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AirTalk Oct. 30, 2026
Today's show: AirTalk Friday host Austin Cross discusses prediction markets and elections, navigating holiday expectations and tensions, Prime Pizza, FilmWeek and remembering Patrick Stewart. Cross is also LAist's local Morning Edition host.
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How are prediction markets impacting this year’s election?
As we inch closer to Election Day, prediction markets have made their presence felt, not just through direct advertising, but also through partnerships they’ve made with major news outlets like CNN and CNBC. Today on AirTalk, we’ll dig into where things stand on prediction markets, and whether they have had any influence on the way people view the midterm elections.
Guests:
- Adam Candee, editor of SBC Americas, a digital media publisher that covers business, regulatory and financial news
- Joshua Mitts, professor of law at Columbia Law School
How do you navigate holiday expectations and tensions?
Dear AirTalker, it is time to start thinking about your holiday plans. Whose family will you visit on what holiday? Who is hosting whom, and where are you expected to be? There are a lot of expectations and tensions that go into figuring out where you’re going to have your turkey dinner, and today on AirTalk we look at how to navigate these negotiations.
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Guest:
- John Sovec, a licensed therapist, counselor and coach based in Pasadena
Prime Pizza owner talks new locations in Torrance, Rancho Cucamonga
Local pizza chain Prime Pizza has been able to make a name for itself by serving New York slices in Los Angeles. Along with their thin pies, they have square slices with varieties like like Sicilian and spicy pepperoni. Today on AirTalk, we’re sitting down with founder and owner Zak Fishman.
Guest:
- Zak Fishman, founder and owner of Prime Pizza, a local pizza chain with 13 locations
FilmWeek: ‘The Mosquito Bowl,’ ‘Everest: The Other Side,’ ‘Gentle Monster’ and more!
Larry Mantle and critics Manuel Betancourt and Maureen Lee Lenker talk about the new documentary Everest: The Other Side from the directing duo behind Oscar-winner Free Solo (2018). They also review SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of, a documentary about the Canadian sketch-comedy show featuring interviews with the cast members, including the late Catherine O’Hara.
Guests:
- Manuel Betancourt, film critic for LAist and interim editor of Documentary Magazine
- Maureen Lee Lenker, LAist film critic and freelance journalist (formerly at Entertainment Weekly) who's written for Gold Derby, The Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and Turner Classic Movies. She is also the author of three novels set in the Golden Age of Hollywood
Remembering Patrick Stewart
In 2023, Larry Mantle interviewed actor Patrick Stewart, best known for his roles as Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men and as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek, for his memoir Making It So. We revisit Larry’s conversation with Stewart in memory of the late actor who died at the age of 86 this week.
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Karen Bass on mayoral race, MacArthur Park overdose crisis, past presidencies and the war on terror, Prop 44, Prop 2, ballot uncertainty and TV Talk. -
Remembering Dolores Huerta, new polls on CA gubernatorial and L.A. mayoral race, Cole’s reopening, Tom Rosenstiel's new book, this week in AI, Prop 38 and new Bob Newhart bio.
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L.A. speed cameras are live, Michael Giacchino on his career, SoCal’s Eastern European Jewish immigration and diving into Prop 40, 41 and 42.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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