaining months of Kugler's term. Since then, Miran has cast three lonely votes for super-sized rate cuts.
By design, the Fed is supposed to be insulated from White House interference, so policymakers can make necessary but sometimes unpopular choices, like raising interest rates to fight inflation. Trump has routinely trampled on that norm, insisting he knows better than Fed officials where interest rates should be.
President Trump and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell tour the Federal Reserve's headquarters renovation project in Washington, D.C., on July 24, 2025. The cost of the renovation became a flash point between the two.
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Chip Somodevilla
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Getty Images North America
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That's likely to come up during Warsh's confirmation hearing.
"It is difficult to trust that any Chair of the Federal Reserve selected by this president will be able to act with the independence required of the position," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a statement. "This administration will levy charges against any leader who makes interest rate decisions based on facts and the needs of our economy rather than Trump's personal preferences."
While Warsh calls the independence of the Fed "important and worthy," he argued in a speech last April that the central bank has weakened that case by trying to do too much and losing sight of its inflation-fighting mission.
"Our constitutional republic accepts an independent central bank only if it sticks closely to its congressionally-directed duty and successfully performs its tasks," Warsh said in remarks to the International Monetary Fund. "We should remember that the revealed preference of the body politic is a deep distaste for inflation — and for bailouts and power grabs."
He warned that by keeping interest rates low for years, the Fed "contributed to an explosion of federal spending." That seems at odds with Trump's desire for even lower interest rates, so the government can keep running trillion-dollar deficits more cheaply.
Politicians tend to prefer lower interest rates, which can boost the economy in the short run but at a potential cost in long-run performance.
"Central bank independence is the solution that Congress and the President have chosen," a group of former Treasury secretaries, Fed governors, and prominent economists wrote in a friend of the court brief, "to protect against the risk that monetary policy will be mishandled."
One key question is whether Powell leaves the Fed board when his term as chair expires. That's the norm, but Powell could stay on as Fed governor until January 2028, denying Trump the chance to appoint another loyalist to the central bank's governing board.
Copyright 2026 NPR
