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 • 25:38

Listen • 25:38

Looking For Community? Go Find Your 'Church'

#280: We’re back with our series on How NOT To Be Lonely in LA.

Today we explore the connection between religion…or lack thereof…and loneliness.

For decades, Americans relied on their church, temple or mosque, or other religious institutions, for a sense of built in community. But with more and more people disaffiliating from organized religion in recent decades — particularly since the 90s — we, as a society, haven't really found a replacement for those spaces, and the community and sanctity that comes with them.

Today, producer Megan Botel speaks to USC professor of religion Diane Winston about what has been lost on a personal and community level in the decline of religiosity. She also explores the Pico Union Project, a non-denominational church in L.A. that might offer a solution to some who are looking to find a place to gather with people and share in some sense of spirituality.

Guests: Diane Winston, professor of media and religion at USC; Craig Taubman, founder and artistic director of the Pico Union Project; Ross Chait, talent booker at the Pico Union Project.
Listen • 1:19

Listen • 1:19

Merrick Morton On Photographing LA Street Gangs

Photographer Merrick Morton got his start taking portraits of LA street gangs in the 1980s, cementing that world in history when few took the time to document these people's lives. He photographed people on the street, at home and even in prison.

After decades of taking photos, Morton got his first solo show at Eastern Projects in LA's Chinatown neighborhood. There's also a new book "Clique: West Coast Portraits from the Hood, 1980-1996" that's available from Hat & Beard Press.
Listen • 26:35
Listen • 26:35

Social Calendar: Hacking The Hollywood Bowl
#279: Hey, How to LA listeners! We’re back with another social calendar to talk about the interesting, fun, new happenings in the city.

Guests: Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido and Janice Llamoca, an audio producer and host. You might have heard her work on Latino USA, Vice AND she was the host of the amazing LAist Studios podcast Party Crews: The Untold Story.

Here’s what each person pitched for YOUR social calendar:
- The Hollywood Bowl: check out Maestro of the Movies with John Williams
  
  Pro Tip! Get a shuttle pass and BYOB (wine and beer only)
- Theodore Payne Foundation: learn about native plants, take a garden tour, buy some plants, take a workshop!
- Check our your neighborhood bars that give the true down home vibe!
  
  In West Adams (Brian's hood), check out Chulita, Johnnys, Delicious Pizza and Alta
  Gold Room and Bar Flores in Echo Park
  Or Bar in WeHo
  Hot Dog at El Cid in Silver Lake
Listen • 16:30

Listen • 16:30

LAUSD's Plan To Cool Down Schools Is Finally Here

#278: Today we have an update to a story we brought you back in November of last year (#191: 'It's Really Hot Out Here.' What LAUSD Is Doing To Cool Down Schools). LAist Associate Editor Aaricka Washington brings us up to speed on efforts to increase the amount of green space on school campuses in Los Angeles.
Listen • 0:47

Listen • 0:47

L.A. Museums Put A Spotlight On Lowriders

Lowriders are getting the spotlight this spring in Los Angeles. A new exhibition called "Best in Low" opened on May 12 at the Petersen Automotive Museum.

And if fine art is more your thing, you can check out the work of artist and lowrider owner Jacqueline Valenzuela at “Arts at Blue Roof” in South L.A. (it's open through June 1).

Valenzuela's art often focuses on women in the lowrider community.

"For so long, women in the space were just looked at as eye candy," Valenzuela told the LAist Studios podcast How To LA. "And yeah, some women do own cars and model with their cars. That's amazing. There's also women that don't model with their cars and sometimes they're not given that platform. So I strive to do that in my art practice."

You can hear more from artist Jacqueline Valenzuela on the How To LA podcast.
Listen • 19:06

Listen • 19:06

The Artist Shaking Up Male-Dominated Lowrider Culture (With A Hot Pink Cadillac)

Jacqueline Valenzuela is a 26-year-old interdisciplinary artist and lowrider car club co-founder who often features women in the lowrider community in her art. We met up with her at the Kolor Studio, the studio/auto body shop where she works with her fiancé in the City of Industry.
Listen • 25:06

Listen • 25:06

Photographer Merrick Morton Cemented 80s Gang Culture In History

#276: Merrick Morton is one of the first people to document Chicano gang culture in L.A. He also photographed women in prison, Latinas at kickbacks, and people on death row. Almost all of his photos capture something that you might not expect: a tenderness, a realness.

We meet up with Merrick at the Eastern Projects gallery in Chinatown, where an exhibit of his work titled "Un-Rehearsed" is on display, to talk about his art and how he started photographing these communities.

If you want to see some examples of his work, check out this article on LAist.com.

Or - come see the free show in person! It's running until May 18th.
Listen • 0:48

Listen • 0:48

Popular LA Costume Shop 'Can't Just Go On'

After 25 years of providing costumes to high school students and industry professionals alike, Valentino’s Costume Group is closing its doors.

The shop struggled through the pandemic and two Hollywood strikes, launching a GoFundMe last fall to help pay the rent. But the recent death of Valentino’s co-owner Will Brattain last month makes it very difficult to keep the business open, says owner Shon LeBlanc.

For more, check out LAist.com: https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/staple-of-las-theater-community-valentinos-costume-group