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Monks & Merrill

KFI AM 640 (KFI-AM)

Monks & Merrill, with Michael Monks and Chris Merrill.

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72 episodes
Avg 32 min
English

Episodes 72

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Yesterday · 30 min
Wild Weather, Fire Danger & a Massive Crack!
Hour 1- Monks and Merrill are covering the crazy weather. There is high risk fire behavior in Santa Ana and a large crack that formed in Laguna Beach. PLUS do we need automatic license plate readers on streetlights? Fullerton suspended Flock cameras, who's next? We break it down on KFIAM-640. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Yesterday · 33 min
LA’s Mayoral Showdown + Prop 42: What You Need to Know
Hour 2- Monks and Merrill are covering all angles of the Mayoral Debate. It will be televised. We have Mayor Bass' take and Nithya Ramans. Where do you fall? PLUS we are talking to Kayla Kitson, Senior Policy Fellow, about Prop 42. It's all on KFIAM-640 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Yesterday · 29 min
Luxury Perks, Homeless Dollars & 650,000 Ballots Destroyed?
Hour 3- We are covering the latest with the 1736 Family Crisis Center and their luxurious activities. Seems off. PLUS LA County is looking to replace LAHSA as lead applicant for homeless federal dollars. AND Riverside County is legally destroying 650,000 ballots. Sheriff Biance calls it 'destruction of evidence.' We're breaking it all down on KFIAM-640. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Tuesday · 33 min
Rebuilding Roadblocks, a $125 Million Toxic Settlement & Strikes Shake SoCal!
Palisades condo residents say LADWP red tape is slowing their rebuilding efforts, Orange County prosecutors announce a $125 million agreement with GKN Aerospace over a toxic chemical scare, and hundreds of OC workers hit the picket lines. Plus, Disneyland visitors face a vacation headache as loud street agitators disrupt the park’s entrance. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Tuesday · 33 min
World Cup Letdown, Super Bowl Hype & Animal Cruelty Shocker
Did the World Cup fumble its promise of a hotel boom in Los Angeles? The Super Bowl Host Committee is gearing up with a new campaign, while Pasadena reels after a mail carrier is charged in an alleged peacock attack. Plus, a heartbreaking look at dogs being abandoned to die in the High Desert. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Tuesday · 32 min
Hackers Spark Fires, AI’s “Day After,” Library Contamination & LA’s Mayoral Showdown
Cyberattacks take a chilling turn as hackers reportedly overheat French supermarket refrigerators, sparking fires and spoiling food. Internationally renowned cybersecurity expert Bruce Schneier joins us to discuss how AI companies are planning for “the day after.” Plus, a Santa Monica library faces deep-cleaning demands following an alleged E. coli and fecal matter discovery, and Mayor Karen Bass and Nithya Raman prepare to face off in a televised debate. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Monday · 32 min
SoCal Storms & OC Strikes
Hour 1- Monks and Merrill are talking to Jason Nathanson about the SoCal storm. PLUS the workers are striking and we are talking to Treasurer of Teamsters Local 952, Eric Jimenez about the OC worker strike. MORE strikes may be coming from sanitation workers due to expired contracts. AND MORE on KFIAM-640. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Monday · 30 min
Are Drug Sweeps Saving Skid Row?
Hour 2- Monks and Merrill are talking the unhoused problem in LA. Where is the future of LA homelessness? Are the drug sweeps actually saving Skid Row? PLUS Nithya Raman vs Law Enforcement. The Police Protective League wants Nithya Raman to stop with the "defund the police" take. We break it down on KFIAM-640. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Monday · 28 min
The Mayor’s Race, Water Wars & California’s High-Speed Rail Debate
Hour 3- Law and Order on this episode of Monks and Merrill. We are covering the Mayor's race, the desalination project with Marc Serna, and the High-Speed Rail project. We're breaking it all down on KFIAM-640. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Sunday · 37 min
NIMBY + YIMBY + CA SOLAR + CUTTING RED TAPE
Hey! You look like you need to hear the best Monks & Merrill segments of the week! Altadena fire survivors are pushing for SB 1090, seeking to limit high-density rebuilding. Guest Shawna Dawson Beer of Beautiful Altadena joins us to discuss the fight over what rebuilding should look like. Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed SB 1090, temporarily shielding Altadena from state laws that make it easier to split residential lots and build small multifamily projects. California YIMBY argues the law removes options that could help cash-strapped homeowners finance their own return. Director of Communication at YIMBY, Matthew Lewis, joins the show. Gov. Newsom has also signed SB 868, creating a legal pathway for small plug-in solar systems that renters and homeowners can install without going through the full rooftop-solar interconnection process. Co-Founder of Bright Saver, Cora Stryker, joins the show. Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky is pushing two related ideas: make Los Angeles much more aggressive about redeveloping underused public property, and remove city barriers that make condos, townhomes and other starter homes harder to build than apartments. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Sunday · 35 min
SMELLY HOTELS + MONTANA LOOP HOLE + TIME CHANGE + KIDS THESE DAYS
It's MORE Monks & Merrill! Yes! It's true! An hour of brand new content just for you! This fine Saturday night, Monks & Merrill discuss the lawsuit filed against Hilton and Hyatt hotels for pumping in smells that may conflict with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Californians have been opening LLCs in Montana to buy "company vehicles" and paying zero sales tax. The US Government is up in arms about whether or not to keep Daylight Saving Time. Also, will the kids be alright? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Friday · 28 min
Sky-High Utility Bills, Truck Pollution Concerns & In-N-Out’s Underground Delivery Scene!
