L.a. Meekly

Head east, young audience. This month we're covering the story of Boyle Heights and its transition from a predominantly Jewish community (5:44) to a predominantly Latino community (38:33). Join us to hear about the area's multicultural/politically active/alligator loving journey from blintzes to burritos.

Pack a peanut butter and Lemmy sandwich and join us at the legendary Rainbow Bar and Grill for a talk with Staci Layne Wilson, author of the book "So L.A.: A Hollywood Memoir," about this place's rock and roll history and when best to go to see Ron Jeremy.

They once were lost but now they still are. Step back in time with us as we tell the tales of six of LA's once prominent but now gone forever landmarks from the beautiful Richfield Tower and Pan Pacific Auditorium to the ominous Deadman's Island. Listen now before they become somehow even more gone! We'll cover Arcade Station (8:16), Dead Man's Island (29:31), Pan Pacific Auditorium (37:13), the Old Courthouse and Hall of Records (50:28), the Coconut Grove (1:04:07) and the Richfield Oil Building (1:17:37).

This episode recorded in front of a live studio audience. Jealous?! Join us for our very first live episode as we discuss a few local commercials and the mad cowboy mattress manic geniuses behind them from Crazy Gideon to Cal Worthington. Since we showed video clips in the show be sure to follow along with the cheat sheet of links on our tumblr page so you too can see the glory that is these videos. And don't you forget our video intro which will also be on that page! We'll cover Mad Man Muntz (7:10), Sit n Sleep (17:09), Crazy Gideon (29:00), Cal Worthington (39:06) and Larry H. Parker (57:27).

It's gonna feel like the first time all over again in this month's episode where, in honor of Black History Month, we discuss some trail blazing African-Americans from Los Angeles. From the city's first African-American mayor to the first African-American surfer, this just may be the first time you actually enjoy one of our episodes. We'll cover Peter Biggs (7:07), Samuel Marlowe (12:41), Nick Gabaldon (16:44), Miriam Matthews (39:58), Stepin Fetchit (50:15), Tom Bradley (1:06:33) and Paul R. Williams (1:22:26).

Here it is at long last!  Our very first field trip episode!  Just play along and say you've been waiting as anxiously for it as we assume you were!  Join us on our excursion to the Petersen Automotive Museum with the one and only Ada Ruiz and hear what the most exciting and controversial cars they have are and where to eat once you're sick of seeing them.  We apologize for the audio quality but we hope you'll forgive us as it is our first time using this equipment.  We wouldn't hold it against YOU so show some mercy.

Embezzlement. Bloated pensions. Voter fraud. Hog guts. What do all these have in common other than being beautiful names for your children? They're all part of the dirty corruption stories we're about to cover from two cities in southeast LA: Bell (7:02) and Vernon (50:38). Settle in and be glad you have a conscience. If you don't have a conscience, we're sure you can steal one from one of our good little listeners.

Take a festively eerie drive through the many canyons of Los Angeles with us as we talk about the strangest/spookiest stories that have taken place in them from Superman's ghost to a barrage of alien encounters. As the experts we are, we recommend you listen to this at night. Preferably walking alone through one of these canyons. We are not responsible for any lost items, respect or life if you choose to do so. (Keen eared listeners alert! The curse of our haunted episodes lives on! Listen out for strange flapping noises that are in this recording for no explainable reason!) We'll cover the Wonderland Murders (8:47), the Beverly Glen Tavern (19:09), the Ramon Navarro murder (31:44), the Houdini Mansion (43:30), the death of George Reeves (1:11:54) and the aliens of Topanga Canyon (1:28:50).

Peel away the skin, take that gross white stuff off, section it up and extract the seeds and what you've got left is our long awaited (and dreaded) episode on oranges! Bite into the story of LA's mythological cash crop all the way from the first orange tree to come to the city (9:10) all the way through the rise of a little local business known as Sunkist (41:47). Some sugar added.

