2021 was the year of accountability, as observers and consumers looked to cultural institutions, corporations and individuals to make good on their promises.
Hollywood's Latino Cultural Gap
A look back at our best videos
![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/f5nQwnSKrcQ/hqdefault.jpg)
![Baseball: All Star Game: Los Angeles Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela (34) in action, pitching.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/55054b5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3708x2480+96+0/resize/320x214!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F16%2F32%2Fa0f5b38c4884985522374fa5ffed%2Fgetty-1212991917.jpg)
Everybody wants to have a hero | Fernandomania @ 40 Ep. 1
9:29
![EAGLE ROCK, CA - DECEMBER 23, 2020: Mariana Castro-Salzman, 32, does smell training with essential oils at her home in Eagle Rock. Castro-Salzman lost her sense of smell after testing positive for COVID-19 back in March of 2020. To get it back, she is doing smell training, that consists of doing three rounds of smelling a variety of essential oils for 20 seconds each, twice a day. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0b35f6b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2010x1344+3+0/resize/320x214!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F25%2Fc7%2F749c3c834468b9ce2d935af30dfc%2Fla-photos-1staff-675745-la-me-smell-training-mariana4-resize.jpg)
COVID-19 patients and 'smell training'
6:05
![Alice Waters: How to Start a Food Revolution](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ea8d9d6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/480x321+0+20/resize/320x214!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FfQGU5w71lIY%2Fhqdefault.jpg)
Alice Waters: How to Start a Food Revolution
24:02
![Jeff Grosso, the regular man’s skateboarding legend](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cb7df78/2147483647/strip/true/crop/480x321+0+20/resize/320x214!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FzXSKm3Irw94%2Fhqdefault.jpg)
Jeff Grosso, the regular man’s skateboarding legend
14:39
![Meet the formerly incarcerated fire crew protecting California from wildfires](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a150b16/2147483647/strip/true/crop/480x321+0+20/resize/320x214!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fk6vpGrqTcTM%2Fhqdefault.jpg)
Meet the formerly incarcerated fire crew protecting California from wildfires
34:38
![Is it high time for the feds to legalize weed?](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c1130a1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1615x1080+153+0/resize/320x214!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0d%2Fc0%2Fa2f72ced4cb79c6bd04845cbe20f%2Fmedicalmarijuana-thumb-override.jpg)
Video: Is it high time for the feds to legalize weed?
8:02
![LAT Explains: The Newsom Recall Election](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7a9dcfc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1615x1080+3+0/resize/320x214!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbc%2F09%2Fa5a259194f2fbabf696139ea3806%2Fnewsom-recall-la-thmb.jpg)
What you need to know about the Newsom recall election
4:03
![LOS ANGELES, CA - March 03: Blanca Lopez, 23, of South L.A. is one of a growing number of retail investors of color who have gotten into stock trading through online apps/trading platforms. And this isn't even her day job. Unlike stock traders of the past, this new generation is younger, more savvy with online trading apps, such as Webull or Robinhood, and more diverse. Photo taken outside her home in Los Angeles Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cfe9b3d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3541x2368+180+0/resize/320x214!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6e%2F65%2F0aea81d64068a06c7ebe1ae0a278%2Fla-photos-1staff-725261-fi-south-la-investors-2-ajs.jpg)
Meet these young South L.A. stock traders
7:11
![##FIRST NAMES ONLY, MEMBERS OF ZOHRA ORCHESTRA IN AFGHANISTAN. PLEASE DO NOT PUBLISH UNLESS HAVE PERMISSION FROM PHOTO EDITORS## KABUL, AFGHANISTAN -- MAY 19, 2021: Sunbol, on the violin, a member Zohra, AfghanistanOs all-female orchestra, poses for a portrait at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, before it was shuttered when the Taliban took over the country and turned the campus into one of their outposts, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 19, 2021. (MARCUS YAM / LOS ANGELES TIMES)](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5f49ee6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/942x630+129+0/resize/320x214!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fdd%2Ff1%2F811d60cd48d6a9562c81af78cfac%2Fla-photos-1staff-la-photos-1staff-809895-fg-0722-zohra-social-2893.jpg)
For Afghans, a bittersweet escape from a music school gone silent
9:48
![](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ca61ea5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1615x1080+153+0/resize/320x214!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F24%2F12%2F204ff0f7403cb23da8b68d12e836%2Fthumb.jpg)
The Capitol stormed, an election completed: January 6 in six minutes
6:05
This year's best
This year’s best
Sports
Times Investigations
Times reporters’ dedication to accountability reporting inspired countless stories ranging from breaking news to features to hard-hitting investigations. Here are some of those stories.