The Brief

If you’re hanging out in downtown Burbank this weekend, you might run into a group of friends wearing a mix of bespoke suits and bright pink ensembles.

Ian Zandi has a tradition of getting his friends to dress up and go out for his birthday. In 2021, they dressed as Ryan Gosling. In 2022, it was Tom Hanks.

This year, his birthday weekend coincides with the release of two highly anticipated summer blockbuster films — “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” With his 30th birthday approaching, it was go big or go home.

He sent out a Facebook invite, “We all dress up and see BARBENHEIMER double feature.” The plan: to watch both movies back-to-back dressed as either a character from Barbie’s DreamHouse, or a far grittier WWII-era Los Alamos.

Zandi’s event is open to the public, but he’s definitely not the only person planning to view the movies together. As you may know by now, “Barbenheimer” is a full-blown internet phenomenon.

The Barbenheimer phenomenon

“I didn’t know they were using that specific phrase,” Zandi says. “It just happened by coincidence. I planned this a few months ago, I had no idea.”

“Barbie” is a feminist telling of the story behind the Mattel Barbie doll from indie director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women). “Oppenheimer” is a dark, historically-grounded drama on the man behind the Manhattan Project and invention of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, from director Christopher Nolan (Inception, Interstellar, Memento).

The two movies opened on July 21. This idea of two blockbuster films catered to different audiences being pitted against each other on opening weekend is not a novel concept. It actually has a name — counterprogramming.

But, despite their diametrically opposed aesthetics and themes, the hype behind the two films is deeply intertwined.

Social media is overrun with memes around Barbenheimer. Fans of Nolan v. Gerwig, the film-bros v. the girlies, and on top of it all the most important question: which one are you watching first?

Thousands of Americans have purchased their tickets to see “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” opening weekend. AMC has reported that 40,000 of its reward members have tickets to both. After many dormant years at theaters, this weekend is headed to be one of the largest in recent history.

In L.A. — the home of Hollywood — the impact is apparent.

Tickets to see “Oppenheimer” in its intended IMAX 70mm at AMC Universal City and the TCL Chinese Theater (two of 30 theaters offering the format in the US) are sold out for the weekend, and beyond. “Barbie” is plastered on bright pink benches in the city, and there’s a real-life Barbie DreamHouse in Malibu on AirBnb.

Counterprogramming turned “complementary-programming”

Barbenheimer is the newest entry in the strategy of counterprogramming. Once relatively common, counterprogramming is when two studios release very different movies on the same weekend. The intended effect is to provide two distinct audiences a movie to see that weekend, driving up box office numbers on a whole. Stereotypically, it would look like pairing a high-octane action film with a girly romcom.

A popular example is the 2008 opening weekend of “The Dark Knight” and “Mamma Mia.” The two movies saw an epic box office battle — “The Dark Knight” won with $155.3 million, followed by “Mamma Mia” with a substantial $27.6 million.

However, over the past decade, counterprogramming has fell out of fashion. Some blame the towering popularity of superhero movies in the 2010s — particularly from Marvel — for decimating competition between other blockbusters. Additionally, with the pandemic’s blow to the theater industry, it’s no surprise that blockbusters are not often making it to movie screens on the same weekend.

But, Barbenheimer has brought counterprogramming back to theaters, at least for this summer. The two films come from competing studios — Barbie distributed by Warner Bros. and Oppenheimer by Universal. Yet, they’re a unique entry to the strategy’s cannon.

“We don't view it as a competition or counterprogramming. We view it more as complementary programming,” says Mia Lee Vicino, the West Coast Editor for Letterboxd, and a co-host of The Letterboxd Show podcast. (Letterboxd is a social media platform that hosts an online community of avid movie watchers.)

Unlike counterprogramming of the past, Barbenheimer has become a full-blown double feature. They’ve been grouped together as an inseparable viewing pair, instead of alternative film-going experiences.

On Letterboxd, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are neck and neck. Ahead of the release, 240,000 users had “Oppenheimer” on their watchlist, while 290,000 included “Barbie.”

How did Barbenheimer develop this shared fanbase?