Eye of nerd. Pod of cast. Leave a review or this show won't last! And with that incantation comes our Halloween special on some of the witchiest women in LA history...and a house. Crack open a cauldron as we pod-cast a spell on your ears of the stories of Louise Huebner (6:53), Vampira (23:50), Elvira (53:29) and the Beverly Hills Witch House (1:10:37). Be there or be there. It's not a choice.

You must be 21 or older (in dog years) to listen to this episode on the long, cursed, prohibited, corrupt and tasty history of alcohol in this city from the very first grape vine to the very last boot legged. Fake IDs welcome. We'll cover the city's love affair with wine (6:43) including the San Antonio winery (24:35), the torrid romance with beer (28:25) including Eastside brewery (31:53) and the chilly non-romance of prohibition (48:21).

We declare this the XXXIInd episode of LA Meekly listenable! Settle in to hear about LA's two trysts with the Olympics in 1932 (7:29) and 1984 (37:12) and about our chances to make the third time the charm in 2024. It's a gold medal episode brought to you by two bronze gods.

March along with us to the beat of the stories of a few of LA's biggest parades! Including and limited to the PRIDE Parade (6:10), the Hollywood Christmas Parade (20:46), the Festival of the Chariots (36:51), La Fiesta de Los Angeles(42:53), the Rose Parade (1:03:50) and the Doo Dah Parade (1:20:23). No we do not have a permit for this episode.

In telling the stories of the two worst man made disasters in Los Angeles history, the St. Francis Dam (6:23) and the Porter Ranch gas leak (43:20), the LA Meekly boys inadvertently create the third worst man made disaster in Los Angeles history.

Here is our long overdue tourist guide on the city's most famous and recognizable landmarks. Whichever ones you're thinking of, they're in here. But not that one. Think of a better one. We'll cover the Hollywood Sign (4:45), the Walk of Fame (24:50), the Capitol Records building (42:15), the Hollywood Bowl (56:10), the Santa Monica Pier (1:16:14) and the Watts Towers (1:33:18).

Take a drive down Wilshire with us this month as we explore the two biggest assassinations in LA history; those of Robert F. Kennedy (5:57) and the Notorious B.I.G (38:09). One of these men were almost president when they died. You'd be surprised which one though. Unless you know who Robert F. Kennedy is.

What do we want? An episode about the biggest marches, protests and walkouts in the city's history! When do we want it? When we click download now! We'll cover the Garment Workers Strike of 1933 (5:06), the Chicano Movement and the Brown Berets (16:59), the LBJ protest in Century City (33:54), Ruben Salazar (49:14), the Black Cat (59:53) and the Immigration Reform Act protests of 2006 (1:15:01).

In this episode we are seeing Red and naming names as we tell you the story of the Hollywood 10 and the shameful Hollywood Blacklist of the 40s and 50s. How does a thing like that happen you ask? Well, just take a community built on pleasing the general public, add rumors of Communist ties and watch a city devour itself. We'll cover the Hollywood Blacklist round 1 (4:06) and round 2 (36:45).

Let us paint you the story of USC's Fisher museum (4:07). Let us sculpt you the history of the ever changing LACMA (16:01). Let us performance art you the saga of Norton Simon and his museum (1:01:39). Let us multimedia presentation you the struggle of MOCA (1:19:24). Let us art reference you the controversy of the Broad (1:36:10)! (Psst! This episode is about a few of the city's biggest art museums)

Ya better not pout, ya better not cry because we can't take any more suffering. Join us for our annual holiday episode as we check in to the Cecil Hotel to explore its horrific history and four of its most notorious guests. As always, it wouldn't be a haunted episode without paranormal audio issues so be warned. Your soul will be spared if you can spot the (very clear) mark in the episode when the audio starts to fail. We cover the history of the hotel itself (7:12), Richard Ramirez (21:36), Jack Unterweger (1:06:54), the pigeon lady of Pershing Square (1:23:37) and Elisa Lam (1:26:02).