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 • 10:30

Listen • 10:30

Cheap Fast East #1: Pasadena: REDUX

#6: It's summer, time to get excited about all our favorite food. This holiday week, we're re-upping some episodes from our fave HTLA series - Cheap Fast Eats! This episode originally aired on September 8, 2022.

Hungry and looking for some inexpensive grub? Come along with HTLA host Brian De Los Santos and LAist food editor Gab Chabrán as they go in search of cheap, fast eats in communities all over LA County. First up: some old school eateries in Pasadena.

Locations: Burrito Express, Sandwiches By Connal, Roma Market

Guest: Gab Chabrán, food editor at LAist.
Listen • 19:38

Listen • 19:38

How I Got Started: Fashion Designer James Ford

#121: We’re back with How I Got Started, the segment where we highlight artists, movers, and shakers here in Los Angeles. From arts and entertainment to advocacy — we’re talking to people who we think you should know about.

James Ford came out to LA to work in construction, and ended up starting his own fashion brand, even joining a Netflix competition show for up and coming designers. That’s a pretty wild trajectory, so we just had to ask…how’d he get started? Listen as HTLA host Brian De Los Santos gets deep with James, as they dive deep into what clothing and fashion can mean…

Guest: James Ford, designer, Rowena Social Club

You can check out James’ brand, Rowena Social Club here: https://rowenasocialclub.com/
Listen • 19:39

Listen • 19:39

Cheap Fast Eats #8: Inglewood

#120: Inglewood might be known for L.A. staples like The Forum, SoFi Stadium, the HBO show Insecure and Randy's Donuts. But with an equally Black and Latino population, the real magic of this place comes from a confluence of cultures..and of course the food that's born from that. Today, the HTLA team is eating their way through some iconic and lesser-known spots in Inglewood, joined by LAist's food editor, Gab Chabran.

Check out Gab's write-up for a full list and more info on his favorite, curated Inglewood eats: BBQ Bagged Lunches, Whole Hog Carnitas Tacos, Curried Goat Mini Plates: Cheap Fast Eats Inglewood

Eateries featured: WINGS 2 GO, Caritas El Artisa, Country Style Jamaican Restaurant
Listen • 20:16

Listen • 20:16

Councilmember Curren Price Faces Corruption Charges. What That Means For His District, His Community

#119: The Los Angeles City Council has been through a lot of upheaval. In the past few years, there’s been corruption scandals, indictments, leaked tapes with racist language — all involving city leaders. The latest: Councilmember Curren Price has been charged with embezzlement of public funds, among other counts.

It's rattled his largely Latino district, which came out (mostly) in his defense recently. Unlike past corruption charges against sitting councilmembers, the council moved NOT to suspend him (yet) as the charges work their way through the court. But as the last of two Black councilmembers in L.A., his situation has a lot of observers wondering about the future of Black political power in this city.

Guests: LAist's Civics and Democracy Correspondent Frank Stoltze and Los Angeles Times columnist Erika D. Smith.
Listen • 12:38

Listen • 12:38

Summer Is Here. Get Ready For The Heat

#118: The sun is coming out y'all and the temps are rising. Come August it is going to be HOT in L.A. with some of the most severe heat in the San Fernando Valley. We explain what is happening with our weather and why certain parts of L.A. become almost unbearable.

Guest: LAist Science Reporter Jacob Margolis

Some additional news you can use:

Why Does It Get So Hot In Los Angeles?

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/why-does-it-get-so-hot-in-los-angeles

Tips To Protect Yourself In A Heat Wave

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/extreme-heat-wave-is-on-its-way-and-expected-to-stay-through-labor-day-weekend
Listen • 14:38

Listen • 14:38

Boyle Heights To The Beach: Is The New Train Faster Than a Car?

#117: Before LA became the city of the car, we had one of the most robust public transit systems in the world. Well, that might not be coming back in the near future... But we DID just take a major step forward. LA's got some new train tracks, connecting the city from East to West and North to South through Metro's newly finished regional connector project.

Now you can get from Azusa to Long Beach, or East LA to Santa Monica, without a single transfer.

When the new tracks opened, the HTLA crew was there... not just to check out the new rails... But to race. From Boyle Heights, to the beach. One car, one train, who will win? Tune in to find out - and be sure to check out our piece on LAist.com for photos and more info about the connector.
Listen • 17:40

Listen • 17:40

"It Took Me 10 Years To Get Here:" LA's Veterans Fight To Secure Housing – Part 2

#116: Today, we dive deeper into the hurdles veterans face to secure housing in LA. Specifically, income limit restrictions, and how this leaves the most disabled veterans – those who need housing and services most – ineligible for most VA housing.

This is part two in a special two-part series about the veteran homelessness crisis in LA. We speak to Edward Sotelo, a 70% disabled veteran who was unhoused for more than a decade until he recently secured housing in one of the West LA VA's new units.

We also revisit Josh Petit, a formerly unhoused veteran we met in part 1 of this series. (If you haven't listened, go back to yesterday's episode!)

Guests: Edward Sotello, formerly unhoused veteran who recently moved into an apartment on the West LA VA campus; Josh Petit, formerly unhoused veteran currently living in a tiny home on the West LA VA campus; Rob Reynolds, unhoused veteran advocate and formerly unhoused veteran; Nick Gerda, unhoused communities reporter for LAist
Listen • 19:31

Listen • 19:31

"There Are Many Roadblocks For Us:" LA's Veterans Fight to Secure Housing - Part 1

#115: In May, 179 new apartments opened up for unhoused veterans at the West LA Veterans Affairs campus. Some veterans who have been stuck inside the VA system for years to were finally able to secure housing.

But the development is still years behind schedule and hundreds of units short, leaving roughy 4,000 veterans in L.A. County without a permanent place to live.

This is part one in a special two-part series about the veteran homelessness crisis in LA. Today, we explore how a long history riddled with bureaucracy and red tape within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other government agencies have left thousands of veterans unhoused in LA – a place once known as the "homeless veteran capital" of the county.

HTLA and our unhoused communities reporter, Nick Gerda, head to the West LA campus to talk to some unhoused – and formerly unhoused – veterans and advocates, as well as LA Mayor Karen Bass and VA officials, about the current state of affairs for vets in this city.

Guests: Josh Petit, formerly unhoused veteran currently living in a tiny home on the West LA VA campus; Rob Reynolds, unhoused veteran advocate and formerly unhoused veteran; Karen Bass, Mayor of LA, John Kuhn, Deputy Medical Director of the West LA VA