Topline:
We love shows that root themselves in a bit of reality... what shows out recently do a solid job of that?
This week's shows: Fellow Travelers, Neon, and The Gilded Age Season 2
Keep reading... because we all have various interests in life, so hear about each of these shows to find out if they're worth a watch in your book.
One thing that gets sorely missed in our television habits is the reminder that we could have such a variety of interests. Whether it be tied to books you're fixated on, music you like moving to in the club or grabbing popcorn to watch a good ‘ol feud, television is a dynamic medium where artists can meet you where you’re at.
On LAist 89.3’s AirTalk, we're joined by television critics each week to give you a rundown of shows that are fresh out of the oven. This week, we've got some shows that take a lot from reality, so let’s give you a rundown of them so you can find out which are best to start conversations with your friends over.
This week, AirTalk’s Larry Mantle talked about the latest on television and streaming with Kristen Baldwin, television critic for Entertainment Weekly, and Angie Han, television critic for The Hollywood Reporter.
This week’s shows include:
Streaming on Paramount+ & Airing Showtime
“The show's execution doesn't always match its ambitions, but the magnetism of Bomer and Bailey as the central duo is really powerful throughout and it carries it through.” – Kristen Baldwin, Entertainment Weekly
“Matt Bomer is very good…he's charming and handsome, but I think his performance really allows you to see the gaps where this mask that he's put on doesn't really fit.” – Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
First impression: Spanning generations, we find Hawkins Fuller and Tim Laughlin making the most of their passionate relationship in the midst of societal fears over issues like homosexuality and communism.
Lasting impression: The mini-series is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2007 by Thomas Mallon, a task that is quite tall given that it starts with the Vietnam era and ends with the AIDS crisis.
Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey’s performances help with maintaining its stakes, since they perfectly bring together intense romance in a bedroom, while maintaining the sense of existential angst that their worlds can come crumbling down.
Who's behind it: The show’s creator is Ron Nyswaner, who served as an executive producer for the long-running Showtime program Homeland for seasons 5-7. Not only that but he also wrote the screenplay for the Academy Award-winning gay rights drama Philadelphia.
When and where: Episode 1 premiered today on Paramount+ and will make its broadcast debut on Showtime on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 9 p.m.
Read Kristen’s review of “Fellow Travelers” for Entertainment Weekly.
Streaming on Netflix
“[Shortcomings aside] it’s still a fun time if you just want to watch something that's easy and upbeat…or if you really just like playing “spot the cameo” with reggaeton stars.”-- Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
First impression: Follows Santi, an up-and-coming reggaeton musician who moves to Miami with his two friends, who scrap their way to their dreams of making it big.
Lasting impression: I thought it was a great story with the right kind of production behind it. The show’s trio of Santi, Ness, and Felix make for an entertaining dynamic since they have friendships that can complicate their professional goals. For me, the drama is presented in a solid way but there is more subtext that could be layered into these complications they work through.
That said, I think it’s great that everyone behind the show’s production did their homework, getting some authentic reggaeton music and artists who are making lots of noise in the scene today. Going into this show, viewers should understand they aren’t getting some comedy-drama — the feel is very much a sitcom, and if that’s known at the get-go, I think you’ll really enjoy this show.
Who's behind it: The show's creators are Shea Serrano and Max Searle. Serrano notably had another show he created debut this year, that being the Amazon Freevee sitcom Primo, which saw Serrano use his childhood as a premise for some well-written bits. Searle
When and where: All 8 episodes are now streaming on Netflix.
Read Angie’s review of ‘Neon’ for The Hollywood Reporter.
Streaming on Max
“Everything almost inevitably works out and [Julian Fellowes] has a talent for creating resolutions that birth new and equally delicious complications.” – Kristen Baldwin, Entertainment Weekly
First impression: Centered in New York during the tail-end of the 19th century, the show follows two wealthy families fighting one another. One family looks to justify their old-guard status and the other looks to reach acclaim being a part of a generation of “new money” families.
Lasting impression: I like the path that this historical drama takes since it’s such a clear time period that had the United States in a clear transition with its overall race and class politics. You see antagonism where one family looks to maintain dynamics of old, asserting a clear social hierarchy against other wealthy families they don't want to invite into their metaphorical "club." And with these two families, it’s very interesting to see their pettiness in their privilege — they have to manufacture their own little conflicts.
That's not to say there aren’t stakes in the show, but what they have is much more centered on the kind of family drama that feels so close to characters that it becomes more pressing than what’s happening in the outside world.
Who's behind it: The show’s creator is Julian Fellowes, who is the main mind behind Downton Abbey, which won 15 Emmys and extended its brand with two feature films.
When and where: Episode 1 premieres Sunday, October 29 on Max.
Topline:
This year's MacArthur Fellows have been announced, and artist and UCLA professor Rodney McMillian is one of 20 people who received the prestigious award.
About McMillian’s work: McMillian’s multidisciplinary art touches on themes of race, class and power in the United States, finding new contexts and meanings for everything from household objects to some of the most famous speeches in U.S. history. “I often employ text, like a historical text, and I'll pair that with, say, images of sunshine,” he said. "I'm hoping that, through aesthetics and through how they're paired, we could think about our own place, but also think about some of our dreams in that context.”
The moment he found out: MacArthur Fellows don't know they’re being considered for the prestigious awards, and McMillian said the call came completely out of the blue. “I wasn't sure if it was a prank or not,” he said. “It was very surreal. It was very exciting.”
On making work in this moment in history: “This doesn't seem that far different than perhaps some of the time periods that I make work about, say, from like [Lyndon B. Johnson's] 'The Great Society' speech, or works thinking about [Martin Luther] King's Vietnam speech,” McMillian said. “I think there's always been a lot of space for contemplation, but a lot of space for speaking one's truth to power. So in that regard, I feel like I'm doing what others before me have done. They're just speaking the best they can to the times they're living in.”
His plans for the money: “It means I can keep the lights on a lot longer, or at least a bit longer,” McMillian said. “It came at a perfect time, because early in the spring, on a wing and a prayer, I decided to build a small studio in my backyard, and this award's going to enable me to hopefully pay for that, and also work towards other projects.”
To hear more: Listen to McMillian’s interview with LAist host Julia Paskin above.
Topline:
New data shows Waymo’s robotaxis are crashing less often as they log more miles driven in Los Angeles. Experts recently joined LAist 89.3’s AirTalk with Larry Mantle and said the numbers are encouraging but don’t tell the whole story.
The data: Analyzed by the Los Angeles Times, it found:
Why safety is improving: Better technology, remote human help, and human drivers getting accustomed to Waymos are likely reasons safety is improving, Matthew Raifman of UC Berkeley told AirTalk listeners.
Concerns: Former federal auto safety regulator and UCLA law professor Ann Carlson stressed on air that Waymo’s improving safety record shouldn’t be extrapolated onto other autonomous car companies like Tesla’s Cybercab or Amazon’s Zoox, both of which have had recent safety issues.
Listen: To the full AirTalk segment above to hear about the challenges involved in making autonomous cars safe in every environment.
Topline:
New data shows Waymo’s robotaxis are crashing less often as they log more miles driven in Los Angeles. Experts recently joined LAist 89.3’s AirTalk with Larry Mantle and said the numbers are encouraging but don’t tell the whole story.
The data: Analyzed by the Los Angeles Times, it found:
Why safety is improving: Better technology, remote human help, and human drivers getting accustomed to Waymos are likely reasons safety is improving, Matthew Raifman of UC Berkeley told AirTalk listeners.
Concerns: Former federal auto safety regulator and UCLA law professor Ann Carlson stressed on air that Waymo’s improving safety record shouldn’t be extrapolated onto other autonomous car companies like Tesla’s Cybercab or Amazon’s Zoox, both of which have had recent safety issues.
Listen: To the full AirTalk segment above to hear about the challenges involved in making autonomous cars safe in every environment.
Topline:
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s restrictions on generative artificial intelligence have drawn mixed reactions from education experts and students. The district said in a statement to EdSource that its new Generative AI Ad Hoc Committee is working on specifics and will bring policy recommendations to the school board by the end of this academic year.
The backstory: A student and experts from USC and UCLA weigh in on generative AI use for children and teens in schools.
