You may not know me yet, but I’m Aaron — a relative newcomer to KCRW’s membership team. Connie’s on a much-deserved vacation, and the Dodgers have their home opener tomorrow, so yours truly gets to dust off the old sportswriter hat and talk baseball!
It feels slightly hyperbolic to call this the most anticipated Dodgers season of the modern era, but it truly might be. In case you somehow missed the news, the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani — the all-world Japanese superstar who hits like a Silver Slugger and pitches like a Cy Young winner.
Shohei Ohtani Mural at Hermosa Beach by artist Gustavo Zermeño Jr.
Call it escapism if you will, but at a time with so much turmoil in our country and abroad, the childlike excitement surrounding Ohtani’s Dodgers (1-1, 1st in NL West) debut is infectious. While the MLB often leans a little too far into baseball’s nostalgia factor, there is something special about a home opener. How special? Consider that, despite the abject failure of my beloved Seattle Mariners to field a halfway decent team for most of my life, my mom still gladly pulled my brother and me out of school to watch the curtains rise on another season.
Fortunately for you, Dodgers fans, your outlook is considerably brighter than 10-year-old Aaron’s.
Though the season is still in its infancy, the early returns look promising. Through two regular season games against divisional rivals San Diego, Ohtani has three hits and a pair of RBIs. Combine Ohtani’s typically excellent on-field performance with the whole “translator stealing millions to fund illegal gambling” story, and you’ve got a season with the hallmarks of a classic Hollywood sports epic fit for the silver screen capital of the world.
With a mammoth 160 games still to go, how the season will pan out is anyone’s guess. But with a sprinkle of scandal and a lot of success, it certainly won’t be boring — and you can bet on that.
A book called A Libertarian Walks into a Bear covers the history of the town of Grafton, New Hampshire and its relationship with Libertarian politics and the growing bear population in and around their community. It’s an interesting read for several reasons, especially considering a similar series of events taking place here in SoCal. The overlap of man and nature has always been complicated, and bears in particular highlight this relationship very astutely. North of LA, the town Pine Mountain Club has had a surge of bear break-ins this year and they’re increasing with the arrival of spring. Similar to Grafton, there is conflict in the community around how to deal with them. Bears are smart, crafty, and bold. They have an amazing sense of smell, and if you willingly feed them, they’ll continue to come back more aggressively.
By the dog days of the summer of 1969, the then-unknown Nigerian musician Fela Kuti and his band were crawling to the end of their first American tour. They’d been ripped off by their promoters. They were completely out of money. And, worst of all, their visas had expired during the tour… so they were stuck here in Los Angeles, laying low from the Feds.
*Record Scratch* *Freeze Frame*
“You’re probably wondering how Fela Kuti ended up here.” Find out in Episode 3 of Lost Notes.
You know how water sometimes tastes different in different places? Why the heck is that? Water, H2O, seems like it should be pretty straightforward tasting, but most municipal water systems treat water differently. Sometimes there’s more chlorine, a little more sulfur, or water with high mineral levels. Historically, water used to taste A LOT more distinct in different places. But now, more often than not, flavor is absent due to advancements in processing to remove the unique tastes of water. This decrease in variance has positives and negatives and can be indicative of how we streamline many aspects of our lives, for better or worse. Do you like the taste of your water?
Do I need to wash my vegetables to remove the pesticides? Should I buy organic or conventional? These are the questions we all have when cooking in the kitchen or pursuing the produce section at the market. Or not. Sometimes we just buy what we can afford and throw it into a pan. Either way, most of us can’t avoid the age-old questions about pesticides. Options exist no matter what kind of produce you buy. Turns out that washing vegetables is less for the pesticides and more for removing harmful bacteria that can make you sick. But do we have to wash our Costco bag of Harvest Snaps too?
KCRW and Netflix invite you to a special screening of the limited series, Ripleyfollowed by a conversation with writer and director, Steven Zaillian.
Tom Ripley, a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom's acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud, and murder. The limited series drama is based on Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling Tom Ripley novels. Andrew Scott plays Tom Ripley. Dakota Fanning plays Marge Sherwood. Johnny Flynn plays Dickie Greenleaf.
It’s said that home is where the heart is. Not all homes are conventional, but most are often a place of comfort, safety, and familiarity, and that’s the theme of the upcoming Moth Mainstage show in LA. Hear real stories of safe havens and the people who make them, reunions and revelations, kith and kin, family matters and family found, and keeping the light on to guide you home. Make the most of your Tuesday evening at The Moth Mainstage LA with this 10% off flash sale, available until 10 PM on Friday, March 29th.
"KCRW is a sanctuary for me. There’s a program and host for every moment of the day and night. You are a constant source of fuel for my imagination, education, and good vibes. Thank you!" – Elaine (Redondo Beach)
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