Better Together: Creating Partnerships for Community Learning

An Exciting Learning Opportunity for California Public Library Teams presented by the clioinstitute

April 8-10, 2006

Cerritos Public Library, Cerritos, California

Profile of Larry Mantle

Larry Mantle hosts "Larry Mantle's AirTalk," a daily interview/call-in program heard locally on Southern California's National Public Radio station 89.3 KPCC and nationally on XM Satellite Radio's XM Public Radio channel. The show airs weekday mornings on KPCC, from 10 until noon.

Mantle started the program in 1985 and it is now the longest continuously running daily talk program in the Los Angeles radio market. The "AirTalk" guest roster features leaders in science, health, social debate, history, entertainment, politics, and the arts, coupled with the telephone participation of a highly-sophisticated public radio audience.

Mantle also hosts two versions of his movie show, "Film Week." "Film Week on AirTalk" is heard every Friday morning on KPCC. The 15-minute television version airs Thursday evenings on KCET's "Life and Times" public affairs program.

In April 2005, Angel City Press published This is AirTalk: 20 Years of Conversations on 89.3 KPCC, featuring interviews of 21 of Larry's favorite guests over the first two decades of the program. The Los Angeles Times bestseller includes conversations with Jimmy Carter, Steve Martin, Milton Berle, Walter Mosley, Jack Welch, and Sting.

"Larry Mantle's AirTalk" has won numerous Golden Mike, Associated Press, and Los Angeles Press Club Awards, including Best Talk Show.

Mantle earned a BA in Psychology from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. He is a fourth-generation Southern Californian, residing in Pasadena with his wife Kristen and young son Desmond.