The Brief

The CDC on Monday accepted controversial new guidelines for the updated COVID-19 vaccines that could make it harder for many people to protect themselves this winter compared with previous years.

Acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill agreed to the recommendations for the COVID shots from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s handpicked Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which met in September.

Unlike in earlier years, the new guidelines call for people to talk to a doctor, pharmacist or some other health care provider about the risks and benefits of getting vaccinated before they get a shot. This extra step is called "shared decision-making,"or "individual-based decision-making," according to the language in the news release.

The move is the final action necessary for implementing the new guidelines, which affect who can get and give the COVID shot, and whether vaccination will be covered by private and government insurance without copayments.

Final recommendations were delayed

The step came after an unusual, unexplained two-week lag between when CDC advisers issued the recommendations and the agency accepted them. The official decision allows the CDC to finally start shipping vaccines to doctors, clinics and other providers through the Vaccines for Children Program, which provides vaccines free to about 40% of all U.S. children.

"Informed consent is back," O'Neill said in a statement announcing the step. "CDC's 2022 blanket recommendation for perpetual COVID-19 boosters deterred health care providers from talking about the risks and benefits of vaccination for the individual patient or parent. That changes today."

Independent vaccine experts challenged that claim.

"There is no basis to claim that routine recommendations prevent doctors from discussing risks and benefits with patients," said Dorit Reiss, who studies vaccine policies at the University of California, San Francisco. "Doctors [have always been] required to get informed consent. Shared clinical decision-making simply signals the vaccine is not routinely recommended and decreases uptake."

Others agree O'Neill's claim is false and could undermine public confidence in the vaccines.

"The claim that the past recommendations deterred health care professionals from talking to patients about risks is completely untrue and is another example of the misinformation and made up information that this administration continues to release to the public and further creates confusion and distrust in healthcare providers and vaccines," wrote Dr. Tina Tan, the president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, in an email. "This is extremely unfortunate and critically increases the American public's risk for serious vaccine preventable diseases."

The CDC also formalized a recommendation that makes it more complicated for some parents to get their babies vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.

"If that's his approach, I am concerned about [additional] childhood vaccines recommended for routine use," Reiss added in an email. "If he thinks a routine recommendation undermines informed consent — which it doesn't — that could further reduce uptake and may make the Trump-Kennedy outbreaks of measles and pertussis we are seeing even larger."

The moves guarantee continued insurance coverage for the COVID shots and allows pharmacists nationwide to keep administering the vaccines. But the changes withdraw some government coverage for the combination shot that protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox and that some parents prefer.

In previous years, the COVID-19 vaccines have been easily available for free to anyone 6 months and older by simply walking into a pharmacy, doctor's office or clinic and asking for a shot.

Barriers to vaccination

But the vaccines became harder to get in August, when the Food and Drug Administration approved updated versions of the Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and Novavax vaccines only for people at increased risk for serious disease because they are age 65 or older or had some other health issue.

The change occurred because top Trump administration health officials say they have concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines, even though there is overwhelming evidence the vaccines are very safe and highly effective. Federal health officials also argue that most people have so much immunity now that they don't necessarily need annual boosters anymore.

Many public health experts agree that COVID no longer poses the serious risk it once did to many people, especially those who are younger and otherwise healthy. Other countries have also shifted to a more "risk-based" COVID vaccination strategy.

But some healthy people still want to get vaccinated to reduce their risk of getting sick at all, missing work or school, developing long COVID or spreading the virus to vulnerable people, such as older family members and friends with other health issues.

Over the past month, the change caused anger, frustration and confusion. In states like Georgia and Utah, people had to get a prescription to get a shot and some couldn't get vaccinated at all.

The situation was further complicated because Kennedy, who has a long history of criticizing vaccines, said the government was no longer recommending the vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children, even though pregnancy is listed as a risk factor by the CDC and FDA, and COVID can still make some kids very sick.

Earlier this month, the vaccine panel, which gives influential advice to the CDC, voted to recommend the shots for anyone 6 months and older, provided they consult with a health care provider about the risks and benefits.

Confusion still reigns 

The requirement for shared clinical decision-making creates a new hurdle to getting vaccinated compared with previous years, by explicitly requiring a conversation with a provider on an individual's risks and benefits before they get one.

