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 • 13:43

Transcript

Listen • 13:43

Surviving Fentanyl: An Organization By Students, For Students

#47: Overdose deaths are rising dramatically in LA. Almost 1300% in the last several years. Fentanyl is a major culprit. LA's Public Health Department, LAUSD, LAPD and the DA's office have started strategizing to figure out how to deal with this crisis... But there are groups out there who have been practicing harm reduction for years: distributing narcan or fentanyl test-strips, and teaching classes. Groups like T.A.C.O., a national non-profit started by 5 college students, who saw a deadly problem that didn't seem like it was being addressed.

Today we're taking a personal look at LA's fentanyl crisis, and some of the solutions that are currently saving lives.

Guests: Isabella Gianatiempo, co-founder & CEO of T.A.C.O. Inc; B, who requested that we not use their full name, an L.A. college student who overdosed and survived.

If you or someone you know experiences an overdose, call 9-1-1 immediately.

For educational resources about drug safety, check out Taco's website, and the CA Department of Public Health.

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Listen • 13:45

Transcript

Listen • 13:45

What's Going On With LA's Mental Health Crisis Response System?

#46: Since 2020, city and county leaders have promised to develop an unarmed mental health crisis response system amid demands for police reform. But two years later the pilot program announced by the city has yet to launch and the county's system is a patchwork of services for which there are enough trained people to do the work. HTLA host Brian De Los Santos checks in on how LA is doing on its promise to respond to mental health crises without law enforcement and what is needed for officials to deliver on a plan that works.

Guests: Robert Garrova, Mental Health Reporter for LAist; Ben Adam Climer, founder of C.R.I.S.I.S. Consulting, which has helped cities develop unarmed emergency response units

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Listen • 11:59

Listen • 11:59

Cheap Fast Eats #4: DTLA

UPDATE: Since this aired, BurritoBreak announced its closing. The high cost of eggs and other food sources, plus the lack of downtown foot traffic made it difficult to keep the business afloat.
You can read more about it here:
Egg Prices Tripling, DTLA Offices Emptying. Why A Beloved Breakfast Burrito Joint Is Shutting Down
#45: Cheap Fast Eats! You know what that means: Gab and Brian are together again, eating their way through downtown LA. For our 4th installment, we're checking out some secret alleyway breakfast burritos, a Japanese comfort food / plant store hybrid, and much more.
Guest: Gab Chabrán, food editor for LAist
Check out Gab's article for his full list of restaurants.
Listen • 7:14

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Listen • 7:14

Taking Back LA's Streets with CicLAvia

#44: CicLAvia is in its 12th year, closing down streets throughout LA county for folks to ride, skate, walk and just move their bodies without ANY cars. The event happens every other month or so. But even though most of the HTLA team were raised in the LA area (or have certainly lived here long enough!) none of us have ever done it. So here we go... to South LA with the whole team... let's go see what it's all about!

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Listen • 11:54

Transcript

Listen • 11:54

Food Insecurity has Increased in LA... Microfarms Can Help

#43: Food insecurity is increasing in L.A. – almost 300,000 more households report lacking consistent access to food this year than in 2021. Blame it on lingering pandemic effects and now inflation. Enter Jamiah Hargins. He's the founder of Crop Swap LA, which works with unused spaces in Los Angeles to create microfarms, typically in someone's front yard, to grow food to serve people in the surrounding neighborhood. How To LA host Brian De Los Santos stops by one microfarm in View Park to check out how this local food distribution system works.

Guests: LAist's Climate Emergency reporter Erin Stone; Jamiah Hargins, founder of Crop Swap LA

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Listen • 13:15

Transcript

Listen • 13:15

Foraging for Wild-Food Tacos in Los Angeles

#42: Southern California has more wild food than you might expect. There's a long history of foraging in and around Los Angeles. These foods have been everything from staples for indigenous communities, to delicacies for high-end chefs. (and, of course, food for critters!) Today, Jess Starwood is taking HTLA host Brian De Los Santos on a foraging hike. He tries his hand at mushroom hunting, acorn gathering, and berry plucking, to prepare some truly unique wild-food tacos.

Guest: Jess Starwood, professional forager & author of Mushroom Wanderland: A Forager's Guide to Finding, Identifying, and Using More Than 25 Wild Fungi

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Listen • 9:27

Listen • 9:27

Community Comes Together at a World Cup Watch Party

#41: Every time the World Cup comes around, the watch parties go off in LA. Whether you are rooting for the USA, Mexico, Ecuador or Germany, you can find a bar, restaurant or even a home that will open its doors at pretty much any hour to welcome in fans to enjoy the game and likely eat and drink. This year's cup in Qatar is not without controversy but the game itself continues to bring Angelenos of different backgrounds together to revel in the play. On this episode, the HTLA team got up real early to watch Ecuador and Senegal play at an intimate spot in Hollywood, La Casita de Cancún Olé, and get a sense of what the whole experience means to Angelenos.

Guests: Margarita and Alejandro Platon, owners/ chef of La Casita; Ecuador fans Thalia Veintimilla and Manuel Ochoa
Listen • 12:20

Transcript

Listen • 12:20

LA Has Been Home To The Homelessness Crisis For Years. Now What?

#40: Ask almost anyone who lives in Los Angeles to talk about the state of the city; it's pretty much guaranteed they’ll tell you homelessness is where they want to see change. Mayor-elect Karen Bass says she'll tackle the issue the day she enters office and has pledged to house 15,000 people in year one and end encampments. But at this point, the homelessness issue is downright overwhelming. Where should she focus her energies? We sought out some local experts for their thoughts.

Guests: Gary Painter, director of the homelessness policy research institute; Theo Henderson, author, podcast host, homelessness advocate; Sebastian Arias, Pit Stop ambassador

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