Best Siyamak Khorrami Podcasts (2024)

1
California Just Passed PAGA Reform. Here Is the Impact | Brian Mass | William Gould | Tom Manzo 25:35

9h ago25:35

25:35

California’s largest business and labor groups have recently come together to strike a deal on one of the most controversial laws in California: the Private Attorney General Act, also known as PAGA. “Attorneys fighting with companies, companies fighting back. A lot of people realized how much money they could make from it. And it became this billio…

1
Former California Inmate Explains the Impact of Rehabilitation | Brian James 25:35

5d ago25:35

25:35

“I served 29 years and two months. I went in at the age of 16; I was arrested and ultimately convicted of second-degree murder. I’m someone who they call ’the worst of the worst,' who’s taking complete advantage of the opportunities that are in there. I was dead in the water up until about 37 years old. I was going to die in prison. I had accepted …

1
Oakland Non-Profit Hires Homeless to Clean the City | Ken Houston 56:44

11d ago56:44

56:44

“We only hire justice-impacted and unhoused individuals. We work directly behind Oakland Public Works. If you can go there and start with the small things instead of trying to do these huge wins, you'll be able to cure and heal the city.” Siyamak sits down with Ken Houston, the 3rd Generation Oaklander and the director of the Beautification Council…

1
Los Angeles May Fix Homelessness After Settlement | Paul Webster 46:29

12d ago46:29

46:29

“We want to be the personal trainer of the city and the county, we want to be the person that they love to hate, because we are encouraging them. We are challenging them. We are motivating them to do something that they haven’t been able to do for themselves. But they know that when they get it done, it'll be better off. It really sends a signal th…

1
Court Strikes Down California’s Lot-Splitting Law SB9 | Jim Righeimer | Mark Miller | Dennis Robinson 40:06

19d ago40:06

40:06

“We’re just allowed to double the amount of houses. There aren’t left turn lanes big enough, there aren’t sewer pipes big enough to handle the sewage, and you don’t add any parking.” Siyamak sits down with Jim Righeimer, developer and former mayor of Costa Mesa in Orange County. He‘ll share his concerns with some of California’s recent housing laws…

1
Why Latino Success Matters in California : New Study Reveals | Soledad Ursua | Gloria Romero | Marshall Toplansky 36:37

20d ago36:37

36:37

“Unfortunately, Latinos do worse than their Latino counterparts in other states. It’s largely due to a failing public educational system, and also due to increased regulation, mostly environmental.” Siyamak sits down with Soledad Ursua, a lead author of ‘El Futuro es Latino’, conducted with Chapman University, which looks at how Latinos are doing i…

1
Los Angeles Jail Turns Into the World’s Largest Homeless Shelter | Nathan Hochman 42:24

21d ago42:24

42:24

“There were 17 gangs in Los Angeles that were engaged in follow-home robberies. So you could rape an unconscious woman, and the law considers that a non-violent, non-serious offense. You can engage in human trafficking of someone 18 or older, a non-violent, non-serious offense, which has made LA County US capital of human trafficking. It changes th…

1
How California Makes It Illegal to Fight Crime: Sheriff Chad Bianco 49:42

22d ago49:42

49:42

“We are hearing that the crime statistics are up a little bit. That’s what the public has been led to believe. I’m in my 31st year right now. Crime is very much higher than what it was in the past. We’re in a weird spot. It’s scary how we’ve been misled and how we’ve been lied to about these bills that they want passed.” Siyamak sits down with Chad…

1
California Cities Facing Cartel Style Illegal Growers in Neighborhoods | David Welch | Jake Fisher 44:05

22d ago44:05

44:05

“We’ve seen people take over homes and warehouses to cultivate marijuana. People probably wouldn’t know the difference; it looks like a residential house. This is a very, very high level of sophisticated organized networks. It’s dangerous in the sense that it’s really a threat. These operations are worth a lot of money. They will do what’s necessar…

1
Los Angeles Store Owner Stopped Shoplifters Despite 81% Increase in Shoplifting | Fraser Ross 27:49

25d ago27:49

27:49

“We were just getting fed up. Our security bill was $150,000 last year. We never had that. The police aren’t going to come. So I blast someone on my Instagram, and they freak out. Very wealthy people start shoplifting. They realize, ‘Well, if everyone else can do it, and I’m paying taxes and they’re not getting arrested, so I’ll do it, there’s no c…

1
Why is California’s Affordable Housing Mandate Becoming Controversial? | James Ardaiz 55:40

1M ago55:40

55:40

“I don’t think the Affordable Housing Act is about affordable housing at all. What it really is, is just an aspect of socialism. Carmel is very densely populated. It’s one square mile. There’s really no spot to put them other than taking away from existing infrastructure.” Siyamak sits down with James Ardaiz, a retired California appellate judge an…

1
Santa Monica Vice Mayor Explains How Cancel Culture Is Impacting the City | Lana Negrete 51:58

1M ago51:58

51:58

“We have a huge opioid crisis on our hands, we have a huge mental health crisis. But we’re so focused on ideology versus practicality and common sense, and who’s in what political group and who’s saying it, that we haven’t solved the problem. Organizations have spent tens of thousands of dollars to spread toxic, negative information about candidate…

1
Former Supervisor’s Honest Take on Fixing San Francisco | Tony Hall 58:10

1M ago58:10

58:10

“San Francisco was a working little town with an enormous cash flow that was right for the boys to move in and take it over. It was a tourist town, within a business town, within a high real estate town, unlike any other city in America. It never had a negative cash flow. This is why the boys came in and took it over.” Siyamak sits down with former…

1
California Owes $55 Billion on Unemployment Benefits | Will Swaim 45:52

1M ago45:52

45:52

“In the COVID era people ended up on unemployment and the federal government send out about $100 billion to California and a huge amount of it, about $55 billion, was lost to criminal gang. Fraudster show up from all over the world. We’re talking about international crime, gangs, people in California prisons and jails.” Siyamak sits down with Willi…

1
Why Californians Are Losing Their Home Insurance | Rex Frazier 57:23

2M ago57:23

57:23

“Too many people are going to the FAIR Plan. Nobody should want to be in the FAIR Plan; it’s meant to be a temporary market of last resort. It’s an unvirtuous cycle. Under the law, any deficiency that the FAIR Plan has, and the amount of money it has to pay claims, it just turns around to the admitted insurance companies. That has huge cascading im…

1
Top Advisor to Los Angeles District Attorney Charged With 11 Felonies | Full Story | Alex Villanueva 42:23

2M ago42:23

42:23

“She destroyed hundreds of deputies’ careers; they used to call her the ‘badge collector.’ The effect of that was catastrophic to the organization. People started leaving in droves. No one wanted to be a deputy sheriff, and they started shrinking.” Siyamak sits down with Alex Villanueva, former sheriff of Los Angeles County. There has been an unpre…

1
LA Doctor Explains Why Homelessness Is Growing in the City | Houman Hemmati 36:44

2M ago36:44

36:44

“We’re talking about homeless housing located on some of the most expensive land on Earth, occupying what used to be a much-needed parking garage, at a cost of $2 million per unit. The value of that land was around $120 to $150 million. If they’re building 120 units on there, that’s a million dollars per unit of just land value, taxpayer land value…

1
LA Residents Take up Homelessness Clean up by Themselves 26:40

2M ago26:40

26:40

“What we should understand about Los Angeles is that everybody complains about homelessness. Online, on Twitter, on Nextdoor... Everyone has something to say. But very few people have taken it upon themselves to try to push things along and find solutions where the city or the county falls short.” Siyamak sits down with Beige Luciano-Adams, the Epo…

1
Former Sheriff Explains Why Californians Are Mobilizing to Change Prop 47 | John McGinness 55:41

2M ago55:41

55:41

“You can literally walk into a retail store every single day of the year and steal $949 worth of merchandise and you will never do a minute in jail. No compounding consequence. The voters I believed were duped because the summary and title said it was the Safe Neighborhoods and Safe Schools Act. So that’s all you see in this Prop 47.” Siyamak sits …

1
What’s Happening on the San Diego Border? First-Hand Account | Cory Gautereaux 49:00

3M ago49:00

49:00

“I constantly see these white buses coming down full of illegal immigrants who are claiming asylum. Not through the port of entry—they’re coming through the fence, cutting the fence, around the fence, over the fence. I have found documents giving them exact instructions. This is a very regimented, professional operation. Who’s doing it?” Siyamak si…

