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Nothing better than sitting down for the holidays and bingeing television shows this weekend with loved ones. Here's some help on what's new and worth watching.
This week's shows: Julia Season 2, The Crown Season 6 and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Keep reading... to save yourself the trouble of going into a show unaware of what to expect.
Heading into a week where folks spend their holiday time watching television with family, it’d be nice to watch something entertaining together, right?
On LAist 89.3’s AirTalk, we're joined by television critics each week to give you a rundown of shows that are as fresh as the pies folks will have cooling on their window sills. I’ll also give you some added insight into three shows we’ve talked about to get you prepared.
We had a lot of adapted content to talk about this week, so I’ll take you through three of those shows to give you a better sense of what's worth your precious time this holiday weekend.
This week, AirTalk’s Larry Mantle talked about the latest on television and streaming with Jen Chaney, television critic for Vulture, and Dominic Patten, senior editor for Deadline.
Today’s shows include:
Streaming on Max
“It feels a little more sprawling… still very entertaining, and it's the kind of show you want to watch over Thanksgiving. It just feels very cozy.” – Jen Chaney, Vulture
First Impression: Centered on the storied history of Pasadena-native Julia Childs as she ascends to icon status through her cooking program.
Lasting Impression: The first season offers a good introduction to Childs’ celebrity through personal issues that many go through, like experiencing menopause, but also the more unique problem of attempting to assist in kickstarting a cooking program following her successful cookbook.
Season 2 sees more fruits borne of Childs' labor as she gets a chance to work on her next book and continue building a legacy following the success of her television program. Along with seeing that process and Julia’s personal life at the time, you’ll also get to see the production staff at WGBH go through the process of building off the lightning-in-a-bottle success with The French Chef.
Overall, definitely worth a watch given its timeliness, particularly as folks arrive at the kitchen to make their favorite holiday comfort foods. For those who grew up on Childs’ work, this also serves as a great reminder about why she was so beloved.
Who's behind it: The creator of the show is Daniel Goldfarb, whose most notable credits include serving as a producer for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a show that takes place during a similar era in American history. Goldfarb had worked on Seasons 2 through 4, with his growing in size, first serving a co-producer and ending his time on the show as a supervising producer.
When and where: Episodes 1-3 are now streaming on Max; Episode 4 releases Thursday, Nov. 23.
Streaming on Netflix
“The Death of Diana episodes are drawn out, maudlin, [and] cliche-ridden” – Dominic Patten, Deadline
“I will say that Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Diana at this point in her life, is continuing to give just a terrific performance” – Jen Chaney, Vulture
First Impression: Following the life of the British Royal Family of our lifetimes, we see drama within the family as most struggle with the balancing of its royal traditions and meeting their own personal desires.
Lasting Impression: For as much fascinating gossip each season has offered, and its cathartic elements keeping viewers intrigued, it does seem like the start of Season 6 is capping the show’s end in lackluster fashion. For context, the first 4 episodes of the new season are centered on some of the last moments prior to Princess Diana’s death.
Who's behind it: The creator of the show is Peter Morgan. He’s been nominated for 2 Academy awards, one for his work on the 2008 film Frost/Nixon and the other for the 2006 film The Queen. Along with this, he’s of course been nominated and won multiple Emmys for The Crown.
When and where: Part 1 (Episodes 1-4) are now streaming on Netflix; Part 2 (Episodes 5-10) will release on Dec. 14.
Streaming on Netflix
“It does follow some of the same narrative beats [as the film] and then it goes in a completely different direction that you don't expect.” – Jen Chaney, Vulture
First impression: Tells the story originally written by Bryan Lee O'Malley that started out as a comic book series, but eventually gained traction in being adapted into a film and video game. It follows Canadian slacker Scott Pilgrim as he literally fights to date his love interest Ramona Flowers, needing to defeat her seven evil exes.
Lasting Impression: Having the work be adapted into a television show is very fitting, allowing for a bit more time that isn’t awarded in a film and making it a closer attempt at bringing to life what the comic book was.