Read on... for more on the implications.
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s restrictions on generative artificial intelligence have drawn mixed reactions from education experts and students.
The district said in a statement to EdSource that its new Generative AI Ad Hoc Committee is working on specifics and will bring policy recommendations to the school board by the end of this academic year.
Here’s what experts and students have to say about the approach.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
As a general rule, I am against blanket bans.
The core idea that I try to get across when we’re talking about screen time bans or AI bans is that we’re treating these technologies as though they are uniform, almost like a drug. AI is an umbrella term that refers to lots of different types of technologies.
Before everyone was talking about generative AI, cognitive tutors were AI-based tutoring systems that helped kids learn math. They can be very good at providing hints and diagnosing which concepts specifically students have issues with.
Teachers are often under-resourced and not respected in terms of the decisions that they end up making in the classroom. And policies aside, teachers end up defining almost 100% what the learning environment looks like for the kids that are under their charge.
So, I think that any real solution to this challenge involves giving teachers, and to a lesser extent parents, good information backed by sound science about the effects of different technologies.
Professional development is one way. Teachers need to be responsive to the emerging science about how kids learn — not because learning changes fundamentally, but because the tools we use to learn change.
I think [AI bans are] probably the correct approach. As we learn more, some of these policies may be revised.
It is easier to ban it in the elementary grades because kids are learning basic skills. They’re learning how to read, write, do basic math and understand concepts about science.
What gets tricky in high school is that every kid pretty much has a smartphone, so their ability to independently access AI is really high. As teachers get better trained to use AI in their own teaching and assignments, we may see more of a hybrid model.
One of the guiding pedagogical questions for me is: Is doing the tasks themselves an important part of what students are meant to do? If you want students to brainstorm, for example, some of that needs to be practiced first before it is delegated to an AI companion.
An analogy that makes sense is to treat classrooms like gyms. If you want to get fit and be able to run, you have to do it yourself. And it is the same way with education.
I don’t frequently use AI, but I do observe people in the classroom using it. I would say it’s mostly used to give the answer, and then they [students] just move on without really understanding.
I think this ban is mainly because a lot of students don’t know how to use AI effectively in an educational sense. But I don’t think the ban is going to really restrict usage. We can use precedents like the phone ban. I don’t see my peers using phones any less.
But I think what we need right now is some sort of class or lesson integrated into the curriculum that teaches us how to use artificial intelligence more effectively, which we’re not taught.
With the growing prevalence of artificial intelligence and technology beyond high school, in college and in careers, it’s going to become much more important to know how to use AI. I think what would be more effective is having a required curriculum or more opportunity in school to learn how to use artificial intelligence more effectively.
It’s going to be so helpful for the future.
This story was originally published by EdSource.
EdSource is an independent nonprofit organization that provides analysis on key education issues facing California and the nation. LAist republishes articles from EdSource with permission.
Topline:
Two Democrats with differing approaches vie to regulate one of the biggest insurance markets in the world.
Why it matters: Bernie Sanders. Jane Fonda. There’s some star power endorsing each of the two Democratic candidates to be California’s next insurance commissioner. Sure, it has historically been a little-known regulatory position. But its profile and importance are rising after a decade of some of the most destructive and deadliest wildfires in the state, which have disrupted one of the world’s largest insurance markets.
About the candidates: If voters elect Jane Kim, the former San Francisco supervisor is proposing a drastic change that could have come out of the playbook of Sanders, her most famous backer: public disaster insurance. If state Sen. Ben Allen wins, the movie star-backed candidate wants to get everyone on board to help reduce wildfire risk — individuals, communities, fire experts, local and state officials and the insurance industry — which he says would help solve the availability and affordability issues around homeowners insurance.
Read on... for more on the candidates and how they measure up.
Bernie Sanders. Jane Fonda. There’s some star power endorsing each of the two Democratic candidates to be California’s next insurance commissioner.
Sure, it has historically been a little-known regulatory position. But its profile and importance are rising after a decade of some of the most destructive and deadliest wildfires in the state, which have disrupted one of the world’s largest insurance markets.
