#301: We're continuing our summer series of places to explore - and this time we're stepping out of the studio and into the wild. Evan's taking Brian on a tour of a park that meant a lot to him as a kid - and we're meeting the organization that acts as its steward: TreePeople.

You've probably heard of them before - they do everything from trail restoration work to planting shade trees, just about everywhere in Southern California. But this is their home base, and when they're not reforesting swaths of the Angeles National Forest you can find them in the heart of LA at the top of Coldwater Canyon.

Guest: Alex Miller, director of communications for TreePeople

Music in this episode composed by: Austin Cross, Imaginary Softwoods, Jerimiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer, Josiah Steinbrick, M. Sage, Mort Garson, Nicklas Nygren, Patricia Wolf, Wilson Tanner

#300: Three hundred episodes y'all! Can you think of a better way to celebrate than with the movable feast that is Cheap Fast Eats? I'll wait...

No? Okay. Well buckle in and get ready to chow down as LAist's food editor Gab Chabran takes Brian to our first location OUTSIDE of LA County... From breakfast burritos to baklava and everything in between. This is Cheap Fast Eats, Fountain Valley.

Restaurants featured: Artisan - 7 Leaves & Crema Bakery, Naugles, Ikram Grill

#299:

VCRs are buzzing again in the city...that's right! Watching a movie on VHS is back! But in 2024, with streaming and Blu-Ray, why watch something on tape? HTLA producer Victoria Alejandro spoke with VHS vendors, collectors, and other tape aficionados around the city (including filmmaker Vera Drew of "The People's Joker") to understand the subculture, the community, and let YOU know why tapes are back, baby!

Guests: Filmmaker Vera Drew, head of Altered Innocence Frank Jaffe, Michelle Halac and Alex Gootter of Hollywood Entertainment, Erik Varho and Jessica Gonzales from Whammy!, Eliana Oropeza from Aztec Pickers, Jackie Forsythe from AMIA

We are back with another installment of LA on the Margins — USC student produced profiles of people in our community who are working through the many challenges life in the city can throw at you.

In this final episode, we meet a reggae artist who is trying to make it in this beautiful, complicated city... and supporting his art by driving for Uber.

Through reporter Yundie Li, we learn about his struggle with balancing the "city of the gig worker" with the "city of creativity."

Take a listen.

We're back with another installment of LA On The Margins, a collection of stories produced by students at USC. This time, reporter Sophie Sullivan takes us to the largest jail in LA County — a jail considered by many to be uninhabitable, and which, in 2021, was ordered closed by L.A. County Supervisors due to "inhumane conditions." But the jail still stands today.

In this episode, we hear from families whose loved ones died while in custody of the jail and who now seek answers as to why.

A warning - this episode contains mentions of suicide and includes strong language.

This story was co-published and supported by the journalism non-profit the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.

#298: Did you know that we are in the middle of kitten season? It's a super busy time for shelter workers, cat rescues, and the many Angelenos who volunteer their time to help save cats.

Today we are talking about those folks and what’s being done in L.A. and OC to try to improve the lives of free-roaming cats in Southern California. According to L.A.'s Department of Animal Services, there’s about 960,000 of them in the city of L.A. alone.

Read more at LAist: ‘Kitten season’ sounds cute, but it’s one of the toughest times for LA’s cat crusaders

#297: Looking to escape the heat this summer? Well, look no further than LA's biggest swimming pool. We've got the team here with Brian in LAist's Studio B to share our favorite coastal recommendations, whether you're looking for a place to have quiet picnic or you're learning to tandem surf with your dog.

All summer we'll have more recommendations for more ways to spend your weekend, so keep an ear out!

#296:

Flavors From Afar is a caterer and soon to be restaurant in East Hollywood. As part of the nonprofit TIYAA Foundation, Flavors From Afar also hosts a culinary training program for folks from all over the globe who are new to this city. Consisting of migrants and refugees resettling in L.A. and looking for work, it's an 8 week training program designed to teach aspiring chefs everything from knife skills to applying for licenses. Associate editor Aaricka Washington checked out a class and is on HTLA to tell host Brian De Los Santos all about it.

Check out their website for culinary sessions, catering and the Global Dinner Series here: https://www.flavorsfromafar.co/

And if you're curious, the next culinary session course for new participants will begin August 6th.