According to a recent USC report, one in 10 households in LA County struggle to provide their family with three meals a day. Organizations and governments are trying to address nutrition insecurity through innovative approaches like doctors prescribing produce and farmers matching EBT dollars at markets. Plus, theater is beginning to return after almost a two-year hiatus, but female playwrights are feeling like they are getting the short end of the stick. A more diverse array of playwrights are having plays produced, but women and women-identifying playwrights are still getting left out.

What will it take to finally end veteran homelessness? U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough says progress in Los Angeles could have a domino effect across the country. He promises to revive a languishing plan to build affordable housing for needy veterans on the VA’s West LA campus. 

Plus, LA’s first-ever Vegandale Festival this weekend will feature a smorgasbord of plant-based treats, including deep-fried oyster mushrooms and Hong Kong-style waffles stuffed with ice cream. And the company ReWerk distributes unwanted office and tech gear to schools and other nonprofits.

The ports of LA and Long Beach handle more shipping containers per ship than any other port complex in the world, and right now, dozens of cargo ships are anchored off the coast. Dock workers are hustling 24/7 to reduce the backlog, and one of them tells KCRW what it all looks like on the ground. As the holidays approach, many sought-after items won’t be on store shelves, but do people really need to buy so much stuff anyway? 

The recent oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach has raised questions about the state of offshore oil in California, like how many structures are there and who owns them. Plus, Angelenos share their landscape with thousands of chemical-releasing oil wells that can harm their health. Lastly, a bomb detonation killed Palestinian American activist Alex Odeh in 1985 in Santa Ana, and the case went cold, but now a local police officer who responded to the incident in the 1980s is finally speaking out.

Lester Solis was a junior at Belmont High School in Los Angeles when the pandemic caused his mother to lose her job and him to work full-time at Home Depot in addition to going to school. His story exemplifies the emotional strain COVID-19 continues to put on high school students, and how LAUSD is responding to an increased need for mental health support. Writer Raquel Gutiérrez shares part of their personal essay about how taking the 704 bus from Silver Lake to Santa Monica in the late 1990s helped shape their identity in LA. “Witch Hunt” — a new exhibition at the Hammer Museum and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles — explores what it means to be feminist in the age of Donald Trump.

The song "Nature Boy" was a huge hit for Nat King Cole and recorded by hundreds of artists, including Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, and Lady Gaga. But most people don’t know the story of the composer, Eden Ahbez, who wrote it about himself. He lived much of his life outside, despite all the royalties from his music. Also, Eater LA’s Mona Holmes helps navigate the patchwork of COVID-19 regulations at restaurants.

KCRW profiles a resident of Homekey, a statewide program to turn hotels and motels into homeless housing. But how do you build stability in a place designed for temporary stays? The LA Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants — two bitter rivals — face off in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. And as Orange County confronts a recent oil spill, political fallout ensues over what needs to change.

The broken oil pipeline off the coast of Huntington Beach is an environmental catastrophe that has killed fish, contaminated wetlands, and left nearby birds covered in oil. Now wildlife experts are rescuing sick and injured animals, one by one.

Plus, a nonprofit organization called the Sidewalk Project supplies unhoused people with Narcan, clean syringes, condoms, pipes, and marijuana. And a new exhibition honors the history of the museum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. 

The LA City Council passed a sweeping vaccine mandate today, requiring businesses and city employees to check your vaccine status when entering many indoor public locations, large events, and city buildings. If LA Mayor Eric Garcetti signs off — which seems highly likely — enforcement of this ordinance will begin on November 29. Reporter Benjamin Gottlieb explains how the rules work, who they apply to, and why this is happening now. Plus, an LA theater company examines veterans’ feelings about the Afghanistan War in its play “The Ninth Door.” And after 63 years behind the microphone, the LA Dodgers’ longtime Spanish language broadcaster Jaime Jarrín announced that next year will be his last.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a historic bill for California last week. Senate Bill 796 returns a parcel of land in Manhattan Beach, known as Bruce’s Beach, to the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce. The Black couple bought the property in 1912, and ran a dancehall, cafe, and lodge on it. But by 1924, city officials condemned the land and forced the Bruces to sell and leave. Now, almost a century later, the ownership of the parcel will be transferred to Willa and Charles Bruce’s four remaining direct descendants. A new redistricting map in LA has two members of the City Council upset about losing most of the people who voted them into office. And a UCLA digital media scholar won a prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Grant.