L.A. Times reporter Alana Semuels asked a group of UCLA economists visiting the L.A. Times offices what it's going to take to launch a sustained recovery.

The clock is ticking down the final 72 hours of the campaign, and we touch base with California politics reporter and editor Cathleen Decker about the polls, plans and prospects of the candidates for governor and senator.

As part of the "America Out of Work" series, which chronicles the U.S. unemployment crisis, The Times' Stuart Pfeifer writes in Sunday's paper about scams targeting job seekers.

Fatima Bhutto Times staff writer Lori Kozlowski recently had a chance to speak with author Fatima Bhutto, the niece of Benazir Bhutto, for an upcoming piece in Books.

Markets columnist Tom Petruno talks about how bond funds performed in the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30. Are they really the safe havens that shelter-seeking investors may think they are? And what should you do if you own them?

We touch base with California politics editor Cathleen Decker for a status update on the gubernatorial and senate races. We also get some insight on recommendations on the governor's race and on Propositions 19 and 23 from Robert Greene, who heads up the endorsement process for the Times' editorial board.…

Entertainment reporter Amy Kaufman takes us inside the upcoming movie about the first friends of Facebook, "The Social Network." She spent time with Jesse Eisenberg, who portrays Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg.

Columnist Steve Lopez ponders how likely charges are to stick in the scandal in the city of Bell. And data team editor Megan Garvey gives listeners an audio preview to a feature coming to Latimes.com on Sept. 29

Every so often, the Los Angeles Times revisits stories that have faded like the newsprint that once heralded urgent national headlines. One such story is that of the 1984 disappearance of Laura Bradbury. Reporter Kurt Streeter connects with the Bradbury family and recaptures the heartbreaking emotion and journey the family has undergone over the la…

This edition of the Pacific Time podcast checks in with state politics editor and writer Cathleen Decker for an update on California's gubernatorial race. She gives a round-up and preview of what's to come before the November election.

As the sunny summer days give way to evenings that stretch ever longer, autumn brings a number of new titles to real and virtual bookshelves to fill them. Times Book Critic David Ulin highlights a few titles he's looking forward to leafing through. Alison Kornberg, assistant editor at LA Los Angeles Times Magazine, is planning a wedding. Actually, …

Shortly after President Obama wrapped up his speech Wednesday assailing GOP leaders and outlining the administration's economic proposals to prop up the ailing economy, Doyle McManus, The Times' Washington-based Op-Ed columnist, delivered a quick assessment of the president's remarks, focusing primarily on politics.…

As the nation prepares to honor its working population on Monday, the unemployment rate continues to edge upward. Reporter Alana Semuels explores in Sunday's paper the who, why and how to make ends meet and the what next among several people who have been out of work long-term.

We hear from reporters Jason Felch and Jason Song on what data from the LAUSD revealed about teaching success and failure in Los Angeles, why they embarked on the project and how parents can use the database, which will be made public early next week. In Sacramento, there's a flurry of activity as the legislative session comes to a close early next…

Sacramento bureau chief Evan Halper talks about questions being raised about CalPERS in light of its inaction on exorbitant Bell salaries when the pension system found out about them four years ago. Christopher Goffard offers his account of covering, over the last two years, a Los Angeles County program aimed at helping the 50 most vulnerable peopl…

Times staff writer Scott Gold, who spent all of 2009 reporting on the progress, promise and peril in South Los Angeles, talks about the South L.A. of the mid-1980s, an environment so infused with economic distress, virulent drugs, rampant violence and pervasive cultural mistrust that serial killers could operate in obscurity and with impunity for a…

We focus on stories behind two of our stories. We chat with Los Angeles Times reporters Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives whose reporting on the pay for city officials in Bell continues to echo throughout the community. And we speak with Gargi Dave, the subject of a recent Column One on the aftermath and legal tangle 20 years after surviving a hijackin…

Mild-mannered reporter by day, Geoff Boucher has swooped in to San Diego this week to cover the grand gala of all things pop culture -- Comic-Con International 2010. For the rest of the week, hordes descend on the city to the south to consume, converse and kvetch about the latest and greatest in comics.…

Beginning Sunday, the Los Angeles Times will explore in an occasional series the future of reading, the technologies and their effect on the culture of reading and writing. In Part 2, we speak with chief executive of the Assn. of American Publishers Tom Allen and author Jason Kelly.

Beginning Sunday, the Los Angeles Times will explore in an occasional series the future of reading, the technologies and their effect on the culture of reading and writing. In this episode, we speak with Times reporters Alex Pham and David Sarno, and L.A. Times book critic and former Book editor David Ulin.…

After two decades, the LAPD says it has solved the "Grim Sleeper" serial killings, culminating in the arrest of a suspect on Wednesday. Police credit the use of a cutting-edge technology -- "familial search." Reporter Maura Dolan explains how it all works. Spies in our midst are apparently not just the thing of novels and movies. Friday afternoon, …

MacArthur Park's Polaroid photographers are the last of a dying breed. They've been sparring under the palm trees for nearly 40 years — and it's hard for them to admit it might be frame over.Reporter Esmeralda Bermudez talks about her childhood memories of photographers in MacArthur Park, hawking their skills, and the fading image that remains ther…

Arizona is preparing to enforce its new immigration law starting July 29. Reporter Nicholas Riccardi talks about officers' training and what they will and will not have to do under the law.The discovery that California's recipients of government assistance could access their funds in casinos and strip clubs across the state came as a surprise to ma…

David Savage, a longtime reporter on and observer of the United States Supreme Court, shares a little insight and perspective on what is likely to transpire in the Senate confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan.

