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 • 13:53

Listen • 13:53

The Future Of Stormwater Capture in LA - REDUX

#61: OK - with the summer heat back on our backs, it might be hard to remember that just a week ago we had a record-smashing storm. But all that rain had some of our listeners asking us... Where does all that rainwater go? Well the good news is, we did a whole episode answering that question this past winter. But the bad news is... a lot of that water still goes out to sea. But there's plans to try and change that. Take a listen.

-- --

Remember those intense storms in early January? L.A. County said it captured some 33 BILLION gallons of stormwater to use later and support about 800,000 households a year. It's an important step to help us get through the drought years.

But that awesome number is less than 20% of the total rain water. The other 80% washed right out to sea.

Today we're explaining why that is... and what the county is doing to improve. We're also checking out a success story in a neighborhood park in South LA, that might hold the answer to LA's water woes.

Guests: Erin Stone, LAist Climate Emergency reporter; Steve Frasher, public information officer for LA County Public Works; and Bruce Reznick, executive director of LA Waterkeeper

To learn more about this project, check out Erin's article: https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/how-capturing-more-stormwater-can-also-make-city-parks-better
Listen • 18:06

Listen • 18:06

K-Pop, K-Everything - with Pixar’s Peter Sohn at KCON

#139: KCON is everything K. K-pop, K-drama, K-beauty, Korean food... The mega event drew about a hundred thousand attendees over the weekend, selling out the LA Convention Center for yet another year. And the HTLA team was there with Vivian Yoon, host of the LAist podcast K-pop Dreaming, and Pixar's Peter Sohn, to get a sense of what KCON means for Los Angeles... and how events like this bring much-needed visibility to the Korean American community.

Guests: Peter Sohn, director of Pixar's Elemental; Vivian Yoon, host of LAist's K-pop Dreaming; & Steve Chung, CEO of CJ ENM America.

Music in this episode composed by: ATEEZ, BTS, Floating Points, Lamp, Masayoshi Takanaka, Maston, modarchive.org, Moon Mullins
Listen • 10:25

Listen • 10:25

For The Love Of Joshua Trees: Why They're More Vulnerable To Wildfire

#138: Recently, the weather talk in L.A. has been all about rain, thanks to Tropical Storm Hilary.

The storm, plus the wet winter we had, means that the threat of major fires is reduced in a lot of places. But it's not gone.

Earlier this month, the York Fire in the Mojave Desert burned more than 90 thousand acres, and did some major damage to the Joshua trees in the Mojave National Preserve. These trees are actually succulents and have been around for millions of years. They are native to our region and can only be found in the southwest.

Host Brian De Los Santos talks with science reporter Jacob Margolis about the Joshua trees' chances for bouncing back, and why wildfires are no longer rare in the Mojave Desert.
Listen • 24:07

Listen • 24:07

Testing LA's Response To Natural Disaster: How'd We Do?

#137: We spent all weekend bracing for our first tropical storm in decades. BUT
Hilary didn’t get as wild as expected — at least in some parts of the region.

So far there haven’t been any deaths or major injuries reported. But we did get a LOT of rain, about 7 inches in LA county.

Even though the disaster didn’t quite match our biggest fears - we got a chance to see what our city’s response would be to a major environmental catastrophe.

To get a better sense of it, we’re checking in with some of our reporters at LAist.

Guests: Jacob Margolis, science reporter for LAist; Erin Stone, climate emergency reporter for LAist; Nick Gerda, unhoused communities reporter for LAist
Listen • 48:14

Listen • 48:14

HTLA Presents: On Point Live! The origins of West Coast hip-hop and its lasting legacy

Today we’re bringing you a special episode from a live taping of On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti! Recently, the On Point team was here at our very own Crawford Family Forum to host a live event celebrating 50th years of hip hop. Stay TUNED to hear the special episode. We hope you enjoy it!

Guests: Tyree Boyd-Pates, historian and Associate Curator of Western History at Autry Museum of the American West; Damita Jo Freeman, original Soul Train dancer and author of the book "Are You That Girl On Soul Train?!"

You can also watch this live event here:
https://laist.com/events/on-point-live-with-meghna-chakrabarti

Check out all of LAist's upcoming live events here:
https://laist.com/events/laist-events
Listen • 22:55

Listen • 22:55

HTLA Presents: The Making of Black Barbie from WNYC Studios

Until 1980, Barbie was always white. Mattel had made Black dolls before, but they were sidekicks to the brand’s main character with facial features that didn’t really distinguish them from the other dolls.

In this bonus episode of The Barbie Tapes, we’re bringing you the story of the first Black doll to have the name Barbie as told by WNYC Studios correspondent Tracie Hunte. Tracie speaks with Kitty Black Perkins, Mattel’s first Black designer who brought her own style and preferences to the task of creating the doll. We also hear from Lagueria Davis, director of Black Barbie: A Documentary, on what her research taught her about Mattel’s early efforts to be more representative.

Listen to more of “Notes From America with Kai Wright” from WNYC at www.notesfromamerica.org

This episode was produced by Alana Casanova-Burgess, mixed by Mike Kutchman of WNYC and hosted by Tracie Hunte, who you can follow on Twitter @traciehunte.
Listen • 17:42

Listen • 17:42

Cheap Fast Eats #9: Chinatown

#136: Cheap Fast Eats is back on the streets of LA, ever seeking the perfect on-the-go meal for under 10 bucks. This time, LAist's food editor Gab Chabran is taking Brian through the streets of Chinatown. They're checking out some modern hotspots, 30+ year old neighborhood staples, and of course... some excellent dim sum.

Restaurants featured: Angry Egret Dinette, Long's Family Bakery, & My Dung Sandwich Shop

Check out Gab's article on LAist.com for all that and more!

Music in this episode composed by: E Ro 3, Austin Cross, Evan Jacoby, Maston, Moon Mullins, The Lonesome Paradise, Dexter Thomas
Listen • 13:08

Listen • 13:08

Could CA Take Lessons From TX On Homelessness Solutions?

#135: California likes to pride itself on being a place that’s ahead of the curve, and sets trends where other states, and even countries, might take some lessons. But when it comes to solutions to the homelessness crisis, could California could stand to learn something from Texas?

While the population of unhoused people in Texas has decreased by 28% since 2012, in California, during the same time period, our unhoused population grew by 43%. So, why the difference?

Guest: CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall, who reported on the different approaches to homelessness in the two states.

*And a note, we recorded this interview before some news broke this week: LAist senior reporter Nick Gerda reports that the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development has granted a waiver to the city of L.A. that will remove a proof of income paperwork requirement that has slowed Mayor Karen Bass’ ability to house people experiencing homelessness. The waiver is expected to fast track the housing process for hundreds of people looking to move from streets and shelters into longer-term housing. Read more about it here.