“Comedy can come from incongruence,” explains Vicino. “Barbenheimer is simply funny.”

It’s true: the internet loves contrast. Think of those two neighboring houses in Santa Monica — one colorful, and the other completely black — that make their rounds online. (Yes, they are attached to a Barbenheimer meme now too.)

Beyond the humor, Vicino also cited Nolan and Gerwig’s reputation and their star-studded casts as drivers of popularity. Both directors are Oscar winners, and early reviews have awarded “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” with an 89 percent and 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively.

The industry has high hopes that this weekend’s face-off might be the jump start theaters across the country need. Nolan’s last film “Tenet,” released in 2021, saw dismal performance in the box office with viewers largely opting to view it on streaming. Movie theater attendance has long been facing a decline with people opting to stay home, even before the pandemic

Family-friendly Barbie is looking to rake in $110 million opening weekend, and Oppenheimer is expected to generate $50 million.

There’s no doubt that the online phenomenon around the films is what’s drawing people to the theaters.

“I think if it is successful — and I think it will be — studios will try and replicate it,” Zandi noted. “But, you can't replicate naturally what the audience wants.”

It’s unclear whether “complimentary programming” will stick around. Memes have already started to pop up pairing the upcoming winter releases of the whimsical “Wonka” movie starring Timothee Chalamet and the historical drama “Napoleon” starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Barbenheimer is set to have a dramatic impact on the industry, and could alter culture around going to theaters for the foreseeable future.

So, put on your sparkliest outfits or classiest fedora, and head to your local theater this weekend.

Facing federal funding cuts that could strip health coverage from hundreds of thousands of Angelenos, clinic leaders, union members and patients gathered in Inglewood last Wednesday to boost a stop-gap proposal they want to put in front of voters: a county sales tax to stave off service cuts and keep more sick people from seeking primary care in emergency rooms.

A newly formed coalition, Restore Healthcare for Angelenos, is asking the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to place a five-year, half-cent sales tax measure on the June ballot in Los Angeles County.

“The ballot measure that we are proposing is an urgent and necessary step to stop the damage, to protect access to life-saving care,” said Louise McCarthy, president and CEO of the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County, one of the organizations in the coalition. “The stakes right now could not be higher.”

As the federal spending plan, H.R. 1, starts to take effect, Medi-Cal cuts and eligibility changes will affect millions of Californians. The state estimates it could lose tens of billions of dollars a year in federal funding.

According to the coalition, their proposal would raise about $1 billion annually for health care in Los Angeles County. The revenue would help create a local coverage program that would pay for primary and emergency care as well as behavioral health needs for people who fall off their Medi-Cal insurance and have no other coverage options, according to the coalition. When people are uninsured, uncompensated care at clinics and hospitals grow, threatening the availability of services for everyone, coalition leaders say.

The coalition is working with Supervisor Holly Mitchell, whose office on Wednesday presented the motion to the county — an initial step before public debate. The board is expected to vote next month; the deadline for placing a board-sponsored measure on the June ballot is March 6.

“I do not take lightly asking fellow residents to consider imposing a ½ percent retail tax,” Mitchell said in an emailed statement. “This option is on the table because what’s at stake are safety net services unraveling for millions of residents — which would come at an even greater cost for the largest county in the nation.”

She added that if the measure passed it would sunset on Oct. 1, 2031 and would be subject to public oversight and audits. “This is a last resort option for the times we’re facing and for voters to make the final call on,” Mitchell said.

If the board of supervisors does not approve the measure for a June vote, the coalition will gather signatures toward qualifying the initiative for the November ballot, said Jim Mangia, CEO of St. John’s Community Health, another coalition member.

Efforts to shore up health care access for poor Californians aren’t unique to Los Angeles. Pressure is building for state and county leaders to find new revenue streams to make up at least in part for the federal losses. In a legislative hearing Tuesday, health providers and advocates also urged state lawmakers to seek creative funding solutions.

Last November, voters in Santa Clara County approved a tax similar to the one proposed in Los Angeles County. Santa Clara’s Measure A will raise the local sales tax by five-eights of a cent for five years. The county projects that it will provide $330 million annually for local hospitals and clinics.

