“Binge Sesh” is a new L.A. Times podcast taking a deep dive into the television shows everyone is talking about. For its inaugural season, the series gets into the HBO show “Winning Time,” which talks about the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s who dominated the NBA with its Showtime approach to basketball.

Host: Matt Brennan and Kareem Maddox

Guests: Author Jeff Pearlman

More reading:

‘Winning Time’ began as the seminal book on the Showtime Lakers; it’s Hollywood now

How a pair of unknowns made themselves into Lakers legends for HBO’s next big drama

Four years. Four coaches. Inside the off-court drama that made the Showtime Lakers

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has added and subtracted elements to this year’s Oscars. A roundtable of L.A. Times film and television experts discuss those changes, plus offer up other commentary and criticism about this Sunday’s Academy Awards.

Today, we’ve got a special episode from our sister podcast, “The Envelope.”

Host: Mark Olsen

Guests: Justin Chang, Glenn Whip, Mary McNamara

More reading:

The Oscars are embracing better movies. The show acts like it’s embarrassed by them

How the Oscars have, and haven’t, changed since Halle and Denzel’s historic victories

Column: ‘Belfast’ isn’t my favorite movie in the Oscar race. But it gave me the most hope

What lengths would you go to find someone you love? Even as their disappearance edges closer and closer to becoming a cold case? Today, we have the story of a family working to find their missing loved one.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times reporter Lila Seidman

More reading:

Was Jack here? A sister asks the beach community whether they’ve seen her missing brother

Help Find Jack Stein Facebook page

In the war for Ukraine, it’s Zelensky versus Putin. Two men with essentially the same first name fighting for their place in history — not just for their respective countries but for the ancestral roots that Russia and Ukraine share, and that both rulers claim to be the true defender of.

And a prince, who ruled more than 1,000 years ago — known in Russia as Vladimir the Great and in Ukraine as Volodymyr the Great — lies at the heart of that intertwined history. We get into that today.

More reading:

Putin’s rationale for Ukraine invasion gets the history wrong

Ukrainian Tales

In battle between Russia and Ukraine, even God is in dispute

For the past two decades, Disney’s reputation in the LGBTQ community has been stellar. It was one of the first Fortune 500 companies to offer same-sex couple benefits. And tens of thousands of people attend their unofficial Gay Days. More and more out characters are appearing in television shows, movies and cartoons. But critics now say Disney has thrown away all that goodwill. Just another thing to blame on…Florida.

Today, hearings will begin to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson’s a different type of judge, a Black woman for starters — she’d be the first ever on the Supreme Court — but she also brings unprecedented professional and life experiences. But even if she’s confirmed, how much influence can a history maker really have?

More reading:

Jackson supporters gear up to protect her historic Supreme Court bid from racist, sexist attacks

Biden nominates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court in historic pick

Column: The unsubtle racism of questioning Ketanji Brown Jackson’s qualifications

Thousands of students apply to UC Berkeley every year. It’s one of the most applied-to universities in the entire U.S. But the city of Berkeley is also emblematic of our nationwide housing crisis. Which is why residents and the university have been locked in a legal battle over enrollment numbers.

Today, we delve into the latest town-versus-gown throw-down.

More reading:

Lawmakers unveil rescue effort to help UC Berkeley avoid enrollment cuts after court battle

How much will UC Berkeley have to cut admissions after Supreme Court decision? What we know

UC Berkeley will meet court-ordered enrollment cap with online, deferred admission offers

Last May, the Palisades fire ripped through the Santa Monica Mountains. About 1,000 people were put under mandatory evacuation orders, and about 500 homes were threatened by the flames. As that emergency was unfolding, the guy in charge of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s operations center overseeing the fire was allegedly intoxicated. That’s according to an investigation commissioned by city officials.

Today, we talk about what came next.

More reading:

LAFD chief deputy allegedly drunk during a major fire gets no discipline, $1.4-million payout

LAFD received complaints that a top official was drunk on duty. Some say it was covered up

Raging Palisades fire is a dangerous warning of California’s new year-round fire reality

There’s been a new Cold War brewing for years now between the United States and China. And a big battleground on that front is Central America.

Today, we look into how China’s billions of dollars and influence in Central America could strengthen a new generation of regimes hostile to the U.S.

More reading:

In Latin America’s new Cold War, will China lift up autocrats?

Taiwan loses one of its last diplomatic allies as Nicaragua recognizes China

Is China good for the Americas?

Something disturbing has happened since the last time most of us took vacations — it’s getting harder to clean rooms because of COVID-19 protocols. Hotel workers say ever since the pandemic started, their work has been harder and dirtier than ever.

Today, we hear from one of those workers.

More reading:

How the pandemic made hotel housekeeping more difficult — and disgusting

Tourists are back: L.A. hotel bookings reach 100% of their pre-pandemic levels

‘Tsunami’ of hotel closures is coming, experts warn