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Tired of scrolling through endless amounts of shows and not knowing where to start? This week we were joined by TV critics Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly, and Jen Chaney of Vulture.
This week's shows: The Vince Staples Show on Netflix, The Daily Show on Comedy Central & Paramount+, and Love Is Blind Season 6 on Netflix.
Keep reading ...to see what Baldwin thought might be one of the biggest dating takeaways from this season of Love Is Blind.
Last weekend, we had the Super Bowl, and this weekend we've got the NBA All-Star Game. While that's far from an apples-to-apples comparison in terms of viewers, it’ll for sure keep sports fans occupied. But for those of you who aren't sports fans, here are a few things that should be on your radar this weekend if you're looking for something new to watch.
Each week on AirTalk, LAist 89.3's daily news show, we're joined by television critics who help parse through notable releases and tell us what's worth a binge. This week we were joined by TV critics Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly, and Jen Chaney of Vulture.
Listen to the full conversation for a rundown of the variety of shows they hit on. I’ll dig into three of them a little further to offer added insights.
This week’s shows include:
Streaming on Netflix
The show is a fictionalized version of the life of rap artist Vince Staples, living his life in Long Beach and dealing with whatever comes his way in these self-contained episodes.
Each episode is a different story, so you can almost drop in at any point. And it's funny, but there is certainly social and racial commentary embedded in every episode. – Jen Chaney, Vulture
It takes you places that you wouldn't expect, it's really funny and very dark. It has some very fatalistic overtones as well, but I loved it. – Kristen Baldwin, Entertainment Weekly
Overall take: Billed as a comedy, though it does have serious elements to it as well, the show serves as a cool project for a well-known, local artist. The sitcom-style scenarios will be familiar to many, with an extra draw if you’re a lifelong resident of Long Beach or L.A.
Fun fact: Staples was born and raised on the Northside of Long Beach, something that remains a point of pride for him. The album that put him on the map for a lot of rap audiences, "Summertime ‘06," had a hit single called “Norf Norf” where he shouts out his hometown in the chorus.
When and where: All 5 episodes premiered today on Netflix.
Airing on Comedy Central & Streaming on Paramount+
Unless you live under a rock, you're most likely familiar with this show's format — a satirical perspective on current events and affairs in the United States. But here's the new part — longtime host Jon Stewart is back after a nine year absence and will be hosting the show every Monday from now until the 2024 general election. The rest of the week will be hosted by a rotating cast of Daily Show correspondents.
“One thing we do learn this season is that you should never say… ‘Do you have a celebrity lookalike?’” – Kristen Baldwin, Entertainment Weekly
“There are other people who do this who are great, but Jon Stewart is like the OG master of this kind of political commentary and I'm really curious to see where he goes with it in the coming weeks.”
Overall take: We spent most of the program discussing Stewart’s return, and for good reason, having been the source of many people’s interest in satirical news since the George W. Bush administration. His monologue this past Monday went viral, amassing over 1 million views on YouTube in less than a day.
Fun facts: Check out AirTalk's interview with The Daily Show co-creator and former showrunner Madeleine Smithberg, who talked about Stewart’s return and her relationship to the show when he first started.
When and where: The show airs Monday to Friday at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central, and streams on Paramount+ the day after.
Streaming on Netflix
Co-hosts Nick & Vanessa Lachey are back with 30 singles seeking love. They'll date around with the other contestants, but their superficiality will be tested — they won't be able to see the person they're talking to. Can true love blossom when you can't see the object of your affection?
“One thing we do learn this season is that you should never say… ‘Do you have a celebrity lookalike?’” – Kristen Baldwin, Entertainment Weekly
Overall take: For those who are a fan of reality TV matchmaking, you’ve probably learned at this point whether Love Is Blind is your kind of vibe. If you haven't checked it out yet, you could easily jump in on the show during its sixth season and use it as a cathartic watch, thinking about what you might do in certain scenarios and talking about each episode's findings with friends.
Fun facts: If you have the time to spare, and are unsure whether you’ll mesh well with this season’s cast, I’d recommend checking out this blog post breakdown Netflix staff writer Cole Delbyck did for each contestant.
When and where: Episodes 1-6 premiered Feb. 14; Episodes 7-9 release Feb. 21.