1
California Restaurants on Verge of Going Under With Excessive Mandates, Higher Costs | Brian Back | John Kabateck 31:15

3M ago31:15

31:15

“I’ve sent an open letter to [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom. Not only have we seen the cost of almost everything go up exponentially in the last few years, but also faced new regulations and mandates. If I were to match our increased costs with menu pricing, we would be forced to charge about $40 for a cheeseburger. We can’t explain that to the cus…

1
California’s Dam Removal Damages: Local Farmers Fear Liability for Massive Salmon Deaths | Theodora Johnson 51:48

3M ago51:48

51:48

“It really has been the biggest dam removal experiment in modern history. People who were very much in favor of dam removal are now beside themselves because they had no idea this would be the outcome.” Siyamak sits down with Theodora Johnson, a sixth-generation rancher from Siskiyou County. The Klamath Dam removal project is the largest of its kin…

1
What Californians Can’t Afford to Miss in Prop 1 | Susan Shelley 44:48

3M ago44:48

44:48

“It’s being sold to the voters as treatment. But you’ve got $2 billion going into housing that can be for people who are still using hard drugs. If you have a building with, let’s say, 40 units, and 15 of the people in them are addicted to hard drugs, that is going to have an impact on the community, and the community has no say in that land use at…

1
Former Homeless Reveals What Homelessness is Like in Sacramento | Matt King 55:21

3M ago55:21

55:21

‘It’s almost like we’re living in an open-air mental health facility. There are people walking down the streets; you don’t know if they’re going to shoot you, stab you, punch you, spit on you... And we, as parents, are kind of teaching our kids and grandkids how to be numb to the situation.’ Siyamak sits down with Matthew King, former homeless and …

1
Are California Housing Mandates Ending Community Involvement and Character of Cities? | Amy Kalish | Lydia Kou 49:57

4M ago49:57

49:57

“The goal is to densify every town in the state. To densify it—so that‘d be walking around, not driving. In some places, it doesn’t work. But this whole policy has been applied as ’one size fits all' with no complaining.” Siyamak sits down with Amy Kalish, with Citizen Marin. She’s been studying what the housing mandates are for different cities in…

1
California Parents Are Afraid of Losing Their Kids | Erin Friday 45:09

4M ago45:09

45:09

“The school adopted my daughter’s new identity, which was a boy, changed her records to be male name, called her that in class. They told me I was unsafe. So they were safer for my daughter. This is a new movement that all parents are bad until proven good.” Host Siyamak Khorrami sits down with Erin Friday, executive committee member for Protect Ki…

1
Former Prison Guard Explains Why California Prisons Are Becoming Unsafe | Hector Bravo 51:43

4M ago51:43

51:43

“It is like working at a zoo, and they’ve opened up every single cage: to the bears, to the lions, to the panthers, to the giraffes, to the elephants. And you got the correctional officers like: “Oh my god, what have they done here?” Siyamak sits down with Hector Bravo, a former correctional officer and lieutenant with the California Department of …

1
Will California Lose Its Entrepreneurial Spirit as More Businesses Invest in Other States? | Marshall Toplansky 46:14

4M ago46:14

46:14

“Who is leaving? That’s probably the most worrying aspect of all of this. The people who are leaving are the most productive, what I call the seed corn of California—people who are going into family formation stage, 30- to 50-year-old people who are mid-career, people who make $200,000 a year and above. And so what we’re left with, which is kind of…

1
From US ‘Murder Capital’ to Zero Homicides: A California City’s Remarkable Rebirth | Paul Bains 27:40

4M ago27:40

27:40

“I remember that year; there was just so much shooting going on. Kids would sleep in bathtubs to avoid stray bullets.” Siyamak sits down with Pastor Paul Baines from East Palo Alto. He will share how his city managed to turn around from being the murder capital of the state and the country to achieving zero homicides. “Believe it or not, a lot of t…

1
Is California Still Leading the Nation? | Larry Elder 38:45

4M ago38:45

38:45

“In the last three years, we’ve had a net outflow of 1 million people. I don’t want to leave; I want to help turn the state around because I think sooner or later the voters are going to wake up, and I want to be here when that happens.” Siyamak sits down with Larry Elder, a radio and TV host, former gubernatorial candidate in California, former pr…

