#294: We're back with another installment of our How To Not Be Lonely In LA series. 

Today, we're talking about volunteering your time to a cause, and how doing so can make you feel a lot less alone. 

Call it selfish, but doing some community service is a really great way to create connections, broaden your perspective of life, and ultimately give you a greater sense of belonging. 

Producer Megan Botel is at Growing Hope Gardens in Santa Monica to get her hands dirty in some soil and talk about the benefits of volunteering. 

Guests: Carolyn Day, founder and executive director of Growing Hope Gardens; Eleu Navarro, garden and farm team coordinator; Cat Moore, director of belonging at USC. 

Some places to volunteer around the city: 

• Heal The Bay 
• Downtown Women's Center
• Pico Union Project

Part 4: 

Host Antonia Cereijido speaks with negotiations expert Victoria Medvec about how to make the best possible deal. Medvec also helps  identify ways the Colorado River water rights representatives could still change tactics and reach an agreement before time runs out.

Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise

Listen to Reimagining Democracy for A Good Life, hosted by longtime equity advocate Angela Glover Blackwell. Available now at policylink.org/reimagining-democracy or wherever you get your podcasts

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

#293: Social Calendar is back! This time with comedian and tv writer Chris Estrada. He's the co-creator and star of Hulu's This Fool, and today he's sharing his favorite memories of serial killers in parks and giving some recs on how to best spend your weekend in LA.

Join HTLA host Brian De Los Santos and guest co-host Antonia Cerejido for some LA history, documentary recommendations, and some ideas to spruce up your summer nights.

We are back with another installment of LA on the Margins — USC student produced profiles of people in our community who are working through the many challenges life in the city can throw you. Today: Hunger. 

About 30% of households in LA County are food insecure. Reporter Nova Blanco Rio explores this shocking statistic through intimate snapshots of his time volunteering with food distribution organization Seeds of Hope. 

For more information about Seeds Of Hope and how you can help, or be helped, head to  https://www.seedsofhopela.org/ or call ​​213-482-2040 (Ext. 234)

#292: Juneteenth marks the day federal troops showed up in Galveston, Texas in 1865 – two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed –  to tell enslaved Black people that slavery was over. 

The first Juneteenth celebration was held in Texas the following year, and then the celebrations spread.

Here in L.A., the Leonard family is credited with bringing the tradition from the Lone Star State to Leimert Park.

Ariyana Leonard and AyEsha Leonard McLaughlin are the daughters of Jonathan Leonard, one of the founders of the Juneteenth celebrations in the neighborhood.

How To LA associate editor Aaricka Washington also joins today's episode to talk about Juneteenth events going on this year in L.A.

Over the next few weeks, HTLA is bringing you a series of stories produced by journalism students at USC: L.A. On The Margins. The series profiles Angelenos who have struggled with things like mental health, food insecurity and homelessness.

In this first episode, reporter Liv Kelleher follows the journey of a young performer as he tries to “make it” in Hollywood — with a nearby Panera Bread as his office, a Planet Fitness as his shower and his car as his only home base. 

#291: Back in 2014, leaked audio of L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist comments caused a firestorm. There were calls for him to step down, for Clippers players to boycott their own games, and for the league to do something. Fairly quickly, the NBA did. But the story didn’t end there.

In 2019, a podcast series from ESPN’s 30 for 30 called The Sterling Affairs explored how the whole saga went down with interviews with Clippers players, former coach Doc Rivers, and Shelly Sterling, Donald's wife. Now there’s a new series called “Clipped” from FX and Hulu that’s based on the podcast. "Clipped" writer/producer Rembert Browne (who also covered the story back in 2014 for Grantland) joined How To LA to talk about the significance of what went down a decade ago, and what it was like to turn the story into a TV series.

Part 3: JB Hamby and the other lead negotiators on the Colorado River have to come up with a long term solution to manage the river in the face of climate change. Will they reach a deal before it’s too late? 

LAist correspondent Emily Guerin examines how JB's position on water has dramatically evolved since he first won office a few years ago. She brings us back to the current water negotiations as the conflict between the Upper and Lower Basins becomes very public, and JB struggles to convince Imperial Valley farmers that they need to cut back.

Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

#290: Today we're doing one of our favorite thing on HTLA: exploting – and eating – LA's rich food scene. 

Every heard of Black tacos? Or as some people refer to them: Black people tacos? 

Well, they're a thing, especially in LA, and they are delicious. Think traditional soul food spices and braised meats with all the Mexican fixins' that Angelenos love. 

We love our tacos here in LA, and today we're exploring the origins and evolutions of the Black taco. And we eat at Sky's Gourmet Tacos. 

Guests: Veronica Daniel, LAist Studios intern, Deborah Freeman, food anthrologist and food editor for Style Weekly, Barbara Burrell, owner of Sky's Gourmet Tacos 

Places to grab a Black taco in LA:

Ms. Ruby’s Bakery

• 404 E Manchester Blvd # 1320, Inglewood, CA 90301

Taco Pete’s (has been serving the South L.A. community for more than 50 years)

• 12007 South Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90059 (the historic location)
• 3272 West Slauson Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90043 

Alta Adams (try their jerk-spiced grilled plantain tacos for brunch) 

• 5359 West Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016

All Flavor No Grease Food Truck 

• 8600 South Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90047 on Manchester near Ralph’s. 

My 2 Cents 

• 5583 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90019

#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's earlier story on Hollywood history here: https://laist.com/brief/news/how-to-la/htla-up-close-and-personal-with-the-hollywood-sign

Guest: Actress and producer Kristen Bell