Anthology Files

Armed with mops, buckets, and Google Maps, celebrated skateboarder Tino Razo and his friends have been hunting for abandoned backyard swimming pools throughout LA's sprawling suburban landscape for years. A self-taught photographer, Tino began documenting their sessions almost immediately, collecting relics of pools lost or destroyed. What began as a hobby morphed into an artistic practice, as Tino and his friends transformed from skaters in search of the next spot to kinds of suburban archeologists exploring a decayed American dream. Razo's new photobook Party In The Back resurrects the long-forgotten spaces and places he encountered during his first years living in Los Angeles. The Anthology Files crew traveled to LA to meet Razo and tour the city's surreal, architectural underbelly celebrated in his work.   This episode features music from Napolian, Co La, Bali High, Tairiq & Garfield, Ramses, Tallesen, and Suicideyear.

"It’s so f**king satisfying when you find one.”  

For years, skateboarder and photographer Tino Razo has been hunting, skating, and documenting the backyard pools scattered throughout Los Angeles. In celebration of his new book Party In The Back, we follow Tino over the fence to explore the hidden corners and elusive history of this sprawling, monstrous city.

In 1961 Betty and Barney Hill were abducted by aliens in rural New Hampshire. Their abduction was widely reported, and a paranoid United States unknowingly participated in the western world's first and most spectacular meme. This episode is an exploration of the speed of rumor, perceptions of nuclear war and fiction presented as fact: A celebration of UFOs and the lens flares of the media that celebrate them.    This episode is the audio companion to "Flying Saucers Are Real": a remarkable catalogue of the Jack Womack UFO library and a history of one of the 20th century’s most pervasive subcultures.