How investigators determine when a crime is arson, a scientific study on dark chocolate and weight loss, The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs.
The Da Vinci building fire and investigating arson
Yesterday officials announced an arrest into the massive fire of the Da Vinci apartment complex that raged near downtown Los Angeles last year.
The incident caused $20 million to $30 million in damage to the apartment complex and more than $50 million in damage to a nearby city-owned building.
But how did authorities know it was arson? And once arson is suspected, how do they look for clues that would lead them to a suspect?
We talked to Laura Billon, she's a certified fire investigator and arson profiler for the Center for Arson Research.
Labor leaders seek union exemption from wage hike
Last week the city council approved a citywide minimum wage hike to $15.00 an hour. The new law would be gradually implemented over the next five years. In the days leading up to the vote, labor leaders were among the strongest supporters.
But now they're asking that companies whose workers are unionized should be exempt. Steven Greenhouse is a former labor and workplace reporter for the New York Times and he joined the show to explain.
Susanna Hoffs: Why The Bangles broke up and got back together
In 1986, you had to be living in the wilderness not to have heard the song "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles at least once.
At the time, they were huge! They had a lot of success, finding themselves playing gigs around the world and going from being a popular local band to international stars alongside The Go-Go's.
But things changed quickly for them: four years later, they broke up. One of the of the most successful acts of the 1980s was no more.
What happened?
Susanna Hoffs, the lead singer of The Bangles, joined Take Two's A Martinez in the studio to talk about her ups and downs with the band and reveal what broke the band up ... and what brought them back together.
Hoffs on the moment she realized that the band was huge
When we finally had a number one song ... with "Walk Like an Egyptian." We still had no money. We hadn't seen any money from it ... which is probably why there was a disconnect.
We went to the San Remo festival in Italy, and it was Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet — Whitney Houston was there. It was just hit-makers of the time. We didn't consider ourselves that, but we were in that company.
And it was "La Dolce Vita." It was like a Fellini movie! We had a paparazzi moment where there were just flashbulbs, and people wanted to take our picture.
We couldn't connect the dots. ... We're all living in, like, terrible apartments. And I was living in a garage in Santa Monica. And we were driving beat-up cars, but we had a number one song. And we were having our photo taken by a hundred paparazzi in San Remo. And it was just like this insane moment.
On the tension that her being seen as the lead singer caused and why they broke up.
There's always going to be tensions within any team. ... I mean, The Bangles were kind of intended to function in the same kind of way that The Beatles were. There [were] multiple singers. Multiple songwriters. ...
I think that our harmonies were very important, but we did take turns [leading], if you look at the albums. I don't sing every song. And everybody sings almost an equal number of songs.
So I think that that was one factor in adding to the tension that you would normally have, being on the road and not getting a break for close to nine years.
"Manic Monday" was the first single. ... Prince had contacted us, ... and I think that he gave me the song, and we recorded it, and it became ... our first sort of radio hit. ... I think that that might have set the idea that I was the lead singer of the band, even though I wasn't.
How "Austin Powers" helped them get back together:
My husband [filmmaker Jay Roach] had directed ["Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery"], and he was working on the second [movie, "The Spy Who Shagged Me"], and they were down to needing a song for a particular scene.
And it was a day I had gotten together with Vickie [Peterson] and Debbie [Peterson] as an attempt to sort of get The Bangles back together. And we were working on writing a little bit of music and kind of feeling it out. And Jay walks in and says, "I need a song for this scene. Will you be willing to look at this scene and consider writing something custom-made for this party scene at the end of the movie?"
We sat down, and he showed us the scene. And we looked at each other and said, "Let's try it!" We wrote the song, and we ended up getting Michael Steel to join us in the studio to record it. And I think that writing process, feeling like we were actually doing a Bangles song together, ... everybody enjoyed it so much that it kind of led to the band working together again.
Want to hear Susanna talk about partying with The Go-Go's in Vegas and what her favorite songs to perform are? Check out the interview audio above.
The Bangles will be performing two sold-out shows this weekend at The Troubadour in West Hollywood.
How Uber is changing Mexico City's transportation
The ride-sharing service Uber has created some tension on the streets of Mexico City, mostly for the taxi drivers there.
Earlier this week, cab drivers protested the rise of Uber and blocked major roadways, demanding that the government crackdown on the service.
The Wall Street Journal's Laurence Liff tells more.
Lab Notes: When bad science goes big
Every now and then, we turn to Southern California Public Radio reporter Sanden Totten to hear about the newest scientific studies in a segment called Lab Notes.
But in today's chat, we talk about bad studies. Studies that are being retracted, completely made up studies and more.
State of Affairs: CA voters pessimistic on the economy, bills run up against deadline
On this week's State of Affairs, Californians remain pessimistic about the economy, an equal pay bill passes in the Senate, and the Assembly takes on frivolous ballot proposals.
Jack Pitney, Roy P. Crocker Professor of American Politics at Claremont McKenna College, and Capital Public Radio state government reporter Katie Orr join Take Two.