How To LA

#309: Today we are back with our summer series about places to explore and discover in Los Angeles. We’ve done parks, museums, road trip, and this time we are talking about happy hour!

The neighborhood spots featured include: Big Bar in Los Feliz, The Raymond 1886 in Pasadena, and Chulita in West Adams.

In honor of the American Cinematheque's "Friend of the Fest" program, we're rerunning their feature from our mini-series, Revival House! Victoria Alejandro is one of the podcasters invited to present a film this year. This Sunday, 8/25 at the Egyptian Theater, she'll be introducing the 80s classic "To Live and Die in L.A." You can find tickets here: https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/laist-presents-to-live-and-die-in-l-a-8-25-24/

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 and this programming group to shine a light on a little L.A. moviegoing history and spotlight the future of the American Cinematheque in this city.

Check out our deep dive into the Egyptian Theatre's history and reopening here:  https://omny.fm/shows/howtola/revival-house-the-egyptian-theater-redux

Guests: Professor and historian Ross Melnick, American Cinematheque artistic director Grant Moninger, Programmers Imani Davis and Cindy Flores, Senior Film Programmer Chris Lemaire

#308:

It's like, totally wild that we haven't talked about the "Valley girl" accent yet. This week on How To LA, the team hits the streets to ask Angelenos about the origin of the accent...turns out, no one's really sure where it comes from. Except LAist reporter Caitlin Hernandez, who did a deep dive on the history of the iconic Valley sound. They join us to give the 411. It's like, so awesome, right?

Read Caitlin's LAist story here: https://laist.com/news/la-history/los-angeles-valley-girl-accent-socal-california-english

Guests: Caitlin Hernandez, man on the street interviews from Max, Calvin, and Monse on Wilshire. 

#307: Today we're heading out with LAist's Gab Chabrán to test some tasty cool drinks in L.A. — that's "cool" as in temperature, but also meaning something a little unique.

We stopped for boba (and other tasty tea and coffee drinks) at Hey Hey on Sunset, sampled fermented Mexican drinks (tepache and pulque) at Mírate in Los Feliz, and finally tried out kava nectar (new to both me and Gab) at Kavahana in Santa Monica.

#306: We're publishing this on a Friday and you know what that means: we all scream for... (waiting for you to say it.)

LAist food editor and Cheap Fast Eats co-conspirator Gab Chábran and HTLA host Brian De Los Santos host Culinary Connections: Ice Cream Social. It was a chat with owners from three Southern California ice cream eateries: Kinrose in Pasadena, Tocumbo Ice Cream in Anaheim, and 626 Hospitality Group in Arcadia.

#305: 

What's the deal with the new mural on Western Avenue? A man holding a flowerpot crawling out of the sky? 

That's performance artist Pope L., inviting folks into the new, permanent home of the non-profit formerly known as LAX Art. They've rebranded as The Brick, and their new brick and mortar gallery and exhibition space is formally opening in September.

How To LA host Brian de los Santos spoke with artistic director Hamza Walker, and artists in the 3B Collective, to get the scoop on what this space means for contemporary art in L.A. 

For more on the artists mentioned:

Pope L.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N7OnQkch7s

3B Collective: https://www.craftcontemporary.org/exhibitions/highway-hypnosis/

Guests: Hamza Walker, the 3B collective

#304: Today, we’re bringing you a deep dive into house music and how a music equipment lending library called Feminist Synth Lab is lowering the barriers to entry for people interested in DJing and making electronic music in L.A.

This episode was reported by How To LA intern Veronica Daniel.

#303: We're continuing our summer series of places to explore - and this time we're heading to Miracle Mile and following the sweet sounds of jazz down Wilshire and onto the LACMA campus. 

As LA's county museum, LACMA is exploring all sorts of ways to make sure the public feels welcome, from free membership for teens, free admission for LA County residents, and free jazz nights in the summers. You might even run into a friend, or see someone like artist Judy Baca working in the galleries. We ducked inside to get the scoop and see some art in the AC. And later, we shout out our other favorite museums around the city. 

Read more on Judy Baca and LACMA on LAist here. 

Guest: Chelo Montoya, assistant VP of public programs at LACMA

#302: Today we're talking about run clubs and how they foster community in L.A. Our associate editor (and our special resident marathon runner) Aaricka Washington looked into running clubs that were founded by Black, Asian and Latino people, the ways that they're offering inclusive, safe spaces for Angelenos, and why they've been growing more popular. 

Read more at LAist: How BIPOC-led run clubs are fostering community and inclusivity in LA

#301: We're continuing our summer series of places to explore - and this time we're stepping out of the studio and into the wild. Evan's taking Brian on a tour of a park that meant a lot to him as a kid - and we're meeting the organization that acts as its steward: TreePeople. 

You've probably heard of them before - they do everything from trail restoration work to planting shade trees, just about everywhere in Southern California. But this is their home base, and when they're not reforesting swaths of the Angeles National Forest you can find them in the heart of LA at the top of Coldwater Canyon.

Guest: Alex Miller, director of communications for TreePeople

Music in this episode composed by: Austin Cross, Imaginary Softwoods, Jerimiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer, Josiah Steinbrick, M. Sage, Mort Garson, Nicklas Nygren, Patricia Wolf, Wilson Tanner