How a presidential hopeful prepares for a debate, Jay Duplass talks new film 'Manson Family Vacation,' Chase Utley appeals his suspension from the Dodgers.
What does coach Steve Sarkisian's departure mean for the future of USC football?
The University of Southern California has fired football head coach Steve Sarkisian. This comes one day after USC's Athletic Director Pat Haden placed Sarkisian on indefinite leave after he failed to show up for practice on Sunday.
There's been concern about his behavior since he showed up to an August USC pep rally slurring his words, after which he admitted mixing alcohol with prescription medication.
Take Two's A. Martínez spoke with Los Angeles Times reporter Gary Klein prior to Sarkisian's termination about the coach's tenure and what his departure means for USC football.
What Republicans want in a new House Speaker
Seeking: one Speaker of the House. Must be Republican, appeal to the moderate AND extreme parts of the party, and have nerves of steel. Non-smokers preferred.
That's not an actual posting to look for the next House Speaker in Congress, but it might as well be.
Whoever takes on that leadership role has a big challenge ahead of him or her.
Mike Madrid, Republican political strategist, has advice on what qualities the perfect person out there would need to make all Republicans happy.
Why Nevada matters in the 2016 presidential race
Las Vegas will host the first Democratic Party presidential debate of the year on Tuesday night.
Political reporter
, host of Ralston Live, joined Take Two to discuss why the Silver State matters in 2016.
Hillary Clinton's chief strategist talks debate preparation
Campaign staffers have worked long and hard to prepare their candidates for Tuesday night's democratic debate.
They've gone over messaging, played the role of opponent, and worked on comebacks and zingers with their presidential hopefuls. But determining exactly what the image and message should be in a debate isn't always easy.
, CEO of Beneson Strategy Group and chief strategist and pollster for Hillary Clinton's White House bid, joined the show to talk about what it takes to prepare for debates.
"When you're going into the debate, it's less about honing the message or changing your message," he said. "What the debates are about is being able to master the skill of delivering that in a 60 or a 90-second answer ... you really have to hone your message to the time you have."
Even then, however, a strong message is crucial. When asked for an example of a debate message gone wrong, Beneson pointed to a particular exchange between 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama during the town hall debate. At the time, Beneson served as the lead pollster for the Obama campaign.
"Gov. Romney thought he was going to score some points on the tragic attack at Benghazi ... and I think President Obama turned forcefully and addressed him about the nature of the tragedy and the fact that he knew those people, and I think he turned that into a winning moment in a way that — I think — the Romney camp had miscalculated," he said.
Beneson says that candidates will usually practice for debates in front of a camera. Campaign staffers watch from another room and keep an eye out for body language that may distract debate watchers. "And then they will show the candidate the videotape so that the candidate can visualize it for himself or herself and see how certain things played," he said.
Beneson has played an integral role on three winning campaigns: once with Bill Clinton and twice for President Obama. When asked what advice he would give a candidate heading into a debate, he says the answer is simple: seize every chance to shine.
"I think the most important thing to remember -- and I do tell candidates this -- every answer is an opportunity to drive your message," he said. "If you think about what the question is really about -- and what your message is -- you can take almost any question you get thrown at and make it work for you by driving it back to your core message."
Being the chief advisor for the Hillary Clinton campaign, Take Two's A Martinez asked if he could give any hints about what viewers can expect from the democratic frontrunner.
"Nope," he said. "I don't talk about prep. Never have, never will."
Press the blue play button above to hear A Martinez talk to Hillary Clinton chief strategist Joel Beneson.
Jay Duplass takes strange road trip in 'Manson Family Vacation'
The new film "Manson Family Vacation" is about brothers Nick and Conrad.
Nick lives in L.A. He's an attorney with a wife and a kid, he seems to have his life together pretty well. And then there's Conrad, who is adopted. He's a struggling artist who's barely getting by. He decides to visit his younger brother on his way out to the desert. When Conrad arrives, he floats an idea by Nick, an odd journey of sorts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geP6RMJRqOc
Jay Duplass, of "Transparent," plays Nick, and he joined host Alex Cohen with more.
There will be a screening and Q & A for "Manson Family Vacation" Monday night. Click here for more details.
What the new pot laws mean for Southern California shops
A trio of bills the Governor signed off on late last week could transform California's medical marijuana industry.
These new laws will determine how cannibas is cultivated, transported and sold in the coming years.
For more on this, we're joined by Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the Calfornia Growers Association, a statewide group that represents growers and dispensaries across the state.
LA's earthquake retrofitting law: Cost worrying renters, landlords
The Los Angeles City Council on Friday passed a new law that will require mandatory retrofitting for more than 15,000 buildings.
It's among the strongest earthquake safety laws in the nation, but renters and landlords are worried about who will shoulder the cost.
, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, joined the show to discuss the basics of the new ordinance, and how renters and landlords alike could be impacted.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.
Putting college on hold for a star-making role in 'The Sound of Music'
Fifty years ago, Julie Andrews wowed audiences the world over with her turn as Maria Rainer in "The Sound of Music."
Maria is a young Austrian woman studying to become a nun in 1938. She's sent to the home of Captain Von Trapp, a retired naval officer, to be the governess to his seven children.
Maria is one of the most iconic roles in musical theater, and tackling it now for a national tour which kicked off recently in L.A. is a young woman named Kerstin Anderson.
If you've never heard of her, that's little surprise. Kerstin was a sophomore at Pace University in New York before auditioning for the role. And making the decision to put college on hold to jump into the production, she says, wasn't easy.
