California’s Imperial Valley has some of the lowest rainfall in the state, yet uses the largest allotment of Colorado River water. Why is such an arid part of the state an agricultural powerhouse?

Today, we look into how the region secured its rights. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times water reporter Ian James

More reading:

In California’s Imperial Valley, farmers brace for a future with less Colorado River water

Colorado River in Crisis: A Times series on the Southwest’s shrinking water lifeline

California is isolated and alone in battle over Colorado River water cuts

Black people have been part of the American West for centuries. But mainstream cowboy culture long downplayed their contributions, even as they exist in the present day.

Today, we hear from some of them. Read the full transcript here.

Host: L.A. Times national reporter Tyrone Beason

More reading:

Black Californians have long celebrated cowboy culture. We’re just catching up

A proud group of Black Californians keep the traditions of the Old West and cowboy culture alive.

Excerpt: Cowboys in Compton find hope and healing on horseback

All across California, people are asking the same question: Why are eggs so expensive?

Californians walk into grocery stores only to find them sold out, or that they’re going for $7 or more a dozen. Thanks to inflation, everything is more expensive right now. But when it comes to eggs, there’s more to the story.

Today, how a history of California policy and a global bird flu scrambled the economics of a food staple. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times metro reporter Sonja Sharp

More reading:

$7 a dozen? Why California eggs are so expensive — and increasingly hard to find

Watch: California eggs are becoming expensive, and increasingly hard to find

Op-Ed: Why does California have an egg shortage?

For over a century, Native American tribes along the Colorado River have seen other entities take water that had nourished them since time immemorial. With the depletion of this vital source for the American West, Indigenous leaders see an opening to right a historical wrong.

Today, we check in on one tribe doing just that. Read the full transcript here.

Host: The Times senior producer Kasia Broussalian

Guest: L.A. Times water reporter Ian James

More reading:

Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 1: A Dying River

Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 2: The Source

Inside the water crisis: A journey across the Colorado River Basin

In a span of 25 hours, three men of color died after encounters with Los Angeles police officers. Could a change in tactics long asked for by activists have prevented the deaths?

Today, we talk about the incidents, the aftermath — and what’s next. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times investigative crime reporter Richard Winton and L.A. Times metro columnist Erika D. Smith

More reading:

Column: MLK had a dream about ending police brutality. In L.A., we’re clearly still dreaming

LAPD’s repeated tasing of teacher who died appears excessive, experts say

Amid concerns over three deaths, LAPD releases video

A gunman shot and killed 10 people just after a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park, California. This attack, one of California's worst mass shootings in recent memory, is sparking concerns about public safety and conversations about anti-Asian hate — and renewing calls for gun control. Read the full transcript here. 

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Asian American communities reporter Jeong Park 

More reading: 

Authorities identify 72-year-old man as suspected gunman in Lunar New Year mass shooting

Terror at Monterey Park dance studio: What we know about Lunar New Year mass shooting 

Lunar New Year shooting: A grim moment in Monterey Park, America’s first suburban Chinatown

The main way the American West harvests the Colorado River for its water use is by dams that create reservoirs, which are quickly drying up because of climate change. Can knocking some dams down help?

Today, in our continuing series on the Colorado River, we go to Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell to talk to some people who think so. Read the full transcript here.

Host: “The Times” senior producer Denise Guerra

Guests: L.A. Times water reporter Ian James

More listening:

Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 1: A Dying River

Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 2: The Source

Colorado River in Crisis homepage

For decades, Republicans across the country looked to California for conservative stars and ideas even as the GOP lost its way in the state. Not anymore.

Today, we talk about how how Kevin McCarthy’s tortuous path to become Speaker of the House was yet another loud death rattle for the California GOP. Read the full transcript here. 

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times politics columnist Mark Z. Barabak

More reading:

Column: Kevin McCarthy ‘won’ the House speakership. Now the country will pay the price

Listen to “The Battle of 187”

Today’s GOP could snub even Reagan

Something unexpected is going on in traditionally conservative Saudi Arabia.

Over the last few years, the kingdom has been announcing a loosening of social restrictions at a surprising rate. Movie theaters are reopening, new professional opportunities for women are popping up and the country is hosting Western-style music festivals.

It’s all part of a plan by the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who says he wants to dramatically transform his country.

Today, how the prince’s push comes with a price: While dancing in Saudi Arabia might be in these days, political dissent is still most definitely out. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times Middle East bureau chief Nabih Bulos

More reading:

Dancing is in, dissent is out as Saudi Arabia’s crown prince transforms his country

Saudi Arabia is giving itself an extreme makeover with ‘giga-projects.’ Will it work?

Saudis sentence U.S. citizen to 16 years over tweets

The Colorado River begins in the Rocky Mountain snowpack, which provides the water that starts off the river on its epic journey. But as the American West gets hotter, that snowpack keeps getting smaller and smaller.

Today, the second in our six-part special on the future of this vital waterway. New episodes will publish every Friday through Feb. 10. Follow the project here. Read the full transcript here.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times water reporter Ian James and L.A. Times video journalist Albert Lee 

More reading:

Our full Colorado River series

Listen to the first episode in this series, “Colorado River in Crisis, Pt. 1: A Dying River”

Video: The Colorado River is drying up. Climate change and drought have taken a major toll.