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Lineage Logistics sued a solar power provider and its contractor Thursday, blaming them for the fire that destroyed its cold storage facility and plagued Boyle Heights and surrounding communities with polluted, foul-smelling air for months.
The lawsuit: The company accuses Altus Power, Inc., Los Palos Street Operating, LLC, and Pearce Services of failing to address faults in the massive solar array installed on the 500,000-square-foot facility’s roof. Lineage is seeking more than $1 billion in damages, alleging negligence and breach of contract caused the fire, forced the warehouse to shut down and led to a cleanup effort that has cost more than $100 million.
Los Palos, an Altus subsidiary, disputed Lineage’s claims and said that since the cold storage company was the tenant of the building they were responsible for cleanup and debris removal.
The investigation: The fire remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Fire Department, and its cause has not yet been determined. But because both the June and 2024 fires appear to have started around the facility’s roof, the solar array has been long suspected of playing a role in the blaze.
Lineage Logistics sued a solar power provider and its contractor Thursday, blaming them for the fire that destroyed its cold storage facility and plagued Boyle Heights and surrounding communities with polluted, foul-smelling air for months.
The company accuses Altus Power, Inc., Los Palos Street Operating, LLC, and Pearce Services of failing to address faults in the massive solar array installed on the 500,000-square-foot facility’s roof. Faulty electrical in that array led to a fire in 2024, and the same problems sparked the fire on June 17, Lineage claims in the suit.
“This lawsuit is about Altus and Pearce starting this fire and then being nowhere to be found when the community needed help,” said Greg Lehmkuhl, president & CEO of Lineage, in a prepared statement.
The fire remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Fire Department, and its cause has not yet been determined.
But because both the June and 2024 fires appear to have started around the facility’s roof, the solar array has been long suspected of playing a role in the blaze.
Lineage is seeking more than $1 billion in damages, alleging negligence and breach of contract caused the fire, forced the warehouse to shut down and led to a cleanup effort that has cost more than $100 million.
Los Palos, an Altus subsidiary, disputed Lineage’s claims and said that since the cold storage company was the tenant of the building, they were responsible for cleanup and debris removal.
“Lineage’s statement is riddled with misinformation in a blatant attempt to deflect blame for their role in this matter, including any damage caused by the release of substances from the warehouse, not the solar panel,” a Los Palos spokesperson said by email.
A spokesperson for Pearce also disputed Lineage’s claims and said the company would be fighting the suit in court, adding they have been cooperating with the fire department’s investigation.
“Investigation into the fire’s cause, origin, and reasons for its spread remains ongoing, and it is premature for anyone to draw conclusions,” a spokesperson for the company said by email.
The company alleges in the suit that the solar provider used substandard equipment to connect electrical lines and that equipment started the Aug. 14, 2024 fire. The company told Altus, Los Palos, and Pearce, a subsidiary of real estate giant CBRE, to fix the faulty equipment before turning the solar array back on.
Altus and Pearce knew that about 200 faulty electrical connections had been identified by May 2026, including about 10 near the area where the June fire eventually broke out, the suit claims. Lineage says it told the contractors to delay turning the system back on until they provided proof the faults were fixed, but the contractors did so anyway.
“Altus and Pearce deliberately ignored Lineage’s request, prematurely re-energized the solar array, and negligently and recklessly caused this devastating fire,” the suit reads.
Mayor Karen Bass and other elected officials have said publicly that Lineage should not rebuild its facility and continue operating in Boyle Heights. The company missed a 45-day deadline to clean up the facility imposed by Bass in August.
Lineage has since announced it had completed cleanup of the remnants of the facility on Sept. 5. The suit also suggests the company could be planning to stay in Boyle Heights, rather than simply seeking reimbursement for the fire.
The city’s Department of Building and Safety has put its plans to rebuild on hold, and South Coast Air Quality Management District has also issued multiple notices of violation over pollution from food that rotted inside the facility for months.
“This was a solar fire, not a warehouse fire,” reads a press release announcing the suit had been filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court Thursday. “Cold storage is not a risk to communities — it is an essential service that lowers food costs, expands food access and creates jobs,” it added.
The post Lineage sues solar company and contractor, blames it for warehouse fire in Boyle Heights appeared first on LA Local.
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Here's a list of events in L.A. and O.C. counties on Friday and Saturday remembering 9/11.
Read on... to see when and where events are scheduled near you.
