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 • 14:32

Listen • 14:32

Exploring The Food, Fun And History of Mid-City: REDUX

#68: This week, we're revisiting some of our favorite episodes for a little adventure-inspiration. Today we're going to Angelino Heights. So get outside with us and get ready to see all the food, culture and history LA's different neighborhoods have in store.

The How to LA team is checking out yet another neighborhood: Mid-City. Listener and TV producer Nisa Ahmad answered our call about what area of L.A. we should visit next and her love of this neighborhood lured us in. Officially, L.A.'s Mid-City region is bound by Pico and the 10 Freeway to the north and south, Crenshaw and Robertson to the east and west. Still, the EXACT area is a little squishy for some. Wherever it is, it's got a lot going on.

Join us as we learn about what makes this place special, from tree-lined streets to soul food eats...and get Nisa's tips on where to get some good pan dulce and hear some live jazz.

Guest: TV producer, and How to LA listener/reader, Nisa Ahmad
Listen • 10:50

Listen • 10:50

LA’s Victorian Past Is Alive In Angelino Heights: REDUX

#34: This week, we're revisiting some of our favorite episodes for a little adventure-inspiration. Today we're going to Angelino Heights. So get outside with us and get ready to see all the food, culture and history LA's different neighborhoods have in store.

In our latest trip through one of LA's neighborhoods, we hook up with HTLA listener and reader Andrea Martinez Gonzalez to take a tour of Angelino Heights, one of the oldest areas in the city. It's got some of the coolest and most diverse architecture around from Victorians to Craftsmans but, like so many places in LA, this once middle class enclave has become extremely unaffordable. Come check it out with us. And if you'd like to tell us what neighborhood to visit next, let us know here.

Guest: Andrea Martinez Gonzalez, HTLA listener and Angeleno Heights resident
Listen • 11:22

Listen • 11:22

Discovering The Past and Present of Little Tokyo - REDUX

#13: This week, we're revisiting some of our favorite episodes for a little adventure-inspiration. Today we're going to Little Tokyo. So get outside with us and get ready to see all the food, culture and history LA's different neighborhoods have in store.

How to LA is back at it, exploring the different neighborhoods that make up this beautiful city. Today we’re checking out Little Tokyo, where we’ll learn how its art, food, and community advocacy make it such a special place.

Guests:
Grant Sunoo, director of community building & engagement at Little Tokyo Service Center; Brian Kito, owner of Fugetsu-Do; Sharon Kamegai Cocita, director of development at Little Tokyo Service Center; and LAist reader Ryan Chu-Tachikawa
Listen • 10:56

Listen • 10:56

Discover West Adams - REDUX

#1: Join us this week as we continue our Summer of Discover! We're revisiting some of our favorite episodes for a little adventure-inspiration. So get outside with us and get ready to see what some of LA's different neighborhoods have in store.

There's a lot you can learn by walking people's streets so How to L.A. will explore all the many neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Today, we start with West Adams, one of the oldest areas in LA. It also happens to be the neighborhood where HTLA host Brian De Los Santos grew up.

Guests:
Sandra Revolorio, West Adams thrift shop owner
Mario Luna, father and West Adams resident
Listen • 32:36

Listen • 32:36

F(ai)K News: What Happens When You Replace Journalists With AI

#122: NOTE: This podcast episode contains AI-generated content that is not true. The AI-generated section is clearly delineated, and experts join us to explain the legal and ethical implications.

Have you ever worried about being replaced? HTLA producer Evan Jacoby explores this question as it pertains to AI, and what kind of role it may one day have in journalism.

Guests: Eugene Volokh, professor of law and technology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Alka Roy, founder of RI Labs & the Responsible Innovation Project.

For a detailed breakdown of exactly how our AI-generated content was made, check out our companion post over on LAist.com/HowToLA
Listen • 23:19

Listen • 23:19

Cheap Fast Eats #7: Silver Lake: REDUX

#100: We're wrapping up our Holiday week roundup of Cheap Fast Eats with our 100 episode special - Silver Lake. This episode originally aired on May 12, 2023.

Silver Lake and hipsterdom may go hand in hand, but tucked between the murals, high-end shops and corporate chains, there are some stellar, chef-driven eats to be found at a bargain. The HTLA team is celebrating 100 episodes by eating their way down Sunset... joined yet again by LAist food editor, Gab Chabrán.

Check out his write-up to find his full list of neighborhood knock-outs: Cheap Fast Eats, Silver Lake Edition: Hong Kong-Style French Toast, 'Bomb AF' Mariscos Tacos, And — Of Course — Smash Burgers

Eateries featured: Bodega Park, Needle, Simón

Music in this episode composed by: Austin Cross, Dexter Thomas, E Ro 3, Hafo Safo, Modarchive
Listen • 17:32

Listen • 17:32

Cheap Fast Eats #6: K-Town, After Dark! REDUX

#81: Today continues our Holiday week roundup of Cheap Fast Eats faves. Hungry for more summer excitement? This time, we've got one geared to those night owls among you... K-Town, After Dark. This episode originally aired on March 23, 2023.

Cheap Fast Eats is back with it's first ever late-night extravaganza. And where else but Koreatown? The historic neighborhood features delicious foods from a variety of cultures, from Korean to Oaxacan, and everything in between. Join Gab Chabrán and Brian De Los Santos as they eat their way through LA's late-night neighborhood.

Featured Restaurants: Love Hour, Guelaguetza, and Two Hands Corn Dogs.

Check out Gab's full list of Koreatown's Cheap Fast Eats over on LAist.com:
https://laist.com/news/food/asian-american-pizza-the-beating-heart-of-oaxacalifornia-and-hot-cheeto-incrusted-corn-dogs-cheap-fast-eats-visits-koreatown-after-dark
Listen • 11:49

Listen • 11:49

Cheap Fast Eats #2: Long Beach: REDUX

#21: This holiday week, we're re-upping some episodes from our fave HTLA series - Cheap Fast Eats! So sit back and keep feeding your summer excitement with this next installment: Long Beach. This episode originally aired on October 13, 2022.

HTLA host Brian De Los Santos and LAist food editor Gab Chabrán are back at it, searching for delicious (and affordable) grub. This time, they're featuring Cheap Fast Eats in Long Beach.

Locations: A&J Seafood Shack, Appu’s Cafe, Hamburgers Nice

Guest: Gab Chabrán, food editor at LAist.