The UCLA Gymnast Who Became a Viral Sensation

Tens of millions of people have seen UCLA senior Sophina DeJesus whip, nae nae and handspring her way to a gymnastics tour de force (yes, that video). Resmovits goes beyond the viral video in this profile—probing into DeJesus’ family history, and looking at what it’s like to be a woman of color in the lily-white world of gymnastics.

Published: Feb 11, 2016
Length: 17 minutes (4,309 words)

Seven Hikers’ Descent into Doom at Zion National Park

The Los Angeles Times reconstructs the final hours of the seven experienced hikers who lost their lives last week in a flash flood at Zion National Park.

Published: Sep 20, 2015
Length: 9 minutes (2,265 words)

No Room at the Inn for Innocence

There are more than half a million homeless children in California and budget motels have become the last resort for many families with nowhere else to go. Joe Mozingo profiles a group of kids growing up in the shadows of drugs and despair at a San Bernardino motel.

Published: Jul 22, 2015
Length: 7 minutes (1,908 words)

Gentrification and Historic Preservation in LA’s ‘Black Beverly Hills’

Long known as the Black Beverly Hills, Los Angeles’s View Park park neighborhood is a symbol of African American success. A recent effort to put the neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places has blown up into a contentious fight, with some residents seeing the designation as a ploy to lure white buyers.

Published: Jul 18, 2015
Length: 8 minutes (2,067 words)

The Mourning Gown

A drag queen’s final tribute to the grandmother who loved and accepted him.

Published: Jul 3, 2015
Length: 7 minutes (1,800 words)

The Economics of a Small Theater Company

Inside a 78-seat Los Angeles theater, drama plays out over new union-mandated wage rules.

Published: May 15, 2015
Length: 10 minutes (2,520 words)

The Spectacular Rise and Surprising Exit of a Hollywood Executive

Richard Nanula started his career big: At 31, he became CFO of Disney, among the youngest ever at a Fortune 500 company. He later ran Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and Miramax. Then came the allegations that he filmed sex scenes with porn actresses.

Published: Aug 23, 2013
Length: 9 minutes (2,327 words)

Knives, a Death, a Famous Name

Former California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez was once considered the most powerful lawmaker in California. This two-part series examines whether political influence trumped justice when Nuñez’s son Esteban was charged in the 2008 stabbing death of 22-year-old Luis Santos.

Published: Dec 22, 2014
Length: 23 minutes (5,900 words)

Finding Marlowe

Did Samuel B. Marlowe—Los Angeles’ first licensed black private detective—provide the inspiration for Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade, two of noir’s most iconic characters?

Published: Nov 1, 2014
Length: 12 minutes (3,000 words)

Johnny Cash’s dark California days

Johnny Cash biographer Robert Hilburn on the musician’s life in California during the 1960’s, a dark decade “fueled by drugs and guilt over the breakup of his marriage.”

Published: Oct 12, 2013
Length: 14 minutes (3,714 words)