9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
Fire Station 71, 301 N. First St., Alhambra
Sept. 11, 9 a.m.
25th Anniversary 9/11 Tribute
Carson City Hall, 701 Carson St., Carson
Sept. 11, 4 – 6 p.m.
LAFD 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center, 1700 Stadium Way, Los Angeles
Sept. 11, 9 – 10 a.m.
25th Anniversary 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony
City Hall Complex, 1700 W. 162nd St., Gardena
Sept. 11, 9 a.m.
9/11 Remembrance Wreath Laying Ceremony
Greenbelt at Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach
Sept. 11, 7:30 a.m.
911 Ceremony
OCFA Headquarters, 1 Fire Authority, Irvine
Sept. 11, 8 a.m.
9/11 25th Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony at Pepperdine University
Alumni Park, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
Sept. 11, 9 a.m.
9/11 Memorial
Orange City Hall, 300 E. Chapman Ave., Orange
Sept. 11, 6:30 p.m.
9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
Fire Station 51, 1303 S. Del Mar Ave., San Gabriel
Sept. 11, 6:40 a.m.
2,100 Steps Memorial Walk
Fairhaven Memorial Park, 1702 Fairhaven Ave., Santa Ana
Sept. 12, 9 – 10 a.m.
9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
Fire Station 1, 1337 7th St., Santa Monica
Sept. 11, 7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
September 11 Remembrance Ceremony
City Hall Courtyard, 1414 Mission St., South Pasadena
Sept. 11., 6:45 a.m.
25th Anniversary September 11 Memorial Ceremony
Torrance City Hall, 3031 Torrance Blvd., Torrance
Sept. 11, 8 a.m.
September 11 Patriot Day display
Sal Guarriello Veterans' Memorial, Santa Monica Boulevard and Holloway Drive
Sept 11., 10 a.m.
Remembering 9/11 — 25 Years After the Tragedy at the Nixon Library
Nixon Library, 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd., Yorba Linda
Sept 11., 11 a.m. – noon
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A new federal lawsuit filed Thursday accuses the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the FBI and other federal agencies of violating the First Amendment and privacy rights of observers.
About the lawsuit: The lawsuit describes disturbing encounters seven Common Cause members had with federal officers in Maryland, Minnesota and New Jersey after trying to observe immigration enforcement. They include being photographed, followed, reported to police, pepper-sprayed or threatened with a visit to their home by federal officers. Federal officers did show up at one Common Cause member's Minnesota home.
Other lawsuits pending: The new lawsuit follows a handful of other cases brought by observers arguing First Amendment violations, but it is the most sweeping to date, as it includes incidents from multiple states and seeks national relief. It is asking a judge in Washington, D.C., to bar federal agencies from intimidating or retaliating against observers.
For months, Minneapolis resident Michael Khalili drove around the Twin Cities area observing and documenting the activities of federal immigration officers after they swarmed his city last winter as part of an unprecedented surge.
He points out that when federal immigration officers fatally shot fellow Minneapolis observer Alex Pretti in January, it was bystander videos that debunked inaccurate information Trump administration officials were spreading about Pretti, such as that he had committed an act of domestic terrorism and was a "would-be assassin."
"That's the only reason why the government's lies fell apart," Khalili said. "And that's why it's critical that people are out there."
But the 47-year-old father of two stopped observing ICE in recent months due to mounting risk and pressure from his family. Khalili said he follows the law when he drives behind ICE vehicles and is exercising his constitutional rights. But he said he's had repeated tense exchanges with federal officers who have taken photos of him and his vehicle, and told him to stop.
A day after one such exchange in March, Khalili's Global Entry status was revoked (until a HuffPost journalist inquired about it, and it was reinstated). On another occasion in May, he said a state trooper threatened him with a harassment charge for following ICE. Then in June, after 15 Minnesota activists were criminally indicted for conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, Khalili realized one of the counts against a defendant in that case was for following ICE vehicles across state lines in May on the same day Khalili had been warned he could be charged for following ICE. Khalili's wife became worried.
"She was concerned that federal agents could show up at our home and could arrest me in front of our children," Khalili said. "And so I agreed to stop doing this."
But Khalili hasn't given up his quest to hold the federal government accountable. He is now a named plaintiff in a new federal lawsuit filed Thursday, along with the nonprofit Common Cause, that accuses the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the FBI and other federal agencies of violating the First Amendment and privacy rights of observers.
