Morning Edition host Danielle Chiriguayo here! For those of you who don’t know who I am, I’m Danielle! I joined the KCRW team in 2019 as an inaugural Report LA fellow and worked as a reporter and producer in the years since. 

Now, after years of reporting on stories in our LA community, I'm on the air in the morning as you enjoy your coffee or navigate your commute — sharing stories and happenings from all over. I know it’s in the title, but I am not a morning person. Historically, I'm a (chronic) night owl. Before I started this gig, my usual bedtime sat somewhere between 11 PM and 2 AM. So you can imagine the daily struggle that is waking up every morning around 3 AM for my new host routine. And you know what? I always assumed just being live on the radio would be the hardest part. 

Public speaking has been a journey for me. Something you may not know is that I had a stutter as a kid. For years in school, when those ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’ reared their frustrating heads, I would sit at my desk, paralyzed by fear and anxiety over the idea of being asked a question in front of my classmates. But I also knew that if I couldn’t get the words out in front of my peers, or in awkward or tense situations, my dreams of working in public radio would be lost forever. 

So I pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I would seek out wackiest characters to interview, and, when I was of age, I’d take myself out on dates to the bars and sit at the counter to meet and talk with the strangers that surrounded me. I even found kind (and sometimes not-so-kind) people on the train or bus to talk to. 

And if you can believe it, it worked. And somehow, that journey led me here, to KCRW. 

There is so much more to this gig that I haven’t even cracked the surface on — let me know if you want to hear more about a day in the life of a Morning Edition host! I want to provide updates as I learn more behind the mic. 

Big shout-out to Connie (who'll be back writing this intro when she's back from her much-deserved vacation!) for asking me to take over the KCRW Insider this week!

And thank you all for tuning in to Morning Edition with me and all the others who help make this show go round. 

P.S. I know I shared the worst part of the new schedule. My favorite? Going home and being FORCED by exhaustion to take a mid-afternoon nap! Absolute heaven.

The Dark Side Of The Perfect Playlist

For millions of people, the soundtrack of their lives is curated by Spotify. The streaming giant has made it easier than ever to listen to music, but journalist Liz Pelly argues that it's also devalued music in our culture and the artists who make it. She tells Sam that Spotify is treating music less like art and more like a utility, “like the water that you put on in your house … something you just, like, turn on the tap and it flows out, on demand.” Her new book is called Mood Machine: The Rise Of Spotify And The Costs Of The Perfect Playlist. Liz breaks down how the streaming service changed the music industry. Then, KCRW DJ and host Novena Carmel shares how she thinks about music in a world dominated by algorithms. 

He Quit Journalism to Fight Authoritarianism. How’s That Going?

Last year, Brian Reed interviewed Barton Gellman, who talked about the war games he was running with high-level military leaders and government officials to prepare for a second Trump term. Listen in to hear how those war games are playing out today. Plus, you can read some behind-the-scenes extras from Question Everything — like Barton’s take on how journalism is faring in Trump Term II — if you sign up for Brian's newsletter.

Two Tales of Chinese 'Restaurant Kids,' From Takeout Boxes to Feeling Boxed In

From Evan Kleiman and Good Food: 1980s Detroit was a volatile place to live, but above the fray stood a safe haven for Curtis Chin: Chung's Cantonese Cuisine, where anyone, from the city's first Black mayor to the local drag queens, could sit down for a warm, home-cooked meal. Rachel Phan came of age later, in the 1990s, and for her, the family's restaurant is often more a battlefield than a haven. And yet the beats of much of their lives are in sync. Get food recipes, culture, recs, and more when you sign up for the Good Food Newsletter.

KCRW Art Insider: How LA Museums Can Stand Up to Trump Policies

From Carolina Miranda: "The Department of Government Efficiency has been gutting long-running grant programs that support small and large cultural organizations, and President Donald Trump’s executive orders are stifling intellectual freedom. No one institution can fight the onslaught alone, which is why it’s important for museums to stand as a united front." KCRW's resident art expert writes about Trump’s cultural policies, the far right’s sloppy AI aesthetic, and The White Lotus season three finale. Stay in the know about how community art institutions near you are being impacted by this administration's policies by signing up for Carolina's weekly Art Insider newsletter.

KCRW Partner Screening: A24's The Legend of Ochi

KCRW, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and A24 invite you to a special screening of The Legend of Ochi followed by a conversation with Director Isaiah Saxon.

In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as Ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby Ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.

Written and directed by Isaiah Saxon, The Legend of Ochi stars Helena Zengel and Finn Wolfhard with Emily Watson and Willem Dafoe.

After the Fires, Surfers Weigh the Risks Beneath the Waves

Since the Palisades Fire in January, a lot of surfers have chosen to stay out of the water because they just don’t know what’s going on under the waves. The fires released heavy metals and man-made organic chemicals into the burn area, and runoff from rains in late January and early February flushed those chemicals into the bay. It’s been an urgent question for various agencies as to just how polluted the water got — and, importantly, just how resilient the ocean is. How will surfers know they can return safely?