LAist

I’m a 25+ year devotee of KPCC/LAist, but the app is barely useable for keeping up with live news. It used to be amazing before the pandemic and would cache audio and let you rewind for anything you missed. Now, you’re better off waiting until those shows are archived as a podcast (and hoping you don’t forget, for a topic that might be less current when you get back to it.) It stops on my phone constantly, and then you usually have to listen to a 30-60 sec commercial to get back to the stream (so if you’re switching from the car radio to listening ‘on foot’ you miss what you may have been hoping to hear before you switched- happens constantly.) I’m a person who works on foot a lot, so I’ve had to divorce myself from caring about the content (which is tough for a 15-yr $15/mo contributor.) It was so bad, I switched to Audials (which records), but that started glitching, so I’m back for the pain of this app.

I am surprised at all the glowing reviews because I have been continually frustrated using the app. My number one use is while driving when out of range of a good signal (or traveling away from stations). So often, instead of live streaming, I get an ad on repeat every time I hit play. Driving in my car, I don’t want options (not that there are many) - I want one button for live streaming. Period. I understand I may need to listen to an ad before joining the live program and that should be it - play the ad and jump to the live content. Instead, the app often plays the ad and stops. Hit play again and get the ad, again and stop. Repeat this cycle until I give up. I love LAist and want to keep listening even when I am unable to receive the signal - and mostly I am unable to do that.