How To LA

#216: As a society we’ve been talking about it a LOT in recent years. Some call it a crisis. And public officials have been taking up more initiatives to try to address this on a societal level.  In early December, a state-wide program launched in Los Angeles County aimed at helping those with severe and untreated mental illness: CARE Court. Last October it also opened in Orange County.  It allows...

#215: How To LA is getting sciency! We're checking out 30,000 year old baby bison bones, extinct giant sloths and the jaws of American Lions.  L.A. might be more known its entertainment industry and beach weather. But the city is ALSO home to the only active urban fossil dig site in the world: La Brea Tar Pits.  These bubbling pools of asphalt coming out of the ground are the richest source of Ice...

#214: Today we are gonna get into the idea of affordable housing – what it really means and where it came from. If you’ve looked for a house or apartment in L.A. in recent years, you’re probably questioning if there is  any affordable housing in the region. By some estimates, L.A. County has a shortage of half a million affordable homes.  There was a time when the government was a lot more involve...

This is How To LA , the podcast that helps you navigate this city. I’m Brian De Los Santos. I want to share with you another podcast from LAist Studios that I think you’ll really want to listen to: Imperfect Paradise: The Castle. For the next few weeks, we’ll be dropping episodes every Friday. Imperfect Paradise: The Castle takes us inside LA’s exclusive Magic Castle through the lens of a queer ho...

#213: Did you know that here in Los Angeles we’ve got the largest urban oil field in the U.S.? The Inglewood Oil Field spans 1,000 acres and is largely overseen by Los Angeles County (and a portion by Culver City).  The oil field dates all the way back to 1924 when oil and natural gas resources were discovered there. But soon, the drilling could come to an end, following a milestone settlement tha...

#212: The past few years have been kind of a roller coaster when it comes to city politics in Los Angeles. Today, we’re talking about what could be in store for L.A. politics in 2024, and what you need to look out for this election year. Guest: LAist Civics and Democracy correspondent Frank Stoltze

#211: This year of the Dragon is bringing about a thousand new additions to California's legal system. Some of these bills are little things like amendments to existing laws, but some are the real deal. 2023's Hot Labor Summer left its mark and brought in several new workers protections. There's also new laws for everyone from parents to cannabis smokers to campers. So if you're a healthcare worke...

#210: The How to LA team is ringing in the New Year with a few good tidings and recommendations for starting 2024 off right! Enjoy. 

#209: Hey, How to LA listeners! We’re trying something new and hanging out with friends and colleagues from L.A. who are checking out interesting, fun, new happenings in the city. Guests: Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido and Marty Preciado, an arts and culture executive who serves as commissioner for LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis and works to advance community strategies for The Ford,...

#132: Continue our year-end roundup with us! Today, our episode about the 50th anniversary of hip hop.  Original episode description below: Hip Hop officially turns 50 this weekend - Aug. 11th to be exact. As we all know by now, its roots are in New York. The west coast sound developed later but, when it finally hit, LA made Hip Hop its own.  It's the late 1970s, disco is dead and funk is hitting...

#66:  Continue our end-of-year wrap with some of our favorite episodes from 2023! Yesterday we played one of our longest productions - so today, fittingly, we feature one of our shortest. Last February, the team met up with some flower vendors to learn more about the sidewalk hustle that accompanies cupid's favorite holiday. Original episode description below. On certain holidays – like Valentine'...

#87, 89, & 93: Finish your year right by listening to our round up of our favorite HTLA stories this year. Up first is the DACA series, featuring host Brian De Los Santos's story of visiting his birth country of Mexico for the first time since he was 2 years old. Original episode descriptions below. #87: Brian is surprised by a letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It’s his Ad...

#208: This is the fourth and final episode in our multi-part series on volunteers who provide services for unhoused people throughout Los Angeles. In this debrief episode, HTLA host Brian De Los Santos and producer Evan Jacoby recap some of the big questions we've asked throughout the series, and bring a new question to many of our guests from the previous episodes: "What should the relationship b...

