What you should know about the tunnel project that left 31 workers temporarily trapped

All 31 construction workers who were far inside a huge industrial tunnel in Los Angeles made it to safety after a portion of it collapsed Wednesday evening, an outcome officials called a blessing after they initially feared much worse. The cave-in apparently happened between the tunnel boring machine, 5 miles (8 kilometers) in from the only entrance, and the construction crew working 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) in, said Michael Chee, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which is in charge of the nearly $700 million project. The workers were about 400 feet (121 meters) underground. The tunnel is being constructed almost entirely underneath public right-of-way. The $630.5 million Los Angeles Effluent Outfall Tunnel project was commissioned by the Los Angeles County Sanitation District. The sewage pipe being worked on will feed the Hyperion plant, which, according to the sanitation district, is the city's oldest and largest wastewater treatment facility, having operated since 1894.

With files from the Associated Press and LAist.

The risk of fires across Southern and Central California is growing, as increasingly hot weather continues to dry out fuels following a disappointing rainy season. Grasses have been drying out along inland areas, and that’s a growing concern from the San Fernando Valley all the way up to the Sierra foothills in Merced County. Multiple fires have broken out in grassy areas in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Sal Luis Obispo counties over the past few days. So what’s the fire forecast for the rest of the summer looking like? Joining the program to talk about this year’s fire season is LAist science reporter Jacob Margolis.

With files from LAist

Young men series: why they are turning back to religion

This week on AirTalk, we’re exploring the experiences of today’s young men in America, the issues impacting them, and the trends they’re bucking. One of those bucked trends is their views on religion. Historically, women have been more religious than men overall. But recent data from Pew Research suggests that Generation Z men are closing this gender gap, and are becoming religious at rates near their women counterparts. So what’s behind the rise in religious young men, and will it last? Joining Larry to answer these questions and more is associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University where he studies religious identity Ryan Burge and Reformed University Fellowship Campus Minister at the University of California, Irvine Derek Rishmawy.

Young men series: how they’re going about courtship

This week on AirTalk, we’re exploring the experiences of today’s young men in America, the issues impacting them, and the trends they’re bucking. One of the major issues impacting them: loneliness. One in four men report being lonely, according to Gallup. At the same time, they’re also not trying to make as many connections as their older peers, with nearly half of young men not even dating. This has led to some interesting data, namely that most young men are single whereas most young women are not. So what’s going on with the dating scene, and why are young men seemingly struggling with courtship? Joining Larry to discuss these questions are Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank and Daniel Ellenberg, leadership coach, licensed therapist, and seminar leader.

TV Talk: ‘Too Much,’ ‘Such Brave Girls,’ ‘Poker Face,’ and many 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. Each week, we will try to break through the noise with TV watchers who can point us to the must-sees and steer us clear of the shows that maybe don’t live up to the hype. This week, listeners will get the latest scoop on what’s worth watching with Whitney Friedlander, freelance entertainment writer and Danette Chavez, editor in chief of The A.V. Club.

TV shows:

• Too Much (Netflix)
• Such Brave Girls [season 2] (BBC Three) 
• Poker Face [season 2] (Peacock)
• It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's [season 17] (FX)
• Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires (Disney+)
• Foundation (Apple TV+)