Hour 1 - Californians are facing some of the highest water bills in the country, and one San Fernando Valley man’s shocking $3,000 electricity bill is now under investigation by the L.A. City Controller. Plus, California’s Attorney General warns seven Inland Empire cities and Riverside County about protecting residents from truck pollution. And Pablo Goldstein, creative producer at L.A. Material, joins us to explore the underground Facebook scene delivering In-N-Out to fans See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Friday · 35 min
Rising Seas, Raging Fires & L.A.’s Trash House Returns!
Hour 2 - SoCal’s iconic coastal railroad could be forced to move as rising sea levels threaten its future. Plus, the world’s largest wildlife crossing is on track to open this winter — but could El Niño throw a wrench into the plans? A brush fire shuts down the 5 Freeway on the Grapevine near Gorman, an infamous L.A. neighborhood trash house is buried in garbage again, and companies are buying up pieces of L.A. County’s $4-billion sex abuse settlement See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Friday · 30 min
LAPD Lawsuit Costs Soar, Metro Fare Evasion Persists & California State Workers Prepare to Strike!
Hour 3 - New data show police lawsuits have cost Los Angeles nearly half a billion dollars since 2019. Plus, Metro’s new faregates have reduced fare evasion by just 36%, California state workers were teleworking from states including Idaho, Tennessee and Alabama, and a massive strike by California state employees could be on the horizon this month. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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October 8 · 33 min
Hurricane Rachel Heads for Southern California, USS Abraham Lincoln Returns Home and Trump Warns Iran
Hour 1 - Hurricane Rachel moves toward Southern California as powerful waves, rain and strong winds create coastal dangers. Phil Ferrar from AM 600 KOGO in San Diego joins Monks & Merrill to discuss the USS Abraham Lincoln returning home after a record deployment. Plus, President Trump addresses concerns over a potential Iranian strike on Los Angeles and San Diego. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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October 8 · 31 min
LA Metro Safety, CARE+ Changes and the Neighborhood Trash House Under Scrutiny
Hour 2 - LA City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian joins Monks & Merrill to discuss rising crime concerns on LA Metro following the pause of the Tap-to-Exit program and how the measure fits into Metro’s broader safety strategy. Plus, the council’s decision to suspend the CARE+ program during environmental emergencies and the latest developments surrounding an LA neighborhood’s notorious trash-filled home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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October 8 · 31 min
SoCal Rents Rise, Young Angelenos Look Elsewhere and California’s Death Row Faces a Major Decision
Hour 3 - Southern California renters are feeling the pressure as rents rise across 58% of the region’s cities. Young people are also leaving Los Angeles for unexpected destinations, including Fresno. Plus, Christa Pike’s lawyers speak out after her failed execution, and Governor Gavin Newsom weighs whether to spare the lives of all 563 people currently on California’s death row. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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October 7 · 33 min
Criminally Undetermined, Defund Déjà Vu, Camping Optional and Tax Me, Chief
Hour 1 - The earlier LAFD investigation tried to answer a technical question: what physically caused the Lineage Logistics fire? Nithya Raman is taking heavy fire over a since-deleted campaign video that paired the phrase “Only you can stop fascist liars” with images of Mayor Karen Bass and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, including a red X over McDonnell’s face. Councilwoman Traci Park wants to broaden Los Angeles Municipal Code 41.18, which restricts sitting, sleeping, lying or storing property in designated public spaces. Measure FD would raise the City of Los Angeles sales tax another half-cent, taking the rate from 10.25% to 10.75% and generating an estimated $345 million a year specifically for the LAFD. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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October 7 · 29 min
Badge Fight, Do Not Disturb, Be Well... Broke and Ballot Mulligan
Hour 2 - The Los Angeles Police Protective League is escalating its opposition to Measure FD, the half-cent sales tax increase backed by the firefighters union, by preparing to spend millions of dollars against it. Garden Grove will require hotels to give employees working alone in guestrooms personal security devices beginning January 1. Orange County has formally ended its relationship with Mind OC, the nonprofit behind Be Well OC, and taken full control of the behavioral-health campuses in Orange and Irvine. Newport Beach is now planning two elections on November 3. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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October 7 · 30 min
VoteBot, Class Dismissed, Diagnosis: Sweaty and Hot Now, Soaked Later
Hour 3 - Voters are increasingly using ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and other AI tools to research candidates, compare positions and sort through down-ballot races that receive little traditional news coverage. California's Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team now rates LAUSD at high risk of insolvency, citing chronic deficit spending, declining enrollment, rising labor costs, soaring special-education expenses and a school system built for far more students than it actually has. About 75% of Torrance Unified classrooms lack air conditioning during this week's brutal heat, forcing the district to rely on cooling rooms, hydration stations, extra ice and even slushies while officials contemplate heat days and a future bond measure costing hundreds of millions. Southern California remains under an Extreme Heat Warning through Thursday evening, with downtown Los Angeles forecast near 99 degrees today and the mid-90s Thursday. At the same time, the tropical Pacific continues to warm rapidly, and NOAA now says there is a 75% chance the current El Niño becomes a historic event exceeding previous El Niños' in records dating to 1950. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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