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 • 16:28

Listen • 16:28

The Long Legacy Of Juneteenth In Leimert Park

#114: Juneteenth — a shortening of June 19th — marks the day chattel slavery ended in the United States. On this day in 1865, nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to tell the last enslaved Black Americans they were free.

All throughout Los Angeles County, there are celebrations honoring this holiday. But one of the largest is in Leimert Park. A festival has been held there since 2018, with music, food, art, vendors and all sorts of activities, but the Juneteenth tradition in this community goes back decades.

Jonathan Leonard, a Texas transplant, is credited with starting it in 1949 by hosting a family barbeque in his backyard. The tradition took root that day in Leimert Park and, over the years, the party grew.

This year, some 50,000 people are expected to show up and celebrate Juneteenth in the neighborhood. It's no longer the simple picnic with barbeque, Red Soda and watermelon. Jazmine Sullivan is headlining! But Leonard's mission still drives it. Listen to this episode to learn about that history.

Guests: DJ QwessCoast, Juneteenth Leimert Park Festival organizer; Ariyana Leonard and AyEsha Leonard McLaughlin, Jonathan Leonard's daughters

Read more here: The Long Legacy Of Juneteenth In Leimert Park
Listen • 16:34

Listen • 16:34

How The West Coast Soul Food Flavor Was Born: REDUX

#67: This episode originally aired on February 16, 2023.

When people think Los Angeles, they don't exactly think soul food. But this city actually has a rich (and delicious) soul food scene mostly in South LA. In this episode, we explore the origins of this epic cuisine, and how it plays a huge role in preserving Black history and culture. We visit South LA soul food staples Serving Spoon in Inglewood, and Mama's Chicken in Hyde Park.

Guests: Christopher Carter, food and racial justice professor and author of the Spirit of Soul Food; Karen "Mama" Whitman, owner of Mama's Chicken
Listen • 15:06

Listen • 15:06

Finding Some Peace And Quiet In This Wild City: REDUX

#57: We're about halfway through the year (can you believe it?). So we're re-upping our new year's resolutions to find more zen. This episode first aired on January 24, 2023.

Whatever self improvement goals you've set for yourself this year, life is still stressful - work pressures, family commitments...not to mention natural disasters, political strife and world crises that you literally have no control over. Well, we want to offer a little respite. Los Angeles actually has a lot to offer in terms of quiet places to walk or meditate that could bring a little peace to a hectic day or week. We are not mental health experts so we are just making suggestions based on what we know we need from time to time to have a little zen in our lives. Host Brian De Los Santos checks out a few special places around the city that are accessible to anyone who is looking for a little calm, and gains a new understanding of the benefits of walking meditation.

Guests: Diana Winston, director of mindfulness education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center; David Jaramillo, director of operations and customer care at The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness
Listen • 14:24

Listen • 14:24

Digging Up Community — And Some Fruit — In Front Of Your Neighbor's Garden

#113: Foraging doesn't just mean hightailing it to the Santa Monica mountains and looking through brush and wood for mushrooms. There's a whole world of wild, and not-so-wild foods growing all around us — in our Urban Forest. Los Angeles has so much to offer, whether you're looking for citrus or loquats or edible flowers. But it's a LOT to learn all by yourself.

So today, HTLA newsletter writer Aaricka Washington is taking Brian De Los Santos on an edible tour of those famous Silverlake stairs... you know, the ones with the hearts on them? She was out there recently with a BIPOC foraging group to learn how to forage for the first time, and now she's sharing what she learned — and the community she gained — with Brian.

Be sure to check out Aaricka's newsletter for photos and more information about the group she went out with:

Want To Learn How To Forage? There's An Inclusive Workshop Right Here In LA

Music in this episode composed by: Austin Cross, Mort Garson, Naran Ratan, & Woo
Listen • 12:11

Listen • 12:11

Now There Are Two. Here's The Candidates Competing To Replace Nury Martinez

#112: On June 27, a special election will be held to choose the candidate who will replace former L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez.

You might remember that she resigned in the wake of a scandal last fall, having been caught making racist ands other ugly comments during a group conversation that was secretly recorded and made public.

Imelda Padilla and Marisa Alcaraz are both going after her seat in Council District 6, a 20-mile stretch of the city in the San Fernando Valley that includes neighborhoods like Sun Valley, Arleta, Van Nuys and Lake Balboa.

Padilla and Alcaraz were both raised in the area, with similar backgrounds, but they took different career paths. In this episode, we find out who these two are and why you should care about the outcome of this race, even if you don't live or vote in CD 6.

Guest: Frank Stoltze, LAist Civics & Democracy Correspondent

For more, read Frank's article:

The ‘Policy Nerd’ Vs. The Grassroots Organizer In LA City Council Race To Replace Nury Martinez
Listen • 12:16

Listen • 12:16

June Gloom Got You Glum? Let's Explain

#111: Gloom or Glisten? It’s both... If you listen. The plants are loving these extra cloudy skies, even if some of us are missing that LA sun. And here's the question: is this SAD-inducing set of storms even that unusual for June, or is this the normal we've forgotten during these last years of drought?

We've got LAist science reporter, Jacob Margolis, to explain all that and more. And for more info, check out his article unpacking June Gloom. Or if you're really in the mood to bundle up in your raincoat, he's got an article on this year's predicted El Niño, too.
Listen • 30:34

Listen • 30:34

HTLA, Live! River Garza Navigates Identity Through Art

#110: River Garza creates fascinating art through the lens of his Tongva and Mexican heritage. HTLA host Brian De Los Santos and River recently spoke at the Autry Museum of the American West, where River's work is currently showing. They spoke about how their cultural identities shape and inform how they show up in the world.

If you want to check out any future events, make sure to hit up our events page at LAist.com/events
Listen • 26:21

Listen • 26:21

Pride Month Has Arrived, Honey: The Good, Bad And Ugly

#109: It’s Pride Month, y’all! Throughout June, the LGBTQ+ community has a plethora of parties to choose from in Los Angeles. But, this Pride is finding people at a crossroads. It should be a time to celebrate and dance, but anti-LGBTQ+ headlines and legislation are also weighing heavy on queer hearts. This episode: a roundtable.

HTLA host Brian De Los Santos chats everything Pride related with three guests: Tre’vell Anderson, author of “We See Each Other: A Black Trans Journey Through TV and Film;” Kevin Al Perez from the nonprofit Somos Familia that puts on San Fernando Valley Pride; and Ricardo Sebastian, the executive director of OUTLOUD at WeHo Pride. And if you’re wondering where to look for Pride events this month, check out LAist’s guide by Caitlin Hernandez here.