How To LA LAist Studios

#271: We love LA over here, but perhaps no one is a bigger fan of our city than Evan Lovett, the guy behind the LA history and discovery show: "L.A. in a Minute!"

Today, How to LA host Brian De Los Santos sits down with Evan to talk about how he stumbled into his career as a content creator, what truly makes L.A. special AND some of his favorite spots around town that really reflect the city's flavor.

Guest: Evan Lovett, host of "L.A. in a Minute"PLEASE NOTE: Evan Lovett has previously worked as a paid influencer for LAist to expand the reach of our voter and gift guides, and other civic engagement work.

#270: Today, we’re coming to you once again from the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, where we had the chance to speak with some local authors about their work. In this episode: Michael Arceneaux, the New York Times-bestselling author of “I Can’t Date Jesus,” “I Don’t Want To Die Poor,” and his latest book, “I Finally Bought Some Jordans"; and Amy Price, former general manager of the Cecil Hotel in downtown L.A., and author of "Behind the Door: The Dark Truths and Untold Stories of the Cecil Hotel."

 

#269: Today, we’re coming to you from the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, where we had the chance to speak with some dope local authors about their work, about Los Angeles, and how it all connects for them. In this episode, my conversation with Héctor Tobar, the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and novelist.

#268:

HTLA is checking out some more movie history with a spotlight on the world tour, The Art of the Benshi, coming to L.A. on April 19-21. In this episode, HTLA producer Victoria Alejandro comes on to chat Japanese silent cinema and L.A. history with host Brian De Los Santos. 

Benshi were the narrators of Japan's silent film era. These artists introduced films and also provided live narration, portraying characters, and articulating the on-screen action, filling theaters and enthralling audiences. Including in L.A.

It's an art form with roots in this city that a lot of people don't know about, so join us as we dive in with lead benshi Ichiro Kataoka and professor of Japanese literature at UCLA Michael Emmerich!

You can find tickets and more information online at https://artofthebenshi.org/

And check out our LAist article here. 

Guests: HTLA producer Victoria Alejandro, UCLA professor of Japanese literature and tour organizer Michael Emmerich, lead benshi Ichiro Kataoka

#267: This is our second episode exploring downtown L.A. — part of our series on L.A. neighborhoods. Last time (episode #266), we covered some of the history of the area, and the ups and downs it's experienced over the years.

Today, we’re looking at its present and possible future, largely through Oliver Alpuche's story.

Oliver has lived in downtown L.A. for 16 years and he's a sort of ambassador to the neighborhood. He's also the founder of DTLA Proud and founder of the new, soon-to-be-open gay bar KISO in downtown's historic core.

#266: It’s been a minute since we explored a L.A. neighborhood on How To LA. We’ve been to Little Tokyo, West Adams and Sylmar before. Now, we’re in downtown.

But we’re not going to try to boil down the entire area in one episode. 

Today, we’re going to get into the history of the ups and downs the area has seen over the years, and learn a lot from a walking tour of downtown put on by the Los Angeles Conservancy (led by docent Robin Holding).

Stay tuned for episode two, where we’ll focus on one Angeleno’s experience of present-day DTLA — living there and opening a new bar in the historic core.

(This episode was engineered by Hasmik Poghosyan and Donald Paz.)