The new guidelines continue to ensure coverage by private and public insurers, including Medicaid, Medicare, the Vaccines for Children Program and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

The recommendation should also clarify that anyone age 6 months and older is eligible for the COVID vaccine, including healthy children, pregnant women and younger adults. (The only way to protect younger babies, who are among those who face the greatest risk from COVID, is by immunizing their mothers during pregnancy.)

But some providers may remain confused or hesitant to administer the shots because of lingering uncertainty and mixed messages, for instance, speculative safety risks presented during the CDC's advisory committee meeting that are not backed by solid evidence.

Some states and major medical groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Infectious Diseases Society of America have issued separate guidelines recommending the shots to most everyone ages 6 months and up, to protect themselves and their communities this upcoming respiratory virus season.

In addition, more doctor's offices may opt against stocking the new vaccines because of concerns the debate may further dampen demand, requiring people to go elsewhere, such as a pharmacy.

Some pharmacies may require patients to read and fill out a form that discusses the potential risks and benefits of the vaccines. But CVS, the nation's largest pharmacy chain, says people will be able to get a COVID vaccines simply by asking for one. Pharmacists won't have to require anything, including even a conversation, unless patients have questions, CVS says.

A separate shot for chickenpox is now recommended 

O'Neill also accepted the panel's vote to ban the MMRV combination shot, which protects against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella, or chickenpox, for children under 4.

Young children can gain the same protection by getting separate shots for MMR and varicella, and most of them – some 85% – already do, according to CDC data shared and discussed at the advisory committee's September meeting.

That's because the combination shot is associated with a slightly higher risk of fevers that can lead to seizures in kids under 4. Because of the risk the CDC has, for more than 15 years, preferred that children under 4 receive the shots separately. Still, some parents were choosing to get the combo shot, because it was easier or more available, and the risk associated with the potentially frightening but temporary side effect is low.

Because of the recommendation, the MMRV vaccine will no longer be covered by federal programs that offer subsidized vaccines. "This panel has made a recommendation for a practice that's essentially in place anyway, but removed the option of having those vaccines financed for those who may think this is a better option," says Dr. Katrina Kretsinger, a medical epidemiologist who worked on vaccine policy for more than a decade at CDC, before retiring from the agency in 2023, "This is effectively removing a choice from parents."

Making different policies from the same safety information that was thoroughly examined years ago will also raise mistrust among parents, Kretsinger says. "There is confusion about how to proceed, and also doubts raised by the fact that this is being re-examined," she says, "It furthers the chilling effect on vaccine uptake."

The change may also cause shortages of the separate vaccines, at least initially, until manufacturers can adjust their production to meet the new demand.

A fresh call to break up the MMR vaccine

A few hours after issuing the new vaccine guidelines, Acting CDC Director O'Neill also called on makers of the combined MMR vaccine to break it up into three separate shots for measles, mumps and rubella in a post on X.com. The post praised President Trump for his leadership and reposted his call in September that the MMR vaccine be administered as "THREE TOTALLY SEPARATE SHOTS."

The combination shot for measles, mumps and rubella has been used in the U.S. for decades.

"This really is absolutely completely ridiculous and really sets us back over 50 years in time given that the MMR vaccine was licensed here in the US in 1971," said Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, in an email. "It was made as a combination vaccine to ensure that persons would receive all the vaccines that they would need as a single shot as opposed to 3 separate injections. This is crazy and continues to erode the public health system and the public trust in vaccines."

"There is no published scientific evidence that shows any benefit in separating the combination MMR vaccine into three individual shots," said a statement from Merck, which makes an MMR vaccine. "Use of the individual components of combination vaccines increases the number of injections for the individual and may result in delayed or missed immunizations."

The statement also said that evidence suggests combination vaccines improve outcomes for kids by increasing completion of recommended vaccines and getting them at the right ages. Merck also said there are no single-shot vaccines approved for use in the U.S. for measles, mumps or rubella.

"Combination vaccines play a crucial role in improving vaccination coverage rates; their safety and efficacy have been demonstrated by decades of research," said a statement from GSK, maker of the other MMR vaccine available in the U.S. "By reducing the number of separate injections required, combination vaccines allow for a simpler and more efficient immunization process, which is essential for timely protection against disease."
Copyright 2025 NPR

Editor's note: This is an update of the profile published in December of the great African musician Fela Kuti. The original post was published when it was announced that Kuti would become the first African musician ever awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Now this week, he is on the list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and again is a historic "first" — the first African musician to be inducted into the hall.

