LA Monthly
The National Magazine of Los Angeles
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DEATH, DIVIDENDS & THE PRICE OF BLOOD: THE REAL COST OF AMERICAN HEALTHCARE
By TONY CASTRO \ ON DECEMBER 4, 2024, in the cold hush of a Manhattan morning, Brian Thompson—the CEO of UnitedHealthcare—was shot and killed. He was walking out of a meeting when Luigi Nicholas Mangione pulled the trigger, ending the life of...
MY LIFE AS A CATHOLIC — FROM PIUS to POPE LEO
By TONY CASTRO I WAS BORN IN THE age of Pope Pius XII, when the Church seemed both towering and distant — its voice cloaked in Latin, its rituals solemn and mysterious. That pope, cloaked in papal silk and geopolitical silence, sat at the head...
POPE LEO: AMERICA’S NEW CONSCIENCE IN A WORLD UNMOORED
By TONY CASTRO IN A WORLD OF POLARIZATION, populism, and moral exhaustion, it feels almost miraculous that a moment of clarity — or perhaps divinely timed disruption — would come not from Capitol Hill, Wall Street, or Silicon Valley, but from...
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,...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
Leaving L.A., Will the Last Person Here Turn Out the Lights?
The slogan used to be "To Live and Die in LA" but they should change it to "To Live and Die While Riding the Metro in L.A" because I fear that each ride I take on the train or the bus will be the last trip I take anywhere. By MARY FRANCIS DAVIDSON...
Murder on the Metro, LA’s Dangerous Orient Express
Police presence and intervention is a deterrent to crime on the city's public transit system — something that is hard to even talk about in these days of stifling expectations of the politically correct. By MARY FRANCES DAVIDSON With the LA...
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...
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...
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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...
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...
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...
