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Castulo de la Rocha arrived in Los Angeles from rural Mexico at age ten having never attended school. He didn't speak English. He couldn't read or write it. And … a few years later, he was elected student body president. Twice. What followed was just as unlikely. Fresh out of law school at Berkeley, Castulo thought he'd spend a few months helping a small East Los Angeles community clinic before moving on to whatever came next. He never left. Nearly fifty years later, AltaMed has grown into the largest federally qualified health center in the United States, serving more than 700,000 patients every year through 80 locations across Southern California. In this episode, we talk about growing up on a ranch with no electricity, no cars, and no schools, how a young lawyer became one of the most influential healthcare leaders in California, and why he believed so strongly that art belonged alongside medicine that he wrote it into AltaMed's bylaws. Most of all, this is a conversation about finding the work you were meant to do... even when you had no idea you were looking for it.

John Quinn founded a four-lawyer firm in Los Angeles that grew into Quinn Emanuel — now the largest litigation-only law firm in the world, with more than 1,000 lawyers and nearly $3 billion in annual revenue. Which is impressive. But it’s also only part of the story. In this episode, John takes us from his childhood in Utah to Harvard Law School and then Los Angeles, where an early business model that didn’t quite work ended up helping lay the foundation for one of the most successful law firms in the world. We also talk about the cases that still stick with him after decades of litigation, why he decided law offices should have artists-in-residence — actual working artists creating inside the firm — and how global hikes, contemporary art, and Michelin-starred sushi somehow all became part of the Quinn Emanuel universe. Because John Quinn is, by any measure, a phenomenally successful lawyer. But spend a little time with him and it becomes clear that the more interesting story is how unusually he’s chosen to build the life — and the institution — around that success. And if you’re wondering why we recorded the conversation inside a Michelin-starred Downtown L.A. sushi restaurant called Q? Yeah. That’s his too.

Jacob Soboroff has built a national reputation as a television journalist and author, reporting from the field for NBC News, MSNBC, MS NOW and beyond. But his story starts in Los Angeles. In this episode, Jacob shares what it was like growing up in the Pacific Palisades – and then, years later, reporting on it burning down on live television – along with the unlikely early experiences that shaped his path, from chasing celebrities on the red carpet to an internship where his job was literally to say “no” on behalf of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. We also talk about his latest book, Firestorm, and how covering the Palisades and Eaton fires became both a professional assignment and a deeply personal story – one that reflects how Los Angeles shows up for itself in moments of crisis. It’s a conversation about storytelling, perspective, and what it means when the story hits close to home. We also recorded at a restaurant in Altadena with its own remarkable comeback story after the fires – and, as it turns out, a connection to Jacob that makes for a fun, unexpected start to the episode. And wait until you hear who he says he was starstruck by – it involves randomly running into his journalistic hero… and ending up being featured by him.

Zev Yaroslavsky spent forty consecutive years in elected office in Los Angeles — a run that, thanks to term limits, no local politician will ever match again. And it began with a race he probably wasn't supposed to win. At just 25 years old, Zev ran for Los Angeles City Council and defeated not one, but two formidable opponents: Mayor Tom Bradley's handpicked candidate and former Councilmember Roz Wyman. He announced that campaign at Canter's Deli — which is exactly where we sat down, nearly half a century later, to talk about everything that followed. In this episode, Zev takes us through four decades at City Hall and on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, including that unlikely first campaign, the 1984 Olympics, the long fight to bring rail transit to the Westside, and what it was like helping govern Los Angeles through some of the most consequential periods in its modern history. But this isn't just a tour through a political résumé. It's the story of someone who entered public life remarkably young, stayed there remarkably long, and remained deeply rooted in the city he represented. How rooted? After forty years in office and a lifetime in Los Angeles, Zev still lives within eight blocks of his childhood home.

Susan Feniger is one of the pioneers of modern Los Angeles dining – and one of the first generation of chefs to bring bold, regional Mexican cuisine into the mainstream. But her story starts in a parking lot. In this episode, Susan shares how she set out – very intentionally – to learn from the kitchens she admired, landing at Ma Maison under a young Wolfgang Puck, and how she met her longtime business partner Mary Sue Milliken, eventually convincing her to move to Los Angeles so they could open a restaurant together. That restaurant, City Cafe, was a 900-square-foot spot on Melrose where they cooked in the parking lot on two hibachis and two hot plates. And somehow… it worked. People noticed … including Julia Child – a connection that eventually led to City Cafe memorabilia being displayed at the Smithsonian. What followed was a career defined by curiosity, from traveling through Mexico to explore regional cuisine long before it was widely understood, to building Border Grill into one of the defining restaurant concepts in Los Angeles and beyond. Along the way, Susan and Mary Sue also became some of the original stars of the Food Network, hosting more than 400 episodes of Too Hot Tamales, helping shape what food television would become. And wait until you hear just how strong that partnership really is… it involves a relationship story that could probably only happen in Los Angeles.

