Greater LA

Greater LA

By KCRWNews
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Greater LA episodes

  • San Gabriel Mountains: Volunteers aim to reverse tourism-driven pollution

    The San Gabriel Mountains are the largest open public space in Los Angeles, but some of the range’s most popular spots are covered in piles of trash.

    SoCal is experiencing more droughts, wildfires, and rising sea levels — but UCLA’s Alex Hall believes LA can still be turned into one of the world’s most sustainable megacities by 2050.

    The OC Hall of Fame’s class of 10 includes a range of artists, athletes, and developers. Some of the inductees’ ties to the county are loose, at best.

    27 min
  • Amid Gaza war, LA restaurateurs hope to bring unity through food

    In a town like LA that takes its food scene seriously, local chefs say coming together and breaking bread has taken on new meaning as the war in Gaza continues.

    Musician and photographer Henry Diltz captured rock history magic while hanging out with CSN&Y in the 1960s, and he’s sharing it all in his new photography book.

    26 min
  • Volunteering on Skid Row — and across LA — during all seasons

    Want to contribute on Skid Row? Missions need your help, and not just in December.

    The Mutual Aid LA Network provides a central hub where Angelenos looking to help can find the best volunteer opportunity for them.

    Paula Poundstone has been making people laugh for over 40 years through her stand-up, writing, and podcasting. The Angeleno is performing in Long Beach this Saturday.

    27 min
  • Less religious, more diverse: Today’s homeschooling movement

    Homeschooling has long been common for religious families and those with aversions to public school, but the pandemic seems to have widened its appeal.

    A new law asks California schools to incorporate media literacy lessons into English, math, science, and social studies curriculums.

    Los Angeles-based artist Kelly Akashi reflects on her Japanese American family history during World War II for an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.

    27 min
  • TikTok’s ‘grocery goblin’ offers a guide to food stores in LA

    Vanessa Anderson says grocery stores are “anthropological treasure troves” — which is why she’s trying to visit every single one in LA.

    Curator Anuradha Vikram talks about AI’s integration into labor and art, what the tech means for creativity, and the implications of widespread data scraping.

    During the 1980s, ACT UP LA advocated for greater awareness of the AIDS epidemic. Now the organization is collecting 100 testimonies from its former members.

    27 min
  • Meet a modern-day falconer, one of a few hundred in California

    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 Beach, was transferred to native Tongva and Acjachemen tribes after ancient remains were found.

    27 min
  • LA bakers sprint to meet Thanksgiving pie demands

    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 you where to go.

    27 min
  • Bees, spiders, ants: Harvesting big ideas from tiny creatures

    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.

    28 min
  • Chinese American artist shares lifelong effort to unravel ‘cultural amnesia’

    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 Chinatown district. Today, few remnants of Anaheim’s historic Chinatown remain.

    27 min
  • LA makes progress toward renewable energy goal

    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 “circuit bender,” making music by toying with the circuitry of old electronic devices, like children’s toys.

    28 min

About Greater LA

From the publisher's feed

Host Steve Chiotakis connects you to the people and places of Southern California.

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