Fela Kuti, the Afrobeat pioneer and activist who died in 1997, now holds two landmark honors.

On Dec. 19, he became the first African musician ever awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, joining an elite group of legends like The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley and Frank Sinatra — all recognized for making "creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."

This week it was announced that he is one of the musicians who will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2026. He is being honored in the category of "musical influence." The Hall of Fame paid this tribute: "Fela Kuti was a revolutionary voice who spoke out against injustice through his innovative music — provoking political change while infusing jazz, West African and soul music to pioneer the Afrobeat genre."

He has long been acclaimed by his fellow African artists. "Fela Kuti's music was a fearless voice of Africa — its rhythms carried truth, resistance and freedom, inspiring generations of African musicians to speak boldly through sound," says the legendary Senegalese singer Youssou N' Dour.

Nicknamed the "Black President" for his role as a political and cultural leader, Fela is one of the rarified artists who's recognized by a single name. He saw huge success as a pioneer of the Afrobeat genre, with its multilayered and shifting syncopation, psychedelic horns and chants. He was never nominated for a Grammy during his lifetime — although his musician sons, Femi and Seun, and grandson Made, have received eight nominations collectively.

A really big sound

Fela embraced a massive sound. His band often swelled to more than 30 members (including backup singers and dancers) and featured two bass guitars and two baritone saxophones. He himself played saxophone, keyboards, guitar, drums and trumpet (his first instrument as a child). His emphasis on complex polyrhythms and the inclusion of traditional African instruments like the talking drum were revolutionary at the time — a rebellion against the dominance of Western pop and a marked effort to forge a post-colonial African identity.

From the start of his career, Fela aimed to reach a larger and Pan-African audience by singing almost exclusively in Nigerian Pidgin English (rather than his mother tongue, Yoruba, which doesn't translate throughout most of the continent).

He did not play by the rules of the music biz. He expressed disdain for party tunes and love songs. He'd release as many as seven albums in a single year. And he refused to perform songs live once they'd been recorded.

His music broke new ground with songs that could stretch to 45 minutes. One of his most famous albums, Confusion, was composed of a lone tune broken into two sides, Confusion Pt. I and Confusion Pt. II — the first half entirely instrumental.

BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness) from Soweto, South Africa, the incendiary live band and 2023 winner of the WOMEX Artist Award, sent a statement to NPR: "Fela is our spiritual muse and if he didn't pursue music without boundaries of song length and speaking his truth — even when it was putting his life in danger — we wouldn't have had the guts to be ourselves without fear or favor."

A political awakening — and repercussions

During a 10-month stay in Los Angeles in 1969, Fela befriended members of the Black Panther Party. Afterward, his music grew political. He became an outspoken opponent of Nigeria's military dictatorship and of South African apartheid.

The year following his 1976 album Zombie's scathing indictment of the Nigerian government, The New York Times reported that a force comprising 1,000 Nigerian military members burned Fela's Lagos home and recording compound (including all his instruments and master recording tapes). Fela was beaten unconscious, and his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was thrown from an upstairs window and later died from the resulting injuries.

That album, Zombie, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame last year, becoming only the fourth record by an African artist among the 1,165 releases.

In 1979, Fela unsuccessfully ran for president of Nigeria. His political activism added to his high profile — and controversial history. He was arrested many times by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's military junta, including at Lagos airport while departing for a U.S. tour. He was sentenced to five years in prison and held for over a year. Amnesty International classified him as a "prisoner of conscience." Fela was freed only after the Buhari regime was overthrown in August 1985.

Musical life after death

Fela succumbed to complications from AIDS in 1997. His older brother, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, a pediatrician and AIDS activist who served as health minister for Nigeria, spread the word that Fela's death was AIDS-related. According to Ransome-Kuti, Fela had believed that "all doctors were fabricating AIDS, including myself."

Following that news, one of the nation's largest daily papers reported that condom sales surged in Nigeria. Fela's passing marked a turning point in bringing greater consciousness about the epidemic across Africa. It is estimated that over one million people attended his funeral.

