What happens when a Pacoima kid turned MIT-trained engineer brings a wonk’s brain — and a line cook’s work ethic — into the halls of power?

Alex Padilla is California’s senior U.S. Senator, a national voice on immigration and voting rights — and, as you may have seen recently, someone unafraid to challenge authority, even if it means getting handcuffed at a press conference. (This conversation was recorded before that moment, but you’ll hear crystal clear why these issues matter so deeply to him.)

In this episode: we’ll hear what it was like to serve as acting mayor of Los Angeles at just 28 years old in the wake of 9/11, how he helped change the way Californians do everything from vote to dine out at a restaurant, and how his family’s story shapes the quiet determination that continues to fuel his drive his public service.

Also: we’ll learn about the iconic L.A. restaurant where his father worked the line … for more than 35 years.

Even more than its sunny skies, rich history and Hollywood glamor, L.A. is defined by its people. In “Making Los Angeles,” from LA Times Studios, native Angeleno Glenn Gritzner sits down with the dreamers and big-thinkers shaping the city to explore how they got where they are. The result is a singularly intimate deep dive into the incredible lives of everyone from entrepreneurs, politicians and brand-builders to artists, activists and influencers. Behind every L.A. icon is a human story. Hear a new one every week on “Making Los Angeles.”