Best things to do this week in Los Angeles and Southern California: August 26 - 29

Go Fact Yourself – “the podcast where we quiz the smartest celebrities we know, and find out why they love what they love” — is back at The Crawford! The show will be recorded as a podcast, but you'll be able to see and hear it weeks before the rest of the world.

Hosts J. Keith van Straaten (he/him) and Helen Hong (she/her) will welcome comedians Sherry Cola (she/her) and Greg Proops (he/him), plus super-secret special experts to try to stump them in their self-proclaimed areas of expertise.

Register for free for general admission or reserve a guaranteed seat for $20. Concessions available starting at 6 p.m.

Lineup subject to change. This program may contain some mature language or themes.

Bring your entourage to NeueHouse Hollywood for a comedy night featuring Jeremy Piven, Maz Jobrano, Erica Rhodes, Leah Lamarr, and more. The club is teaming up with Headliner’s Ball for the free show, which will take place at the space’s historic Studio A soundstage.

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer is this month’s green-themed book club read at Merrihew Gardens in Santa Monica. The bestseller by botanist and Citizen Potawatomi Nation member Kimmerer examines what Indigenous knowledge can teach us about being better stewards of the land around us. Discuss the book amid the plants and flowers in the nursery’s relaxing — and apt! — setting.

The internet has been good to progressive pundit Brian Tyler Cohen. The YouTuber and podcaster joins Pod Save America host Jon Favreau at Writer’s Bloc for a conversation that’s sure to be dynamic following the DNC in Chicago as the presidential race heats up. Cohen’s new book Shameless: Republicans’ Deliberate Dysfunction and the Battle to Preserve Democracy will be the centerpiece of the conversation, which aims to hold the GOP to task during this tumultuous time.

Led by artistic and music director Rachael Worby, MUSE/IQUE’s latest piece focuses on the undertold history of the Moulin Rouge — not the one in Paris, but the one just outside Las Vegas. It was the first integrated hotel and casino. It hosted a who’s who of performers from Harry Belafonte to Judy Garland to Sammy Davis Jr. and many more who built the backbone of the Las Vegas entertainment scene as we know it today. Worby always takes us on a unique trip through history with fantastic musical guests. If you miss it this week, the show continues on Sept. 4-5 at Skirball Cultural Center.

Laissez les bon temps rouler down in San Juan Capistrano with Bayou guitar favorites Tab Benoit and Anders Osborne. If you read this column regularly, you know I’m a big New Orleans Jazzfest fan and these two are bringing the 504 to SoCal this week as the guitar and songwriting legends play together on their extensive back catalogs and try out some new tunes. “Psych-blues” slide guitarist JD Simo opens.

Alison Saar’s art explores race, gender, heritage, and the human experience, and in director Rachel Rivenc’s film Alison Saar: Found Spirit, where audience members hear about the influence Los Angeles has on Saar’s work and her use of upcycled materials to tell underrepresented stories. Following the screening, Rivenc — who is also the head of conservation at the Getty Research Institute — will join Saar for a conversation and they will take questions from the audience, both in person and online.

What a wonderful feeling to be at the Hollywood Bowl (and definitely not in the rain this time of year!), watching Gene Kelly do his thing on the big screen. A perfect summer night out for a singalong, especially with the LA Phil accompaniment, you’ll be dancing all the way back down Highland.

Picture yourself eating fresh focaccia in some plaza in Rome and then transport yourself there using fresh ingredients and the skills you picked up at this fun focaccia-making class at Partake Collective in Long Beach. Meet new friends and, of course, enjoy a delicious aperitivo snack you made!

The world’s most controversial pizza topping combination — Hawaiian — comes to Prince Street Pizza locations through a collaboration with foodie content site Tastemade, celebrating “Pizza Week” through Sept. 1. Try the slice with pineapple and ham on a white base at all Prince Street Pizza locations — complete with a custom pizza box. The Venice location will have a launch party on Monday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The first 100 slices of the new Hawaiian pizza will be FREE for attendees!

The space V Wine Room now occupies was once a library and, before that, a studio for Charlie Chaplin. Now, it’s a cozy space to enjoy curated wines at a new weekly happy hour. Monday through Thursday, all wine from bottles opened the previous night is $2 off, and the happy hour menu features Roman-style pizzas. Salute!