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.

What's different about Season 2? Everything! And absolutely nothing. Because this show is about people, and everybody's story is different. Join us every Wednesday starting May 13th.