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AirTalk Oct. 8, 2026
Today's show: AirTalk host Larry Mantle discusses Double Play, LAUSD's high risk of insolvency, TV Talk, and ballot cram session.
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Double Play: Dodgers best Braves in series
Following late-game heroics from Andy Pages, hitting a single that led to two runs, the Los Angeles Dodgers were able to break away against the Atlanta Braves and punch their ticket to the National League Championship Series. Today on AirTalk, we checked in on the Dodgers’ postseason run.
Guest:
- Nick Roman, host of Roman on the Radio; he's also former host of All Things Considered on LAist
LAUSD and the risk of insolvency
California’s school finance watchdog agency has found the Los Angeles Unified School District is at high risk of financial insolvency. The Financial Crisis and Management Assistance Team presented its analysis at Tuesday’s school board meeting. We talk about where things stand.
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Guests:
- Mariana Dale, LAist senior K-12 education reporter
- Gloria Martinez, president of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the union representing educators in LAUSD
- David Tokofsky, former LAUSD board member and a former teacher in the district
TV Talk: ‘Eternally Yours,’ ‘Below,’ ‘Abbot Elementary’ and more
Have you felt completely overwhelmed when deciding what new show to watch these days? Us too. There’s just so much content out there between network TV and numerous streaming platforms. This week, listeners will get the latest scoop on what’s worth watching.
TV Shows:
- Abbott Elementary [Season 6] (ABC)
- Cupertino [Season 1] (CBS)
- Elsbeth [Season 4] (CBS)
- Carrie [Limted Series] (Prime Video)
- Below [Mini-Series] (Netflix)
- Black Clover [Season 2] (Crunchyroll)
- Small Prophets [Season 1] (BBC | Apple TV)
- Eternally Yours [Season 1] (CBS)
Guests:
- Liz Shannon Miller, senior entertainment editor at Consequence
- Marcus Jones, awards editor for TV & Film at IndieWire
AirTalk’s Ballot Cram Session
Election day is just around the corner, and we know it’s not always easy to navigate the long list of ballot propositions on your own. The good news is there’s still time to study up. Get your notepads and pencils ready — it’s time for a one-hour cram session looking through all of the statewide ballot propositions.
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Guests:
- Sara Sadhwani, associate politics professor at Pomona College
- Michael Alvarez, professor of political and computational social science at Caltech and co-director of Caltech and MIT’s Voting Technology Center
- Lee Ohanian, professor of economics at UCLA and senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution
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Actor-comedian Jeff Garlin spoke with LAist host Larry Mantle about his debut photography book and its inception. -
Today on AirTalk: Latest on Cornell University sexual assault case, side hustles, Burger She Wrote, FilmWeek and Richard Linklater on Nouvelle Vague. -
Today on AirTalk: SCOTUS to review mandatory detention policy, AI detectors, A Librarian's War, CNN gubernatorial debate, MLB postseason and TV Talk.
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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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