An international group of soccer fans in the aeronautics department at Caltech put the controversial Adidas soccer ball being used in the World Cup to the test. We hear from David Wharton about the test and their findings. Also related to the soccer fields in South Africa, reporter Hector Becerra talks about how the Mexican flag, which has taken on…

Los Angeles Times columnist in Washington, D.C., Doyle McManus offers an assessment of President Obama's choice to relieve Gen. McChrystal of command.

World Cup Soccer continues in South Africa. Earlier this week, we spoke with LA Times sports reporter Kevin Baxter in South Africa about the fans, who's making diva requests off the field and how things are going on the field.

This week, we talk about the big win for the Los Angeles Lakers, about where the Westside ends, a crackdown on violent crime in Salinas, and making tracks this summer.

This week, we take a look at a small Arizona town’s earlier efforts against illegal immigration, chat about efforts to clean waves of gooey oil in the Gulf of Mexico, get a first-hand look at iPhone 4 and a preview of the Electronics Entertainment Expo and finally, a remembrance of Coach John Wooden.…

We review the results of Tuesday's primary election. State politics reporter Cathleen Decker gives her insight on the big California races, editorial writer Robert Greene offers a scorecard of how voters' choices matched up with the Editorial Board's endorsements, and Mark Z. Barabak calls in from San Francisco on trends in elections across the cou…

In every election season, the Los Angeles Times editorial board studies the issues and offers its educated and informed recommendations. Editorial writer Robert Greene leads the endorsement process and explains some of the endorsements for California's June 8 primary.

With summer so close you can almost feel it kissing your skin, we look at a couple of ways you might want to lose yourself in the season -- reading and at the movies. Books editor David Ulin talks about some of our picks for the 92 days of summer. And Hero Complex blogger Geoff Boucher breaks down "popcorn month" at the movies. And we talk tech wit…

This week, we talk with columnist Michael Hiltzik about the fumble that is the effort to get professional football in Southern California. And we get a special story-behind-the-stories introduction to covering Iran with Beirut bureau chief Borzou Daragahi, a few words from editor Russ Stanton on the recent Los Angeles Times editorial awards for 200…

This week, we get an update on from state reporter Cathleen Decker on the California governor’s race, from reporter on the marijuana beat John Hoeffel on the voter split on legalizing pot, from health reporter Shari Roan postpartum depression for daddies and from business reporter Tiffany Hsu on becoming your own fashionable power station.…

Veteran Supreme Court reporter David Savage talks about the nominee to replace the retiring Justice Stevens. Consumer columnist David Lazarus gives a piece of his mind about transit solutions in Los Angeles. John Horn talks about the glory and the glare of the premiere spotlight at Cannes. A longtime visitor to the San Gabriel mountains supports an…

This week, we touch on the mercurial stock market with Business columnist Tom Petruno, get a dispatch from the oil-slicked gulf region, hear from Pakistan on possible ties to the Times Square bomb, from Sacramento on how it could become tougher to be a teen in California and about a San Diego rasta man's battle with the tax man. Then we get our gee…

Reporter Ken Ellingwood gives a status report from Haiti; Sacramento Bureau Chief Evan Halper elaborates on the governor's endorsement of the national healthcare plan; Data desk editor Megan Garvey fills in some details from our Homicide Report for the city's chalk outlines; Metro assistant editor Carlos Lozano explains the influence of reactions t…

Foreign Editor Bruce Wallace talks about an L.A. Times exclusive on revelations and repercussions of a secret prison in Baghdad; City Editor Shelby Grad details developments in crimes that seem to point to hate groups in Hemet; Sacramento Bureau Chief Evan Halper on California's pension problems; entertainment reporters Richard Verrier and Matea Go…

London bureau chief Henry Chu on the plume of volcanic ash across the pond; reporter Cara Mia DiMassa discusses the recent spate of earthquakes; reporters Ralph Vartabedian and Ken Bensinger on the latest Toyota news; reporter Michael Rothfeld shares his insights on the state Democratic convention; reporter Joe Flint has details about Conan O'Brien…

Foreign Editor Bruce Wallace looks at world news from the past week; Business columnist Tom Petruno discusses how mutual funds did this past quarter; City Hall reporter Phil Willon and columnist Steve Lopez give their slightly different takes on the city's budget crisis; and Hugo Martin has some tips on getting hotel deals.…

Moscow bureau chief Megan Stack on the roots of the violence in Russia. usiness columnist Michael Hiltzik on challenges facing healthcare implementation. Sacramento bureau chief Evan Halper with a preview of the USC-Los Angeles Times poll and technology reporter David Sarno on the iPad.