"My Type A personality was like, 'What are you doing straying from your four year plan?' Anderson says. "But this is what I want to be doing, so I eventually came to the conclusion that if this is what you want to be doing and you have the opportunity to do it, you better do it."
To hear the full interview with Kerstin Anderson, click the player above.
"The Sound of Music" is currently playing at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre through October 31st.
Dodgers vs. Mets: A controversial slide and a key turning point in game
In the Dodgers' win against the New York Mets on Saturday, Chase Utley's slide broke up a potential double play to spark a rally and a come-from-behind win for L.A. But the play also broke Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada's leg and prompted a suspension (which is being appealed).
Was the controversial play deserving of a suspension or was it just part of the game? And what's next for the Dodgers playoff run?
, reporter for ESPN, joined the show with more.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.
5 Every Week: Archives Bazaar, East Side Food Fest, Red Rock Canyon
Here are five great things you should do in Southern California this week from the makers of the 5 Every Day app. Get this as a new podcast in iTunes. If you want five hand-picked things to do in Los Angeles every day, download the free 5 Every Day from the App Store.
ART: Gary Indiana at 365 Mission
Gary, Indiana is a place. And a song n’ dance number in The Music Man. It—or rather he—is also an artist, and just about one of the most interesting people to mix it up in the 20th century.
Gary Indiana hails from New Hampshire, although he’s been a New Yorker since he emigrated to Manhattan in 1978, back when rent on the Lower East Side was 100 bucks a month. In those days, he put on experimental plays in long-gone clubs with avant-garde buddies and Warhol protegés.
In the 80s, he was the art critic for the Village Voice—his acerbic, relentlessly unforgiving reviews of the New York Art scene were the stuff of legend. Later, he became a novelist, writing high literary true-crime about serial killers.
He still writes, but he also makes photographs and films, which were recently exhibited in the Whitney Biennial.
His first proper LA show, at 356 Mission Gallery downtown, just opened and will be up through mid-November.
356 S Mission Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90033 (map)
CITY: Los Angeles Archives Bazaar
The L.A. history geek is a very specific kind of geek. You probably know one of these people—someone who incessantly rattles off Chinatown references, keeps a well-thumbed copy of "Cadillac Desert" or "City of Quartz" on their coffee table, and is always insisting on walking places.
We are these people. Which is why we are beyond excited for the tenth annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar at USC’s Doheny Library this Saturday.
USC is the host institution for a broad alliance between city libraries, museums, and cultural organizations called “LA as Subject.” It’s dedicated to preserving and improving access to archival materials that illuminate our city’s often-opaque histories.
And every year they host this awesome bazaar, where 80 different archives come and share their collections with the public and answer questions.
Come to browse old punk zines, maps, turn-of-the-century broadsides, and stay for the uber-geeky workshops on scrapbook preservation and historical research, plus an exclusive screening of a new KCET series called “Lost L.A.” Woo-hoo!
Doheny Memorial Library, 3550 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA 90089
FOOD: EastSide Food Fest
How the willowy citizens of the Eastside maintain their figures in the face of this gastronomical bull market, we will never know.
We're basically always eating. For our last gluttonous hurrah before next week's cleanse, we're the hitting East Side Food Festival, a year-old bacchanal of everything worth eating east of LaBrea under one roof at Mack Sennett studios in Silverlake.
This is the deal: you plonk down $65 at the door. Then you eat, to your heart's content, delicacies from Alimento, Dune, Homestate, Ohana Poke Co., Little Jewell of New Orleans, Pine & Crane, Starry Kitchen—our favorite cult underground restaurant, back from hiatus!—and a full menu's worth of other notable foodie names. Plus cooking demos, DJs, games, and even a food-themed nail art booth.
And, lest you feel like a worthless slob, proceeds from this thing go to homeless support concern PATH, whose work is more important than ever. Eat, feel good, repeat.
Mack Sennett Studios, 1215 Bates Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029
MUSIC: Kim & The Created
“People pay to see others believe in themselves. As a performer you sacrifice yourself, you go through the motions and emotions of sexuality for all the people who pay to see it, to believe that it exists.” -- Kim Gordon.
We’re here to talk about a different Kim: Kim & the Created. They are an Echo Park garage rock band captained by a front-tornado named Kim House. She gets top billing because this is fully her show.
She doesn't sing so much as...expel. She gives her whole self in maniacal catharsis. Cool punk rock frontwoman kind of stuff.
You can watch her do it tonight and every Monday night this month at the Kim & the Created’s Echo residency.
The Echo, 1822 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
WILDCARD: Red Rock Canyon
To be honest, we’ve never quite understood Topanga. Like, where do people live? What are its boundaries? Is it fancy or just really, really remote?
So we did some recon recently. Turns out people live in mansions, but they also live in caves and insane little hermit huts cobbled together out of bits and pieces of other houses.
We're still not quite sure where Topanga begins or ends, but the wilderness that surrounds it is something else. Even the crummiest hiking trail out there is magical. And the nice ones are, like, unreal.
A local hipped us to Red Rock Canyon. It’s a sorta-hidden state park at the end of a narrow dusty road pebbled with weird dwellings. It feels like the Southwest: giant red sandstone outcroppings, purple canyons, and every kind of flowering sage imaginable.
Make it up to the top of Calabasas peak and the view of the Santa Monica Mountains is worth the trek. Five bucks to park.
23236-23242 W Red Rock Rd, Topanga, CA 90290 (map)