Accessibility links

Mandalit del Barco As an arts correspondent based at NPR West, Mandalit del Barco reports and produces stories about film, television, music, visual arts, dance and other topics.
Mandalit del Barco (square - 2015)
Stories By

Mandalit del Barco

Environment

Lessons Learned from Santa Barbara Spill

As the presidential hopefuls debate the pros and cons of offshore drilling, natives of Santa Barbara, California remember the huge spill of 1969. Many say that disaster was the catalyst for the U.S. environmental movement.

Lessons Learned from Santa Barbara Spill

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91808345/91808334" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Combating Gangs in the City of Angels

Feds Aim to Dismantle L.A.'s 18th Street Gang

The FBI has been trying to take down the 18th Street gang in Los Angeles for more than a decade, but generations of gang leaders have made it difficult. One gang leader even ran his "loyal soldiers" from prison.

Feds Aim to Dismantle L.A.'s 18th Street Gang

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91105501/91115050" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Combating Gangs in the City of Angels

FBI Cracks Down on Gangs at L.A.'s MacArthur Park

The LAPD and FBI have teamed up to target the gang stronghold in a Los Angeles park. Federal agents are able to pay more for informants and provide more intelligence surveillance and wiretaps — resulting in fewer murders.

FBI Cracks Down on Gangs at L.A.'s MacArthur Park

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90995500/91064917" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Paying at the Pump

L.A. Drivers Ditch Cars for Subway

Southern California commuters are being hit hard by some of the highest gasoline prices in the nation. And, like commuters elsewhere in the country, many of them are turning to mass transit for relief.

L.A. Drivers Ditch Cars for Subway

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90289441/90289411" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

L.A. SWAT Unit on Verge of Accepting First Woman

If Jennifer Grasso survives the SWAT team's intense training, she'll make history. The SWAT unit has been all-male, mostly white and resistant to change. But some critics among the ranks say SWAT is scaling back its requirements to be politically correct.

L.A. SWAT Unit on Verge of Accepting First Woman

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90015810/90024808" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

Jury to Decide Fate of 'Black Widows'

A Los Angeles jury hears closing arguments in the trial of two women charged with murder in an insurance scam. The women, both in their 70s, were named as beneficiaries on policies held by homeless men who were killed by hit-and-run car accidents.

Jury to Decide Fate of 'Black Widows'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89538116/89538096" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Remembrances

Navy SEAL Killed in Iraq Receives Medal of Honor

A Navy SEAL from Southern California who gave his life to protect his fellow SEALS in Iraq is about to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's top military honor. Petty Officer Michael Monsoor died after throwing himself atop a hand grenade thrown by an insurgent in Ramadi.

Navy SEAL Killed in Iraq Receives Medal of Honor

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89424939/89424893" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

Pin-Up Queen Turns Hollywood Mayor Race Pink

For nearly three decades, the late Johnny Grant posed and schmoozed on the Walk of Fame as Hollywood's honorary mayor. Now, a handful of senior celebrities and an aging billboard queen are pushing to become his replacement.

Pin-Up Queen Turns Hollywood Mayor Race Pink

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89161002/89163929" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Education

Controversial Math Method Infiltrates L.A. Schools

A presidential advisory panel is poised to issue guidelines that use "Singapore Math" methods to help students improve test scores. California was the first state to approve the technique.

Controversial Math Method Infiltrates L.A. Schools

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88188852/88188832" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

National

South L.A. Gang Violence Claims Young Victims

After countless police crackdowns and "wars" on gangs, shootings and murders are still a fact of life in South Los Angeles. At least eight children have been among those shot in separate incidents over the past two weeks.

South L.A. Gang Violence Claims Young Victims

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88045529/88045520" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

L.A. Sees Spike in Outbursts of Gun Violence

Los Angeles police are still searching for the man who fired into a crowd of children and adults at a crowded bus stop Wednesday. Eight people were shot, and several suffered serious wounds, leading authorities to express amazement that no one was killed.

L.A. Sees Spike in Outbursts of Gun Violence

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/87775213/87775195" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

The 80th Annual Academy Awards

'No Country for Old Men' Wins Big at Oscars

Joel and Ethan Coen are celebrating a big win. Their crime saga No Country for Old Men was the big winner at Sunday's Academy Awards, taking home four Oscars, including Best Picture.

Hear Mandalit Del Barco on Morning Edition

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/19333989/19334401" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

20 Calif. Counties Scrap Electronic Vote Machines

California has the most votes at stake on Super Tuesday, but counting those returns could take a lot longer than usual. Electronic voting machines in more than 20 counties there have been scrapped because of security concerns. Now those counties are using old-fashioned paper ballots instead.

20 Calif. Counties Scrap Electronic Vote Machines

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18672642/18672601" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Technology

Phraselator Helps L.A. Police Communicate

The hand-held device was developed by the Pentagon for U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, Los Angeles police are using it to broadcast commands such as "hands behind your back" in dozens of languages.

Phraselator Helps L.A. Police Communicate

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18495804/18532784" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript