LA Monthly
The National Magazine of Los Angeles
TRENDING
IT’S A MIRACLE I’M A WRITER
By TONY CASTRO Friends often marvel that I’ve built a life with words. They shake their heads and say, “It’s a miracle you’re a writer.” Honestly, they’re not wrong. Growing up in 1950s Texas, when terms like “mentally retarded”...
THE DREAM THAT BROKE MY HEART: MY BRIEF, BEAUTIFUL, AND UTTERLY ABSURD LOVE AFFAIR WITH MILEY CYRUS
We were good, we were goldKinda dream that can't be soldWe were right 'til we weren't By TONY CASTRO Look, I don’t usually remember my dreams. They slip away like a politician’s campaign promises—vague, unreliable, and impossible to...
LARRY MCMURTRY: THE ‘MINOR REGIONAL NOVELIST’ WORTHY OF THE NOBEL PRIZE
‘Terms of Endearment’ followed ‘The Last Picture Show’ with great fanfare, but it was his Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘Lonesome Dove’ that cemented his legacy as one of America’s best writers The list of Texans that have spent their...
Demi Losing the Best Actress Oscar to Mikey Madison is Basically the Plot of ‘The Substance’
Disappointed that the 62-year-old Demi Moore lost the Oscar for Best Actress to a woman more than half her age? You’re not alone. In a Twitter post that has already been viewed more than five million times, a observed what...
LETTERS FROM L.A.: BATHING WITH JOAN
Separated by 50 years but united by Hollywood, wildfires, and the endless hum of 'the deal,' two writers share a bath in Los Angeles. On Monday I took a bath with Joan Didion. She was gracious, took the faucet end. She didn’t mind my nudity,...
MY LIFE AS MARILYN, MY DEAD OLDER SISTER
The LA Monthly interview with actress Catherine Hicks, who portrayed Marilyn Monroe in the 1980 TV feature Marilyn: The Untold Story as well as in the Arthur Miller play After The Fall and also Bus Stop on the stage By Justin Bozung ACTRESS...
IS RICK CARUSO THE LAST BEST HOPE FOR SAVING LA?
Rick Caruso may not be the last best hope for saving Los Angeles, as some of his faithful followers insist, but he does offer a hope and a vision — and you can trust that you won't read about him skirting politica, ethics laws and being carted...
Gypsy Untethered
The stranger than strange saga of the famous, or infamous, diminutive Gypsy Rose Blanchard, victim of her mother's cruel deception and manipulation or just possibly a manipulator herself of her mother's violent death. She served her time and now...
A SHEPHERD FOR THE WORLD: REMEMBERING POPE FRANCIS
By TONY CASTRO ROME—The bells of St. Peter’s toll with solemn finality, and the cobblestone streets of the Eternal City feel heavier beneath my feet. I find myself back in Vatican Square, where not that long ago, I stood among thousands,...
Hunter S. Thompson: A Remembrance
By HUCK THOMAS Hunter S. Thompson was a juvenile delinquent and stayed that way, suspended in the amber of drink and drugs, the rest of his days. He could be a squall of anti-social behavior, yes, but also a brilliant writer of live-wire prose that...
WHY DO ALL FRENCHMEN THINK THE’RE NAPOLEON BONAPARTE?
The Brits think they sound better than Americans, and the French believe none of their farts stink. But does the Academy of Motion Pictures and their Oscars have to go along with such nonsense? By TONY CASTRO I have been a professional journalist...
AN INTERVIEW WITH NOVELIST TONY CASTR0
Q. What made you decide to write this novel? Tony: I had forgotten about the very first column I ever wrote for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner in 1978. I think the reason I forgot about it is that it was never published. The executive editor who...
AMERICA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM: THE REAL SILENT KILLER
By TONY CASTRO America’s healthcare system is going to be the death of all of us yet. Not immediately, mind you, but slowly, methodically, like a Bond villain with a five-act plan. It’s not a knife-wielding maniac in the alleyway; it’s the...
HOW MOMS NEED RESOURCES DURING DISASTERS
By PEYTON SWEENEY As wildfires continue to bring devastation to people in California, we see just how crucial it is to be prepared and for first responders to have every tool they need to be able to handle disasters. However, one group may not be...
MY LIFE IN THE PALISADES WITH ALI MACGRAW
Ali MacGraw's house burned to the ground in a Malibu fire that had charred the beachside hills all the way to the Pacific Coast Highway. Writer Bob Vickrey lost his home in the fires that torched much of his beloved Pacific Palisades community....
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
BEST THING IN L.A.
EDITORS' PICKS
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
HOLLYWOOD
WELCOME TO L.A.
THE CUR$E OF THE CHILDI$H GAMBINO THAT WILL NOW HAUNT THE YANKEE$
This isn’t just a win for the Mets — it’s a psychological blow to the Yankees. For a franchise that has long prided itself on being the preeminent power in baseball, losing Juan Soto to the team across town is a humbling moment. By TONY...
Joe DiMaggio, Baseball Turns Its Lonely Eyes to You
Baseball doesn't need a halftime show. In fact, it doesn’t even have a halftime. And when you hear the national anthem, it’s supposed to be a clear transition from standing at attention to sitting back, relaxing, and letting the game happen. By...
Aaron Judge: A Season of Success, a Fall Classic of Heartbreak
By TONY CASTRO Aaron Judge stands as a behemoth on the baseball diamond, a towering figure whose reputation as a power hitter commands respect from fans and foes alike. Yet, in this 2024 postseason—especially in the World Series—the Yankees...
HOW FERNANDO WON THE HEARTS OF LA
The passing of Fernando Valenzuela marks the end of Fernandomania that began as a cultural phenomenon in 1980s Los Angeles as a young Mexican left-hander became the toast of the city and ultimately a Tinseltown icon as the Dodgers Spanish-Speaking...
RIP, PETE ROSE: MORE THAN JUST THE KING OF HITS
By TONY CASTRO It’s hard to believe that Pete Rose, baseball’s all-time hits leader, the man who turned more singles into doubles than most of us turn coffee into energy, has passed away at the age of 83 in Las Vegas. Pete wasn’t just a good...
