How To LA

Episodes

Listen • 50:06

Listen • 50:06

This Old House Radio Hour: Designing for Disaster: How Los Angeles Builds Back Smarter + Saving The Outsider’s House + Four DIY Fixes: Chimneys, Circuits, Ceilings, and Steam

This week on This Old House Radio Hour—what does it mean to rebuild not just homes, but entire communities?

Sunset Magazine editor-in-chief Hugh Garvey joins us to discuss the magazine’s special issue devoted to the rebuilding of Altadena and Pacific Palisades in the wake of January’s devastating wildfires. Sunset, a voice in California architecture for over 125 years, has assembled an extraordinary coalition of architects, planners, artists, and historians. Together, they offer not just a plan, but a call to action—for fire-resilient homes, culturally grounded design, and a West that can weather what’s coming.

Then we travel from the hills of Los Angeles to the streets of Tulsa, where Danny Boy O’Connor—from House of Pain—takes us inside his remarkable second act. After bottoming out, he bought a run-down house for $15,000... and it just happened to be the house from The Outsiders. What followed was a full restoration, a pilgrimage, and a new life. We take a tour of the Outsiders Museum and meet the community that made it possible.

Later, Cheap Old Houses is back—Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein spotlight a dreamy 1870s Victorian in Fredonia, Kentucky and an off-the-grid cabin on federal forest land in Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, both for under $100,000.

Plus, another round of House Rules, our listener-powered game that tests your home renovation know-how. And in The Simple Fix, we show you how to find a stud in your baseboard—without breaking the wall.

And as always, we’re taking your calls. Got a house problem, project hurdle, or just need a little advice? Call us at (877) 864-7460.

All that and more, coming up on This Old House Radio Hour.

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Listen • 18:53

Listen • 18:53

Documenting LA By Painting Intimate Spaces: Meet Artist Tidawhitney Lek

#198:

Each neighborhood of LA has its own history — meet a painter who brings her story to life in paint and glitter.

In the latest episode of How To LA, podcast host Brian De Los Santos and producer Victoria Alejandro visit the Flower District studio of Cambodian-American painter Tidawhitney Lek.

Lek's work is currently on display at the Hammer Museum, as part of their Made In LA show, and at the Long Beach Museum of Art. She let us in on her process of creating intimate, personal work that captures both her family's history and domestic spaces in LA.

Take a look at some of the works discussed in this episode on Tidawhitney's website and Instagram.

And check out the LAist post here:

It’s all a part of an occasional HTLA series centering on artists, mostly painters and photographers, who tell the story of Los Angeles through their works. You can find our earlier episodes on the feed.

Guest: Painter Tidawhitney Lek
Listen • 12:29

Listen • 12:29

How To Enjoy A Holiday Staycation in LA

#197: Staying in L.A. for the holidays? Today, the How To LA team chats all about their favorite ways to enjoy the holidays in our fair city...while so many people are out of town! A little holiday-themed staycation if you will.

Guests: Megan Botel, producer for How To LA; Monica Bushman, producer for How To LA; Victoria Alejandro, producer for How To LA; Tony Morales, intern at LAist Studios; Aaricka Washington, associate editor for How To LA; Megan Larson, executive producer for How To LA
Listen • 31:22

Listen • 31:22

Volunteers Take On The Homelessness Crisis, Part 1: 'The Alternative is Death'

#195: Unsheltered life in L.A. can be dangerous and even deadly — and there has been a massive increase in the death rate for unhoused people in the county over the last few years.

There is work being done by the mayor's office to get people off the street and into temporary housing. But the promise of services — whether in the form of housing, treatment for substance addiction, or mental health counseling — cannot help if people aren't alive in 6 months, a year — or 5 — to receive them.

While they wait, many unhoused people have come to rely on mutual aid volunteers to cover their immediate needs, from overdose prevention to fresh drinking water.

In part one of our 3-part series, HTLA host Brian De Los Santos and producer Evan Jacoby explore what these mutual aid groups actually do for our unhoused neighbors.

