How LA is preparing for this week's round of storms, Moby talks about why he moved from New York to LA, Emily Gordon's 'Super You.'
Oregon protest highlights divide among Western ranchers
Armed protestors took over a federal building this weekend in the southeastern corner of Oregon. The occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters near the town of Burns is the latest flashpoint in a long dispute over land rights.
It's a debate that dates all the way back to the American settlement of the West. For years, cattle farmers and ranchers have clashed with the federal government over their right to use public lands. But this most recent action reveals deep divides among Western ranchers when it comes to how they pursue their political goals.
Les Zaitz, senior investigative reporter with The Oregonian, joins the show with the latest developments.
Chinese stocks tumble, rattling global markets
The Chinese stock market stumbled on the first trading day of 2016, and it had a domino effect on global markets.
Trading was halted on the Chinese exchange after losses triggered a new, "circuit breaker." This triggered sharp declines in European and US markets. The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ all ended the day down.
What do China’s market woes mean for everyday Americans?
Take Two put that question to Carl Riccadonna, chief US economist for Bloomberg.
Press the blue play button to hear more.
California lawmakers have a lot of work ahead of them this year
Both houses are back in session Monday.
The state's coffers are finally healthy, and revenue is potentially coming in $3.6 billion ahead of forecasts.
But what to do with all that money? Well, that's a bit of a predicament. Take Two talked about it with Associated Press correspondent Juliet Williams.
Press the blue play button above to hear more.
Moby on his new restaurant and LA's pros and cons
The New York Times kicked up quite the proverbial dust storm last year when it published a story titled "Los Angeles and Its Booming Creative Class Lures New Yorkers."
The piece described how artsy types from the East Coast have been flocking to Southern California, lured by warm weather, cheaper rents and L.A. finally becoming a "cool" place to live.
Among those making the migration, the musician, DJ, photographer and restaurateur known simply as Moby.
Moby made the move to L.A. from his native New York five years ago. Now he's got a new eatery in the city's Silver Lake neighborhood that opened in November. It's a vegan restaurant called Little Pine. It's a non-profit too with 100 percent of the profits going to animal welfare organizations.
Interview highlights:
Why make the move from New York to L.A.?
When I realized about eight years ago that it was time to leave New York, I came up with a very rational list of criteria, what I was looking for. And I wanted a city that was mainly populated by creative people, that was warm in the winter time, that had relatively affordable real estate, and easy access to nature. And L.A. is quite literally the only city on the planet that satisfies all that criteria.
Did L.A. meet your expectations?
From my perspective, the wonderful things here are unparalleled both in history and in the world. Meaning, like if we take a step back and we look at Los Angeles with a degree of objectivity, you see a city or a county with over 2 million acres of mountainous wilderness, almost every interesting, odd musician, writer director on the planet, probably some of the best 20th century architecture on the planet, and a place where you can grow oranges in your backyard and make fresh grapefruit juice in February. Like, none of that has ever existed before.
So that's the good side. The bad side is it's a sprawling, borderline developing nation city. There's so much chaos, the infrastructure barely works... So I feel like unfortunately there's a bureaucracy in Los Angeles that almost works counter — like the things that make Los Angeles great, have very little to do with the governance here.
What's your recommendation for someone's first visit to Little Pine? What should they order?
[For lunch], the thing I'm a little obsessed with right now is, we have a sausage and fennel sandwich...And it's taken our chefs months to come up with a really great sausage recipe and it's so good, like they've nailed it... the days of Woody Allen and Annie Hall at The Source restaurant ordering a plate of mashed yeast, I think those days of veganism are long past.
To hear the full interview with Moby, click the link above.
How much does water cost, and why? CIR explains
Among the stories that dominated the news this year: efforts to deal with the California's ongoing drought.
The scarcity of water has made Californians realize just how precious a resource it really is, and made residents question how much water actually costs.
Lance Williams, a senior reporter for the Center for Investigative Reporting, has some answers. He joined host A Martinez to tell more.
The new CA laws going into effect in 2016
It's a new year with a slew of new laws in California: 807 of them to be exact. They touch on everything from equal pay to new hoverboard regulations.
Capital Public Radio's
joined Take Two to break down some of the new laws that went into effect January 1.
On the Lot: Lucas apologizes, Oscar campaign goes into overdrive
"Star Wars" creator George Lucas had to issue an apology for remarks he made about the newest episode in the film saga. Meanwhile, "The Force Awakens" is set to overtake "Avatar" as the highest grossing film of all time.
LA Times film writer Rebecca Keegan tells us about that, plus the latest on the schmoozing, swagging and glad-handing that marks the campaign for Oscar gold.
SPOILER ALERT: This guy will totally ruin 'The Bachelor' for you
One of the definitions of the word spoiler is: A person who robs or ravages, a plunderer.
For fans of reality TV shows like "The Bachelor," which debuts Monday night, avoiding spoilers is an important part of life. They invest a lot of time and emotional energy in the contestants and the drama that goes along with narrowing down who will eventually get that final rose.
Then, there's blogger Steve Carbone. He makes a living being a spoiler.
For the past four years, Carbone's site, RealitySteve.com, has spoiled the season for "The Bachelor" before they even began airing.
Go buy your NY Times today. This curious fella has something to say... pic.twitter.com/EEuxEyo7cH
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) January 3, 2016
The New York Times recently profiled Carbone, and he joined host A Martinez with more.
'Release your inner superhero' with this new comic book
It's the new year, the perfect time to quit smoking, eat better or work out more.
But for many, these resolutions prove mightier than will power alone. Not this year!
You can make self improvement fun with a comic book for inspiration. That's what author Emily Gordon did.
She just completed her new book, "Super You: Release Your Inner Superhero," and she joined host Alex Cohen to talk more about it.