Listen to the entire program

Governor Jerry Brown on Monday called for an additional $8 billion in spending cuts in California within his revised budget plan for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. The revision is his attempt to quell California’s current $16 billion budget deficit. Brown’s proposed plan would increase spending for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation by $807 million, pushing the total CDCR budget to a …

Listen to the entire program

Recent elections in Europe were widely seen as a referendum against austerity measures, which had been adopted by governments to quell the fiscal crisis. Greece, where mass protests propelled a number of parties to be represented in their Parliament, has yet to form a government. In fact, the on-going failure to form a government in Greece is being blamed for the Euro’s new low. …

Listen to this segment | the entire program

JP Morgan Chase’s Chief Investment Officer resigned this morning. Ina Drew announced she will retire after a weekend of speculation that she and other top executives at the bank would leave in the wake of last week’s revelation that risky bets resulted in a $2 billion loss at the nation’s biggest bank. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange …

Listen to this segment | the entire program

Long time Chicano activist Carlos Montes faces a trial that begins tomorrow, May 15th, charged with four felonies involving the purchase of a gun. Judge George Lomeli ordered the trial in late April, after dismissing two charges. If convicted Montes could face up to 12 years in prison. The case against him was apparently initiated by the …

Listen to this segment | the entire program

The history of Los Angeles is intimately tied to its struggle for water resources. As far back as the late 1800s, the great California Water Wars as they were called, pitted LA’s ruling elite against Owens Valley farmers and residents, whose water supplies were diverted into the city via an aqueduct. The story of that water acquisition …

Listen to this segment | the entire program

While deep-pocketed Hollywood big-wigs rubbed elbows with President Obama yesterday inside actor George Clooney’s Studio City mansion, a group of protestors outside demanded more protection for the average homeowner. The Campaign for a Fair Settlement called on the President to prevent homeowners at risk of foreclosure from being evicted by increasing pressure on mortgage lenders to reduce …

Listen to this segment | the entire program

The President’s trip to the Hollywood Hills yesterday kicked off a minor controversy between two local candidates vying for one hotly contested seat. Van Nuys Congressional Representative, Howard Berman was invited by the President to ride in his vehicle for the 15 minute drive from his helicopter pad to actor Clooney’s home. Berman, currently representing the 28th …

Listen to this segment | the entire program

Privately run prisons in the United States are today among the fastest growing sector of the prison industry, housing well over a hundred thousand inmates. What most of us may not know, is that increasingly, juvenile offenders are being housed in such facilities, where a lack of accountability has led to serious violations of state and federal …

Listen to this segment | the entire program

Taking a deeper look at current and past films and how they relate to the world today.

Jonathan Kim is an independent film critic who writes and produces film reviews for Uprising and other outlets. He is a former co-producer at Brave New Films.

Read his reviews online at …

Listen to this segment | the entire program

An Orange County judge this week announced that Fullerton police officers would stand trial for the fatal assault on a mentally ill homeless man. Thirty seven year old white man, Kelly Thomas suffered serious injuries after an altercation with at least four police officers, two of whom now face trial. Thomas died in the hospital five days …