Since his death, his music has carried on. A tribute album, Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti, was released in 2002, featuring such artists as Sade, D'Angelo, Nile Rodgers, Questlove and Taj Mahal. Profits went to organizations working to raise AIDS awareness. And in 2009, Jay-Z and Will Smith produced Fela!, a Broadway musical about Fela's life that earned 11 Tony Award nominations.

For today's African musicians and worldwide, he is both a legend and an inspiration.

Tunde Adebimpe, the Nigerian American actor (Rachel Getting Married, Twisters) and lead singer for Grammy-nominated band TV on the Radio, told NPR: "Fela for me is the chapter heading in my musical education. He is the originator who showed us music as a power move calling out corruption. Music that questions your psyche and health, worries for your ecosystem, gut checks your self-worth and pride, and keeps you lifted. And it moves nyash [ass]."

Four-time Grammy-nominated Malian singer Salif Keita puts it this way: "Brother Fela was a great influence for my music. I loved him very much. He was a brave man. His legacy is undisputed."

Ian Brennan is a Grammy-winning music producer (Tinariwen, Parchman Prison Prayer, The Good Ones, West Virginia Snake Handler Revival) who has recorded over 50 records by international artists across five continents. He is the author of 10 books. His latest is Missing Music: Voices From Where the Dirt Roads End.

Copyright 2026 NPR

The first Earth Day, in April 1970, led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and landmark legislation like the Clean Air Act.

In the years since, it's expanded to Earth Month, with schools, governments and organizations — including museums — using it as a way to spark conversations about protecting the environment.

Here are some sustainability-focused museums, art exhibitions and events to check out in Los Angeles this Earth Month.

Living materials centered at new exhibition

The new Hammer Museum exhibition titled Several Eternities in a Day: Form in the Age of Living Materials includes a collection of works made from organic materials like avocado, cacao, flowers, stone, clay, sand and natural dyes.

It invites visitors to rethink ideas of permanence and humanity's place in nature, through sculptures, paintings and collages made by 22 artists from across the Americas, including some based here in Los Angeles.

A view of Carmen Argote's "an archetype of stillness" and "an archetype of touch" paintings in the Hammer Museum's "Several Eternities in a Day" exhibition.

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Monica Bushman

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L.A.-based Mexican American artist Carmen Argote's paintings — titled "an archetype of stillness" and "an archetype of touch" — are among the works that first catch your attention upon entering the exhibition.

The pair of 16-foot-tall human-like figures that Argote painted — without brushes — by dipping her hands and feet in a mixture of avocado, cochineal dye and lemon juice, will change color throughout the length of the exhibition as the avocado continues to dry, release oil and eventually disintegrates the paper they were painted on.

" This piece has taught me so much about letting go," Argote told LAist. "And really accepting the life of a material and life of an artwork."

"Cuerpos terrestres en fluidez" by Jackie Amézquita in "Several Eternities in a Day: Form in the Age of Living Materials" at the Hammer Museum.

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Sarah M Golonka

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Another work, titled "Cuerpos terrestres en fluidez" (or "Terrestrial Bodies in Fluidity") by L.A.-based artist Jackie Amézquita consists of a set of sculptures that Amézquita built using the rammed earth technique (which dates back to the Neolithic period) and then split into fragments.

The materials she used included decomposed granite from the Mojave Desert, lava rocks, obsidian, rain and ocean water.

“There's this idea that we have of nature to not be permanent when it's actually older than us,” Amézquita noted.

The questions that her and other artists’ use of organic materials raise about permanence or impermanence, Amézquita told LAist, “is just an echo to what life is.”

“That is part of our human condition,” she explained. “We’re always confronted with the idea of life and death.”

Her artistic practice, Amézquita added, is also about “ reminding us that we are part of the land, that we are soil, that our bodies are made of earth and also earth is made out of us. And so our footprint, or the decisions we make, has a ripple effect.”

What an exhibition on rice cultivation can teach us about sustainable practices

At the nearby Fowler Museum (also affiliated with UCLA), is Mountain Spirits: Rice and Indigeneity in the Northern Luzon Highlands, Philippines, a new immersive exhibition centered around the ecological wisdom of the rice cultivation practices of the indigenous Ifugao people in the Philippines.

