Greater LA

Urban falconer Adam Baz has carved out an interesting career for himself and his four birds of prey in a city with a lot of pigeons and crows to chase. Rob Bisel has earned eight Grammy nominations for engineering, producing, and writing songs for SZA's album “SOS.” He talks about collaborating with the artist. Ownership of the Bolsa Chica Mesa, a six-acre plot of land just north of Huntington Bea...

Thanksgiving week is one of the busiest times of year for professional pie bakers. The hours are long and the payoff is big. We’ve all got family holiday traditions. Three KCRW listeners share their favorite unusual Thanksgiving celebrations. This holiday weekend is a perfect time to hike around LA due to cooler temperatures and red-orange autumn foliage. Cris Hazzard, aka The Hiking Guy, shows yo...

Honeybees have long been the face of the “Save the Bees” campaign, but according to bee researchers at UC Irvine, they aren’t the only bees who need help. Zach Phillips, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s “Bug Guy,” takes KCRW on a walk around the grounds to get some sights and sounds. UCLA scientists say the way ants build their nests might help humans improve traffic and transportation logistics...

Larry Li was inspired to create “ Ask Your Ma About ‘89 ” after learning a harrowing story about how the Tiananmen Square protests affected his family. Free drinks, female attention, and fabulous parties are some of the upsides for super good-looking men in LA. But that’s not the whole story. Germans founded Anaheim in 1857. Chinese immigrants then built much of the city and developed a bustling C...

By 2035, LADWP plans to provide all power without coal or gas — just hydroelectric, geothermal, hydrogen, solar, and wind. They also vow no harm to low-income ratepayers. One workshop in Downtown LA has been tuning, restringing, and repairing broken instruments for LAUSD students for six decades. It’s among the last of its kind. Jeff Boynton, a Highland Park native and lifelong artist, is a “circu...

Now that both the SAG and WGA strikes are over, how are below-the-line workers in Hollywood faring?  Following big wins for SAG-AFTRA and WGA, members of IATSE — the union representing below-the-line workers — are preparing for their own negotiations. A new exhibit at LACMA is displaying more than 150 creations of textile art and modern abstraction that span over a century.

A book club that started at a Venice library in the 1990s spent almost three decades reading “Finnegans Wake.” Singer Engelbert Humperdinck’s new documentary premieres tonight in Hollywood, focusing on his career spanning more than 70 years. For 17 years, LA Skins Fest has been offering a platform for Indigenous filmmakers from around the world to showcase their stories.

Metro is doubling the number of public bathrooms on train lines from three to six. Despite the urgent need, some commuters are complaining that they require a phone to use. The fire in Tustin’s WWII Navy blimp hangar is still smoldering a week after it ignited. Schools and parks are closed due to asbestos in the ash and smoke. In “Keys to the Kingdom,” an eight-part audio documentary, co-hosts Mat...

Weeks after the end of cash bail for non-violent and non-serious crimes, reformers and LA Superior Court say the system is working. But the change has its critics. For the past year, researchers at UCLA have been working to understand hate — one of our most complex emotions — by way of neuroscience, sociology, social media, music studies, and more. Comedian Alex Edelman has brought his one-man sho...

After 118 days, the Screen Actors Guild negotiators have unanimously approved an agreement with the studios. In “If You Would Have Told Me,” John Stamos talks about his Orange County childhood, Hollywood career, and fame's ups and downs.

Since July, the state of Texas has sent nearly 1,000 asylum seekers to Los Angeles by bus. Local faith-based and non-religious groups are welcoming them. In 2016, Highland Park’s Judson Studios took on a years-long effort to create the world’s largest stained glass window. It’s chronicled in the new documentary Holy Frit.  You often can’t tell cats what to do, much less put leashes on them and tak...

Almost a year after forming a union, performers at Medieval Times have been unable to win a contract. Such delays are common — new unions can go years without progress. The Florentine Codex contains over 2,500 pages of text and images detailing Nahua civilization from the Indigenous perspective. It’s available digitally thanks to UCLA and the Getty. In Santa Ana, a recall election to oust progress...

One in four cars sold in California is now electric. EV drivers say switching saves money and the planet. Gas drivers are worried about running out of power. John Densmore, known as the Doors’ drummer, is out with a new book called The Doors: Unhinged Jim Morrison’s Legacy Goes on Trial.  Amateur perfumers and nature lovers Jack Kelly and Natalie Coffen lead “scent saunters” through Griffith Park...

