#534 - Even the Mayor Says L.A. Isn’t Well Governed (w/ Karen Bass)

• Not safe at home, mayoral edition• “The guns were decades old”• The Trump/Mamdani bromance• The administration’s historic post-fire response• “You’re walking down the street, you happen to look Latino, or somebody hears you speak Spanish. A car rushes up in front of you. Masked men jump out with rifles and throw you in the car”• What does “sanctuary city” actually mean?• Like, no really, what does it mean?• “You know, that’s a good question”• “There’s a number of people who have literally disappeared”• ICE effect on restaurants: Worse than COVID* Trump effect on border: Closed• “The Future of the Democratic Party Is Local”• You lost me at L.A. being governed worth a damn• Fire rebuilding? “I understand that people are angry”• Me, 10 years ago: “Affordable-Housing Problem Lies, in Part, with Government”• “The insurance industry … has been devastating a lot of homeowners”• The heavily regulated insurance industry, you mean?• “The Case for Letting Malibu Burn”• Why prevent Palisades homeowners from rebuilding duplexes?• “Don’t take your lot and turn it into a five-story apartment building”• “We want to get affordable housing built in this city, but I think that if you impose it on a neighborhood, then you will have hardcore NIMBYs”• “I didn’t appreciate that, because they were getting ready to change low-income areas, wipe out the single-family homes, and turned it into massive apartments”• “I’m protecting them from the predations of private developers”• She really did almost become vice president• “I love podcasts…. Maybe I wanted to become a newscaster”• What Karen Bass learned from Angela Davis• About those eight trips to Cuba• “What fascinated me about Cuba is that they provided free health care to their population, and free education”• The LAUSD’s construction boom for non-existent students• “We could always put more money in our schools”• “Judge me by how fewer encampments you see on the street. Judge me by crime decreasing. Judge me by affordable housing units being built”Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 10am EST.Thanks for reading The Fifth Column (A Podcast)! This post is public so feel free to share it.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe