Episodes
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The backstory to El Chicano's groundbreaking megahit, that time Adolfo was name-checked on "The Simpsons," and the podcast that connects the dotsIt's a three-fer this week!
First, in the summer of 1970, you couldn't pass through the un-airconditioned parts of Los Angeles without hearing radios blaring "Viva Tirado," the groundbreaking hit from El Chicano ... an East LA band who were the first Latino group to play The Apollo. We get the story from band member Bobby Espinoza.
Then, as KPCC's Adolfo Guzman Lopez works on his new podcast, The Forgotten Revolutionary - the new season of Imperfect Paradise from LAist Studios - we listen back to an early instance of Adolfo talking about his background on KPCC ... the occasion being the time he was name-checked on "The Simpsons."
And finally, we listen to the trailer for The Forgotten Revolutionary, which is about Oscar Gomez, a tragic star of the Chicano rights movement, whose radio show used "Viva Tirado" as its theme song. It's also about Adolfo's history as an activist, which he is revealing for the first time as he explores what happened to Gomez.
Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and bythe Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
(Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.)
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Naked Reporter Ends Drought? Sanden Totten teaches us how to save water by taking a "Navy Shower" ... plus an astronaut tells us how they stay clean in spaceWith Governor Newsom contemplating mandatory water restrictions - because we are actually using MORE water this year, despite his warnings - it seems like a good time to bring back the time Sanden Totten, now the host of Brains On, took a timed Navy shower back in 2015 ... on the radio.
The Navy shower is a strategy for getting clean when you're on a boat with limited freshwater, and lots of sweaty seafarers in line behind you. (People in the Navy apparently call landlubber showers "Hollywood showers.")
In this episode, Sanden also chats with an astronaut about how they use and reuse water in space. And drink what used to be pee. You have been warned.
Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and bythe Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
(Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.)
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Vincent Price: actor, art collector, and gourmet! ... We talk with Angelenos on the 20th anniversary of the OJ verdict ... We meet a photographer who specializes in getting complete strangers to pose intimately ... A new kilt store. Yes, a kilt store. ... Brains On examines the fart.
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Kareem co-writes "Mycroft Holmes" to tell Sherlock's brother's backstory; the norteño band Los Tigres del Norte comes to town; Industrial Musicals; 2,000 year old bronzes of people you know and love; LA's scandalous nuclear cover-up.
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Surkus plants pretty party people for perfect PR. Does The Broad museum on Grand Avenue match expectations? The music of Quitapenas. Brains On - the science podcast for kids. Making a living paying tribute to The Bob Dylan of Mexico.
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George Takei tells us how his internment camp musical "Allegiance" got to Broadway. How to plant the right milkweed and help monarch butterflies. Suzanne Lummis on good and bad poetry. New doc "Being Canadian" looks at ... well, you know.
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How gays and lesbians turned to science fiction to explore themes banned on Earth; Dam Funk calls for increased fantasy; remembering artist Noah Davis and the SoCal years of Oliver Sacks
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Got any ideas to boost turnout so the 2017 L.A. city election isn't a snooze? We celebrate Shotgun Tom Kelly, who isn't shy but is retiring. Saving Salvation Mountain.
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Kristen Lepore thought she had picnic game until she went to the Hollywood Bowl ... Kevin Ferguson explores the world of actors who pretend to be patients to train doctors ... Brains On! explains why your house cat puts up with you.
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Sharon McNary takes us pothole watching; Collin Friesen locks us in a room; Salma Hayek backs The Prophet.