What's Next, Los Angeles? with Mike Bonin

Wallis Annenberg was a titan in the world of philanthropy. An heir to the Anneneberg family fortune, she served as chairman and president of the Annenberg Foundation since 2009, giving away more than $3 billion in charitable grants to a variety of causes, including the arts, wildlife, seniors, and inner-city youth. But the obituaries celebrating her life and lauding her achievements failed to mention that she was well-known in LA’s LGBTQ+ community as a lesbian, and she had given significant and critical support for LGBTQ+ causes. It was a noteworthy example of queer erasure – the tendency to remove LGBTQ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBTQ] groups or identity from the historical record.   The queer erasure so bothered her former partner Karen Ocamb – a noted chronicler of the LGBT civil rights movement and the HIV/AIDS crisis that she took to Substack [https://karenocamb.substack.com/] to write about – in a column titled “When Lesbian Philanthropist Wallis Annenberg Helped Save The Gays.” The article drew immediate praise from members of LA’s queer community, who were shocked that news outlets failed to mention Annenberg was a lesbian. I interviewed Karen Ocamb about the Wallis she and so many others knew, and about the work Wallis Annenberg did for the LGTBQ+ community. When Lesbian Philanthropist Wallis Annenberg Helped Save The Gays [https://karenocamb.substack.com/p/when-lesbian-philanthropist-wallis] by Karen Ocamb LA Times Obituary: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-07-28/wallis-annenberg-dead-philanthropist-obituary [https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-07-28/wallis-annenberg-dead-philanthropist-obituary] New York Times Obit: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/us/wallis-annenberg-dead.html [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/us/wallis-annenberg-dead.html] LA Times follow-up story: "Inside Wallis Annenberg’s final days: Opioid stupor, abuse claims and a bitter family feud [https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-07-31/inside-wallis-annenbergs-final-days-opioid-stupor-and-a-bitter-family-feud]" The Suppression of Lesbian ^ Gay History by Rictor Norton: https://rictornorton.co.uk/suppress.htm [https://rictornorton.co.uk/suppress.htm] Hollywood Turns Out for AIDS Benefit (New York Times, 1985): https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/20/us/hollywood-turns-out-for-aids-benefit.html [https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/20/us/hollywood-turns-out-for-aids-benefit.html] Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing: https://www.gleh.org/ [https://www.gleh.org/] Project Angel Food: https://www.angelfood.org/ [https://www.angelfood.org/] LGBT History: The Briggs Initiative - a Scary Proposition: https://www.glbthistory.org/briggs [https://www.glbthistory.org/briggs] LGBT History: Lesbian Solidarity During the AIDS Epidemic: https://www.youthco.org/lesbian_solidarity_during_the_aids_epidemic [https://www.youthco.org/lesbian_solidarity_during_the_aids_epidemic] LGBT History: The Blood Sisters - the Unsung Heroes of the AIDS Crisis: https://diva-magazine.com/2024/02/08/the-blood-sisters/ [https://diva-magazine.com/2024/02/08/the-blood-sisters/] LGBT History: Meet Pioneer of Gay Rights Harry Hay: https://progressive.org/magazine/meet-pioneer-gay-rights-harry-hay/ [https://progressive.org/magazine/meet-pioneer-gay-rights-harry-hay/] LGBT History: The Lavender Effect: Ivy Bottini: https://thelavendereffect.org/projects/ohp/ivy-bottini/ [https://thelavendereffect.org/projects/ohp/ivy-bottini/] What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin [https://www.mikebonin.com/], in partnership with LA Forward [https://www.laforward.org/].

Is Los Angeles broken? And what will it take to fix it? We discuss that with Rick Cole on this episode of WNLA. Cole knows local government. He was elected to the Pasadena City Council in 1983, and served for 12 years, including two as Mayor. He served as City Manager of Azusa, Ventura and Santa Monica. He has served several times for the City of Los Angeles, as senior deputy to Councilmember Richard Alatorre, as deputy mayor for Budget & Innovation under Mayor Eric Garcetti, and as as deputy for City Controller Kenneth Mejia.  He left his position with Mejia last week, to focus on his role on the Pasadena City Council, a post he returned to in December after 30 years. In his farewell ceremony at City Council last week, he spoke about what ills the city and what it will take to fix it. We follow up, in an in-depth discussion. What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin [https://www.mikebonin.com/], in partnership with LA Forward [https://www.laforward.org/].

In this new age of repression, are you a dissident? What does that mean? What does it require? And how dangerous is it? In this episode, we talk with Ami Fields-Meyer, co-author of “So You Want to Be A Dissident? [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-weekend-essay/so-you-want-to-be-a-dissident]” in the New Yorker. Ami also recently hosted a conversation titled “Concentration Camps and the Machinery of Repression: Lessons for Saving Democracy” with Julia Pitzer and Erica Chenoweth. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/live/ESiZOQBZUYA?si=W5n9iC0HXAgCkSO9 [https://www.youtube.com/live/ESiZOQBZUYA?si=W5n9iC0HXAgCkSO9] What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin [https://www.mikebonin.com/], in partnership with LA Forward [https://www.laforward.org/].

June is LGBTQ Pride Month.  It is time when those of us in the queer community celebrate who we are. It is a time of joy and empowerment. And a time for reflection – of thinking about how far we’ve come, and how far we’ve gone back again, It is also a time to celebrate our heroes. That is why, in this episode, I speak with Lu Lipmen, a non-binary 13 year-old who is fighting back against the wave of anti-trans hate. They discuss how they face the hate and vitriol -- and how they respond with such courage, poise and determination. Lu is an inspiring person, and this is a very special episode. I hope you enjoy it. What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin [https://www.mikebonin.com/], in partnership with LA Forward [https://www.laforward.org/].

Vulnerable Californians are in the crosshairs. That’s one of the big takeaways from Governor Newsom’s latest budget proposal -- the May Revise.Last week on this podcast, we focused on the proposal’s impact on transportation, housing and climate. Today we’re looking at its impact on vulnerable and low income Californians, and the news is pretty ugly. Among those likely to suffer if the Legislature doesn’t make changes are low income families, senior citizens, people with disabilities, people who are unhoused, survivors of domestic violence, and foster youth, and immigrants. Our guest on this episode is Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Budget & Policy Center [https://calbudgetcenter.org/]– a well-respected organization that does research and analysis of state policies, with an eye toward equity and impacts policies have on people who are vulnerable. Read the California Budget & Policy Center [https://calbudgetcenter.org/]latest report here: https://calbudgetcenter.org/issues/california-budget/ [https://calbudgetcenter.org/issues/california-budget/] For more on the Los Angeles City Budget, check out this week's episode of LA Podcast, with Mike, Alissa Walker and Godfrey Plata.  What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin [https://www.mikebonin.com/], in partnership with LA Forward [https://www.laforward.org/].