Hollywood Forever Cemetery is home to dozens of feral cats, peacocks, turtles, and fowl that provide visitors with an “antidote to death.” Where did they all come from? Rick Castro has been photographing since 1986. A new show at Hollywood Forever Cemetery highlights decades of his queer, fetish, and fashion images. LA bakeries are preparing “pan de muerto,” a traditional Mexican “bread of the dea...

Elmer McCurdy had a troubled life and died in a shoot-out. His body got embalmed, became part of a traveling crime museum, then was bought by an amusement ride operator. LA’s Griffith Park is one of the largest urban parks in the country, and urban legend claims that it wouldn’t exist without a twisted 18th-century curse.  Sometimes called the “Pagan version of Halloween,” Samhain is a time to soo...

California is investing millions to change the way kids eat at school. Learn how one SoCal program is turning kids on to fresh produce, one watermelon at a time. The Where Has All The (affordable) Housing Gone? exhibit at the Beyond Baroque Gallery in Venice features photography, poetry and a giant map to examine the policies that led to the removal of nearly 1,500 rent-controlled units in the bea...

Rent-stabilized tenants in LA could see an increase in February as high as 7%. Landlords say it’s necessary to keep up with expenses. The Museum of Latin American Art hosts its annual Día De Los Muertos festival on Oct. 29. This year’s theme, Hecho con Amor , celebrates the diversity of Latin American cuisine. The nonprofit ActiveSGV’s ArroyoFest will shut down six miles of the 110 freeway from Li...

NewGround promotes relations and dialogue between Jews and Muslims in Los Angeles. The group calls itself “a convener.” running trainings and classes promoting interfaith engagement. LA is in the height of spooky (and spider) season, so the Nature Nexus Institute is holding a “Spooky Critter Crawl” to highlight some of the city’s creepiest residents. An LA start-up is tackling a problem that devel...

The Actors’ Gang’s new show, “Methusalem,” is directed by Brent Hinkley. He and fellow co-founder Tim Robbins discuss the show and the group’s legacy. Measure J requires LA County to allocate funds to incarceration alternatives and community/youth programs, instead of police. Some community groups say they still haven’t seen the money.

Each week on KCRW’s The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast, hosts Caleigh Wells and Candice Dickens-Russel answer a listener’s environmental question and give advice on how they can help the planet. As SoCal looks to fall and winter, scientist predictions say El Niño weather patterns will bring heavy rains, but climate change is making it tricky to predict. In 1973, Knott’s Berry Farm became the first the...

Spine-tingling thrills, oddities, and costumes. A handful of small businesses in Burbank are keeping things scary beyond Halloween. The three co-directors of the 1980 parody film “Airplane!” recount their careers’ humble origins and the movie’s “endearing” comedy legacy. LA-based engineering and design nonprofit Miyamoto Relief is hosting “The Night of 1000 Drawings,” which raises money for recons...

LAUSD student absences soared during the pandemic. Slowly, in large part due to school attendance counselors’ tireless work, kids are returning to class. Tom Morello, a political activist and Rage Against the Machine guitarist, is partnering with a nonprofit to launch music programs at schools across the country. Alex Da Corte’s solo exhibition, The Daemon , transforms the Matthew Marks Gallery in...

The Aetna Street Collective came together three years ago to advocate for a tight-knit unhoused community facing harassment and street sweeps.  Scribble , a Highland Park-based nonprofit, launched on Oct. 3 to provide affordable therapy, music shows, game nights, tai chi classes, and more. Neighborhoods historically cut off from government-backed home loans continue to suffer the consequences. Tha...

Three women in LA share their reasons to forgo parenting: more freedom, more travel, and more time to focus on their careers and passions. What’s up with the Dodgers? Despite winning 100 games during the regular season, again, the Dodgers’ were eliminated in the first round, again.  Along Beach Boulevard, from Rosecrans to Orangethorpe, is Buena Park’s Koreatown , a name that’s only been official...

Unhoused Angelenos in temporary shelters will get priority for many city-funded affordable housing units — under policy shift enacted by Mayor Karen Bass. UCLA Professor Justin Torres’ new novel, Blackouts , is a “socratic dialogue” between an unnamed narrator and a dying man. It’s also a finalist for the National Book Award. Big Bear’s Oktoberfest has been running for 53 years, attracting locals...