The Brief

Music. Nature. Together. That’s the motto of composer Murray Hidary’s MindTravel concerts , the latest of which is coming to L.A.’s Elysian Park Tuesday Nov. 18.

At the events, you’ll find Hidary on the piano, surrounded by an audience of people on folding chairs or blankets. The difference — apart from the open sky above — is that they’re wearing headphones.

Hidary, who has performed in indoor stages and concert halls, finds this setting taps into stronger emotions.

“The audience kind of enters this flow state of just being present, and to me that's the most powerful place you can take an audience,” Hidary said.

Audience members can also lie down, close their eyes, stand up, walk around, not worrying about disturbing others — all while focussing on Hidary’s meditative music.

“It feels like I'm playing just for you,” he said.

Hidary’s performed MindTravel concerts around the United States for over a decade, including the beach in Santa Monica, but Tuesday’s concert is the first time he’ll play in Elysian Park, L.A.’s first official park.

State of contemplation

What does a MindTravel performance sound like? Don’t expect the structure of movements in classical compositions. Instead think of the long mesmerizing, meditative arcs of the music of Phillip Glass and Ravi Shankar , two of Hidary’s big inspirations.

Hidary hopes the music he chooses to play during MindTravel puts the audience in a state in which they contemplate the natural surroundings, the people around them, and their human emotions. Stage and theater concerts have their place, he said, but audiences in those settings expect entertainment. MindTravel is something else, he said.

MindTravel performances allow the audience to move around and interact with other people while listening to live piano.

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Courtesy Murray Hidary

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“Using music in that capacity, using music to open something up internally, to kind of expand our own state of consciousness and using music in that way” is his ultimate goal, he said. “[MindTravel] doesn't become an escape from your life, but it becomes a confrontation of your deepest self."

Hidary studied music and composition at NYU and had success in the tech boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. But a traumatic event at the tail end of that success led him to see music in a different way and put him on the path to create MindTravel.

MindTravel has been performed at the beach in Santa Monica and other outdoor venues around the U.S.

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Courtesy Murray Hidary

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“I went through probably the most difficult, challenging time of my life, which was the sudden and tragic death of my little sister in an accident,” he said.

He played the piano to work through the emotional pain and took up vedic meditation to help settle his thoughts.

Improvisation leads to deep connections

No two MindTravel concerts are alike because Hidary often changes what he plays to react to what he sees and feels at the time of the concert.

“I can remember one time there was a train going by and I kind of figured out what pitch it was and started to play in that pitch in kind of sympathy with the train moving in its own rhythm and its own pitch,” Hidary said.

People who’ve attended MindTravel say the event helps them tap into emotions in ways that an indoor concert cannot.

“This experience is so magical and grounding,” one person said on MindTravel’s Instagram account.

“It reminded me how powerful it is to just be. To breathe. To listen. To feel. When we slow down enough to be fully present, the noise fades — and our truth gets louder," another said.

Thousands of rare American songs spanning jazz, blues and gospel — some more than a century old — are now available for the public to enjoy online.

That’s thanks to a collaboration between UC Santa Barbara and the nonprofit Dust-to-Digital Foundation , which digitized the recordings from rare and aging vinyl collections.

It’s work Dust-to-Digital founder Lance Ledbetter has done since the late 1990s, going into private collections so the recordings can be accessible to all.

Ledbetter remembered the first time he got to visit the 30,000-strong record collection of the late Joe Bussard in his Frederick, Maryland, basement.

“It was just one great recording after another. And he was getting excited and we were getting excited. And it was fantastic,” Ledbetter recalled.

Bussard was kind of like the original crate digger, sometimes even going door-to-door to build his stockpile. His collection included rarities like “The California Desert Blues,” recorded by Lane Hardin in the 1930s.

Ledbetter said only a handful of the records are known to exist.

“A lot of that music from that era, the record companies did not keep backups. They were all destroyed, almost all. And it’s all up to the record collectors. They’re the ones who kind of saved the music from that era,” Ledbetter told LAist.

April and Lance Ledbetter, Dust-to-Digital Foundation.

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Lizzy Johnston

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The collaboration between Ledbetter and UC Santa Barbara’s library will bring some 50,000 songs — including many from Bussard’s collection — to the library’s Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) database for all to enjoy. About 5,000 songs are available now.

Superior to a random recording uploaded to YouTube with no accompanying information, the database includes things like where the song was recorded and when, as well as lists of musicians and composers who worked on the songs.

“These recordings, especially like the Lane Hardin, where there’s two or three known copies — like a Van Gogh painting or something — [they] could disappear into a private collection for the next 50 or 60 years and nobody would be able to hear that copy again,” David Suebert, curator of the Performing Arts Collection at the UCSB Library, said.

You might assume that the Library of Congress or other archives would already have some of these historic tunes, Suebert said. But they don’t have everything. And bringing these hard-to-find songs spanning decades of historic American music to the public is a source of pride for Suebert.

“This is the kind of stuff that makes any librarian or archivist kind of glow. The fact that you’ve enriched people’s lives by giving them free information,” he said.

For his part, Ledbetter said he hopes everyone from musicians to scholars really get to use and appreciate the archive. And maybe even feel a bit of the excitement he felt listening to record after record and talking with collector Joe Bussard in his basement.

“You don’t smell the cigar smoke, you don’t see the needle going onto the record, but you get to hear the exact same record,” Ledbetter said. “People should always be able to hear these songs.”

What do thousands of pages of newly released material reveal about the well-documented relationship between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump?

Not much of anything, according to some of the right-wing influencers who have long been clamoring for the government to release more information about Epstein and his crimes.

"To me, these are nothingburgers — if they're even real," pro-Trump podcaster Jon Herold said on his "Badlands Media Rumble" livestream Wednesday. Herold gained an audience in the wake of the 2020 election after spreading QAnon-adjacent conspiracy theories .

His fellow Badlands Media personality, Brian Lupo, took a slightly different view on his own livestream this week. The emails didn't exactly say nothing, he claimed, but they show that Trump was informing on Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell , who is serving a 20-year prison term for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. (Epstein died by suicide while in jail during the first Trump administration.)

"My take on this is Epstein and Maxwell are trying to figure out who's a mole or a rat or an informant in their circle of friends," Lupo said, referring to an email in which Epstein called Trump a "dog that didn't bark." (The White House has denied that Trump was an informant.)

Epstein looms large for many conspiracy theorists , including QAnon believers. He's seen as a prime example of the satanic cabal of pedophiles they believe are entrenched among the world's most powerful people. QAnon adherents think Donald Trump is destined to defeat that cabal.

Trump has acknowledged he and Epstein were once friendly but fell out decades ago. He's denied any knowledge of Epstein's trafficking of underage girls.

While one of the newly released emails suggests Trump did know about Epstein's behavior, some right-wing media figures say the new disclosures prove Trump did nothing wrong.

"They're claiming it's a hoax, they're claiming that the Democrats are cherry-picking the things that make Trump look the worst, and that these things prove that he didn't actually do anything wrong and that he's not a criminal and that he was actually gathering information for the FBI on Epstein," said Mike Rothschild, an independent journalist and author who has written extensively about conspiracy theories and QAnon.

He said that is "very different from the song they were singing for years before that, which is that if we just bring down the Epstein ring, all of the Democrats are going to go down with him."

Many prominent Democrats are shown communicating with Epstein in the newly released emails. Still, another common thread on the right is that the release is a distraction by Democrats.

"They think that the Epstein thing is something that is going to distract you from their failures, although the Epstein thing, all it's really doing is exposing more Democrat failures," Vince Coglianese, a radio host and the editorial director of the Daily Caller, said on his Rumble livestream on Thursday.

That echoes President Trump's Truth Social posts accusing Democrats of using Epstein to deflect from fallout over the government shutdown . On Friday, he called on the Justice Department to investigate Democrats mentioned in the emails. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was appointing a federal prosecutor to lead a probe.

Meanwhile, some prominent influencers and conservative media outlets are essentially ignoring this week's release of documents.

"They already know that their fans are on board 100% with whatever Trump does," Rothschild said. "There's nothing for them here."

At the same time, the emails are fueling new speculation on both the right and the left as people race to interpret Epstein's often cryptic language.

To Rothschild, that is a fool's errand.

"Jeffrey Epstein was not the most trustworthy person. … You're taking him at his word because you want to believe him when he says things that are either good about Trump or bad about Trump," he said. "It's absolutely maddening circular discourse and it gets us absolutely nowhere."

NPR's Huo Jingnan contributed reporting to this story.

The government is back open.

It was the longest shutdown in U.S. history at 43 days .

There are lots of questions about what this means, how we got here and where we go from here. Let's answer some:

Why did it start?

The Democratic base has been urging its leaders to show more fight. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer caught tremendous blowback in March for doing an about-face and going along with Republicans to keep the government open despite what the left saw as an odious spending bill.

When the latest funding fight came up, Schumer this time showed a united front with House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. Arm in arm, they refused to go along with continuing to fund the government and made the key issue extending health care subsidies, which if not extended, would mean tens of millions of Americans would see their health care costs increased.

How did it end?

It ended without the health care extensions Democrats were fighting for. Eight moderate senators crossed the aisle and indicated Sunday night that they had struck a deal with Senate Republicans to reopen the government.

The reason they didn't hold out longer, this group said, was because it was obvious President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans weren't going to negotiate, and too many people were suffering. The Trump administration — correctly — gambled that enough Democrats would not be able to stomach the amount of pain the administration was willing to inflict on the 42 million recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and more than 3 million federal workers.