Not a homeowner? The commissioner's actions still affect your wallet if you're a renter, driver, pet owner, landlord, business owner, buyer of life insurance or possible user of workers' compensation.
If voters elect Jane Kim, the former San Francisco supervisor is proposing a drastic change that could have come out of the playbook of Sanders, her most famous backer: public disaster insurance.
If state Sen. Ben Allen wins, the movie star-backed candidate wants to get everyone on board to help reduce wildfire risk — individuals, communities, fire experts, local and state officials and the insurance industry — which he says would help solve the availability and affordability issues around homeowners insurance.
Voters are deciding between two candidates with a lot in common, including extensive track records of consumer advocacy, but who are offering very different ways of trying to solve the state’s insurance problems. At a debate between them moderated by CalMatters on Thursday, Kim characterized her opponent as offering to “tinker” and uphold the status quo, while Allen referred to Kim’s plans as “totally unprecedented and unmoored.”
The commissioner leads the Insurance Department, whose responsibilities include approving how much insurers can charge customers for property and casualty insurance, such as home, auto, commercial, renters, pet and travel.
A few years ago, some insurance companies stopped writing or renewing homeowner policies in areas with high fire risk, saying the state wasn’t approving their rate requests quickly enough so their prices weren’t matching the risk. That pushed homeowners into the FAIR Plan, a pool of insurers required to sell policies to those who can’t buy them from the regular market. The plan’s policies are generally more expensive and provide less coverage.
Last year, Commissioner Ricardo Lara rolled out new regulations that include faster rate reviews — when the Insurance Department looks at an insurer’s request to charge more money — and letting insurance companies factor reinsurance and catastrophe models into their rates. The department says the new rules are working because some insurers have said they plan to write more policies in the state again, though the state has not shared how many.
The new rules are generally leading to higher prices. Homeowners insurance rates in California rose 5% in the first half of the year, one of the largest increases in the nation, according to Insurify, a comparison site.
Meanwhile, average auto insurance premiums in the state are among the highest in the nation as replacement costs have gone up with the cost of vehicles. Both candidates said they hope to increase awareness of a state program that provides low-cost auto insurance to low-income drivers; Kim wants to expand it.
The Insurance Department reviews insurer practices and conducts investigations, though it’s limited in what it can order companies to do, as survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires in January 2025 have found as they struggle to rebuild partly because of insurance-claim delays and denials.
One of the candidates was in a position to take action on the issue: The governor recently signed Allen’s Senate Bill 1209, which increases the commissioner’s ability to compel insurers to fix problems the department finds after an investigation.
For example, the department found that State Farm violated the law in its handling of claims from last year’s fires in the Los Angeles area and recommended penalties, but the case has yet to go to a hearing. Although the law Allen authored, which was co-sponsored by Lara, is not retroactive, it should give the future commissioner additional power to hold insurers more accountable.
Democratic state Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón is among many fellow lawmakers endorsing Allen in the race.
She said the senator, who represents the Palisades, “jumped into action the second he heard about the fire.” That meant assessing the situation, rallying his staff and going to his district immediately afterward, she said.
“From the start to now, he has been active,” Limón said. “He has authored legislation, held town halls and brought stakeholders together.”
She worked with him on the climate bond that voters approved in 2024 that is now helping fund water infrastructure, wildfire prevention and more. Allen, who also authored a landmark plastics law to reduce pollution that continues to face blowback, has been a champion of the environment — hence the support from Fonda’s climate political action committee.
“He has been able to land some of these difficult deals,” Limón said.
Allen has been a state senator since 2014 and is terming out. In his last legislative session, he authored two other laws that will affect the insurance market: One will establish a state-backed loan program for homeowners to upgrade and harden their homes against fire. The other will require insurers to give homeowners more details if they’re planning to drop their coverage, and give homeowners time to fix the issues to try to retain their insurance.
“This law’s going to help people help existing coverage, and keep them off the FAIR Plan,” Allen told CalMatters. “We have to think about holistic solutions.”
Kim has not held an elected office since 2019. Her most recent jobs were California director for the Working Families Party, and before that, California political director for Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign.