Alex Baskin is the executive producer behind some of Bravo’s most recognizable reality series – most notably, The Real Housewives. But his story starts well before that. In this episode, Alex shares how his father’s career as a television writer brought their family to L.A., what it was like coming up through MTV in its heyday, and why, fresh out of law school, he took a job that paid just five hundred dollars a week – a decision that helped set the course for everything that followed. We also get into the evolution of The Real Housewives – from early experiments in a few cities to a cultural phenomenon – including why Beverly Hills became such a defining setting, and what it takes to keep a show like that both relevant and unpredictable. His is a story about storytelling, cultural influence, and how Los Angeles helps shape what the rest of the country watches. And yes: we go there on Scandoval … and the Baskin-Robbins connection.

Madeleine Brand is one of those voices millions of people recognize — even if they don’t immediately know the name behind it. For more than a decade, she’s hosted Press Play on KCRW. Before that came NPR, Day to Day, and a public-radio career that took her from Berkeley to Buffalo, Boston, New Jersey, Washington, New York, and finally — wisely — back home to Los Angeles. What’s remarkable is how early she figured out what she loved. While many careers in media involve detours, reinventions, and a fair amount of chaos, Madeleine found public radio in college, got very good at it, and kept following the work wherever it led. In this episode, we talk about the sleepy New Jersey station that somehow became a launching pad for an entire generation of legendary broadcasters, why one very large and very well-intentioned grant ultimately convinced her it was time to leave, and what it takes to stay thoughtful, curious, and unmistakably yourself across decades on the air. Madeleine is also funny, candid, and wonderfully self-aware — including about why her favorite place to hear live music in Los Angeles is her own house. And yes, at one point she tells me I’m a good interviewer. Which, for me, was a little like Kobe Bryant telling you you’ve got a nice jump shot.

John Szabo runs one of the largest and most quietly influential public systems in Los Angeles — all seventy-two branches of the L.A. Public Library — as the City Librarian. In this episode, John shares how he started working in libraries at sixteen, what it was like arriving in L.A. thinking it would take a couple months to get settled – only to realize, eighteen months later, that this city doesn’t work like that – and how he ended up being named National Librarian of the Year. But more than anything, this is a conversation about what a modern library actually is. Under John’s leadership, the L.A. Public Library has expanded far beyond books: citizenship programs, job training, legal clinics, maker spaces, and skill-building workshops – all free, all embedded in communities across the city. We also get into the fun stuff – from the oldest book in the collection to the staggering number of audiobooks Angelenos check out each year – and why, at a time when many public institutions feel strained, the library continues to grow. And yes – we also hear his excitement about getting to open a 100-year-old time capsule.

Jim Hahn and Janice Hahn come from one of the most consequential families in Los Angeles public life – and are still shaping it today. Their father, Kenneth Hahn, served on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors for more than four decades – and left a legacy that both Jim and Janice have carried forward in their own ways. Jim is the only person to have held all three citywide offices in Los Angeles, including serving as the city’s 40th Mayor. Janice has served on the City Council, in Congress, and now on the very same Board of Supervisors as her father. In this episode, they share what it was like growing up with a beloved yet always-on-call father, and why being brother and sister led to very different timelines for finding their way into public life. We recorded in the Board Room of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, the very room where their father served, and where Janice serves today – a setting that made this conversation feel very personal.   This is a serious — though warm and often funny — conversation about family legacy and public service. But, even after decades in public life, there’s still plenty of sibling button-pushing. Some things are universal.

Brian Toll and John Terzian aren’t household names – but their venues are. Bootsy Bellows. Delilah. The Nice Guy. Poppy. Bird Streets Club. If you’ve seen a paparazzi shot of a celebrity slipping in or out of a club in Los Angeles, there’s a good chance it was one of theirs. In this episode, Brian and John share how a friendship that started by throwing epic house parties at USC turned into the h.wood Group, one of the most influential hospitality brands in the country. We talk about the early failure that almost ended it before it began – their first club was shut down by the City – how they think about exclusivity … including why not letting people in can sometimes be the smartest business decision … and what it really takes to build places that feel both impossible to access and impossible to ignore. It’s a conversation about access, perception, and how they’ve helped define Los Angeles for the rest of the world. And yes – of all the celebrities who’ve come through their doors, we find out who actually left them starstruck.

