On Memorial Day, Take Two revisits some of its favorite stories from the past year, including a local effort to save the histories of all the remaining veterans of WWII, a tour of L.A.'s nuclear deterrent sites and the unusual history of L.A.'s only outlet mall, the Citadel.
A local effort to record the stories of surviving WWII Veterans
Rishi Sharma of Agoura Hills has been on a mission to record and save all the stories of the country's remaining World War II vets. More than 16 million Americans served in that war. More than 400,000 wouldn't come home. Today, the numbers are a bit different. In 2017, the Department of Veterans Affairs counted 558,000 veterans remaining from that war. Every day, about 360 die. Sharma has been capturing the stories of those veterans still living since his junior year in high school. To date, he's recorded more than 400.
L.A.'s history of nuclear deterrents
For nearly half of the 20th century, a cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union kept both civilians and the military on alert, especially in Southern California. Some of L.A.'s nuclear deterrents are still hidden in plain sight.
Car subscriptions are gaining traction
Of the 17 million cars that are expected to be sold in the U.S. this year, about a third are leased. The rest are purchased. But there's a new option for drivers coming on strong in So Cal this year: car subscriptions.
L.A. could again be America's spaceport
If you Google "entertainment capital of the world," the first thing that pops up is "Los Angeles." No surprise, right? L.A. has long been the epicenter of show business, but that wasn't the only industry to make its mark. Decades before Elon Musk came to Hawthorne and set up Space X, L.A. was the hub for another avenue to the stars -- the real ones -- way up in the sky.
Guest:
- Geoff Manaugh, writer of The Atlantic magazine article "Los Angeles, America's Future Spaceport"
Cycling for tacos
How do you like your tacos? Street style with onion, cilantro and salsa? Or maybe you're one of those people who like to pile it high with cheese and guac? But what about having tacos in between stops on a nine-mile bike ride through Boyle Heights, with a side of local history, of course. That's what Arturo Palacios offers on his taco route. He's the owner and tour guide of L.A. Cycle Tours.
The history of the Citadel outlet mall
Once upon a time, near the Santa Ana Freeway, there was a shopping center inside a castle wall, and countless commuters asked: "What IS that?" It's called the Citadel -- L.A's only outlet mall. The regal structure sits in a peculiar place, nine miles southeast of Downtown, and its history is one of those "only in L.A." stories.
Which cities in L.A. County have the fewest native-born Californians
So Cal So Curious is a segment where we answer your questions about how things work in Southern California – and why. Today's question is one we answered last September. It came from KPCC listener Mick. He didn't want to share his last name...and he wanted to know: which cities in L.A. County have the fewest native-born Californians?