#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 family members, healthcare workers or first responders to petition a judge to step in with a proposed treatment plan for people who have struggled to get the help they need.

CARE Court has been championed by Governor Gavin Newsom and has its share of supporters. But it also has critics. 

Guest: Robert Garrova, mental health reporter for LAist

#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 Age fossils on earth. 

Today, HTLA digs into the history of the Tar Pits and how it's continuing to serve the research community today with asst. curator Dr. Emily Lindsey.

Guests: Emily Lindsey, Associate Curator and Excavation Site Director, La Brea Tar Pits 

#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 involved in ensuring that housing was affordable for people. What happened?

Guest:

• L.A. Explained reporter Caitlin Hernández 

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 hobbyist magician, who pushed for more inclusion. Read and listen below.

In Part 1 of Imperfect Paradise: The Castle, LAist Senior Producer Natalie Chudnovsky tells the story of how Carly Usdin moved to Los Angeles and became obsessed with getting inside the iconic members-only club for magicians, the Magic Castle. 
For more, visit https://LAist.com/ImperfectParadise

#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 that's part of a movement to phase out oil fields all over L.A. 

Guest: LAist's climate emergency reporter Erin Stone

#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 worker and a prospective parent who loves smoking weed in Sequoia - we got you covered.

We're diving into all of it with CalMatters reporter Alexei Koseff, who covers CA legislation.

#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, LA Phil, LA Opera and other organizations.

Here’s what each person pitched for YOUR social calendar:

• 100 Carats: Icons of the Gem World at the Natural History Museum
  Currently on view (until April 2024)
• The Great Wall of Los Angeles, by Judy Baca 
• Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy
  
  If you wanna tells us what you’re doing on your weekends, holler at us [email protected] 

#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 the clubs in LA. Alonzo "Lonzo" Williams is at the center of it all — DJing, producing and bringing acts at his club, Eve After Dark in Compton.

As a new genre borne out of funk and disco – hip hop – is taking over the East Coast, Williams wants to make sure his dance floor is packed. Run DMC performed there, the crowd went wild, and it clicked for him: bring hip hop into the L.A. club and music scene. He then started World Class Wreckin' Cru, and the West Coast hip hop sound took off. 

How to LA speaks to Williams, known as the "Godfather" of West Coast hip hop, about the beginnings of the sound. We sat down with him in his Gardena studio, where many of the greatest hip hop hits were recorded.