Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:18 — 38.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | RSS | More

In October of 2022, then LA Times reporter Julia Wick ’07 received a call from a source that a tape was circulating of several prominent LA City Council members making racist remarks during a redistricting conversation a year prior. Julia and her colleagues broke the story, which became a political earthquake in Los Angeles—leading to numerous high-profile resignations, and resulting in Julia and her colleagues receiving the 2023 Pulitzer Prize. In this episode, Julia tells her story, from growing up in LA and attending Harvard-Westlake and USC, to working at LAist and the LA Times before assuming her current role—as co-founder and editorial director at LA Material, a new publication aimed at making Los Angeles “legible.” Julia references Kevin Starr at USC, as well as Kathy Neumeyer and Tim Newhart of Harvard-Westlake, as profound influences on her career in journalism.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:35 — 44.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | RSS | More

Maz Jobrani is an Iranian-American actor and comedian, whose work spans from roles in major movies to global comedy tours to NPR’s “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me.” In this episode, Maz speaks to how comedy changes during times of international conflict, as it did after 9/11 when Maz headlined the “Axis of Evil” comedy tour—or now, with the United States at war with Iran. Born in Tehran, Maz’s family emigrated to northern California when he was six. Maz was originally caught by the acting bug in high school with the encouragement of various teachers, but brushed these dreams aside in pursuit of political science. First, a BA at UC Berkeley and then the start of a PhD at UCLA. However, the pull of the spotlight was just too strong. Maz left to pursue a career in comedy, which began at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood and has since taken him (literally) around the world. Maz references acting teachers Shirley Bonbright and Michelle Swanson, as well as Mitzi Shore of The Comedy Store, as profound influences on his career in the arts.