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AirTalk Tile 2024
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AirTalk

with Larry Mantle

Larry Mantle hosts lively and in-depth discussions of city news, politics, science, the arts, entertainment, and more. Airs weekdays 9-11am on 89.3 FM and streaming online at LAist.com and the LAist app. Austin Cross hosts AirTalk Fridays — watch the Friday show live on Instagram (@laistofficial).

To comment, contact 866-893-5722 or email atcomments@laist.com.

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Larry Mantle
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Austin Cross
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Featured Episode
  • AirTalk Tile 2024
    Listen 1:38:59
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    Today on AirTalk: Future of CA AI regulations; Profanity in politics? Food Friday: Genghis Cohen; FilmWeek: What to watch; and The King of Color Documentary.
    How will a new executive order impact California AI regulations?
    Today on AirTalk: Future of CA AI regulations; Profanity in politics? Food Friday: Genghis Cohen; FilmWeek: What to watch; and The King of Color Documentary.

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Recent Episodes
  • A heat map of Southern California showing the rainfall forecast by the National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard. The blue-colored header at the top of the image says "Storm Total Rainfall." The subtitle below it says "Tuesday-Saturday (Dec. 23-27, 2025). The map is colored by expected rainfall. A vertical legend to the left of the map shows a gradient of yellow to orange to purple, with purple indicating the highest amount of rain. Several cities are tagged in the map.
    Listen 1:43:56
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    Today on AirTalk: Holiday storm? SoCal restaurant industry check-in; When did you first start feeling “old?” LAist year in review; TV Talk.
    What to expect from this holiday’s storm
    Today on AirTalk: Holiday storm? SoCal restaurant industry check-in; When did you first start feeling “old?” LAist year in review; TV Talk.
  • dozens of young people gather in the middle of the street, many holding their phones up and recording video on their phones; there is smoke rising up in the air nearby, which glows green and red in the streetlights
    Listen 1:39:00
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    Today on AirTalk: New LAist/USC study on street takeovers; What words do you have trouble spelling? The Palisades fire report weakened; Robby Hoffman; and Is VistaVision back?
    New USC Annenberg investigation maps the toll of LA street takeovers
    Today on AirTalk: New LAist/USC study on street takeovers; What words do you have trouble spelling? The Palisades fire report weakened; Robby Hoffman; and Is VistaVision back?

Show your support for AirTalk today!

