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 • 35:51

Listen • 35:51

HTLA Presents: NPR's Code Switch

BONUS: Hey, How To LA listeners, this is Brian De Los Santos. We're doing something a little different and bringing you an episode of the NPR podcast Code Switch. My colleague Josie Huang is talking to one of their hosts about the mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, and what it says about the dark side of the Asian American dream. I hope you like it.
Listen • 13:00

Transcript

Listen • 13:00

The Future Of Stormwater Capture in LA

#61: 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

Transcript
Listen • 11:37

Transcript

Listen • 11:37

The Monterey Park Shooting: How A Community Heals

#60: It's been a little more than a week since a shooter killed 11 people at the Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park. The grief and the sense of shattered security won’t go away easily – if ever – but the healing process has begun. At vigils and Lunar New Year Festivals, communities of the San Gabriel Valley came together to mourn those who died and to celebrate life. So we were there...to capture and understand this healing process from the community level.

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Listen • 14:41

Transcript

Listen • 14:41

COVID Renter Protections Are Here To Stay... For At Least 2 More Months

#59: The deadline for ending COVID-era eviction protections got pushed...and pushed again. Now the deadline is at the end of March. Unless, of course, L.A. County officials punt it one more time. There's been a lot of confusion out there about what's going on. Landlords are angry. Tenants are scared. Brian De Los Santos talks to LAist Housing Reporter David Wagner about how we got to this point, and what might happen next. If you are looking for some answers, we got some here. Plus, David has written a handy guide, including everything renters need to know about this process: https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/los-angeles-county-city-eviction-guide

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Listen • 15:56

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Listen • 15:56

Cheap Fast Eats #5: Culver City

#58: LAist Food Editor Gab Chabran and HTLA Host Brian De Los Santos are at it again, eating everything in sight that's good and cheap. This time they're hitting up Culver City - a city steeped in moviemaking history that is very much part of LA but with its own personality. It's kinda like where urban meets suburban, and where there is a lot of good grub.

Featured restaurants: Empanadas Place, Jasmine Market & Deli, Sexy Beans.

Check out Gab's full article here: https://laist.com/news/food/slurpable-asian-noodles-rustic-empanadas-and-sexy-beans-welcome-to-cheap-fast-eats-culver-city

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Listen • 12:04

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Listen • 12:04

Is There a 'Generational Divide' in Mental Health?

#56: Following the mass shooting in Monterey Park, a lot of focus has been placed on the mental health of people in the larger Asian American Pacific Islander community. The realization that the suspected shooter in this case -- and in another recent incident in Half Moon Bay -- was an older Asian man, a senior citizen, has brought about a closer examination of the generational divide in the AAPI community when it comes to one's mental health and a willingness to see help. How to LA host Brian De Los Santos explores that divide and what's being done to help elders in the AAPI get what they need in terms of services.

Guest:

Myron Dean Quon, Chief Executive Officer at Pacific Asian Counseling Services.

Transcript
Listen • 14:11

Transcript

Listen • 14:11

Finding Some Peace And Quiet In This Wild City

#57: New Year, New You, right? 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

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Listen • 14:38

Transcript

Listen • 14:38

Monterey Park Holds a Special Place in LA's Asian Community and Far Beyond

#55: A mass shooting sent shockwaves through the Asian American community of Monterey Park on the eve of Lunar New Year. Eleven people have died, and more are still being treated for their injuries. The tragedy left residents wondering how such a horrible event could happen in an otherwise idyllic example of what an immigrant enclave can be.

Today on HTLA, we want to take some time to talk about the history and cultures of Monterey Park.

Guests: Josie Huang, Asian American communities reporter for LAist; Yong Chen, professor of history at University of California, Irvine

Transcript