The first post-fire home in the Palisades has been built

The first post-fire home in the Palisades has been built

The Palisades fire recovery process has reached a milestone, with one four-bedroom home receiving permit approval. However, the home’s construction isn’t necessarily as big a step as one would assume, as it was a model home that nearby residents could view as a potential option for their own rebuilding. Although both the Eaton and Palisades fires happened simultaneously, Altadena residents have seen a lot more progress in their homebuilding, with LAist having reported on one family who’s been able to rebuild their home. Their coastal counterparts, however, haven’t seen as much movement. Joining us to check in on local, post-fire homebuilding is Abe Roy, founder and CEO of Design Equity, Inc., a general construction firm. We’re also joined by David Wagner, senior reporter covering housing at LAist.

What are the legal concerns surrounding the U.S.’s strikes on boats in the Caribbean?

Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack. The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week’s Washington Post report was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said attacking survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns. “This rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, when asked about a follow-up strike aimed at people no longer able to fight, said Congress does not have information that happened. He noted that leaders of the Armed Services Committee in both the House and Senate have opened investigations. The U.S. administration says the strikes in the Caribbean are aimed at cartels, some of which it claims are controlled by Maduro. Trump also is weighing whether to carry out strikes on the Venezuelan mainland. Joining us to discuss are Jacob Wendler, breaking news reporter for Politico.

A new book takes a meaty look at the steak houses that make America

There’s few things as American as the concept of a steak house. It takes a nation’s worth of cattle ranching to require an entire restaurant archetype for the serving of a single dish. But that single dish can take on so many variations, each uniquely imparted upon by the chef behind the grill, smoker, or stove. Director, actor, and comedian Eric Wareheim recently doodled his way across the states, checking in on the people who make our steak houses steak homes. He joins AirTalk today to talk about his journey, and the book he wrote based on it, Steak House: The People, the Places, the Recipes.

ChatGPT turns 3 — what are we using it (and AI in general) for?

About three years ago, the AI powered chatbot ChatGPT launched and took the internet by storm, forever changing the way we do pretty much everything. Right? Depending on who you ask, large language model-based artificial intelligence programs are either the bees knees or just the latest tech fad. They have the power to do pretty much anything, or basically nothing. So today on AirTalk, we’re digging into the reality of things and asking what the real world impacts are of our nascent AI industry with Rachel Metz, AI reporter for Bloomberg News. We also want to hear from you! How have you been using AI? Has it been helpful in unexpected ways? Give us a call at 866-893-5722 or you can email us at atcomments@laist.com.

L.A. County bans the sale of Kratom — but what exactly is it?

L.A. County has been warning Angelenos about the risks of an opioid-related ingredient increasingly added to energy drinks, gummies and supplements sold at gas stations and convenience stores, and moved late last month to ban the sale of the substance. The chemical, known as 7- hydroxymitragynine, is a component of kratom, a plant native to Southeast Asia that has gained popularity in the U.S. as an unapproved treatment for pain, anxiety and drug dependence. In recent months, dietary supplement companies that sell kratom have been urging the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on the products containing 7-OH, portraying it as a dangerously concentrated, synthetic form of the original ingredient. Today on AirTalk, we look into what Kratom is and what’s behind the recent ban with Los Angeles Times reporter Karen Garcia.

What’s the best title for a book, film, TV show, heck any media, that you’ve come across

“SpongeBob SquarePants,” is the title of the hit children’s television show, SpongeBob SquarePants, which features an anamorphic sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants, having many delightful undersea adventures. For many, the yellow sponge is a known, and understood entity. But peel back your prior knowledge, and you’ll find that “SpongeBob SquarePants” is an exceptional title for the show it denotes. “SpongeBob” — right off the bat, you get this is a dude (Bob does the heavy lifting there) who is sponge-based. Then we get to his last name, “SquarePants.” Herein lies the beauty of the title, and the critter’s name itself: he has square pants, and he himself is a square! Even before you yourself actually see the yellow box, you know so much about him and will be able to recognize him. But once you follow along for a few episodes of his nautical mischief, you realize that he is in fact not a square by any means, but rather a lovable goofball. The title gives you enough to recognize who the show will be following, but misleads the eventual viewer on how he will be presented to them.

If your eyes haven’t rolled off your head at this point, then you get the importance the title of a work has on its impact and legacy. So today on AirTalk, we want to hear your take: What’s the best title for a piece of media you’ve seen and why? Give us a call at 866-893-5722 or you can email us at atcomments@laist.com.