A fellow former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors recalled Kim’s impact during her time there. It includes helping pass the first $15 minimum wage ordinance in the state, securing tenant protections and providing free community college for the city’s residents.
“I got to witness for eight years a woman that was tenacious and relentless,” said Malia Cohen, the state controller who’s running for another term.
Cohen said she and Kim represented different districts in San Francisco and sometimes had opposing priorities: “She has been my enemy and my friend.”
She recalled working with Kim to “ban the box” that formerly incarcerated people used to have to check on job applications, a city ordinance that became a model for the state.
At a rally last week in San Francisco where Sanders campaigned for Proposition 40, the billionaire wealth tax, Kim delivered a speech in which she chalked up her grit to her mother and being drawn to public service from her father, both immigrants.
“My mother taught me to negotiate relentlessly in a world that did not see her, and it is what allowed me to walk into a room full of older white men and demand 40% affordable and middle-income housing,” Kim said, referring to her dealings with developers in San Francisco.
“She passed legislation in San Francisco that has shaped the California landscape,” Cohen said.
Kim and Allen have a lot in common. Each has promised to be tough on the insurance industry, including by pushing for insurer transparency and creating public report cards for them.
Both candidates have support from different labor, environmental and civil rights groups. But with two Democrats vying for the position for the first time, the endorsements reflect the divide within the party that has been highlighted by the victories of progressive candidates elsewhere, such as that of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The California Democratic Party endorsed Allen, while the California Labor Federation endorsed Kim. Both U.S. senators from California, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, endorsed Allen. U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, the Democrat from Silicon Valley who has long been aligned with Sanders, endorsed Kim.
“I think Jane is a strong progressive,” Khanna told CalMatters in San Francisco earlier this week. “She understands that the big oil companies should be paying for the extreme conditions that are causing wildfires in California.”
Kim’s proposal for public disaster insurance, which she said would be funded by premiums policyholders already pay to insurance companies, would allow consumers to keep their existing coverage. It would split off fire and flood coverage. The state would run the program and could invest some of the revenue from premiums into wildfire risk mitigation and not into the fossil-fuel industry like insurance companies do, she said.
Kim’s plan aligns with proposals by experts who say the current insurance model is failing because of growing risks, and that public involvement is the answer. A report by the California Earthquake Authority, which was tasked with studying how the state can boost its catastrophe resiliency, includes an analysis of a state-backed wildfire insurer.
The insurance industry and some consumer advocates have slammed her plan, saying it’s a bad idea to shift catastrophic burden to the state. A San Francisco Chronicle endorsement of Allen said Kim would “blow up” the insurance system during a time when the regulations Lara implemented last year need more time to work.
Kim said onstage at the rally with Sanders in San Francisco last week: “They will tell us our ideas are too expensive or magical thinking, but the status quo is not the safest path. It is the most expensive one.”
She has pointed to New Zealand’s public disaster system as an example. At the debate on Thursday, Allen voiced a frequent criticism: The coverage that system provides is limited and doesn’t include wildfire.
“What matters is not the type of catastrophe but that we are covering catastrophe, and that we would work to cover up to a median price of a home,” Kim responded. She said New Zealand covers catastrophes that exist in their country, like mudslides and earthquakes.
Kim also wants to create a public option for low-cost auto insurance by expanding the state’s existing program for low-income drivers. Allen says that would allow drivers who have more resources to take advantage.
Allen’s plan for comprehensive wildfire risk mitigation — which the recent earthquake authority’s report analyzed, too — would include pushing the insurance industry to do more than “pay lip service” to reducing fire risk. Some homeowners have complained that their home-hardening efforts haven’t led to significant savings on their premiums, or ensured that they will be able to buy affordable insurance.
“The commissioner is uniquely positioned to force the industry to the table to be a part of the solution, to help to incentivize and reward real, meaningful resilience and risk reduction all over the state,” he told CalMatters.
At the debate, Allen said his approach is “grounded in the realities we’re facing now, and how we actually fix the system as it is.”
Allen has said his plan includes thinking about mitigation as early as the development process. “We shouldn’t be building new construction that is irresponsible in high-risk areas,” he said earlier this year, before he and Kim ended up being the top two vote-getters in the June primary election.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
