L.A. Meekly: A Los Angeles History Podcast

L.A. Meekly: A Los Angeles History Podcast

by Daniel Zafran & Greg Gonzalez

Field Trip! Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Interview with Carl Tart

Activate your spellcheck because we are at the harder-than-you-think to-spell Coliseum! We are joined by the hilarious comedian/Los Angeles history connoisseur Carl Tart as we discuss this place's meaning to himself and to the city at large.

The Good, the Bad and the Freeway (Freeways)

Vroom-vroom goes the car and brake-cry goes the traffic. It took us this long to cover freeways because we've been stuck on the 405 for 6 years trying to get here. We'll cover the creation of the city's freeways (:22) and the flipside of all that creation as it destroyed neighborhoods all over town (1:04).

Loco Celebrities (Local Celebrities)

Dive into the world of public access TV, billboards and customized cars in our evening with some of LA's most notable local celebrities. Take a ride with Angelyne (:19), take another ride with Dennis Woodruff (:37), take a look into a future that never happened with the Amazing Criswell (:56), get healed by William Money (1:12) and sing a song of aliens with David Liebe Hart (1:32). Don't forget to use promo code MEEKLY on the Forkspot app to get $15 off your first order.

Behind the Times (LA Times)

What's black and white and read all over? This description for our episode about a newspaper. This month we cover the Los Angeles Times and the major players behind it from the warlike Harrison Gray Otis (:16), the conservative Harry Chandler (:54), the moderate Norman Chandler (1:23) and the surfing Otis Chandler (1:31). This episode brought to you by Forkspot. Use promo code MEEKLY to get $15 off your first order.

Gems In the La La Land (Hidden Gems of LA)

We found an old pirate's treasure map and we're hunting hidden gems all over this city! We'll be looking up at Yamashiro Hollywood (:20), over to Travel Town (:35), sneaking into St. Vincent Court (:49), visiting the Venice Mosaic Tile House (:54), disappearing into the Max Factor Hollywood Museum (1:00) and seeking out the Great Wall of Los Angeles (1:24). If you want to learn about more hidden gems in the city follow LifeHacks LA on Instagram and Facebook! This episode also brought to you by Forkspot! Use promo code MEEKLY and get $15 towards a meal today!

Creepy Christmas/Chaunted Channukah: Part 666 (Haunted San Pedro and Palos Verdes)

Pull up your scariest chair under the hiss-letoe and get ready to spin your dread-le; it's Creepy Christmas/Chaunted Channukah! This year we'll cover the scariest tales from the San Pedro/Palos Verdes peninsula including and limited to the Point Vicente and Fermin lighthouses (:20), the Warner Theater (:40), Clemente Clem (:55), the Hernandez house haunting (1:05) and the Vanderlip mansion (1:23).

Field Trip! The Valley Relics Museum Interview with Tommy Gelinas

Take the 101, 405 or the 118 straight to the 818 for our latest field trip to the Valley Relics Museum! We talk with museum founder and driving force Tommy Gelinas as he guides us on his journey from valley enthusiast and ash tray collector to full fledged museum owner and giant neon sign collector. Fall in love with the valley all over again or for the first time right here.

Fast Food For Thought (Fast Food Chains)

Forget the turkey and make your extended family angry with some cheap, fast food for Thanksgiving! In this supersized episode we'll be covering the crunch shells of Taco Bell (:18), the garlic aromas of Zankou Chicken (:50), the chewy freshness of Western Bagel (1:11), the timeless perfection of In-N-Out (1:17) and the orange flavored goodness of Panda Express (1:56). Come hungry and leave hungrier.

The Party of the Dead See's (Halloween Parties and Famous Candy Stores)

Don't run away, it's only Meek. Put on your favorite Pagan harvest character costume and get ready for our door to door journey through LA Halloween parties across the decades and the candy that went along with them. We'll start with the story of the local creation the Abba Zaba bar (:22), trek through the parties themselves (:26), then on to get some candy in bulk at Jack's Wholesale (1:00), some world famous toffee at Littlejohn's (1:02), a taste of the finest Swiss chocolates at Edelweiss (1:04), a few balls of mochi at Fugetsu-do (1:10) and, everybody's favorite, See's Candies (1:20) to close out the night. Just remember we won't be driving you home and BYO pumpkin.

Call Me By Your Nickname (Famous Nicknamed People)

This is episode 57 but you might know it better as the old "Heinz Variety." That's because this month we're talking about some of the most famous nicknames of people in Los Angeles history. We'll go from the confrontational "Fighting Bob" Shuler (:17), "Slapsy" Maxie (:32) and "Greek" George Caralambo (:49) to the criminal "Two Gun" Davis (:58) and "Machine Gun" Walker (1:20).
14 of 22