Both local proposals are separate from the push led by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West for a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of the state’s approximately 200 billionaires, which would generate an estimated $100 billion to fund  medical care and other social services at the state level. Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes the initiative, arguing that such a tax would drive wealthy people — who pay a significant portion of the state’s income taxes — from the state. That measure has not yet qualified for the November ballot.

Local and state tax proposals could seemingly compete for the attention of voters, since both are responses to the issue of federal funding cuts. And in L.A., voters may have to consider a number of other tax measures this election year from a city hotel tax in June to a sales tax to support the Los Angeles Fire Department in November.

Mangia sees the tax initiatives to fund health care as complementary. He said the state tax on billionaires would help restore some of federal cuts to Medi-Cal at the state level, while the L.A County measure would help shore up the local safety net.

“We’re doing this to make sure that no matter what happens federally, statewide, residents of L.A. County will have access to health care,” Mangia said.

Among the most prominent changes and cuts made in Trump’s major budget reconciliation law are a new requirement for enrollees to log 80 hours per month of school, work or volunteering starting in 2027; a rule that requires people to renew coverage every six months rather than annually; restrictions on taxes that the state places on insurers to help pay for the Medi-Cal program; and a reduction in how much the feds will pay for the emergency care of non-citizens.

State health officials estimate 2 million Californians could lose their Medi-Cal coverage over the next several years.

Under its own growing budget pressures, the state has also rolled back coverage for certain groups. Starting earlier this month state health officials froze Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented people — the state foots most of the cost for this group because with the exception of emergency care, federal dollars cannot be used to cover individuals who are in the country illegally. This summer the state will also cut non-emergency dental care for undocumented adults already enrolled in the program.

If you’re up for a drive out to the desert, the annual Death Valley Dark Sky festival is happening Feb. 6 to 8.

Kind of like the Coachella of star gazing, the weekend is packed with opportunities to spot celestial bodies through telescopes and hear scientists talk about everything from black holes to cutting edge radio telescopes.

Cameron Hummels, a research scientist and director of astrophysics outreach at Caltech, said he’s headed out to this convening of star gazers in Death Valley for five years.

He said it’s one thing to go to public science talks or watch them on YouTube, “but to have a visceral experience of looking through a telescope at a dark night sky is like something you have to go to a place to do."

Friday and Saturday will include outdoor star parties, where attendees can get access to the dozens of telescopes they’ll have set up.

The weekend’s programming will include talks from NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists, space-themed pub trivia at the Badwater Saloon and guided walks of the Death Valley spots that helped experts design missions off our planet.

“Because [Death Valley is] such an exposed landscape, it makes a really good planetary analog for a lot of the other locations in our solar system. Whether it’s the moon or Mars or some of the other objects in our solar system,” Hummels told LAist.

On Saturday, Hummels will lead a presentation on the “formation and evolution of galaxies.”

These dark sky events — known as astro-tourism — are becoming more popular, Hummels said. People seem to be increasingly interested in space in the last five years or so. And there are other pluses of laying out under the stars with a friend.

“I think anytime you get into the great outdoors you’re gonna have mental health benefits... I can highly recommend this to people as both an educational opportunity but [also] a place to see our place in the universe and have a fun chill weekend,” Hummels said.

And if you need a more terrestrial reason to make the trip out to Death Valley? All that rain we had is making for good wildflower conditions.

“Death Valley is poised for a better-than-average bloom, and with a little luck, it could even be better than that,” David Blacker, Death Valley National History Association executive director, wrote in his Wildflower Report earlier this month.

Organized by the National Park Service, the festival is a collaboration between NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Ames Research Center, Caltech and other institutions.

How to go

Death Valley Dark Sky Festival 2026

Friday, Feb. 6 to Sunday, Feb. 8.

All locations and times for talks, tours and star parties are listed on the National Park Service’s website.

All public events are free with entry to Death Valley National Park.

According to the Recording Academy itself, the Grammy for best new artist is for musicians who are having "a breakthrough into the public consciousness."

