LA Monthly
The National Magazine of Los Angeles
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GAVIN NEWSOM AND THE ART OF BEING THE RIGHT KIND OF DEMOCRAT
The California Governor is the best kind of bridge between America’s ideals and its realities. Newsom possesses a mix of both likability and depth, speaking to voters across race, class, and geography in ways that often feel out of reach for the...
HOW DONALD TRUMP WOKE UP THE SLEEPING GIANT
Everything you thought you knew about Latino politics is meaningless and out of date, thanks to Donald Trump of all people and his stunning, historic political comeback, made possible in part by Latino men. Surely, Latina political patron saint...
DONALD TRUMP: GETTING THE LAST LAUGH AND THE PRESIDENCY
Why didn't Kamala Harris and the Democrats just take the billion dollars they raised for her campaign and hand them over to Donald Trump to help him pay his legal debts and get on with the task of leading the country that his opponents apparently...
QUINCY JONES IN EXCELSUS
Quincy Jones was more than a musician or a producer. He was a bridge between worlds. He wasn’t just a part of American culture; he was a shaper of it. By TONY CASTRO I only met Quincy Jones once, and even then, barely. It was one of those surreal...
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...
Radical Chic & Mau Mauing Halloween on Obama Boulevard
It's Halloween and a few of us found ourselves on the corner of La Brea and Obama Boulevard, clutching our coffee and take-out bags like shields against the election hype that’s taken over our lives. By MARY FRANCES DAVIDSON Sometimes the best...
Mom iPhones Me From Heaven
Reminiscences in commemorating Día de Los Muertos, a mix of humor and nostalgia celebrating family, tradition and those ever-present connections we share with loved ones beyond this world. By TONY CASTRO It was a Tuesday, of course. These kinds of...
Elijah on the Loose: Snapshot of a Trump Supporter
By MARY FRANCES DAVIDSON Elijah walks toward me with a limp across the Easy Fix auto shop parking lot with a folded-down, green, beach umbrella. “See? The casino gave this to me,” he says under the boiling summer sun of the San Gabriel...
The Failure of a South African Billionaire Wannabe Publisher of the Los Angeles Times
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong's veto of the LA Times editorial board's endorsement of Kamala Harris for President has proven the biotech mogul to be more of a danger to journalism than the disease he originally set out to cure. By TONY CASTRO When...
Yankee Fans, Only Thing More Dangerous Than Dodger Stadium Is Cedar Sinai Medical Center
The main attraction in the ER waiting room: a guy I’ll call Angry Dude whose vocabulary was impressive if you’re the sort of person who appreciates the many uses of the F-word. It was like a performance art piece titled “F— This Hospital,...
IF TAYLOR SWIFT RAN FOR PRESIDENT, WOULD SHE WIN?
By NILTON OLIVEIRA If Taylor Swift decided to run for president of the United States, with her fan base and global popularity, it wouldn’t be surprising if she won, such is the impact fame has on millions of people’s political...
Sometimes It’s Not the Saint Who Wins— It’s the Sinner Who Sins Just a Little Less
By TONY CASTRO Let me tell you a little story about the miracle of scoundrels. No, I’m not talking about Lazarus rising from the dead, though Kevin de León’s political comeback might be the next best thing. Two weeks ago, you could find him...
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...
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...
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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...
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
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 friend of mine;...
Shohei Ohtani: The Best There Ever Was
I came to town to promote my books about a legendary baseball player, including one titled 'The Best There Ever Was.' I saw a ball game while here. And I wound up leaving feeling like I had prematurely written that book or that I was meant to write...
