L.a. Meekly

Break out your annual passes and welcome to the wonderful world of LA's old amusement parks! In this blockbuster episode we tackle the stories of places like Pacific Ocean Park, Busch Gardens and the never realized Disney plans in both Burbank and Long Beach. Come for the amusements, stay for the end credits. We cover Busch Gardens (6:36), Chutes Park (24:05), Marineland (42:52), Agricultural Park (1:06:32), the original plans for Disneyland (1:24:35) and Pacific Ocean Park (1:42:07).

File this episode under "filed" because the archive has already done its job.  Tag along with us as we head to the Los Angeles City Archives where we visit the City Archivist for Los Angeles Michael Holland as he tells us about all the decades of information available there to any citizen of the city, the tremendously large rooms all that information's held in and the horrific fire suppression system in place just in case.

Put on your airiest clothes and brave the valley heat for a LIVE discussion from the Andres Pico Adobe of some of the weirdest, strangest and downright did-we-already-say-weirdest things in the San Fernando Valley from the former Graceland imitation Melodyland to the ridiculous Monkey Island. We cover Melodyland (10:01), Monkey Island (21:10), the Old Trapper Lodge (32:22), the hidden Cold War missiles (41:18), Mother's Grave (48:14) and the haunted Andres Pico Adobe (52:45).

Buy a ticket for this very special episode where Greg and Daniel go through a slew of some of their favorite "LA" movies and their real life filming locations on their quest to understand what makes an "LA" movie "LA"..."movie." We cover Up In Smoke (9:18), the Big Lebowski (16:15), Heat (21:08), Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs (24:15), Boogie Nights (32:21), Back to the Future (36:32), Chinatown and LA noir (43:48), Boyz n the Hood and Friday (48:47), ET (51:46) and Mi Vida Loca (55:50).

Your monthly meekly has arrived! Flip through the pages of this month's episode where we discuss the stories of some of the biggest and most influential magazines from LA history from Land of Sunshine to Slash to the weekly one whose vaguely familiar name we can't remember. Ad free and just as little gloss as ever! We'll cover Land of Sunshine (8:54), Variety (30:21), the Hollywood Reporter (46:20), Slash Magazine (1:00:07), Los Angeles Magazine (1:11:16) and LA Weekly (1:21:30).

Head east, young audience. This month we're covering the story of Boyle Heights and its transition from a predominantly Jewish community (5:44) to a predominantly Latino community (38:33). Join us to hear about the area's multicultural/politically active/alligator loving journey from blintzes to burritos.

Pack a peanut butter and Lemmy sandwich and join us at the legendary Rainbow Bar and Grill for a talk with Staci Layne Wilson, author of the book "So L.A.: A Hollywood Memoir," about this place's rock and roll history and when best to go to see Ron Jeremy.

They once were lost but now they still are. Step back in time with us as we tell the tales of six of LA's once prominent but now gone forever landmarks from the beautiful Richfield Tower and Pan Pacific Auditorium to the ominous Deadman's Island. Listen now before they become somehow even more gone! We'll cover Arcade Station (8:16), Dead Man's Island (29:31), Pan Pacific Auditorium (37:13), the Old Courthouse and Hall of Records (50:28), the Coconut Grove (1:04:07) and the Richfield Oil Building (1:17:37).

This episode recorded in front of a live studio audience. Jealous?! Join us for our very first live episode as we discuss a few local commercials and the mad cowboy mattress manic geniuses behind them from Crazy Gideon to Cal Worthington. Since we showed video clips in the show be sure to follow along with the cheat sheet of links on our tumblr page so you too can see the glory that is these videos. And don't you forget our video intro which will also be on that page! We'll cover Mad Man Muntz (7:10), Sit n Sleep (17:09), Crazy Gideon (29:00), Cal Worthington (39:06) and Larry H. Parker (57:27).