Guests: Ndindi Kitonga, founder Palms Unhoused Mutual Aid (PUMA); Jesse Goldshear, volunteer with PUMA and postdoc researcher studying public health at the University of California, San Diego; Aria Cataño, co-founder of WaterDrop LA; Sade Kammen, volunteer with WaterDrop LA and social worker in Skid Row

Music in this episode composed by: Chris Schlarb, Dexter Thomas, Evan Jacoby, Geir Sundstøl, K. Leimer, Nala Sinephro, Laurie Spiegal, Meitei, Ricky Eat Acid, Woo
Listen • 11:18

Listen • 11:18

Will Actors Ratify The New SAG Contract?

#194: Members of the Screen Actors Guild have now seen everything that is in tentative contract that union leadership negotiated with studios and streamers — and not everyone is happy with it.

The big sticking point? Artificial intelligence.

Some union members don’t think the A.I. protections worked out in the contract go far enough, and are encouraging a “no” vote on the deal.

For many in the industry, the chance that things could stall again is alarming. The writers and actors strike — combined — dragged on for 6 months, crippling a lot of people and businesses financially. And a lot of folks just want to get back to work.

The union vote on this contract is expected to wrap up tomorrow (Tuesday Dec. 5th) so we thought we’d check in on where things stand.

Guest: LAist reporter Robert Garrova
Listen • 19:07

Listen • 19:07

Cheap Fast Eats #11: Mid City

#193: It's Cheap Fast Eats time again, and that means LAist food editor Gab Chabrán is hitting the streets with HTLA host Brian De Los Santos. Mid City is close to EVERYTHING...Museum Row, Park La Brea, Fairfax, West Hollywood. It's a good place to know some gems to get some cheap grubs.

Locations: Qi Steam Kitchen, Del Mar Ostioneria, Burger She Wrote

Guest: LAist food editor, Gab Chabrán
Listen • 15:02

Listen • 15:02

Documenting LA In Oil Paints, Block By Block: Meet Painter Justin N. Kim

#192: Each neighborhood of LA has its own electricity — meet a painter who brings city blocks to life in oil paints.

In the latest episode of How To LA, podcast host Brian De Los Santos hears from producer Victoria Alejandro about Pasadena-based painter Justin N. Kim.

Kim showed us his studio as he was preparing to show his work at The Other Art Fair earlier this year, and let us in on his process of creating paintings of LA that also work as maps of the city. Take a look at some of the works discussed in this episode on his website: https://www.jnkim.org/#/maps/

Also here: https://laist.com/news/how-to-la/documenting-la-in-oil-paints-block-by-block

It’s all a part of an occasional HTLA series centering on artists, mostly painters and photographers, who tell the story of Los Angeles through their works. You can find our earlier episode with photographer Elon Schoenholz here: https://omny.fm/shows/howtola/artists-see-la-photographer-elon-schoenholz

Guest: L.A. Painter Justin N. Kim
Listen • 12:34

Listen • 12:34

'It's Really Hot Out Here.' What LAUSD Is Doing To Cool Down Schools

#191: Today we're talking about heat and how it affects school kids – those in elementary, middle and high school to be specific — with LAist Associate Editor Aaricka Washington.

Read Aaricka's reporting: "It’s Been More Than A Year Since LAUSD Pledged To Green Schools. But There’s Still No Finalized Plan In Place"
Listen • 10:12

Listen • 10:12

The Mayor’s Promise To House 17,000 People In Her First Year

#190: It’s been almost a year since L.A. Mayor Karen Bass was sworn into office — and made a pledge to house 17,000 people experiencing homelessness. It was a big and bold promise. So we wondered: How's that going?

How To LA host Brian de Los Santos speaks with Brianna Lee, LAist engagement producer and reporter, and Nick Gerda, who covers unhoused communities in L.A. for LAist about their effort to track the mayor's promise.

Guests: Brianna Lee, engagement producer and reporter for LAist; Nick Gerda, unhoused communities reporter for LAist