Beyoncé is getting ready to bring the world her seventh studio album this Friday. Rumors are already swirling about what genre she’ll showcase, what themes she’ll explore and more.We already got a hint with the single “Break My Soul,” which has popped across dance floors all summer. Even if you’re not part of Beyoncé's Beyhive counting down the days until the album release, it’s hard to deny that the artist is iconic — a total game changer.But how did she get here, and how does she remain relevant? We get into that today. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times pop music critic Mikael WoodsMore reading:Beyoncé has made music history — again — with chart-topping ‘Break My Soul’Beyoncé's ‘Renaissance’ album cover is here. Saddle up and bow down to the queenBeyoncé returns with liberating house jam ‘Break My Soul’ 

Remember this number: 988. The new three-digit hotline is now the 911 equivalent for mental health emergencies. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people in the U.S., according to the National Institute of Mental Health. And experts say the pandemic, racial violence and political unrest are behind an uptick in suicides across the country. That’s why last weekend’s launch of the nationwide mental health crisis hotline couldn’t come soon enough.Today, as part of “For Your Mind,” Los Angeles Times’ new initiative exploring mental health from multiple angles, we talk about the hopes and challenges ahead for the 988 hotline. Will it help fundamentally change how the U.S. treats and considers mental health, or will it fail like so many efforts before it? Read the full transcript here. Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: Jaclyn Cosgrove, assistant editor at the Los Angeles Times and manager of “For Your Mind”More reading:Op-Ed: Will the new 988 hotline be a game changer for mental health or a missed opportunity?New 988 hotline is the 911 for mental health emergenciesEditorial: For crisis response, press 988 — and pass a bill to keep it funded

When the annual Glastonbury music festival happened this year, performers openly criticized on stage the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, which happened that same week. It recalled a similar movement nearly 30 years earlier, when feminist rock groups started Rock for Choice and rallied a generation to fight for abortion access.Today, the history of that movement — and whether it can happen again. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times music reporter Suzy ExpositoMore reading:In the ’90s, a new breed of rock stars organized for abortion rights. Could that happen today?Phoebe Bridgers, Olivia Rodrigo and other performers slam Supreme Court at GlastonburyPOP MUSIC REVIEW : Bands get together for Rock for Choice

It’s Emmy season, so we’re dropping another episode of our sister podcast, the “Envelope." Today, an in-depth conversation with actor Simone Ashley. Ashley has always been a fan of the romance genre, but before being cast as Kate in “Bridgerton,” playing the lead in a period drama seemed improbable to her. “I never imagined that a woman who looked like me could be a part of one,” she says. In this episode of "The Envelope" podcast, Ashley discusses embracing the political aspects of her career, how acting on “Sex Education” prepared her for "Bridgerton" and how her upbringing taught her to dream big. Subscribe to the "Envelope" here and never miss an episode.

In 2018, the L.A. Times began to follow Mckenzie Trahan, a pregnant homeless woman living in Hollywood. Over the next four years, a Times reporter, photographer and videographer tracked Trahan’s life as she tried to find housing and become a mom. Today, we hear about her journey. Read the full transcript here. Host: L.A. Times photographer Christina HouseMore reading:Pregnant, homeless and living in a tent: Meet MckenzieShe spent decades as a nomad. But her daughter’s pregnancy brought her back to L.A.We chronicled one homeless woman’s motherhood journey since 2018

So many disasters, so little time. And it’s the same group of people on the front lines, year after year. What happens when they get tired? Today, our Masters of Disaster talk about burnout among firefighters, scientists, doctors and the people we trust to take on the biggest calamities nature throws at us — as well as how to hold on to a little hope. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times reporters Rong-Gong Lin II, Rosanna Xia and Alex WigglesworthMore reading:Hellish fires, low pay, trauma: California’s Forest Service firefighters face a morale crisisAlmost 9 in 10 Californians live in areas with high COVID-19 levels as BA.5 fuels infectionsEditorial: Let’s make 2022 the year we all get angry about climate inaction

He’s animal royalty in the City of Angels; an ambassador for conservation and for the random beauty this megalopolis offers. But P-22 is also a poster boy for something sadder. The mountain lion is thought to be about 12, and nearing the end of his life. He’s an eternal bachelor, cut off from the rest of his species and a symbol of what’s left of LA’s once-incredible ecosystems that are just barely holding on.Today, the story of the cougar who stole L.A.'s heart. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times enterprise reporter Laura J. NelsonMore reading:He’s terminally single and getting old. What’s next for P-22, L.A.’s favorite wild bachelor?A week in the life of P‑22, the big cat who shares Griffith Park with millions of peopleMust Reads: Mountain lions are being killed on freeways and weakened by inbreeding. Researchers have a solution 

It’s Emmys season, and the “Envelope” is here for it. So once a week for the next couple of weeks, we’re going to feature an episode of our sister podcast in “The Times.” First up: Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, who recently wrapped up their much-beloved Netflix series, “Grace and Frankie.” In this episode, the duo laugh and cry with us while reflecting on their decades long friendship, their mutual admiration for their “9 to 5” co-star Dolly Parton, who reunited with them for the final episode, and the lies people tell about aging and death. Subscribe to the "Envelope" here or wherever you listen to podcasts. Read the full transcript here. 

For over a year, L.A. Times entertainment reporter Stacy Perman tried to track down Lora Lee Michel, a former child star whose custody case scandalized 1940s Hollywood. Michel went through a string of marriages — and then disappeared.In Part 2 of our miniseries, Perman finds out Michel’s shocking fate. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times entertainment reporter Stacy PermanMore reading:Podcast: What happened to Lora Lee? Part 1A child star at 7, in prison at 22. Then she vanished. What happened to Lora Lee Michel?Explaining Hollywood: Your child wants to act. What do you need to know?

Throughout the history of Hollywood, child entertainers have consistently clashed with their parents and guardians who manage their money and lives. The stories of kid stars like Britney Spears and Gary Coleman are well known. But long before them, was child actor Lora Lee Michel. In the 1940s, Michel became a famed Hollywood actress at age 7, working alongside screen legends like Humphrey Bogart and Gary Cooper. But by the time she was 22, she landed in prison. Then she disappeared.Today, part 1 of a two-part series tracing Michel’s life. It’s a story that reveals the underbelly of Hollywood’s Golden Age and the perils facing child actors. Read the full transcript here.Host: Gustavo ArellanoGuests: L.A. Times Company Town reporter Stacy PermanMore reading:A child star at 7, in prison at 22. Then she vanished. What happened to Lora Lee Michel?An old VHS tape gives a son a glimpse of his father’s shot at fame in 1960s HollywoodExplaining Hollywood: Your child wants to act. What do you need to know?