It's gonna feel like the first time all over again in this month's episode where, in honor of Black History Month, we discuss some trail blazing African-Americans from Los Angeles. From the city's first African-American mayor to the first African-American surfer, this just may be the first time you actually enjoy one of our episodes. We'll cover Peter Biggs (7:07), Samuel Marlowe (12:41), Nick Gabaldon (16:44), Miriam Matthews (39:58), Stepin Fetchit (50:15), Tom Bradley (1:06:33) and Paul R. Williams (1:22:26).

Here it is at long last!  Our very first field trip episode!  Just play along and say you've been waiting as anxiously for it as we assume you were!  Join us on our excursion to the Petersen Automotive Museum with the one and only Ada Ruiz and hear what the most exciting and controversial cars they have are and where to eat once you're sick of seeing them.  We apologize for the audio quality but we hope you'll forgive us as it is our first time using this equipment.  We wouldn't hold it against YOU so show some mercy.

Embezzlement. Bloated pensions. Voter fraud. Hog guts. What do all these have in common other than being beautiful names for your children? They're all part of the dirty corruption stories we're about to cover from two cities in southeast LA: Bell (7:02) and Vernon (50:38). Settle in and be glad you have a conscience. If you don't have a conscience, we're sure you can steal one from one of our good little listeners.

Take a festively eerie drive through the many canyons of Los Angeles with us as we talk about the strangest/spookiest stories that have taken place in them from Superman's ghost to a barrage of alien encounters. As the experts we are, we recommend you listen to this at night. Preferably walking alone through one of these canyons. We are not responsible for any lost items, respect or life if you choose to do so. (Keen eared listeners alert! The curse of our haunted episodes lives on! Listen out for strange flapping noises that are in this recording for no explainable reason!) We'll cover the Wonderland Murders (8:47), the Beverly Glen Tavern (19:09), the Ramon Navarro murder (31:44), the Houdini Mansion (43:30), the death of George Reeves (1:11:54) and the aliens of Topanga Canyon (1:28:50).

Peel away the skin, take that gross white stuff off, section it up and extract the seeds and what you've got left is our long awaited (and dreaded) episode on oranges! Bite into the story of LA's mythological cash crop all the way from the first orange tree to come to the city (9:10) all the way through the rise of a little local business known as Sunkist (41:47). Some sugar added.

Eye of nerd. Pod of cast. Leave a review or this show won't last! And with that incantation comes our Halloween special on some of the witchiest women in LA history...and a house. Crack open a cauldron as we pod-cast a spell on your ears of the stories of Louise Huebner (6:53), Vampira (23:50), Elvira (53:29) and the Beverly Hills Witch House (1:10:37). Be there or be there. It's not a choice.

You must be 21 or older (in dog years) to listen to this episode on the long, cursed, prohibited, corrupt and tasty history of alcohol in this city from the very first grape vine to the very last boot legged. Fake IDs welcome. We'll cover the city's love affair with wine (6:43) including the San Antonio winery (24:35), the torrid romance with beer (28:25) including Eastside brewery (31:53) and the chilly non-romance of prohibition (48:21).

We declare this the XXXIInd episode of LA Meekly listenable! Settle in to hear about LA's two trysts with the Olympics in 1932 (7:29) and 1984 (37:12) and about our chances to make the third time the charm in 2024. It's a gold medal episode brought to you by two bronze gods.

March along with us to the beat of the stories of a few of LA's biggest parades! Including and limited to the PRIDE Parade (6:10), the Hollywood Christmas Parade (20:46), the Festival of the Chariots (36:51), La Fiesta de Los Angeles(42:53), the Rose Parade (1:03:50) and the Doo Dah Parade (1:20:23). No we do not have a permit for this episode.

In telling the stories of the two worst man made disasters in Los Angeles history, the St. Francis Dam (6:23) and the Porter Ranch gas leak (43:20), the LA Meekly boys inadvertently create the third worst man made disaster in Los Angeles history.

Here is our long overdue tourist guide on the city's most famous and recognizable landmarks. Whichever ones you're thinking of, they're in here. But not that one. Think of a better one. We'll cover the Hollywood Sign (4:45), the Walk of Fame (24:50), the Capitol Records building (42:15), the Hollywood Bowl (56:10), the Santa Monica Pier (1:16:14) and the Watts Towers (1:33:18).