One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
Cyclospora outbreak, PUSD tree removal, Karen Bass on World Cup, odd skills and more
Packages of Taylor Farms salad greens are displayed at a Safeway store on July 16, 2026, in Kings Beach, California.
(
Justin Sullivan
/
Getty Images
)
Jump to
- FDA continues Cyclospora investigation. Here’s what we know
- PUSD tree removal saga explained
- Odd jobs that gave you unusual but useful life skills
- Successes and shortfalls of the World Cup
- New research looks at how male and female doctors approach diagnostics differently
- How 'The Odyssey' sailed away with the box office
Today on AirTalk: Cyclospora outbreak, PUSD tree removal, odd job skills, World Cup to Olympics, male versus female doctors and The Odyssey box office.
Have a question or comment about a segment? Want to pitch us a story?
Fill out the form below, and please include an email address so we're able to follow up if necessary! We're not able to respond to every inquiry, but all submissions are read and reviewed by our production team.
FDA continues Cyclospora investigation. Here’s what we know
The topic:
The FDA said Monday they remain focused on lettuce from Taylor Farms as the source of a multistate outbreak of a diarrhea-causing parasite, despite inaccurate test results that the government briefly publicized over the weekend. Food and Drug Administration officials on Monday said a laboratory test incorrectly identified a positive result for Cyclospora on a sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms. The FDA posted the finding to its website on Saturday but then said Sunday that the result had been a false positive.
Listen
14:47
Listen to the conversation:
Guests: Dr. Kimberly Shriner, director of Infectious Disease and Prevention at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, and Alice Callahan, Nutrition and Health Reporter for the New York Times.
The investigation: Federal and state authorities have been investigating a rise in cases of the parasite, initially linking the outbreak in five states to lettuce served at Taco Bell locations. On Saturday, Taylor Farms announced it was recalling 25 shredded lettuce and salad mix products sold under eight different brand codes. A number of U.S. food chains and suppliers use the products. In addition to tracing the supply chain of lettuce, FDA staff have begun testing samples of produce coming across the U.S. border.
With files from the Associated Press
Sponsored message
PUSD tree removal saga explained
Tree advocates put up a banner in front of PUSD's headquarters on June 16, 2026.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
The topic:
The city of Pasadena and Pasadena Unified School District continue to clash over the fate of nearly 200 trees, and time is running out.
Listen
16:19
Listen to the conversation:
Guests: Erin Stone, LAist senior climate and environment reporter, and Jessica Richards, founding member of Friends of PUSD Trees.
What’s the backstory: The concern is about the contamination of soil in the wake of the Eaton Fire. Testing around the trees has found evidence of toxic metals, such as lead, left behind. The school district decided that the best way was to remove the trees located on district land to better address the soil contamination. The city is now fighting to stop that.
With files from LAist
Sponsored message
We reached out to PUSD, but the district declined to join for this conversation. They shared the following statement linked here.
More about our guests:
- Erin Stone, LAist senior climate and environment reporter
- Jessica Richards, founding member of Friends of PUSD Trees, a grassroots advocacy group formed to oppose the removal of trees by the PUSD
Odd jobs that gave you unusual but useful life skills
What skill from an odd job do you still carry along?
(
jacoblund
/
iStockphoto
)
Topline:
We’ve all had an odd job that’s not the end all be all but helped us get by during a certain period of life. And some of these jobs resulted in skills you couldn’t have developed any other way.
Listen
18:26
Listen to the conversation:
Guests: Makenna Cramer, LAist Housing and Homelessness Reporter, and Delaine Ureño, LAist Sr. Institutional Giving Officer.
Sponsored message
Successes and shortfalls of the World Cup
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium will share the opening ceremony. The Coliseum will be the site of the closing ceremony.
(
Myung J. Chun
/
Getty Images
)
The topic:
With the World Cup wrapped, L.A. is moving on to the 2028 Olympics Games. Now less than two years away, what has the city learned over the course of the games to prepare itself for the upcoming world stage?
Listen
18:15
Listen to the conversation:
Guests: Karen Bass, LA mayor, and Libby Rainey, LAist reporter covering the World Cup and the LA28 Olympics.
The successes: One of the major hits of the World Cup were the local L.A. watch parties that allowed residents to gather together and watch the games on the big screen free of charge.
The shortfalls: The World Cup did not bring in as many tourists as expected. According to a May report from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, 65% of L.A. respondents said that hotel bookings were lower than expected.
Sponsored message
The unknowns: The city and county have still not released a full plan on how they will address the unhoused population during the 2028 games, but it is clear that those who reside outside Olympic venues will be relocated.
New research looks at how male and female doctors approach diagnostics differently
Do you have a preference when it comes to male and female doctors?
(
Wavebreakmedia
/
iStockphoto
)
The topic:
New research from UCLA Health found that across 1.5 million emergency department visits, women physicians requested more diagnostic tests and admitted more patients to the hospital than their male counterparts.
Listen
13:18
Listen to the conversation:
Guest: Ishani Ganguli, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital.
The data: Researchers found women physicians ordered 3% to 5% more laboratory and imaging tests, and also hospitalized 3% to 5% more patients than male physicians. The added testing was just as likely to uncover findings suggestive that additional care may have been clinically appropriate.
Context: No difference in mortality rates was associated with the difference in additional testing.
Provider preferences: Multiple studies have shown that women doctors provide marginally better health outcomes than their male counterparts. Studies on whether patients prefer doctors of a specific gender are mixed, with a minority of patients preferring doctors that match their gender.
How 'The Odyssey' sailed away with the box office
Matt Damon is Odysseus in The Odyssey.
(
Melinda Sue Gordon
/
Courtesy Universal Pictures
)
The topic:
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey defied box office expectations on its opening weekend, reaching number one with over $124 million domestically. Of that revenue, 53% came from premium format screenings, as The Odyssey is the first film to be shot entirely on 70mm Imax cameras.
Listen
18:07
Listen to the conversation:
Guests: Dañiel Martinez, LAist Weekend producer, and Paul Dergarabedian, head of Marketplace Trends at Rentrak.
Defying the odds: The success of The Odyssey is no small feat with the run time nearing three hours and its R rating. The Greek epic also sits in stark contrast from this year’s other summer box office successes, such as Obsession and Backrooms, two horror movies aimed at younger audiences from unknown directors.
Christopher Nolan: Listen to Larry Mantle’s interview with Nolan on the making of The Odyssey here.
-
Today on AirTalk: Data centers, testosterone testing, fathers taking parental leave, community building in sports and Irvine's live music history. -
LAist sat down with chef Adrienne Borlongan to talk about Wanderlust's unique seasonal and signature flavors. -
Today on AirTalk: Trump's election fraud claims, summer skincare, Wanderlust Creamery, FilmWeek and Christopher Nolan'sThe Odyssey.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
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.
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.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
