How To LA

#289:

"The deadly weed with its roots in hell" is here on Hollywood Boulevard! A new production of the musical "Reefer Madness," based on the cult classic 1936 black and white film, has opened in Los Angeles at the Whitley Theater.

In this episode, HTLA producer Victoria Alejandro talks with host Brian De Los Santos about some Hollywood history, and brings us a chat with actress and producer Kristen Bell. 

You can check out HTLA...

#288: Today, we're meeting up again with one of our favorite L.A. history lovers, Etan Rosenbloom (of Etan Does LA), to check out a special Los Angeles landmark. Hollyhock House, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and completed in 1921, is located within Barnsdall Art Park in East Hollywood. It's the only UNESCO World Heritage site in the city of L.A.

Guests: Etan Rosenbloom; Abbey Chamberlain Brach, curator of Hollyhock Hou...

Part 2: JB Hamby is the dealmaker from California, and at 28 years old, he’s the youngest and least experienced among the representatives from the seven states involved with the Colorado River water negotiations. LAist correspondent Emily Guerin explores the beginnings of Hamby’s understanding of water growing up in the Imperial Valley, a desert farming area in California.

Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign...

#98: Today we're celebrating pride by revisiting our deep into the history of Queer LA. Our LA Explained reporter, Caitlin Hernández, took us back in time to explain how West Hollywood became recognized as a mecca for LA's gay community. It was part of their research for the LAist series, Queer LA, where Caitlin's highlighting the joy, culture, and history of queerness in this city.

You can find more of their reporting at laist.co...

#287: Join us behind the scenes at Studio B, HTLA's home base here at LAist Studios. Today we're talking about what it takes to make our show possible... Because here's the thing: we love making this show, but we can only do it with your support.

To give you a little inspiration, Brian's putting HTLA's producers in the hotseat and asking them to share their favorite moments working on the show.

How To LA — and ALL the other news ...

#286: It's pride month, and today we're looking at how that's showing up in the classroom.

In this episode, host Brian De Los Santos speaks with LAist reporters Caitlin Hernandez and Mariana Dale about what this school year was like for LGBTQ+ teachers in SoCal. In districts big and small, from struggle to joy, Hernandez and Dale heard it all, and they're here to share what they found with us. 

You can find their digital story...

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 Gen Z Water Dealmaker.

For the next few weeks, we’ll be dropping episodes every Sunday. 

The Colorado River is in the midst of one of the worst water crises in recorded history. Climate change and overuse are tak...

#284: Gab. Brian. Food. You know the drill — Cheap Fast Eats is back! This time, LAist food editor Gab Chabrán is taking HTLA host Brian De Los Santos to some of the best spots west of Sepulveda Blvd in the 818.

A century ago Wheat and Lemon were the undisputed kings of LA's San Fernando Valley, a spill of land that existed almost exclusively to be farmed. But in the 1950's, as a post-war Los Angeles was flirting ever so closely w...

#128: Happy Memorial Day! The team is off - but we still have a treat for you. (Get it? Because conchas are so sweet?) Ok. Jokes aside, we're replaying this episode because it was recently nominated for a James Beard award, and the team is really excited about that. 

But here's the thing... We can't make episodes like this without your help. If you value our flavor of journalism, please donate to keep us going strong.

LAis...

#282: Today we’re putting a spotlight on journalists at Southern California colleges who’ve been covering protests on their campuses. Protesters have been calling for an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza and for their schools to divest from companies tied to Israel and weapons manufacturing.  

We heard from students at USC, UC Riverside, CSU Long Beach, and UC Irvine about what this time has been like for them, juggling their roles a...

#281: Revival House says goodbye for now with a look at one of the biggest programming groups in town, the American Cinematheque. 

Celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, screening 1500 movies a year in three iconic theaters across Los Angeles, the American Cinematheque has a movie for everybody, every night of the week. In this episode, How To LA producer Victoria Alejandro jumps into the history of these movie theaters ...

#280: We’re back with our series on How NOT To Be Lonely in LA.

Today we explore the connection between religion…or lack thereof…and loneliness.

For decades, Americans relied on their church, temple or mosque, or other religious institutions, for a sense of built in community. But with more and more people disaffiliating from organized religion in recent decades — particularly since the 90s — we, as a society, haven't really foun...

#279: Hey, How to LA listeners! We’re back with another social calendar to talk about the interesting, fun, new happenings in the city.

Guests: Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido and Janice Llamoca, an audio producer and host. You might have heard her work on Latino USA, Vice AND she was the host of the amazing LAist Studios podcast Party Crews: The Untold Story. 

Here’s what each person pitched for YOUR social calen...

Japanese American Incarceration. The Third World Liberation Front. The 1992 Los Angeles Uprising. What you think you know isn’t always the full story. Inheriting is a show about Asian American and Pacific Islander families that explores how the past is personal. Hosted by NPR’s Emily Kwong, we go deep with families on how their most personal, private moments are part of history.

How can I support? ...

#276: Merrick Morton is one of the first people to document Chicano gang culture in L.A. He also photographed women in prison, Latinas at kickbacks, and people on death row. Almost all of his photos capture something that you might not expect: a tenderness, a realness.

We meet up with Merrick at the Eastern Projects gallery in Chinatown, where an exhibit of his work titled "Un-Rehearsed" is on display, to talk about his art ...