So what does the bill do?

The bill passed by Congress and signed by Trump funds the government until Jan. 30 with carveouts for SNAP, benefits targeted at women, infants and children, or WIC, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Congress. Those will all be funded until the end of September 2026.

It notably also tries to rectify the firings and loss of pay to federal workers, although it's a leverage point the Trump administration could use again if the government were to shut down again after Jan. 30.

There is also money for increased security for members of Congress, executive branch officials, judges and Supreme Court justices. Several Republican members were outspoken about this after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

If the government is only funded until Jan. 30, does that mean there could be another shutdown soon?

It's possible. It depends on a few things. What lessons do Democrats take out of the shutdown? Does the fire within the base subside some between now and then? And is there an actual vote on health care subsidies?

OK, so what about those health care subsidies?

It's not clear yet, but the lack of a negotiation on them likely means they will expire unless enough moderate Republicans, feeling pressure in their districts, cross over to strike a deal with Democrats — and Republican leadership, including and especially Trump, go along with it.

But that seems highly improbable — and tens of millions of people would see their premiums go up.

If that's the case, what was the point of the shutdown?

That's a question a lot of people, especially those left of center, are asking. They see what moderate Democrats did as caving to Republicans.

The reality is, though, the eight moderate senators, who caucus with Democrats and took this deal, didn't want to see regular people feel more unnecessary pain — and they saw no hope for Republicans to compromise after what became the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Democrats did accomplish something in this shutdown, though. They elevated the issue of health care, and if Republicans block the extension of subsidies, then they will likely own increased health care costs in voters' minds.

What does this mean for federal workers and flight delays?

Government workers will get back to work, and recent mass layoffs are to be reversed. Furloughed workers were missing paychecks.

As far as airports, there are already signs of easing, but it will likely be several days or more until everything will get back to normal. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted that more air traffic controllers are heading back to work, but in the very short term, flight reductions at some major airports will continue.

Were there any surprises?

Yes, there were a few. First, there's drama around a provision slipped in the bill that would allow senators to sue the Justice Department for $500,000 each, if they were subject to subpoenas or had their phone records accessed as a result of DOJ's Jan. 6 investigation.

House Republicans pledged to pass a resolution repealing that provision, but there's no guarantee of that or that the Senate will go along.

There was also a clash about hemp regulation between two Republican senators from the same state. The disagreement between Kentucky Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul got pretty heated .

The bill also shines a light on how hundreds of local projects are funded — from the purchasing of equipment for a college in the Virgin Islands, the establishing of a veterinary doctorate program in Maryland, urban forest conservation in Texas and asbestos abatement in Alaska to funding for local hospitals, rural community facilities, youth centers, fire stations and so, so much more. It's earmarks — funding not voted on or allocated through the formal appropriations process but tacked on in spending bills — that pay for all of these things.

One day, there will be a vet that will say he or she got a degree from the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore — and it'll all be because of the funding deal to reopen the government.

Is there a guarantee on a health care vote?

No. The moderate Senate Democrats, who crossed over to open the government, thought so, but House Speaker Mike Johnson said shortly after the deal was reached that he wouldn't commit to a vote.

Whether the vote happens or not, if health care subsidies are not extended, it will be because of Republicans — and that will mean they will own higher health care costs heading into an election year.

What does this mean for the Epstein files?

The end of the shutdown meant the swearing in of Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat, who won a special election in Arizona replacing her late father.

That's key because she signed onto a discharge petition trying to compel the Justice Department to release the files associated with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and her support gave a majority to those who want to see them released. Johnson, who is close to Trump, has argued compelling the release is not necessary — though the president has made clear he does not want them released in full and his Justice Department has not taken public steps to do so.

Even if it passes, though, it will largely likely be symbolic. The Senate is unlikely to get the required 60 votes. Trump would, of course, like it to fail in the House. Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, one of three Republicans who have also signed the discharge petition, met in the White House Situation Room, apparently about Epstein. Boebert did not remove her name even after the meeting.

The day the shutdown ended, more investigative materials were released from the House Oversight Committee, including a leak from committee Democrats pointing specifically to emails from Epstein's estate, showing Epstein implying that Trump knew about the girls.

Any day Trump is talking about Epstein is not a good day for the White House.

Who winds up with the political advantage out of the shutdown?

Democrats really upset their base — again. Progressives continue to feel like they get rolled by party leaders. At the end of the day, though, Democrats are likely the ones who got the most out of the shutdown and will have the advantage in the midterm elections .

Consider that Democrats are coming off huge wins across the country earlier this month in the off-year elections. The central issue in those elections was affordability. And through the shutdown, they elevated the issue of health care.

The party and its candidates will likely be able to campaign on both of those issues next year, and with Republicans in charge, that will help Democrats — if they can mend fences with their base, that is.