What did it look like to have a breakthrough moment in 2025? More often than not, it meant having a hit song on TikTok. At this weekend's Grammys, all eight best new artist nominees are musicians whose popularity skyrocketed thanks to the app.

"If there's anything that speaks to TikTok's power right now, I think it's this category in particular," says Robert Steiner, a media analyst at the music and entertainment insights company Luminate.

Last year, Luminate partnered with TikTok on a Music Impact report. It found what many powerbrokers in the music industry have known for awhile: The app is not only a large source of music discovery, but also a leading driver of chart success. According to the report, 84% of songs that entered Billboard's Global 200 chart went viral on TikTok first.

And music, in turn, is essential to the app as well. Steiner says going all the way back to its roots in Musically — a platform for lip-syncing videos — songs have been the currency for TikTok's biggest memes and dances.

"A lot of the trends that we see on TikTok are audio-based. Obviously video is part of it, but the sound is a huge aspect of it as well," Steiner says. "It was set up to really capitalize on audio becoming a key driver to the app, and I think as a result, it does seem like they created at least a segment of their user base that is very musically inclined."

Looking at this year's Grammy nominations, the best new artist contenders run the gamut from indie darlings who started making music a decade ago to former Hype House TikTok creators who launched recording careers in 2025. All eight nominees used the app in their ascent to pop stardom — but did they rise through the music industry into TikTok virality? Or the other way around?

Olivia Dean

The English singer is not a newcomer; as she told NPR's Morning Edition in September, she's been recording and releasing music for nearly a decade. In 2023, her album Messy was shortlisted for the U.K.'s Mercury Prize. But in 2025, the warm soul-pop melodies of her album The Art of Loving put her on the map in a major way. The single "Man I Need" became a hit on TikTok — it's been used in 1.7 million videos so far, according to the app — and quickly climbed the charts.

Did Olivia Dean come from TikTok or the music industry: The music industry. 

KATSEYE

Born out of a reality television competition show in 2023, KATSEYE is a global girl group seemingly created for TikTok virality — and so far, the sextet has delivered. In 2025, singles like "Gnarly" and "Gabriela" steadily climbed the charts; but perhaps more importantly, they soundtracked millions of videos on TikTok. Choreography from KATSEYE's Gap commercial (set to "Milkshake" by Kelis, not their own song) became a dance trend too, heralded as a clap back to Sydney Sweeney's controversial American Eagle jeans ad. In December, TikTok officially crowned KATSEYE its Global Artist of 2025.

Did KATSEYE come from TikTok or the music industry? Both.

The Marías

The indie pop band started releasing synth-driven, bilingual songs nearly a decade ago and collaborated with Bad Bunny on his 2022 album Un Verano Sin Ti. But it was a demo of their song "No One Noticed," which lead singer María Zardoya released unofficially on her TikTok account, that would become the band's biggest song to date, and was later officially released on their 2024 album Submarine. Zardoya told podcast host Zach Sang that despite being a slower, introspective song — the opposite of what the band's label wanted at the time — fans gravitated towards it on social media.

Did The Marías come from TikTok or the music industry? The industry via the independent route — they built a fanbase and eventually landed a record deal with Atlantic, then hit big on the app. 

Addison Rae

Originally from Lafayette, La. — cue the Britney Spears comparisons — Addison Rae became a TikTok sensation in 2019 by posting videos of herself dancing to viral songs. She moved to Los Angeles, joined the Hype House and amassed millions of followers, all of which then helped build momentum for a music career. After a co-sign from Charli XCX on the "Von Dutch" remix, she released her effervescent debut album Addison in June.

Did Addison Rae come from TikTok or the music industry? TikTok. 

sombr

Hailing from New York City's Lower East Side, the Gen Z rocker sombr has had his share of viral TikTok songs. His 2022 single "Caroline" was the first, helping him get signed to Warner Records when he was still 17 years old. Two more followed in 2025; his singles "Back to Friends" and "Undressed" were used on hundreds of thousands of TikTok videos and both steadily climbed Billboard's Hot 100 chart, months before sombr released his debut album I Barely Know Her.

Did sombr come from TikTok or the music industry? Both. 

