In the fall of 2021, Maer Roshan received an unusual message from his boss. Roshan, who had served as a deputy editor of New York and the editorial director for Tina Brown’s Talk, was fifty-four, the editor in chief of Los Angeles magazine, busy transforming it from a dull lifestyle publication—with articles on “the best” of the city—into a vibrant, timely outlet. Lately, Los Angeles had published a cover story about how COVID-19 could derail Los Angeles, seven days before the city shut down; an exclusive profile of Governor Gavin Newsom; a feature inside the “woke wars” at Brentwood School. The magazine had gotten out ahead of the Britney Spears conservatorship story, and was the first to interview Charlotte Kirk, a British actress who had been involved in Hollywood sex scandals. Its stories were picked up by the Los Angeles Times and CNN; Roshan was praised for his oversight. “He may hate the word buzz,” the Times declared, “but Los Angeles magazine editor Maer Roshan is creating it.”