And, in a fun turn of events that is sure to delight fans of the 2010 Edgar Wright film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, it serves as a reunion for the actors from that cast — Michael Cera returns as our intrepid hero, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the mysterious Ramona Flowers, Kieran Culkin as Scott's wisecracking roommate Wallace Wells and an slew of other recognizable faces like Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Brie Larson and Chris Evans.
Who's behind it: The creators of the show are Bryan Lee O'Malley and BenDavid Grabinski. O’Malley of course was the creator of the series, some notable credits for Grabinski include the 2019 revival of Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark? and writing the 2021 crime-comedy Happily.
When and where: All 8 episodes are now streaming on Netflix.
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The leader of the Los Angeles Unified School District says he acted lawfully and has asked to be restored to his position. Alberto Carvalho issued his first public statement since federal agents searched his home and office in late February through a law firm.
The backstory: Federal agents searched Carvalho’s San Pedro home and district offices on Feb. 25. The reason for the searches is unknown. A Department of Justice spokesperson said the agency has a court-authorized warrant, but declined to provide additional details. The FBI told our media partner CBS LA that the underlying affidavit remained under court-ordered seal.
The district’s response: Two days after the search, the LAUSD board voted unanimously to place Carvalho on paid administrative leave “pending investigation,” and appointed longtime administrator Andres Chait as acting superintendent. In response to LAist’s questions about Carvalho’s desire to be reinstated, an LAUSD spokesperson wrote, “The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education respects his right to defend himself.”
Carvalho’s response: Carvalho’s statement states that while the investigation is ongoing, there has been no evidence presented showing he violated federal law. “Mr. Carvalho respects the rule of law and the investigative process and has always acted in the best interests of students and within the bounds of the law,” the statement from Holland & Knight LLP states. “Mr. Carvalho remains confident that the evidence will ultimately demonstrate that he acted appropriately and in the best interests of students. We hope the School Board reinstates him promptly to his position as superintendent.”
The suspended leader of the Los Angeles Unified School District says he acted lawfully and has asked to be restored to his position.
Through a law firm, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho this week issued his first public statement since federal agents searched his home in San Pedro and his office at LAUSD's downtown headquarters on February 25.
The reason for the searches is unknown. A Department of Justice spokesperson said the agency has a court-authorized warrant, but declined to provide additional details. The FBI told our media partner CBS LA that the underlying affidavit remained under court-ordered seal.
Two days after the search, the LAUSD board voted unanimously to place Carvalho on paid administrative leave “pending investigation,” and appointed longtime administrator Andres Chait as acting superintendent.
Carvalho’s statement states that while the investigation is ongoing, there has been no evidence presented showing he violated federal law.
“Mr. Carvalho respects the rule of law and the investigative process and has always acted in the best interests of students and within the bounds of the law,” the statement from Holland & Knight LLP states.
“Mr. Carvalho remains confident that the evidence will ultimately demonstrate that he acted appropriately and in the best interests of students. We hope the School Board reinstates him promptly to his position as superintendent.”
In response to LAist’s questions about Carvalho’s desire to be reinstated, an LAUSD spokesperson wrote, “The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education respects his right to defend himself.”
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On Wednesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced member nations would release a total of 400 million barrels from their strategic reserves of oil as the war in Iran continues to cause the worst disruption to energy markets in decades.
Why now: The unanimous decision by the members of the IEA, which represents some of the world's biggest oil-consuming nations, is meant to address the acute disruption in oil trade caused by the war.
Why it matters: It's the largest release of crude oil the IEA has ever coordinated, and only the sixth time the group has released oil to balance crude markets
Read on... for more about what this means for energy markets.
On Wednesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced member nations would release a total of 400 million barrels from their strategic reserves of oil as the war in Iran continues to cause the worst disruption to energy markets in decades.
The unanimous decision by the members of the IEA, which represents some of the world's biggest oil-consuming nations, is meant to address the acute disruption in oil trade caused by the war. It's the largest release of crude oil the IEA has ever coordinated, and only the sixth time the group has released oil to balance crude markets.
IEA executive director Fatih Birol said on Wednesday that the decision by IEA members, who together control some 1.8 billion barrels of stockpiled oil, is a "major action" meant to alleviate the disruption of oil markets.
"But to be clear, the most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas is the resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz," he said.
Details about the timing and the amounts of oil each country will contribute have not yet been announced.
Global oil prices, which have been highly volatile for days, dropped below $87 on Tuesday night, after The Wall Street Journal first reported about the pending IEA recommendation, but were hovering just under $90 after Birol spoke on Wednesday morning. That price had been around $70 before the war began, spiked to nearly $120 late Sunday night, and fell to around $90 in recent days.
The IEA was formed in the wake of the oil crisis of the 1970s. It serves as a sort of counterpart to OPEC, the group of oil-producing nations that work together to coordinate production. While OPEC represents the interests of oil producers, the IEA was established to protect the interests of oil consumers. It coordinates national stockpiles to create a buffer in the case of an extreme shock to global oil supplies — precisely like the one the world is experiencing today.
The group has 32 member countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Japan, Korea and most nations in Europe. More than a dozen countries are affiliated with the IEA as "association countries," including China, India, Thailand and Kenya. All together, the IEA estimates that its countries account for 80% of global energy demand.
A requirement for membership in the IEA is that countries must commit to maintaining substantial reserves of crude oil or distilled petroleum products, enough to cover at least 90 days of that country's exports, as well as undertake programs to reduce dependency on oil.
Today, some members of the IEA — including the U.S. — are net oil exporters, producing more oil than they need. That means under IEA rules they aren't required to keep stockpiles. But the U.S., which is both the world's largest consumer of oil and the world's largest producer, still maintains the world's largest known stockpile.
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) were last tapped in 2022, during the most recent IEA-coordinated release of oil, in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It was only the fourth time the SPR had ever been tapped.
Both the Biden administration and then the Trump administration have signaled plans to refill the SPR, but officials have reported that damage to the underground salt caverns that hold the oil has slowed down those efforts.
Currently, the U.S. SPR has about 415 million barrels, out of a total capacity of 715 million barrels.
Oil prices have swung wildly over the past week, as ship traffic came to a near-standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which approximately 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas typically travels. Iran's closure of the strait is blocking millions of barrels of oil per day from reaching markets.
And it's having knock-on effects; countries like Iraq and Kuwait have had to stop producing oil in some fields because with storage tanks full and no ability to send ships through the strait, there is simply nowhere to put the oil.
Some oil is being redirected, including through a pipeline Saudi Arabia can use to send oil to the Red Sea for export. The U.S. has waived sanctions on Russian crude to ease pressure on markets. Now, IEA members are also helping rebalance markets by tapping their stockpiles
However, the oil in those stockpiles cannot all be pulled out immediately; there is a physical limit on how quickly it can flow. And oil analysts agree that, as Birol acknowledged, that all the world's responses put together cannot fully compensate for the disruption created by the Iran war.
"There is simply no substitute for restoring access through the Strait of Hormuz," Angie Gildea, the global oil and gas leader for accounting giant KPMG, told NPR in a statement sent by email earlier this week. "The tools at our disposal, including strategic reserves, rerouting some exports and floating inventories, can provide some relief at the margins, but they are not structural solutions."
Copyright 2026 NPR
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Orange County has filed a lawsuit accusing its mental health services partner — Mind OC — of squandering more than $60 million in public funds. And one of the allegations links back to the office of disgraced former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, now serving a federal prision term.
What does the complaint say: The county says the nonprofit group, commonly known as Be Well OC, fraudulently billed millions for services it didn’t provide, routinely put its own financial interests ahead of the vulnerable populations it was supposed to protect, and even violated patient privacy by improperly installing cameras in "sensitive areas."
Why it matters: The allegations came Tuesday in a cross-complaint filed against Mind OC in a bitter legal dispute over what was supposed to be a model public-private mental health campus in the city of Orange. A representative for Mind OC said it was not surprised by the lawsuit, and was reviewing it carefully.
Read on ... for more about the legal battle, and how the now-imprisoned former supervisor plays a role in all of this.
Orange County has filed a lawsuit accusing its main mental health partner, Mind OC, of squandering more than $60 million in public funds.
Specifically, the county says the nonprofit group, commonly known as Be Well OC:
The allegations came Tuesday in a cross-complaint filed against Mind OC in a bitter legal dispute over what was supposed to be a model public-private mental health campus in the city of Orange.
LAist reached out to Mind OC for a response. A representative said they were not surprised by the lawsuit, and were reviewing it carefully. They also called the county’s counter-complaint “reactionary,” and said it was the county who breached its agreement with Mind OC at the Orange health campus, causing the nonprofit “significant damages.”
In all, the county is seeking the return of up to $64.5 million in public funds and property it says it entrusted to the organization, according to the complaint. The county also wants to wrest control of the Orange campus from the nonprofit.
Mind OC, which does business as Be Well OC, was launched in 2017 with the goal of creating a world class mental health system in Orange County, including two campuses where, they hoped, patients using public services and those with private insurance would both seek care.
The Be Well OC initiative had strong support from the O.C. Board of Supervisors, including disgraced former Supervisor Andrew Do, who was a member of the board's ad hoc committee on mental health services at the time.
The first campus opened in Orange in 2021. The initial agreement between Mind OC and the county called for granting the organization a 60-year lease for $1 per year in exchange for Mind OC designing and overseeing construction of the mental health campus in Orange. (The actual cost of construction was covered by the county, private hospitals, and the county’s Medi-Cal provider, CalOptima.)
But the relationship soon soured. The county claimed in 2024 that Mind OC was in default, and then canceled the organization’s lease in February 2025. In the middle of the two actions, Mind OC sued.
A second Be Well OC campus was scheduled to open in Irvine last year, but has been held up, largely stemming from the disputes between Mind OC and the county.
On Tuesday afternoon, just hours after the county filed its complaint, Irvine held a special meeting where the City Council voted 5 to 2 to support the immediate opening of the Irvine Be Well campus — with Mind OC as the operator.
The nonprofit took in $50 million in revenue last year from providing mental health services in Orange County, and has $182 million in assets, according to its latest tax filing.
Here are some of the major allegations in the county’s complaint:
The county alleges that Mind OC fraudulently billed the county $7.4 million for services it didn’t fully deliver.
The county gave Mind OC a $7.7 million no-bid contract in 2019 to design an innovative mental health system. In the county’s complaint, it says Mind OC didn’t document its work, properly maintain records, or justify its invoices on the project. The county also alleged that Mind OC sought to turn in, as its primary deliverable, a document authored by county staff. Ultimately, the county paid Mind OC $7.4 million of the contract.
The county also alleges that Mind OC charged excessive rents to the county’s service providers at the Be Well campus in Orange in violation of its lease agreement.
The county claims that Mind OC misused taxpayer funds by charging the county’s service providers on the campus rent that equated to “approximately double Mind OC’s operating expenses and well beyond market rate.”
Mind OC said in its prior legal complaint that the county “approved the subleases it now complains about.”
The county claims there was a conflict of interest when Mind OC subcontracted with a person with ties to Do.
Mind OC subcontracted in 2020 with the then-girlfriend of Do’s chief of staff, Chris Wangsaporn. She failed to deliver, as previously reported by LAist. In its complaint, the county said the contract with Josie Batres, who is now married to Wangsaporn, was “emblematic of conflicts of interest that cloud the venture from its inception.”
Batres was paid $275,000 over two years to run community listening sessions and submit reports to help the county increase access to publicly-funded mental health services. County officials say the work was never turned in.
After LAist’s reporting on the matter, the county demanded a refund, which Mind OC paid in November 2024.
In its complaint this week, the county said “Mind OC promised an investigation into the misappropriation, a promise that, to date, has gone unfulfilled.”
Other complaints laid out in the lawsuit against Mind OC include allegations that the nonprofit violated patient privacy on the Orange health campus by installing cameras in service provider areas and having property management staff check in patients and screen phone calls.
The county also said Mind OC failed to meet a major goal of the Be Well campus — to have a quarter of all patients served come with their own private insurance, according to the lawsuit and a 2024 audit.
“Mind OC, a non-profit, took positions designed to maximize its profits at the expense of County taxpayers and residents in dire need of affordable mental health services,” a county spokesperson wrote in a news release.
One of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is pay attention. Your City Council, board of supervisors, school board and more all hold public meetings that anybody can attend. These are times you can talk to your elected officials directly and hear about the policies they’re voting on that affect your community.
