Los Angeles Times Launches Spring Audio Slate with ‘The Times’ Daily News Podcast
Hosted by Columnist Gustavo Arellano, the first episode premieres May 3; ‘Asian Enough’ returns for a second season and a new true-crime series ‘The Trials of Frank Carson’ debuts in May
The Los Angeles Times is kicking off its spring podcast lineup with the launch of “The Times: Daily news from the L.A. Times,” a free weekday podcast that will bring listeners news and original reporting with a West Coast outlook. Hosted by Times Columnist Gustavo Arellano, “The Times” trailer debuted today and daily episodes will be available on all podcast platforms beginning May 3. The newspaper’s audio division will also launch a second season of the acclaimed interview-style podcast “Asian Enough” and a new true-crime podcast, “The Trials of Frank Carson,” from Times Staff Writer Christopher Goffard, the host behind the hit podcasts “Dirty John” and “Detective Trapp.”
Every weekday, “The Times” will take listeners beyond the headlines as Arellano is joined by reporters from across the award-winning L.A. Times newsroom to discuss the day’s news through a California lens. The podcast will also feature guest interviews and original stories covering entertainment, the environment, immigration, politics, the criminal justice system, culture and more.
“Gustavo is the perfect host for our new daily podcast: He’s a singular, charismatic voice who has that rare journalistic ability to see around corners and spot the future before it gets here,” said Julia Turner, Times deputy managing editor for entertainment, audio and strategy. “He’s also a lifelong Californian with plenty of perspective on how our news landscape suffers when so little American media is produced west of the Mississippi. I can’t wait for the world to hear him daily.”
“Asian Enough,” the L.A. Times podcast about what it means to be Asian American — the joys, the complications and everything in between — will return for a second season hosted by Times Staff Writers Jen Yamato, Johana Bhuiyan, Tracy Brown and Suhauna Hussain. The new season will feature weekly interviews with special guests from the worlds of culture, politics, entertainment and activism, exploring and expanding the ways in which being Asian American is defined.
Since its launch last March, “Asian Enough” — which previously featured conversations with Vice President Kamala Harris, actor John Cho, filmmaker Lulu Wang and novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen — was recognized for Excellence in Audio Digital Storytelling in the 2020 Online Journalism Awards and was recently nominated for an Ambie Award in the Interview Podcast category. Season two will debut on May 11 everywhere podcasts are available, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday through August.
Written and hosted by L.A. Times Staff Writer and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Christopher Goffard, “The Trials of Frank Carson” is a new eight-episode true crime podcast about power, politics and the law in California’s Central Valley. The series will follow the story of Frank Carson, Stanislaus County’s most controversial defense attorney, a wizard with juries and a courtroom brawler with an unapologetically caustic style. When a small-time thief disappeared, police — some of them Carson’s longtime adversaries — launched a massive investigation into a spectral underworld of street hustlers, junkies and snitches. Carson was charged with murder and accused of masterminding a conspiracy. It would be one of the longest criminal trials in California history, with the flinty veteran of so many courtroom wars on trial for his life. The first two episodes will premiere May 25, with episodes being released through June, and bonus episodes available exclusively to L.A. Times subscribers.
“Our team has developed an exciting spring podcast slate that reflects a diversity of voices, taps into important coverage areas and transforms the whip smart L.A. Times reporting through meaningful audio storytelling,” said Abbie Fentress Swanson, Times executive producer for podcasts and audio. “We’re excited to be bringing listeners three different audio experiences – a daily news magazine, weekly chat-style podcast and limited-run narrative series – all steeped in the ambitious journalism of the L.A. Times.”
The trailer for “The Times” is available now to download or stream. For more information and to follow L.A. Times original podcasts, available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and elsewhere, visit latimes.com/podcasts.