 ”We focus on rice because rice became this foundation for the Ifugao resistance against Spanish conquest, and they used rice to be able to consolidate their political and economic resources,” says Stephen Acabado, professor of anthropology and director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at UCLA.

The exhibition is split into three galleries. In one gallery, visitors can see a time-lapsed video of the landscape that places into context the Ifugao mountain spirits and the indigenous belief system. Paired with the videos are wooden carvings of the bulul, or rice guardians, and fabrics that represent Ifugao deities.

Wooden carvings of the bulul, or rice guardians, in the Fowler Museum's new "Mountain Spirits" exhibition.

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Fowler Museum

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A second gallery pairs rituals and tools that the Ifugao use for rice cultivation with videos showing them in practice. And the third gallery examines how the higher ranking Ifugao members keep the community alive through sustaining rituals.

 ”What we're seeing now, especially with climate change, looking at how they cared for the land for at least 400 years, [their] sustainable form of agricultural production … will give us at least an idea on how we can adapt their practices for food security and care for the environment,” Acabado says.

Beyond sustainable practices, Acabado hopes the exhibition can dispel the idea the Philippines is a monolith and also strengthen a sense of identity for Filipinos.

“Although we’re focusing on the Ifugao,” Acabado says, “the exhibit wants to highlight the diversity of the Philippines.”

A museum with sustainability at its core

LACMA’s newly opening Geffen Galleries are getting a lot of attention at the moment, but don’t overlook the nearby Craft Contemporary museum, which is also worth checking out (and a fun fact for The Pitt watchers: It was founded by Noah Wyle’s grandmother).

The Craft Contemporary on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.

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Craft Contemporary

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Sustainability is a core tenet for the Craft Contemporary, according to its senior curator Frida Cano. The museum was a case study in the Getty’s 2025 Climate Action Report for sustainable exhibition design.

Its practices include recycling materials from past exhibitions for public workshopping events, having artists sign printed exhibition materials so they become collectibles for guests and utilizing natural dyes in art installations.

Its upcoming May exhibition, tierra, recycles pulp from a past paper-making workshop for artwork labels and creates paint utilizing cacti from Descanso Gardens.

For Cano, it’s especially important to focus on the power of craft and sustainability in an increasingly tech-based era.

“The world is larger than our little micro-universe of craft,” Cano said.  “So we're taking the power of craft to make sure that we contribute to the wellness of humanity, you know, mother Earth at large.”

More exhibitions and Earth Day events to check out

Earth Day Festival at the Natural History Museum: Events include exhibitions, art and science activities and free screenings of the museum’s film series “Green Screen: Our Planet on Film.” The event takes place Sunday. (And a tip: go full Earth Day and take the Metro there. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC will mean more traffic in the area.)

Clay LA at the Craft Contemporary: A weeklong event that features air-clay activities and a market where artisans will sell their ceramic creations. This event runs from April 24-26.

Material Prophecies: Craft as Divination at the Armory Center for the Arts: A group exhibition (which also features a work by Jackie Amézquita) that reflects on time through artists’ works made from fiber, wood, bronze, terracotta and earth. The exhibition is ongoing until Aug. 1.

Calling all readers: It’s the annual L.A. Times Festival of Books this weekend, so bring your favorite tote down to USC, buy all your favorite books and hear from your favorite authors, publishing houses, chefs and more. We’ll be there, too. Come say hi.

Licorice Pizza has your music picks, from Coachella weekend and beyond. There’s a lot of skull-crushing rock, punk and industrial this weekend, starting Friday, with Avatar, Fleshgod Apocalypse and Frozen Soul at the Novo, and Blood for Blood at the Belasco. On Saturday, Gwar, with Soulfly as support, will spill their guts, literally, at the Belasco; My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult are at the Teragram … or, for something completely different, there is a literally hair-raising show by furry saxophonist Saxsquatch, with opener Olivver the Kid, at the Roxy.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can find out how the LAX people mover is coming along (spoiler alert: slowly), learn how to protect yourself from a stingray sting as warmer waters have increased attacks and read up on the history of Sunset Strip’s famous Marlboro Man billboard.

