Oscars 2026: ‘One Battle After Another’ wins big, Paul Thomas Anderson gets his flowers

Oscars 2026: ‘One Battle After Another’ wins big, Paul Thomas Anderson gets his flowers

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” was crowned best picture at the 98th Academy Awards, handing Hollywood’s top honor to a comic, multi-generational American saga of political resistance. The ceremony Sunday, which also saw Michael B. Jordan win best actor and “Sinners” cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw make Oscar history as the first female director of photography to win the award, was a long-in-coming coronation for Anderson, a San Fernando Valley native who made his first short at age 18 and has been one of America’s most lionized filmmakers for decades. Before Sunday, Anderson had never won an Oscar. But “One Battle After Another,” the favorite coming in, won six Oscars, including best director and best adapted screenplay for Anderson, the Oscars’ first trophy for best casting and best supporting actor for an absent Sean Penn. Today on AirTalk, we’ll recap the Oscars with Angelique Jackson, senior entertainment writer for Variety.

With files from the Associated Press.

Chalamet’s controversial comments on opera and ballet followed him to the Oscars

During a conversation with fellow actor Matthew McConaughey at a CNN and Variety town hall at the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication in February, Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet was asked by McConaughey about whether shortened audience attention spans have impacted studio decisions about the content of theatrical films, forcing more early action. In that conversation, Chalamet took a dig at two art forms saying, “And I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it’s like where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive,’ even though no one cares about this anymore. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there.” His comments drew controversy from those in the arts community ahead of the Oscars ceremony, which turned out to be a wash for the actor. His comments were the butt of a few jokes throughout the ceremony, but did they play a role in the actor’s misfortune yesterday evening? And how has the fine arts world reacted? Joining us today to answer these questions is co-founder and publisher of OperaWire Francisco Salazar.

SoCal History: How LA oil boomed the city, county economy

Throughout the course of the United States expansion to the west, there have been waves of growth that came as a result of natural resources and trade. In the case of Los Angeles, oil production and refinement helped the region see a massive economic boom. Edward Doheny became the first success story, having drilled “black gold” in what’s now Echo Park, and made a fortune in the process. What came next was a boom that would change the look of the region, with a proliferation of pumpjacks, and a population demographically different from decades past. Joining us now to help us dig into the topic, for this SoCal History segment, is L.A. Times columnist Patt Morrison.

The winter heatwave is still going

Spring is less than a week away, but Southern California has already seen some summer-like temperatures. Forecasters say we could expect higher temps this week, even though it’s still technically winter. Experts at the National Weather Service say we could be facing some triple-digit temperatures, with coastal areas bearing the brunt in the beginning of the week. “It is looking likely we’ll see at least a few monthly records fall with this next heat wave this upcoming week,” Dr. Robbie Munroe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said. For more on what we can expect this week, and how the heatwave is impacting our state’s water supply is Jacob Margolis, LAist science reporter.

With files from LAist.

Immigration research leads UC Irvine professor to winning prestigious criminology prize

The idea that immigration leads to more crime has long shaped political rhetoric and public debate in the United States. But decades of research suggest the opposite may actually be true. Charis Kubrin, a professor of criminology at University of California, Irvine, has spent more than 20 years studying the relationship between immigration and crime, finding that immigrants often have lower crime rates than native-born populations and that communities with higher immigration can even see crime decrease. Stockholm Prize in Criminology, which is often described as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in the field, recently honored Kubrin for research that challenges one of the most persistent myths in public discourse and she will be receiving the award in June. Sharing this data hasn’t come without risks, as immigration remains a politically charged topic. Today on AirTalk, we speak with Professor Kubrin about what the research actually shows, why misconceptions about immigrants and crime persist, and what it means for policy and public understanding.

March Madness 2026: Previewing the SoCal teams that made the bracket

The men’s and women’s March Madness brackets are set, officially paving the paths to Indianapolis and Phoenix, where the two national champions will be crowned on April 5th and 6th. The men’s tournament tips off with the First Four on March 17-18, followed by the first round starting March 19. The women’s First Four runs on March 18-19, and the first round begins on March 20. UConn was named No. 1 overall on the women’s side after finishing the season with a perfect 34-0 record and the program’s 24th Big East tournament title. UCLA, Texas, and South Carolina also secured No. 1 seeds. Duke, Arizona, Michigan, and Florida claimed the No. 1 seeds in the men’s tournament. The Blue Devils enter the tournament as No. 1 overall following a 32-2 season and ACC Tournament title. As has become tradition here on AirTalk, we'll give you a crash course on local teams who've made the NCAA tournament for women's and men's basketball by Sabreena Merchant, staff writer for The Athletic, covering women's basketball, and Laine Higgins, sports reporter for the Wall Street Journal.

With files from the Associated Press.