Hot links
Culture clubs
Here's a chance to have a broader conversation about the role gathering places play — and can play long after the games — across the entire region
Hot links
Culture clubs
Here's a chance to have a broader conversation about the role gathering places play — and can play long after the games — across the entire region
Latest
Torched Talks
Torched Talks with the Festival Trail's Chris Torres
Grab an afternoon snack and join us live on Zoom on October 7 for the next Torched Talks
Transit-first week
A week without driving
A challenge to the elected officials planning the "car-free" games
Real talk
"If it hasn't broken ground by now, it's not happening"
It's time for paint, posts, and political will
Vexing vexillology
Flag salute
Giving the Olympic flags a good home in City Hall should have been the most anticipated and least controversial task on the handover checklist
STAP it
The waiting is the hardest part
LA officials keep saying the new bus shelter program is "for the Olympics." What we're installing isn't good enough for a Thursday afternoon
Too hot
The Olympics are literally a disaster
It's less like a football game and more like a major earthquake
Legacy improvements
Making concrete plans
Talking to UCLA's Juan Matute about this year's Lake Arrowhead Symposium and how LA can leverage megaevents to create lasting public benefits
Venue plans
We're all in this together
Beyond city limits
LA28's chief athlete officer Janet Evans was deployed to assure everyone that the city of LA "will host more Olympic sports than anywhere else" which is repeated several times in Friday's venue announcement
OKC28
Change of venue
In the simplest terms, what LA28 announced yesterday is that seven events are moving out of the city of LA, and seven events are moving into the city of LA
Shade
Not so deep-fried anymore
Fair weather
Learning how the LA County Fair took heat seriously is a warning for other megaevents planned during Southern California's increasingly dangerous summers
With fronds like these
"Don't be a palm, be an oak"
Of course LA should plant actual trees before the Olympics, but which trees should we actually plant?
No shade intended
The best time to plant a tree
Starting today could provide a bit of respite for Olympic ticketholders making their way to the diving finals on a sweltering July afternoon — and someone waiting at the same bus stop trying to get to work
Trains
Real talk
"If it hasn't broken ground by now, it's not happening"
It's time for paint, posts, and political will
Track record
A bright spot
We're Californians — of course we're turning all our freeways into super-fast trains!
RIP 28 by 28
How do we get there from here
What happened to 28 by 28 is what's happening to a lot of LA's Olympic-related goals at the moment: a flashy announcement got a lot of attention yet had no strategy to actually make it happen
Buses
STAP it
The waiting is the hardest part
LA officials keep saying the new bus shelter program is "for the Olympics." What we're installing isn't good enough for a Thursday afternoon
It takes a toll
Olympic lanes
Before everyone spins Kathy Hochul's cowardice into a death knell for LA's congestion pricing dreams, it's important to know that there are lots of different ways to do road pricing
Safety in numbers
What we need is a surge of bus investments
A majority of Metro's nearly 1 million daily passengers are bus riders, who are often left waiting in more ways than one
Public Safety
The people on the bus
LA's electeds could take truly monumental steps to protect the safety of transit riders who power the entire region
Supergraphics
RIP BSS
A supergraphics superhero
"I liked working big and moving around. It was absolutely fearless work"
1984
An invasion of butterflies
"Somehow I saw in my head the sky and the ground sprinkled like confetti — sprinkled with all magical stuff that shimmered and that expressed joy"
Hot links
Too hot
The Olympics are literally a disaster
It's less like a football game and more like a major earthquake
Hot take
We don't need to learn from Paris
For better or for worse, LA created the contemporary Olympics. What could we possibly learn about that we didn't invent first?
Perpetual flame wars
Opening arguments
Before you know it, LA’s opening ceremonies will be here — but they’re not going to be where most Angelenos will expect them to be
Torched favorites
Events
Events
LA JEOOOOOPARDY + Torched meet and greet on August 12
Come for a meet and greet at Zebulon and stay to watch me defend my LA Jeopardy crown for the 4th time 👑
Events
What Are the Olympics For? Q&A with Jules Boykoff on June 8
Introducing the very first of many Torched events. Upgrade to 🔥🔥 for early access to all talks and tours!
Torched Talks
Torched Talks
Torched Talks with the Festival Trail's Chris Torres
Grab an afternoon snack and join us live on Zoom on October 7 for the next Torched Talks
Torched Talks
Torched Talks with Slate's Henry Grabar
Grab a baguette or two and join us live on Zoom on September 9 for the first-ever Torched Talks!
Answers to your burning questions
Policing the games
Why did LA28 hire an Army general as CEO?
Three days after Reynold Hoover started as LA28 CEO, the 2028 Summer Olympics were officially designated a National Special Security Event — the furthest in advance that this designation has ever been made
Answers to your burning questions
Introducing Torched
Is LA really about to squander a once-in-a-generation chance to leverage its Olympic opportunity into tangible, permanent benefits for the 10 million people being forced to participate in this civic experiment?