The new lawsuit follows a handful of other cases brought by observers arguing First Amendment violations, but it is the most sweeping to date, as it includes incidents from multiple states and seeks national relief. It is asking a judge in Washington, D.C. to bar federal agencies from intimidating or retaliating against observers.
"The right of citizens to criticize and hold our government accountable is the backbone of American democracy – and it is under attack," Common Cause's vice president for litigation, Maryam Jazini Dorcheh, told NPR. "We want to make sure we're promoting participation in the political process. And obviously, if government officials are criminalizing peaceful observation, that hinders our mission," Jazini Dorcheh said.
NPR has documented numerous instances of other people legally observing ICE describing intimidation and threats from the federal government. In Minnesota, it was a common occurrence for federal agents to tell observers they were breaking the law. NPR has previously covered how multiple activists in Maine were told by federal officers they could end up in a domestic terrorist database or on a watch list, and how a California man who runs an Instagram account tracking ICE activity was faced with an administrative subpoena seeking his identity.
NPR did not receive an immediate response from DHS or DOJ about the lawsuit's allegations. The FBI declined to comment.
The lawsuit describes disturbing encounters seven Common Cause members had with federal officers in Maryland, Minnesota and New Jersey after trying to observe immigration enforcement. They include being photographed, followed, reported to police, pepper-sprayed or threatened with a visit to their home by federal officers. Federal officers did show up at one Common Cause member's Minnesota home.
In another instance, the suit alleges that ICE officers told local police to ban an unnamed Common Cause member from a public parking lot outside of an ICE facility in Maryland, where the member was observing, and told the member they knew who they were because they had put their face through a facial recognition database.
The 94-page complaint also draws from declarations filed in previous cases on behalf of observers in additional states, including Illinois, Maine and Tennessee.
The events described in the complaint are "not one-off activities. This is not about, like, 'Oh, some folks got out of hand in one place,'" said Danielle Lang, the vice president of voting rights and rule of law at the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, which is litigating the case. "This is a top-down policy of retaliation and it needs to be addressed as such."
The lawsuit lists multiple directives from the Trump administration, including President Trump's National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) and the DOJ's memo to operationalize it, which link impeding immigration enforcement and extreme views on migration to domestic terrorism. The NSPM-7 memo was the basis for the federal government to investigate and spy on activists in Minnesota, which ultimately led to the charges against 15 people for conspiracy to impede ICE.
Additionally, the suit lists public statements and internal memos that equate observers who record federal officers with "violent rioters" and "domestic terrorists," to argue there is a national policy in place to retaliate against observers. Furthermore, the Trump administration repealed guardrails that could have prevented federal officers from using facial recognition and license plate readers against peaceful observers, and DHS dismantled its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the suit argues.
The suit alleges that the federal government's retaliation against observers includes threatening force or arrest, collecting observers' personal information to intimidate them, using force, pursuing criminal charges, and imposing civil penalties such as administrative subpoenas or revoking observers' Global Entry or TSA PreCheck status.
Michael Khalili was eager to join the Common Cause lawsuit to help fellow observers, since in his case there is documentation of some of his encounters.
"If the paper trail for the petty things that they did to me can keep somebody else from being pepper-sprayed or murdered, like, why would I not do that? How could I not do that?" he told NPR.
Last month he requested access to his state motor vehicle records on the number of times law enforcement officials have queried his license plate, driver's license or name and date of birth. Before he started observing, there were only two such queries. But since March 2026, law enforcement queried him 55 times, a detail that is included in the lawsuit.
In addition, he has a March email from Customs and Border Protection notifying him that his Global Entry membership was revoked. Though the email only stated that the reason given for the change was "Your Global Entry has been revoked," it came one day after ICE officers stopped him, took photos of him and his license plate and told him to stop following them. Other observers in other states have also had their Global Entry status taken away, and some, like Khalili, had theirs reinstated after a reporter inquired.
Khalili still suspects he is on a federal list of some kind, or that there is a flag on him. He recently went on vacation to Ireland with his family and when returning to the U.S, he was referred for additional questioning by U.S. immigration officials.
He hopes this lawsuit can help bring about corrective changes and guardrails after what he calls a "nightmare" that the country and Minneapolis have been through.
"And so that not only will I be able to go out and observe if I so choose, but that there's no reason why I have to go out and observe," Khalili said.
Copyright 2026 NPR
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Chef Joshua Whigham's monthly "paella drop" at Casa Leo in Los Feliz has grown from a 20-guest experiment into a waitlisted fixture.
Tell me more: Each version of his paella — from market mushrooms and truffle to chicken and langoustine — is rooted in a different Spanish region. Casa Leo was added to the Michelin Guide California this year — just over a year after opening.
Why is it important? Most Angelenos' idea of paella starts and stops at chicken, shrimp and saffron rice — the version built for tourists. Whigham, a 15-year veteran of award-winning chef José Andrés' kitchens, is using his monthly drop to highlight the dish’s variety with Southern California produce.
Mark the date: The next drop is on Sept. 20 and features a cuttlefish paella.
Casa Leo is a small Spanish restaurant located in Los Feliz near Griffith Park, where Chef Joshua Whigham is quietly bringing his own fresh approach to Spanish cooking — one that's specific and ingredient-driven in a way you'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in the city.
Whigham spent 15 years working under José Andrés — the Michelin-starred, James Beard Award-winning Spanish chef — before striking out on his own a little over a year ago with Casa Leo. The restaurant has already been added to the Michelin Guide California and has built a reputation for a seasonal, genuine, personal approach. That shows up across the menu, from cocas (Iberian flatbreads) to a trout en escabeche dish inspired by Martín Berasategui, the Basque chef often credited as a pioneer of modern Spanish cuisine.
One Sunday each month, Whigham hosts a "paella drop," cooking the paella outside the restaurant on a propane rig built to fit the giant pan he uses. Originally open to just 20 guests, the pop-up has grown in popularity as word has spread — Whigham has incrementally raised the cap over time, and now cooks with an even larger pan that can accommodate up to 70 guests.
It’s a setup that gets a lot of attention. He recalls a group of cyclists zipping by one day, with one of them yelling, "Holy shit, that smells good."
"Paella is Spain's national dish," Whigham says — and for many Americans, it's the only regional dish they know by name. Most Americans picture one version of paella — chicken, shrimp, saffron-yellow rice — but the dish looks different depending on where in Spain you are. While the dish has roots in the southeastern region of Valencia, its ingredients and preparation vary widely throughout the country.
Showcasing that variety is one of Whigham’s aims. And he does it with strict adherence to tradition — he'll never include chorizo, since its heavy smoke and paprika flavors, he says, completely overpower the subtle, delicate taste of the saffron, broth and rice.
In August, the paella included market mushrooms, summer truffle, chicken and langoustine.
The next drop, on Sept. 20 (which just so happens to be World Paella Day), is a cuttlefish (sepia) paella.
Whigham wanted the drops to serve as an opportunity to activate the space in ways beyond regular brunch and dinner service.
Whigham says people's exposure to Spanish cuisine often stops at gazpacho, jamón, and that one paella experience they had while studying abroad in college.
His approach, honed over almost two decades of cooking Spanish food, involves first surveying a dish's regional origins and then adapting it using Southern California ingredients, in a process Whigham calls "giving a traditional dish a sense of place."
"That's the path I'm on — taking traditional dishes and making them ours,” he adds.
For example: marmitako, a humble Basque fisherman's dish traditionally made with tuna and potato, with a base consisting of tomato, bell pepper, red onion and fish stock. Whigham noticed poblano peppers were "exploding at the market" and swapped them in for the green bell peppers, using the same process and proportions — resulting in a richer tone, more of a capsicum flavor and a "nice low-key heat." Paired with the chili de árbol spice, it made the dish "warmer and richer and a little deeper in flavor."
Less than two years in, Whigham says the Michelin recognition was a lovely surprise. "We weren't looking for it," he says. "This is what I do. I don't know how to do anything else but this."
Still, he feels the weight of its importance: "A good restaurant, you feel it — the pulse of it, the heartbeat. That's what I want for people."
Location: 4500 Los Feliz Blvd., Suite C, Los Angeles
Hours: Dinner: Sunday–Thursday, 5:30–9:30 p.m.; Friday–Saturday, 5:30–10:30 p.m. Closed Tuesdays.
Booking: Reserve via Resy; follow @casaleo.la for future paella drop dates.