#207: Last month, the 10 freeway was in critical condition after an arson fire burned more than 90 support columns of an overpass near Alameda Street. The repair job was surprisingly fast – taking less than two weeks. And now, for most of us, things seem back to normal. But the ripple effects for some businesses along that corridor are still being felt. Guests: Chase White, owner of Recycled Movie...

#206   Each part of L.A. has its own history — join How To LA's host Brian De Los Santos at The Broad's newest exhibition all about the city.  Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog) is an exhibition that opened at contemporary art museum The Broad last month. More than 60 artworks from 21 Los Angeles based artists about the city are on display.  In this episode, Brian speaks with Jennifer Vanegas...

#205: This is Part 3 of our multi-part series on volunteers who provide services for unhoused people throughout Los Angeles. Despite efforts from local government agencies to offer services to people, many people experiencing homelessness rely on volunteers to cover basic needs like water or overdose prevention. Last week we asked, why isn't the government isn't putting its full weight behind thin...

#204: You've probably seen jornaleros – or day laborers – as you drive to work. They might be looking for gigs outside of home improvement stores or moving services, or even a random donut shop.  There are estimates of 35,000 day laborers working in Los Angeles. The work they get hired to do often includes things like moving furniture, cleaning debris or helping with small  construction projects....

#203: In 1993, the Orange County punk band Guttermouth asked Louis Posen, then a film student at Cal State Northridge, to help them put out an album. That marked the start of the independent music label Hopeless Records and its 30-year history of representing punk, ska, metal bands — and later, alternative musicians more broadly. Some of the most well-known bands they've represented include Avenge...

#202: What started more than a 100 years ago as a true marketplace for produce, spices, pastries, deli meats and other specialty groceries… is now 40 stalls of LA’s best local restaurants.  Grand Central Market is a true sampling of LA’s diverse culinary scene that has gone through many iterations and evolutions since it opened.    Today, HTLA chats with Gab Chabrán about the rich history and evol...

#201: Last December, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass signed Executive Directive One (ED1), an order for city staff to approve applications for 100% affordable housing developments within 60 days, and to issue building permits within five days. Six months later, the rules to ED1 were quietly updated: projects would no longer be able to move forward in single-family neighborhoods. Join us as host Brian De Los...

#200: This is Part 2 of a multipart series, exploring the kinds of services mutual aid groups are providing for our unhoused neighbors. Many people experiencing homelessness rely on volunteers for basic needs like water or overdose prevention. The situation leaves many people we spoke to wondering: "Why is this work being done by volunteers?" Today, HTLA host Brian De Los Santos and producer Evan...

#199: Today, we’re enlisting some local booksellers to help us understand L.A. better. Staffers from Skylight Books in Los Feliz, The Iliad Bookshop in North Hollywood, Book Soup in West Hollywood and Chevalier’s Books in Larchmont Village shared their favorite books about Los Angeles: "Amnesiascope" by Steve Erickson "The Dog Park" by Dennis Etchison "City of Quartz" by Mike Davis "Everything Now...

#198:  Each neighborhood of LA has its own history — meet a painter who brings her story to life in paint and glitter.  In the latest episode of How To LA , podcast host Brian De Los Santos and producer Victoria Alejandro visit the Flower District studio of Cambodian-American painter Tidawhitney Lek. Lek's work is currently on display at the Hammer Museum, as part of their Made In LA show, and at...

#197: Staying in L.A. for the holidays? Today, the How To LA team chats all about their favorite ways to enjoy the holidays in our fair city...while so many people are out of town! A little holiday-themed staycation if you will.  Guests: Megan Botel, producer for How To LA; Monica Bushman, producer for How To LA; Victoria Alejandro, producer for How To LA; Tony Morales, intern at LAist Studios; Aa...

#196: Trash on sidewalks, longer wait times for city services, and lots and lots of overtime for some L.A. workers. What connects it all? Job openings — a lot of them — for government jobs with the city and also the county.  LAist civics and democracy correspondent Frank Stoltze joins us to explain what's going on.