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Typically on the morning of Eid-ul-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims wear their best clothes and head to parks or convention centers across Southern California. After the prayer and special sermon, there is another revered tradition to be followed: eating donuts. Some mosques give out thousands of them at one time.
Why donuts: Sweet treats are a staple of Eid across the world. When family and friends stop over, they are greeted with tables laden with sweet dishes, often specific to each community. In SoCal, with Muslims from many different backgrounds, deciding what a mosque should serve after prayers on Eid can be tricky. A donut is a neat, unifying solution and also is a way for their American identity to come to the fore.
The next gen: Aliya Amin's earliest memories of the donut lines after Eid prayers goes back to when she was 9 years old. Now, the 29-year-old still believes it's not Eid without donuts. But in her specialty microbakery, Bakes by Aliya, she takes the humble food and adds a creative, South Asian twist. Her version, the Gulab Jamun Donut, is inspired by a gulab jamun, a fried dough ball that is soaked in a cardamom and saffron sugar syrup.
Typically on the morning of Eid-ul-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims wear their best clothes and head to parks or convention centers across Southern California.
After the prayer and special sermon, there is another revered tradition to be followed.
Donuts.
As in, glazed donuts. Hundreds and hundreds — even thousands — of them are handed out by volunteers as people line up. The donut of choice? Krispy Kremes, although it’s not mandated.
It’s a specifically SoCal tradition that has been happening, some tell me, for at least 20 years.
Sweet treats are a staple of Eid across the world.
When family and friends stop over, they are greeted with tables laden with different sweet dishes.
In South Asian households, gulab jamun (fried dough balls swimming in a sugar syrup) take pride of place. Arab families make maamoul, a date mixture pressed between shortbread cookie dough. Cookies, called kuih, are popular in Southeast Asian households, and in Somali homes, halwa is served.
In SoCal, a region with Muslims from many different backgrounds, deciding what a mosque should serve after prayers can be tricky. A donut is a neat solution.
“ We have a very diverse community, so some of the desserts can become a little too ethnic for one group versus the other,” said Alam Akhtar, chairman at the Islamic Society of Southern California. “Donut is that one food that just cuts across all ethnicities and all taste buds.”
It’s also a way for their American identity to come to the fore.
Food, Akhtar said, has a way of uniting people from different cultures and plays an important role in celebrations.
”Feeding people in general is considered a very spiritual act,” he said. “It brings people together. More hands in a plate has more blessings.”
Last year, the Islamic Society of Orange County mosque in Garden Grove — affectionately called the “mother mosque” of Southern California — decided to change things up a bit and bought pastries from Porto’s Bakery.
It did not go well. People wanted their donuts and made their point of view clear.
"This year, we're going to aim for donuts again, based on popular demand and the request from the crowd,” said Hassan Mukhlis, the mosque president.
Krispy Kreme has been the mosque’s go-to vendor for the past decade or so, but in recent years, it has looked to support a local, small business to buy the 3,000 donuts needed to feed the crowd that gathers. The mosque is located in Little Saigon, an ethnic enclave with predominantly Vietnamese immigrants, so it plans to order from a Vietnamese bakery.
Aliya Amin grew up attending the Islamic Society of Orange County and went on to teach at its weekend school. She now supplies desserts to the cafe on the mosque’s premises, Barakah Cafe.
Her earliest memory of the donut lines after Eid prayers were when she was 9 years old. Now, the 29-year-old still says it's not Eid without the donuts. In her specialty microbakery, Bakes by Aliya, she takes the humble food and adds a creative, South Asian twist
Her version, Gulab Jamun Donut, is inspired by a gulab jamun, a fried dough ball that is soaked in a cardamom and saffron sugar syrup.
“ I essentially make a cake donut, which is cardamom cake flavored, and I have the gulab jamun sitting in the middle, and it's like the perfect balance of spiced but sweet,” Amin said.
She offers the donut only during the Eid season. It’s become one of her best sellers.
Donuts are for every age group, she said.
“I'm seeing adults eat it, too, you know, enjoying it just as much as kids,” Amin said.
The gulab jamun donuts have to be preordered by Sunday. To order, click here.