Events

Artist talk with Ruben Ochoa

Saturday, April 18, 2 p.m. 
Breakdown/Breakthrough: Art and Infrastructure
UC Irvine Langston Orange County Museum of Art 
18881 Von Karman Ave., Irvine
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Allison V Smith

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UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art

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The exhibit Breakdown/Breakthrough: Art and Infrastructure is on in Irvine through May 16, but this weekend you can catch an artist talk with Ruben Ochoa and a special pop-up activation at the Irvine Barclay Theatre Plaza (4242 Campus Drive, Irvine). Ochoa’s work, which spans photography, large-scale installations, AR and more, examines “how Southern California’s built environment shapes daily life … from our movement and visibility to our sense of belonging.” On Saturday, Ochoa will discuss his practice with curator Dr. Michaëla Mohrmann.

Elysian Park and the Stone Quarry Hills film screening

Saturday, April 18, 11:30 a.m.
Edendale Library 
2011 Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Friends of Elysian Park hosts this screening of the Ed Ruscha short film, Elysian Park and the Stone Quarry Hills, which local favorite Ruscha made in 2023 with narration by none other than actor Benicio del Toro. The film takes a view of the history of the urban park, which includes its indigenous origins and later iterations as a quarry, a brick-making factory, a hospital and, of course, a baseball stadium.

Great Altadena Poppy Festival

Saturday, April 18, 10 a.m.
2270 Lake Ave., Altadena
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Pasadena Jaycees

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Check out the blooming poppies while supporting local Altadena businesses at the Great Altadena Poppy Festival. The Pasadena Jaycees will be handing out passports so you can keep track of where you’ve been, take photos at the flower wall and drive through the scenic poppies. There’s also a fun run at 8 a.m. if you really want to get moving early! 

The films of Gordon Matta-Clark 

Sunday, April 19, 1 p.m.
LA Film Forum at 2220 Arts 
2220 Arts
2220 Beverly Blvd., Historic Filipinotown
COST: $15; MORE INFO

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Gordon Matta-Clark

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Electronic Arts Intermix

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Six films from groundbreaking artist Gordon Matta-Clark have been stitched together for this screening, giving a broad sense of his “building cuts,” which “expose the thinness of the boundaries that divide people, mediums, spaces and ideas.” Curators Jessamyn Fiore, who's the director of the Gordon Matta-Clark estate, and Dylan Adamson, a critic and programmer, will be in attendance.

Save the Pier play

Through Sunday, April 19, 8 p.m. nightly 
403 Santa Monica Pier (West end of the pier), Santa Monica
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Santa Monica Pier Corporation

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Eventbrite

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Did you know that the Santa Monica Pier almost didn’t make it? In the 1970s, plans were in place to demolish the iconic end of Route 66 until a noble group of local citizens fought to keep it alive. And now we can play Skee-Ball any time — thank you, elders! The story is immortalized in a new play being performed — where else — on the pier, for free, through Sunday.

Beverly Hills

Through Saturday, April 18 
Kirk Douglas Theatre
9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City
COST: FROM $34; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Center Theatre Group

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Long before he was an entertainment writer for the likes of EW and his own site, TV Line, Michael Ausiello wrote a soap opera called Beverly Hills. He was 13. His long-held dream comes to life on stage at the Kirk Douglas with a rotating cast of bold-faced names, including Nathan Fillion, Michael Urie, Edi Patterson and more.

Edd Kimber

Friday, April 17, 6:30 p.m.  
Fat & Flour 
11739 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City
COST: $15; MORE INFO

Ummmm, can you say yum? Fat & Flour’s Nicole Rucker will chat with Edd Kimber about his new book, Chocolate Baking: The Ultimate Guide to Cakes, Cookies, Desserts, and Pastries. Of course, there will be treats to go with a book signing.

Public Fruit Tree Adoption 

Saturday, April 18, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
L.A. State Historic Park 
1245 N Spring St., Downtown L.A. 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Part art collective, part food waste activist group, part community farm, the Fallen Fruit folks are always up to something cool. In the spirit of Earth Month, head to the L.A. State Historic Park to adopt a fruit tree and help grow the city’s Endless Orchard — a project to plant and map publicly accessible fruit trees all over the city. You'll also have the chance to be painted into the Community Portrait celebrating the Power of Pollinators.