Inside the Issues: The Podcast

California has led the nation when it comes to laws designed to bring gender equity to the workplace. This week, in honor of Women’s History Month, we chat with one of the architects of several of those laws — former State Sen. Hannah Beth Jackson. The Democrat who spent over two decades in the state Legislature opens up about why she fought for the rights of women and families during her time in office.

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

• Visit the California Partners Project website

Oscar winners Phil Lord and Christopher Miller join us to talk about their latest animated adventure “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” which just won the Critic’s Choice Award. They open up about their own parents’ concerns about them becoming animated filmmakers and why they didn’t want to beat audiences over the head with the notion of a queer protagonist.

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

• Check out Lindsay Olivares on Instagram 
• See the Oscar tweet

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Adam McKay is with us to talk about his latest film “Don’t Look Up” and how life imitated art, which imitated life. The man behind the “Anchorman” franchise also opens up about his beef with broadcast news and how he thinks it could be better. 

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

The LA County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on whether to take the duty of enforcing vaccine rules away from Sheriff Alex Villanueva. The sheriff has said this move would be akin to forming a suicide pact. He joins us this week to explain why he's clashing with the board and the impact it could have on staffing issues and crime rates in the region.

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

• See the Kern County ad 

Most Angelenos know Roy Choi as a legendary chef and the pioneer of the gourmet food truck movement. It turns out he's also an incredibly talented TV show host, but not the typical celebrity chef you see on the small screen. This week, Roy Choi joins us to talk about his show on KCET called "Broken Bread." In it, he travels throughout our region, making food, eating food and digging into some of the most pressing issues facing Southern California.

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

• Visit the "Broken Bread" show website

What would California look like if we eliminated poverty? According to former Stockton mayor Michael Tubbs, that's no science fiction plot but rather a plausible version of our future. Tubbs recently launched a new initiative called End Poverty in California. He joins us to explain his EPIC vision and how important personal narratives are when it comes to understanding the lives of poor people.

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

• Visit the EPIC website
• Find EPIC on Twitter @EndPovertyCA

Andy Slavitt, host of the wildly popular pandemic podcast "In the Bubble," is back with us this week to answer the question we're all thinking about: How the heck will we know when the worst of COVID is behind us? It turns out he's got some questions for host Alex Cohen, too.

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

• Read the Twitter thread mentioned

As tensions escalate between Russia and Ukraine, we're bringing you a conversation with Russia expert Dr. Fiona Hill, who dives into her experience working in the Trump administration and what it was like to testify before Congress on Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Hill recently penned a memoir called "There is Nothing for You Here," where she reveals a lot about her life, work and how gender has played into her career in politics.

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

More than a half-century ago, Dolores Huerta helped found the United Farm Workers Labor Union. Since then, her life and work have been honored in all sorts of ways, including having local high schools named after her to a pair of Vans shoes. The labor leader joins us to talk about the challenges facing farmworkers and what she makes of the debate on race in this nation.

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

• Dolores Huerta Foundation

Los Angeles-based conservative radio host Larry Elder won more votes than any other candidate vying to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom last fall. And yet, Elder says he won't be running for governor again in 2022. This week, Elder shares what's behind his decision and why he's not yet ruling out politics as a career choice.

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

• Larry Elder's website Elder for America