City of Hope CEO Robert Stone leads one of the most important cancer research and treatment organizations in the world. Under his leadership, the institution has expanded dramatically, now serving nearly 150,000 patients annually across four states. Which makes one fact all the more surprising: out of the country's 57 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers, Robert is the only CEO who is not a medical professional. In this episode, we talk about his unlikely college basketball career, how what could have been a fairly traditional corporate law career turned into a decades-long mission at City of Hope, and why he nearly fainted on his very first day on the job. Along the way, we discuss his family's deep Los Angeles roots, the pressure and responsibility of leading an institution that patients literally trust with their lives, and how following his instincts led him down a path he never could have predicted. Most of all, this is a conversation about leadership, purpose, and what can happen when you choose the less obvious road. And yes — we also compare notes on being at Dodger Stadium for two of the most unforgettable home runs in baseball history.

Nancy Silverton isn’t just one of Los Angeles’s most celebrated chefs – she helped define how this city eats. Born and raised in L.A., Nancy’s career spans the city’s most iconic kitchens – from Michael’s to Spago, Campanile to La Brea Bakery, and now the “Mozza Plex”: Pizzeria Mozza, Osteria Mozza, and Chi Spacca.  And let’s not forget the already-iconic Max & Helen’s, the Larchmont diner she opened in partnership with Phil Rosenthal. In this episode, Nancy shares how a chance encounter in her college dorm set her on her unexpected culinary path, why she left school with just one semester to go, and what it was like to help open Spago as its original pastry chef. We also talk about the quieter forces behind her success, including the influence of her mother, and how she’s managed to wear her status as a true L.A. legend with her unmistakably effortless style. This conversation is about instinct, reinvention, and building something lasting in a city that’s constantly changing. And yes – we also get her heretical take on the iconic, L.A.-born fast-food chain she says is overrated.

Alex Cohen is one of those if-you-know-you-know voices in Los Angeles. A longtime presence on NPR and now a morning anchor and political host on Spectrum News 1, she’s spent decades helping Angelenos make sense of the world around them. But her path to journalism – and her life outside of it – is anything but conventional. In this episode, Alex shares how growing up in the San Fernando Valley (yes, as a self-described “Valley Girl”) shaped her early ambitions, how time spent living in rural Japan helped set her on the path to journalism, and why she made the leap from radio to television after years behind the mic. We also get into the perhaps more unexpected sides of her story: her time managing a band, her ongoing deep interest in 13th Century Zen Buddhism, and her unlikely second identity as a Roller Derby competitor – complete with not one, but two nicknames. It’s a conversation about curiosity, reinvention, and what it means to build a life that’s both serious and surprising – on air and off. And, if I’m being honest, it’s also just one of the funniest conversations I’ve had yet.

How does someone go from the Jordan Downs housing projects in Watts to becoming the co-owner of one of Los Angeles’ most celebrated restaurants? In this episode of Making Los Angeles, chef and author Keith Corbin reflects on the long, unlikely road that led him from gang culture, prison, and the crack epidemic of 1980s South LA to Alta Adams, the acclaimed West Adams restaurant rooted in Black foodways and community. Keith shares stories about losing his brother, surviving prison, discovering cooking later in life through Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson’s LocoL, and finding purpose through food after years of instability and survival. The conversation explores Watts, masculinity, grief, fatherhood, redemption, and the complicated relationship between identity and place in Los Angeles.

What does it take to reinvent yourself over and over again — from Chicano kid in South Central LA, to potter living in the Canadian wilderness, to one half of one of the most iconic comedy duos in American history? In this episode, Cheech Marin reflects on the winding, unexpected path that shaped his life and career. Recorded inside the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in Riverside, the conversation spans decades of Los Angeles history — from growing up in South Central and the San Fernando Valley, to resisting the Vietnam draft, living off the grid in Alberta, discovering improv theater in Vancouver, and eventually building Cheech & Chong into a cultural phenomenon. Cheech shares stories about opening for Motown acts, playing topless bars, recording groundbreaking comedy albums, and making Up in Smoke at a time when Hollywood had no idea what to make of them. He also reflects on Born in East L.A., the evolving conversation around immigration in America, and why Chicano art became one of his life’s great passions. We hear about Muhammad Ali, Bruce Springsteen opening for Cheech & Chong, late nights at the Troubadour, life in Malibu, and the creative instincts that kept pulling him toward music, comedy, filmmaking, and art. This episode is about curiosity, reinvention, and showing up every day for the thing you love…even when you have no idea where it’s going to lead.