Leon Thomas

A child Broadway star and former Nickelodeon actor, it's safe to say Leon Thomas has been grinding for decades. After being mentored by Babyface for years, the 32-year-old has produced for artists ranging from his Victorious co-star Ariana Grande to Rick Ross. In 2024, he won a Grammy for best R&B song for his contributions to SZA's "Snooze." But Thomas' sophomore album, MUTT, landed him directly in the spotlight — its lead single took off on TikTok and climbed Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Of this year's best new artist contenders, Thomas is the most widely recognized by the Recording Academy; he landed five additional nominations, including for album of the year.

Did Leon Thomas come from TikTok or the music industry? The music industry. 

Alex Warren

Another member of the Hype House collective, Alex Warren went from posting massively popular pranking videos online to releasing a romantic ballad — and instant wedding playlist staple — that spent months climbing Billboard's Hot 100 chart. "Ordinary" became one of the biggest hits of the summer, and earned Warren an invitation to perform with country superstar Luke Combs at Lollapalooza.

Did Alex Warren come from TikTok or the music industry? TikTok.

Lola Young 

Often drawing comparisons to previous best new artist winner Amy Winehouse, the 25-year-old had already released several albums before her 2024 single "Messy" went viral on TikTok. Young's songs had already been gaining traction on the app for a while — videos of her performing "Don't Hate Me" on a playground in 2023 racked up millions of views — but "Messy" became a different kind of phenomenon. Before performing at Coachella last spring, Young told NPR's Morning Edition that she does not identify as a TikToker, but recognized the massive impact the app has had on her career.

Did Lola Young come from TikTok or the music industry? The music industry.

More than a century after it first opened its doors, the Vermont Square Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library still is operating out of its original building, nestled among the homes on West 48th Street.

It’s not just a library. For generations, it’s been considered a safe place and gathering spot for people who otherwise may have no place to go. Today, the neighborhood council uses the room in the library’s basement for meetings, the grassy area out back is a place to relax, and for some, the building is a refuge from hot- and cold-weather days.

Of course, people also go there to read books, for free access to the internet and for children’s programming. But they also go there to find peace and quiet amid the hustle and bustle of inner-city Los Angeles.

“It feels safe. It’s pretty big. It’s nice inside and comfortable. There are people to talk to, and I can meet friends,” resident Moses Rogers told The LA Local.

The Vermont Square Branch was built in 1913 on what had been park land donated by the city of Los Angeles. It was funded with a Carnegie Foundation grant, the philanthropy of industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who funded the arts, higher education and public libraries after making his fortune in steel in the late 19th century.

The library is not the oldest branch in the city system, but it’s the first library building owned by the city. All other city libraries and facilities were housed in rented spaces.

It was designed in the architectural style of the Italian Renaissance, and you still can find the original circulation desk, windows that allow in natural light, old furniture and marble fixtures inside the library.

Branch manager Martha Sherod has worked at the library for 13 ½ years and calls the Vermont Square Branch a hidden treasure that some in the neighborhood can overlook. She said some people think it’s a government building, but for the people who grew up using the library, it symbolizes being home.

“People come here for a purpose, they want to be here. We really like serving them,” Sherod told The LA Local. “Now that I’ve been here so long, I’ve seen kids grow up from being little kids to college students. So, it’s really been a joy for me.”

Sherod said the branch holds about 24,000 items and has 4,500 visitors a month on average. The library also offers adult and teen programming, including free legal advice, health screenings, arts and crafts and book club activities.

“The library isn’t just for quietly sitting and reading. There’s usually a lot of good activities happening. There are resources that you can use at home by downloading or just coming in here,” Sherod said.

The Vermont Square Branch was designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission in 1983 after the community rallied to keep the building from being replaced. The exterior of the building remains the same, although the library was retrofitted for earthquake safety in 1990, a process that caused the branch to close to the public for six years.

Longtime Vermont Square resident Fletcher Fair told The LA Local she’s been going to the branch since the late 1960s, and the library will always be a cornerstone of the community.

“It’s the neighborhood library, and that’s where everyone went and prospered. We hung out, studied and partied,” she said. “There were a lot of events here.”