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  • Teenagers participating in the Texas Boys State 2018 in "Boys State".
    FilmWeek: “Sound of Metal,” “Boys State,” “Spree” And More
    Today on AirTalk, our critics review the weekend's film releases. Also on the show, we talk with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos about what's next for the streaming service.
  • Graduating students from Mount San Antonio College receive their diplomas through their car window at a drive-thru commencement ceremony for the "Resilient Class" of 2020, which includes more than 650 students, June 18, 2020 in Walnut, California. - The college design the car-based ceremony to comply with Los Angeles County and California state COVID-19 gathering restrictions. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
    Listen 1:43:40
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    Today on AirTalk with guest host Josie Huang, we learn more about how recent graduates are faring in the job market. Also on the show, we discuss the considerations parents should take before posting their kids on social media; answer your COVID-19 questions; and more.
    What’s It Like Trying To Tap Into The Job Market For The First Time During A Pandemic?
    Today on AirTalk with guest host Josie Huang, we learn more about how recent graduates are faring in the job market. Also on the show, we discuss the considerations parents should take before posting their kids on social media; answer your COVID-19 questions; and more.
  • California Senator Kamala Harris endorses Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden as she speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit, Michigan on March 9, 2020. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
    Listen 1:43:33
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    Today on AirTalk, we discuss what Joe Biden's selection of Kamala Harris as running mate will mean for California politics. Also on the show, we talk with Katie Hill about her new memoir; answer your COVID-19 questions; and more.
    It's Kamala! And What That Means For California Politics
    Today on AirTalk, we discuss what Joe Biden's selection of Kamala Harris as running mate will mean for California politics. Also on the show, we talk with Katie Hill about her new memoir; answer your COVID-19 questions; and more.
  • PALLEJÀ, SPAIN - MAY 21: Primary health care nurse Jose Dominguez (C) and physician Joan Maria Farré (C) both in personal protective equipment (PPE) speak with Pilar Boxo who is in quarantine after being tested positive of COVID-19 during a monitoring visit to COVID19 patients at Yayo Toni on May 21, 2020 in Pallejà, Spain. As figures of deaths and infection rates are at their lowest since the start of the outbreak in Spain, the primary health care network will be crucial for filtering and monitoring COVID-19 patients, in order to protect Spanish hospitals from becoming over-crowded. This task will be especially intense across Spain's nursing homes, where more than 18,000 elderly people have died due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
    Listen 1:43:39
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    Today on AirTalk with guest host Jackie Fortiér, we discuss nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also on the show, we answer your questions about the pandemic; Larry Mantle speaks to Scott Simon and more.
    LA County Nursing Homes Have Been Hit Hard By The Pandemic. We Dive Into Why And What Can Be Improved
    Today on AirTalk with guest host Jackie Fortiér, we discuss nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also on the show, we answer your questions about the pandemic; Larry Mantle speaks to Scott Simon and more.
  • A girl attends a class at home in Cali, Colombia, on August 4, 2020. - The "teacher at home" modality implemented by a local kindergarten seeks to help children keep in touch with teachers and reduce the emotional impact due to isolation during the pandemic. (Photo by LUIS ROBAYO / AFP) (Photo by LUIS ROBAYO/AFP via Getty Images)
    Listen 1:43:44
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    Today on AirTalk with guest host Kyle Stokes, we're learning more about what school will look like in SoCal this fall. Also on the show, we hear about the restaurants moving away from using delivery apps; take a look back at the women's suffrage movement; and more.
    When SoCal Schools Resume This Month, Who Will Return In Person And How Many Will Be Private School Students Vs. Public School?
    Today on AirTalk with guest host Kyle Stokes, we're learning more about what school will look like in SoCal this fall. Also on the show, we hear about the restaurants moving away from using delivery apps; take a look back at the women's suffrage movement; and more.
  • NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 10: Commuters walk through the newly opened Fulton Center train station in lower Manhattan on November 10, 2014 in New York City. The station was scheduled to open in 2007 as part of the rebuilding effort of lower Manhattan after 9/11, but the project ran into cost overruns and years of delays. The original plan for the facility, which has a glass and steel shell and 66,000 square feet of retail and office space, was projected at $750 million and nearly doubled to $1.4 billion before it was finished. The station features a 10-foot-high glass opening , or oculus, which sits above an atrium that lets sunlight down into two levels below street level. The station makes it easier to connect between nine subway lines: the A, C, J, Z, R, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Riders will eventually also be able to connect to the E and 1 trains, as well as the PATH. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
    Listen 1:43:00
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    Today on AirTalk, we discuss how the pandemic could change architecture in public spaces. Also on the show, our FilmWeek critics discuss the weekend's new releases; we answer your COVID-19 questions; and more.
    Imagining Future LA: How This Pandemic Could Change The Design Of Offices, Homes And Cities
    Today on AirTalk, we discuss how the pandemic could change architecture in public spaces. Also on the show, our FilmWeek critics discuss the weekend's new releases; we answer your COVID-19 questions; and more.
  • SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - MAY 21: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) A nurse writes a note on a window as a team of doctors and nurses performs a procedure on a coronavirus COVID-19 patient in the intensive care unit (I.C.U.) at Regional Medical Center on May 21, 2020 in San Jose, California. Frontline workers are continuing to care for coronavirus COVID-19 patients throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Santa Clara county, where this hospital is located, has had the most deaths of any Northern California county, and the earliest known COVID-19 related deaths in the United States. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
    Listen 1:43:34
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    Today on AirTalk, we discuss the ethical arguments for how the coronavirus vaccine gets distributed. Also on the show, we learn more about what air travel is like; discuss outdoor dining; and more.
    What Are The Ethical Considerations When Deciding Who Gets The Coronavirus Vaccine First?
    Today on AirTalk, we discuss the ethical arguments for how the coronavirus vaccine gets distributed. Also on the show, we learn more about what air travel is like; discuss outdoor dining; and more.
  • LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: The Airbnb app logo is displayed on an iPhone on August 3, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
    Listen 1:43:28
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    Today on AirTalk, we discuss the controversy over party houses during the pandemic. Also on the show, we learn more about Disney's 'Mulan' release plans; answer your COVID-19 questions; and more.
    L.A. Residents Concerned About Short-Term Party Houses As Pandemic Rages On. How Are They Being Enforced?
    Today on AirTalk, we discuss the controversy over party houses during the pandemic. Also on the show, we learn more about Disney's 'Mulan' release plans; answer your COVID-19 questions; and more.
  • Armed National Guardsmen march toward smoke on the horizon during the street fires of the Watts riots, Los Angeles, California, August 1965. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
    Listen 1:43:34
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    Today on AirTalk, we revisit the Watts Riots 55 years on. Also on the show, we learn more about TikTok; answer your questions about COVID-19; and more.
    Anger, Distrust And A Political Reckoning: Reflecting On The Watts Riots And How Things Have Changed 55 Years Later
    Today on AirTalk, we revisit the Watts Riots 55 years on. Also on the show, we learn more about TikTok; answer your questions about COVID-19; and more.
  • BARTLETT, ILLINOIS - MAY 01: Seven-year-old Hamza Haqqani, a 2nd grade student at Al-Huda Academy, uses a computer to participate in an E-learning class with his teacher and classmates while at his home on May 01, 2020 in Bartlett, Illinois. Al-Huda Academy, an Islam based private school that teaches pre-school through the 6th grade students, has had to adopt an E-learning program to finish the school year after all schools in the state were forced to cancel classes in an attempt to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
    Listen 1:43:43
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    Today on AirTalk, we discuss a tentative distance learning agreement between UTLA and LAUSD for the fall term. Also on the show, our political commentators discuss the week's biggest headlines; we learn more about what's happening with Ellen Degeneres' show; and more.
    UTLA And LAUSD Come To Potential Deal On Distance Learning
    Today on AirTalk, we discuss a tentative distance learning agreement between UTLA and LAUSD for the fall term. Also on the show, our political commentators discuss the week's biggest headlines; we learn more about what's happening with Ellen Degeneres' show; and more.
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Credits & Support

Larry Mantle, Host
Austin Cross, Host
Lindsey Wright, Senior Producer
Lucy Copp, Producer
Nicolas Perez, Producer
Manny Valladares, Associate Producer
Payton Seda, Associate Producer
Faheem Khan, Associate Producer
Courtney Eileen Fulcher, Apprentice News Clerk