The hottest format in Hollywood these days is... the short story? No, not the kind of abstruse meditative gems you might find in The Kenyon Review, but pulpy genre pieces, often self-published on Reddit or not published at all. Hollywood is spending big: lamaterial.com/p/short-stor...

Love this local LA reporting on the man Trump hired to "go after fraud" from the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, but is now suffering a string of losses in federal prosecutions. (Of course, he has a mug with Trump's mug shot on it on his office desk.) lamaterial.com/p/bill-essay...

Bill Essayli, Trump's man in L.A., talks a lot about fraud. Something he doesn't talk about: his family's federal fraud case, and how he defended it against the office he now runs. Our reporter Matt Hamilton uncovered the case and went deep on a major Trump player. lamaterial.com/p/bill-essay...

There is a LOT going on at St. Vincent these days!

Were the haters right about LACMA? As the museum’s new David Geffen Galleries opened their doors to the press, we break down why it’s made so many people so mad for so long. lamaterial.com/p/were-the-h...

In 2024, I tweeted about this mosaic of Jim Jones that appeared outside my kid's school, triggering guys with the worst beards imaginable messaging me to tell me that Los Angeles is "demonic." Finally, the mystery of the cult leader mosaic is solved by La Material! lamaterial.com/p/mosaic-of-...

Did the ‘Baywatch’ reboot really get kicked off Venice Beach? We ran down the rumors … while there have been some issues, the production was not booted off Venice Beach, according to both the County and Fox. lamaterial.com/p/was-baywat...

"'If you hang up the phone after your interview and your pulse is racing and you say you were a little caught off guard by a question, you can probably get an edit,' said a publicist who works with high-profile talent." Great details in this piece on celeb podcasts. lamaterial.com/p/the-unwrit...

What really happened at Beethoven Market? The Mar Vista restaurant was a citywide hit, but locals were divided, & a handful of neighbors peppered the city with complaints. Now the liquor license has been yanked & the neighborhood's still at war over who's to blame. lamaterial.com/p/beethoven-...

Hollywood has lost 41,000 jobs in the last three years. How are people getting by? Working at a bra store. Teaching children to swim. Opening a restaurant. Industry types got real with @lamaterial.bsky.social on what they're up to now, and how they feel about it. lamaterial.com/p/hollywood-...

Sure, there are higher stakes reasons local news sources are important. But for my money, it’s cuz who else is going to answer questions I've had for 15 years like this? Follow @lamaterial.bsky.social as they launch and cover our city. lamaterial.com/p/why-is-a-b...

I know this site is going to be worthwhile because @juliaturner.bsky.social, together with many other great minds in L.A. journalism, is behind it. Sign up for their free weekday newsletter at the link below:

Exciting new independent journalistic endeavor out of my hometown of Los Angeles under the editorial leadership of @juliaturner.bsky.social. Let’s show some support! @lamaterial.bsky.social #journalism #news

LA people who are looking to support independent local news—this is really exciting. Please share and subscribe!

You may not know Claire McCardell's name, but if you're an American woman or know one, you know her work. She was an inventive & influential midcentury fashion designer who freed women from all kinds of strictures, social and literal. Reviewed a terrific new bio: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Praised be! Knobs and buttons 4-ever. (And bring them back on washer/dryers too!)

Guess whose office WAS warned about the extreme fire risk before her trip to Ghana? www.latimes.com/california/s...

Karen Bass' astonishing new line is that *no one told her about the windstorm* before she went to Ghana. www.foxla.com/news/mayor-b...

If this week's culture podcast has one takeaway, it's "See 'One of Them Days.'" Fun gab this week: slate.com/podcasts/cul...

Really fun to dissect why the Dylan movie works so well and to have the whole gang back together!

About time! variety.com/2024/film/aw...

WHEEEEEEEEEEE Elf on a shelf NASA training

Gotta say this dialogue between a newsnation anchor and incarcerated prisoners is some of the most compelling live tv I’ve seen in a while.

What if the road not taken was the one leading to a life where this tissue box cover made perfect sense:

Curtains, 1885 https://botfrens.com/collections/43/contents/12489/

Me welcoming new followers & showing them around Bluesky:

Fun @SlateCultFest this week: Two movies set in the gritty NYC of the 1970s about young legends making their names. (The Apprentice has more to say on Donald Trump than Saturday Night does on Lorne Michaels.) slate.com/podcasts/cul...

The Substance is not very good but it is VERY fun to look at and VERY fun to talk about, and we had a blast discussing it with Wesley Morris and exploring his GOBSMACKINGLY good podcast about Stevie Wonder on this week's show: slate.com/podcasts/cul...

On this week's pod we talk PENGUIN and what exactly Farrell is doing (pirouettes!) under all that latex, plus a perfect growing-up movie that will make you want to be a cranberry farmer in Canada. Listen here: slate.com/podcasts/cul...

Finally, a profoundly great film about the bizarre, heartbreaking, boring, dada limbo that is hospice. Vivacious @SlateCultFest this week on "His Three Daughters" and more... slate.com/podcasts/cul...

New Slate Culture Gabfest on Tim Burton getting his groove back: slate.com/podcasts/cul...

On this week's Slate Culture Gabfest we discuss the irresistible (except to Julia) The Fall Guy, the spooky/queer/inscrutable I Saw the TV Glow, & the campus protests of the war in Gaza w/ @polgreen.bsky.social, who's been on the student-protest beat for the @nytimes.com. slate.com/podcasts/cul...