1
How Los Angeles Mansion Tax Impacts Affordable Housing | Chris Tourtellotte 41:03

4M ago41:03

41:03

“You’re going to see housing supply dropped. Investors are no longer looking at the city of LA because it’s too risky. Why would you sell a property, if you would have to give all your profit to the city?” Siyamak sits down with Chris Tourtellotte, managing director of LaTerra, a large real estate development company based in California. He'll disc…

1
Famous Chef Explains Why It Is Hard to Operate A Restaurant in California | Andrew Gruel 51:49

5M ago51:49

51:49

“Opening a restaurant seems simple, right? You never anticipated that you would expect ... Every single restaurant owner I talked to, is in a PAGA lawsuit. None of them are less than six figures.” California is the hardest state to open a restaurant, according to a new study by Restaurant Furniture. Siyamak sits down with celebrity chef Andrew Grue…

1
Why California’s Budget Deficit Is Snowballing: Legislative Analyst | Gabriel Petek 39:57

5M ago39:57

39:57

Siyamak sits down with Gabriel Petek, California’s legislative analyst. He shares with us why California is facing such a huge budget deficit and how it may last a few more years. He also shares what it will take to solve this budget crisis. “A couple of years ago, we had a $100 billion surplus, and we heard about these big numbers. Now, we’re esti…

1
California DA Explains Which Policies Lead To Increased Crime | Morgan Gire 35:28

5M ago35:28

35:28

"As an elected District Attorney, I have people from my county being released from prison early and I don't know why." Siyamak sits down with Morgan Gire, District Attorney of Placer County, who has over 24 years of experience working in the criminal justice system. He'll discuss recent criminal justice reforms in California and share his opinion o…

1
California Lawmakers Spending $1.2 Billion on Office Renovation | Bill George 41:09

5M ago41:09

41:09

Siyamak sits down with Bill George, historian and filmmaker, who has been studying and documenting the history and culture of California. He'll discuss the changes he has observed in California’s state capital when it comes to homelessness, crime, and transparency in the legislative body. We'll also take a deep dive into California's history and lo…

1
Why Oakland Police Can’t Stop Criminals | LeRonne Armstrong 40:49

5M ago40:49

40:49

Siyamak sits down with LeRonne Armstrong, a former police chief who served for the Oakland Police Department for over 25 years. He explains how it’s difficult for the police to operate because of the rules and regulations they are facing from the city. This situation in Oakland is so dire that the governor is sending 120 California Highway Patrol o…

1
California EV Mandate: 14,000 Trucks With Limited Chargers At Ports: Matt Schrap 45:19

5M ago45:19

45:19

Siyamak sits down with Matt Schrap, CEO of Harbor Trucking Association, which represents trucking companies operating at the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland. Today, he'll share his insights on what it takes for trucking companies to comply with the zero-emission mandates at the ports and how this might affect Californians. Join us as …

1
How Working From Home Is Crushing Downtown Los Angeles | Chris Cooper 35:39

5M ago35:39

35:39

Siyamak sits down with Chris Cooper, principal and regional managing director at Avison Young. He talks about what challenges downtown Los Angeles is facing today in the aftermath of the pandemic and the impact on the commercial real estate industry. “I’m a third-generation Angeleno. We have a wonderful community.“ Mr. Cooper said. ”There are compe…

1
Who's Leaving California? Is It Impacting California's Economy? | Jim Doti 41:48

5M ago41:48

41:48

Siyamak sits down with Jim Doti, president emeritus at Chapman University. Today he will talk about his latest findings on the California Exodus and provide some insights on the demographics of people who are leaving California, why they are leaving, and the outmigration’s impacts on California's job market and economy. "Over the last five years, w…

1
California Cities Are Forced to Build ‘Unaffordable’ Housing | John Cruikshank 45:15

6M ago45:15

45:15

Siyamak sits down with John Cruikshank, mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes in Los Angeles County. He will discuss the challenges facing California cities regarding the state housing mandate and the potential problems of government overreach when it comes to improving housing affordability. “Right now the policymakers up in Sacramento don’t trust the citi…

1
Secret Chinese Biolab With Viral Diseases in California Under Investigation | Steve Ispas | Kevin Kiley | Lear Zhou 31:13

6M ago31:13

31:13

In this special episode, we discuss an unlicensed Chinese biolab in California that was illegally researching viral diseases. Siyamak sits down with investigative reporters Steve Ispas and Lear Zhou from The Epoch Times. He also talked to Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), who, along with his colleagues in Congress, has been investigating this case. “The…

1
Is Theft Causing the End of Retail Stores in California? | Juan Alanis 41:10

6M ago41:10

41:10

Siyamak sits down with Juan Alanis, an assemblymember from Modesto County and former law enforcement officer. He discusses the issue of rising retail theft in California and his insights from serving on the Assembly Committee on retail theft. He also talks about the impacts on businesses, law enforcement, and local communities. “We’re talking about…

1
Tax Expert Explains How High Taxes Drive Jobs Out of California | Joe Vinatieri 42:37

6M ago42:37

42:37

Siyamak sits down with Joe Vinatieri, Mayor of Whittier, California and a tax expert. He'll talk about why people are leaving California and the impact of high taxes on the state. “McDonald’s started here, Carl’s Jr. started here, Taco Bell started here, In-N-Out started here. There was just a great entrepreneurial spirit,“ said Mr. Vinatieri. ”Whe…

1
50,000 Migrants Dropped Off With No Plan. Can San Diego Handle It? | Jim Desmond 27:38

7M ago27:38

27:38

Siyamak Khorrami sits down with Jim Desmond, San Diego County Supervisor. He'll talk about how the recent surge of migrants in San Diego is causing a big problem for the county and how he's worried that homelessness could get worse as a result. "We're not as bad off as San Francisco or LA but if we keep going down this path, we're going to have the…

1
LA Corruption: Where Did It Come From, and Can It Be Fixed? | Alex Villanueva 49:23

7M ago49:23

49:23

Siyamak sits down with Alex Villanueva, former sheriff of Los Angeles County. He'll give us a deeper look into how corruption works in Los Angeles, and what should be done to stop it. "It's billions of dollars that get poured into the pockets of the nonprofit world in the state of California. And what is the return on the investment? A bigger homel…

1
Former LA Sheriff Captain Concerned About Department Officers Losing Deputies Due to Stress | Michael Bornman | Cece Woods 52:29

7M ago52:29

52:29

Siyamak sits down with Michael Bornman, a retired captain from the LA County Sheriff's Department who had served for over 30 years. He shares his perspective on the issues the Department is currently facing. We also talked with Cece Woods, who has been reporting on the LA Sheriff's Department for many years. She provides her insight based on conver…

1
State-Mandated Housing Coming to Your Town | Christine Epperly 47:02

10M ago47:02

47:02

Siyamak sits down with Christine Epperly, a licensed civil engineer and building designer with over 30 years in business. She discovered a state-run plan called the "15 Minute City" that is changing the landscape of California. "What's happening in California is we're building these high-density communities in the middle of the towns and suburbs. I…

1
Why California Electricity Costs Have More Than Doubled | Susan Shelley 44:33

10M ago44:33

44:33

Siyamak sits down with Susan Shelley, columnist with Southern California News Group. She discusses California's renewable energy policies and their impact on the cost of living. "We are in California, bearing this tremendous burden financially to model good climate behavior. And it does not affect the global climate because it's too small. It’s 1 p…

1
Why California's Insurance Crisis Is Putting Homeowners' Lives at Risk in Wildfires | Sam DiGiovanna 44:33

11M ago44:33

44:33

"It's like apocalypse when you're on these wildfires and everything is burning. Homeowners in sandals, shorts, and a T-shirt on their roof, watering the roof down. A lot of people cannot get fire insurance because it's getting so expensive in California." Siyamak sits down with Sam DiGiovanna, fire chief for Verdugo Fire Academy. He discusses his p…

1
Why San Francisco Parents Are Outraged Over Math | Rex Ridgeway 45:05

11M ago45:05

45:05

Siyamak sits down with Rex Ridgeway, president of the PTA at Lincoln High School in San Francisco. He explains how San Francisco's inclusion policies are actually hurting the overall performance of students and why parents are leaving the public school system. "Kids in San Francisco can't get to calculus. They moved Algebra 1 out from the 8th grade…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Siyamak Khorrami Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide