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California Love

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Tupac and Dr. Dre's "California Love" served as a love letter and anthem for a generation. The song inspired author and New York Times writer, Walter Thompson-Hernández, to create a show as prescient as it is personal. In his "California Love" series, Walter invites listeners to join him in his family home, on horseback through the streets of Compton, and up into the sky to examine belonging. Walter takes us deep into his own story as he explores what it means for him to love Los Angeles.

Tupac and Dr. Dre's "California Love" served as a love letter and anthem for a generation. The song inspired author and New York Times writer, Walter Thompson-Hernández, to create a show as prescient as it is personal. In his "California Love" series, Walter invites listeners to join him in his family home, on horseback through the streets of Compton, and up into the sky to examine belonging. Walter takes us deep into his own story as he explores what it means for him to love Los Angeles.

Location:

United States

Description:

Tupac and Dr. Dre's "California Love" served as a love letter and anthem for a generation. The song inspired author and New York Times writer, Walter Thompson-Hernández, to create a show as prescient as it is personal. In his "California Love" series, Walter invites listeners to join him in his family home, on horseback through the streets of Compton, and up into the sky to examine belonging. Walter takes us deep into his own story as he explores what it means for him to love Los Angeles.

Language:

English

Episodes

Yeah No, I'm Not OK with Dascha Polanco

3/23/2021
In our final episode drop of Yeah No, I'm Not OK, Dascha and Diane talk about what it meant to come up together as actors and Latinx artists. They also discuss their personal experiences with body image and what it means to continuously choose to embrace what is uniquely yours. To hear more episodes, subscribe to the Yeah No, I'm Not OK feed. Thank you for listening! For more information and support for eating disorders, please visit:...

Duration:00:38:52

Yeah No, I'm Not OK with Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

3/12/2021
We are back with another episode of Yeah No, I'm Not OK. Karla shot to fame when she wrote an essay about being an undocumented student at Harvard. But instead of book deals, she looked for more meaning in writing and exploring her identity. Along the way, she learned more about herself and tells Diane how the correct diagnoses, therapy, strict personal boundaries, and self-acceptance have all changed her life for the better. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide...

Duration:00:56:30

Introducing Yeah No, I'm Not OK by Diane Guerrero

3/2/2021
Who is Diane Guerrero and why is she talking about mental health? In this episode, we learn more about Diane’s personal experience and her commitment to making mental health a priority in communities nationwide, especially communities of color. Then for the very first time, Diane sits down with her big brother Eddie to have an honest conversation about their family history of addiction, anxiety, and depression. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay on top of new episodes with a note from...

Duration:00:54:44

Norco 80 Episode 3: The Robbers

2/10/2021
We are back with Episode 3 of Norco 80. To hear the remaining 10 episodes, visit the Norco feed for new episodes available each Monday. In this episode, George Smith didn't set out to rob a bank. He just wanted to survive the apocalypse. Norco ‘80 is produced by LAist Studios in collaboration with Futuro Studios. This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Duration:00:40:57

Norco 80 Episode 2: The Firefight

1/18/2021
We are back with Episode 2 of Norco 80. The bank robbers make it out of the Security Pacific Bank, cash in hand––but they’re immediately met by the police and a firefight begins. We meet one of the first officers on the scene, who explains the culture of the Norco police force in the 1970s and reveals just how unprepared they were for an armed robbery of this magnitude. Norco ‘80 is produced by LAist Studios in collaboration with Futuro Studios. Episode 3 now available on the Norco 80 feed....

Duration:00:35:06

Introducing Norco 80 Episode 1: The Robbery

1/11/2021
Introducing Norco 80, the unbelievable true story about God, guns, survivalism and the bank robbery that changed policing in America forever. May 9th, 1980 began as a regular Friday in sleepy Norco, a small town about 48 miles east of Los Angeles, known mostly for its horse trails and old western look. But around 3:30pm, five masked men with assault rifles would attempt to rob the Security Pacific Bank downtown. Host Antonia Cereijido introduces us to a region that was rapidly becoming the...

Duration:00:23:42

LAist Studios Presents: California City, “Turning Desert Dust Into Gold”

11/20/2020
Deep in the Mojave Desert, there is a little town with a big name and a bizarre history: California City. For decades, real estate developers have sold a dream here: if you buy land now, you’ll be rich one day. Thousands of people bought this dream. Many were young couples and hard-working immigrants looking to build a better future. But much of the land they bought is nearly worthless. In this new podcast, host Emily Guerin tells a story of money, power and deception. Listen and subscribe...

Duration:00:52:48

Bonus: Truth Be Told and California Love's Walter Thompson-Hernández

9/17/2020
In this bonus episode, KQED’s Truth Be Told host Tonya Mosley talks with Walter Thompson-Hernández about the making of California Love, growing up in Los Angeles, and the importance of trusting yourself. Plus, in the spirit of Truth Be Told, Walter answers a round of audience questions. The audio is prerecorded from an Instagram Live event from August 20, 2020.

Duration:00:55:49

Epilogue

8/17/2020
We close the series with a meditation on how 28 years after the 1992 Riots, for many in L.A., things feel exactly the same.

Duration:00:12:22

Ellie

8/13/2020
Eleuteria “Ellie” Hernández moved to Los Angeles from a small town in Mexico when she was 14 and fell in love with the city. In this episode, Walter sits down with Ellie, his mother, to understand her relationship to L.A. and how it shaped his own. California Love sponsors include: UCLA Extension Fall Quarter starts September 28. Enroll now at https://www.uclaextension.edu/

Duration:00:35:44

Compton Cowboys

8/6/2020
There’s a horse ranch in the heart of Compton that may hold the answers for salvation and redemption for the city’s black cowboys. Read the original NYTimes article, "For the Compton Cowboys, Horseback Riding Is a Legacy, and Protection." Read Walter Thompson-Hernández's book The Compton CowboysThe New Generation of Cowboys in America's Urban Heartland California Love is a limited series with 8 episodes. Show support by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts.

Duration:00:42:05

Parrots: A Parable

7/30/2020
A first-parrot perspective into legends and myths of how L.A. became home to the world’s largest population of green parrots. California Love is a limited series with 8 episodes. Show support by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts.

Duration:00:38:34

Kobe

7/23/2020
Walter dives deep on what Kobe meant to him in his life and how the icon’s death spurred a collective mourning throughout the city. California Love is a limited series with 8 episodes. Show support by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts.

Duration:00:36:48

P Line

7/16/2020
A story about a wild party line that many Los Angeles’ teenagers used to create a fantasy world. California Love sponsors include: Stream We Are Freestyle Love Supreme beginning July 17, only on Hulu

Duration:00:34:45

Scared Straight

7/9/2020
Walter was just eleven years old when he was admitted to L.A.'s infamous Scared Straight program for graffiti related crimes. In this episode, Walter, through a chance encounter, checks-in with his friend who went through the program with him, their anti-tagging arch-nemesis, and how they have turned out after all these years. California Love sponsors include: Stream We Are Freestyle Love Supreme beginning July 17, only on Hulu

Duration:00:40:03

Prologue

7/9/2020
Host Walter Thompson-Hernández returns home to L.A. and reflects on how much the city has changed since he was a child. California Love sponsors include: Stream We Are Freestyle Love Supreme beginning July 17, only on Hulu

Duration:00:11:31

Introducing California Love

7/1/2020
Introducing California Love, a show seeking to understand what it means to belong and not belong to the places we are from.

Duration:00:01:30