Reporter
Peter Larsen
Peter Larsen has been the Pop Culture Reporter for the Orange County Register since 2004, finally achieving the neat trick of getting paid to report and write about the stuff he's obsessed about pretty much all his life. He regularly covers the Oscars and the Emmys, goes to Comic-Con and Coachella, reviews pop music, and conducts interviews with authors and actors, musicians and directors, a little of this and a whole lot of that. He grew up, in order, in California, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oregon. Graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. with degrees in English and Communications. Earned a master's degree at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Earned his first newspaper paycheck at the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat, fled the Midwest for Los Angeles Daily News and finally ended up at the Orange County Register. He's taught one or two classes a semester in the journalism and mass communications department at Cal State Long Beach since 2006. Somehow managed to get a lovely lady to marry him, and with her have two daughters. And a dog named Buddy. Never forget the dog.
All Stories

How Elvis Presley roars back to life in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘EPiC’ concert film
Luhrmann reveals Elvis Presley's humanity through never-before-seen film and audio.

Q&A: Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera shares stories from the Cuban Revolution to stardom
Manzanera discusses his recent memoir, “Revolución to Roxy.”

50 years later: 11 classic albums that hit No. 1 on the charts in 1976
A Beatle, some Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, and most of all, Peter Frampton all had records top the charts in 1976.

‘American Reich’ explores rising hate crimes and the Blaze Bernstein murder
Writer Eric Lichtblau's new book, 'American Reich: A Murder in Orange County, Neo-Nazis, and A New Age of Hate,' reports on rising hate crimes in the United States.

Michael Connelly says same killer committed Black Dahlia, Zodiac murders
'Killer in the Code' shares the story of citizen sleuth Alex Baber's investigation.

How Ace Atkins mined his ’80s youth for spy thriller ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’
After focusing on his two series over the past decade, Atkins decided to write a comedic thriller about spies in Atlanta in 1985 and a teen protagonist based on himself.

Simon Raymonde memoir: Cocteau Twins are behind him
Raymonde, who played bass and keyboards in the influential English band, and founded the Bella Union record label after it ended, comes to Southern California on a book tour for...

In ‘The American Revolution,’ Ken Burns’ filmmakers go back to the beginning
Co-directors Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt talk about the 12-hour docuseries that premieres on PBS stations on Sunday, Nov. 16.

In ‘Queen Esther,’ John Irving travels back to ‘The Cider House Rules’
The bestselling author's 16th novel tackles antisemitism in a tale of family and love from New England to Vienna to Jerusalem and back.

Books: Bruce Lee’s transformation to Asian American icon
Author Jeff Chang was offered a chance to write about Lee after the success of his 2025 hip-hop chronicle "Can't Stop Won't Stop.' Two decades later, "Water Mirror Echo: Bruce...
