The new podcast slate from LAist Studios spotlights the LA stories Hollywood has ignored

LAist Studios, the Award-Winning Southern California Public Radio’s (SCPR) podcast studio, revealed the first part of their slate of original podcasts set to premiere in 2022. The shows continue LAist Studios’ mission to tell stories often ignored by Hollywood and mainstream media from a uniquely Los Angeles point-of-view.

The shows were developed under the leadership of LAist Studios executive producer Antonia Cereijido, who was recently honored as Podcast Producer of the Year by Adweek. LAist Studios is known for award-winning and critically-acclaimed fan favorites such as “The Big One: Your Survival Guide,” “California Love,” “Norco ’80,” “California City,” and “WILD,” which was recently included on Best of 2021 lists from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, The Atlantic, HuffPost and Bello Collective. Since its launch in 2019, shows from LAist Studios have been honored by the Webby Awards, Adweek, LA Press Club, New York Festivals and more.

Said Herb Scannell, President and Chief Executive Officer, SCPR: “When LAist Studios launched over just two years ago, we committed to creating a space for vibrant and innovative voices that reflect the ethos of Los Angeles to harness the power of audio storytelling. The diversity of our city is what makes LA so special and LAist Studios seeks to capture that in all that we do, beginning with our commitment to being a studio where all areas of production are staffed by creators and storytellers of underrepresented backgrounds. This ambitious slate tells a breadth of LA stories to the world that will resonate here and beyond borders”

The upcoming slate from LAist Studios includes:

“Imperfect Paradise”

Premieres Thursday, January 27, 2022

“Imperfect Paradise” is a seasonal show about stories of the reality behind the dream. Each season takes on something essential about California that will help frame a national or even international issue -- its progressiveness, its reputation as a home for dreamers and schemers, its heartbreaking inequality, its varied and diverse communities, its unique combination of dense cities and wild places, and breaks it down into three, 20-30 minute episodes that will be released on Thursdays. You’ll love it even if you don’t live here, because as goes California, so goes the nation…and the world.

In this first story, KPCC and LAist senior reporter Jill Replogle follows a former-punk-rocker-turned-activist on a quest to address the homelessness crisis in Orange County, one of the wealthiest places in America, while going up against a community of fearful neighbors.

This podcast will be edited and produced by Emily Guerin, host of the award-winning investigative narrative podcast “California City.”

“Snooze”

Premieres Spring 2022

From Megan Tan (award-winning producer of “California Love” and “WILD;” creator of “Millennial”), a show about things people put off, how they conquer them, but most importantly, how they conquer themselves.

In each episode, Megan sits down with a new guest to help them face their fears and devise an action plan to overcome tasks big and small that have been put on the back burner, tapping into advice from prominent creatives and experts along the way. As she helps those around her, Megan in turn winds up tackling a significant goal that she’s been snoozing on. “Snooze” is a joyful, feel-good show where the guests and the audience will see themselves as the protagonists of their own lives.

“K-Pop Dreaming”

Premieres 2022

K-pop has taken over much of the music industry in the United States. Near “total global ubiquity,” is how NPR described the music. But despite what feels like a sudden explosion, the rise of K-pop has taken place over the span of decades. It’s a history that has to do with Korean soft power, the internet and a fanbase with multiculturalism in its DNA. It’s also a history that has to do with Los Angeles – especially LA’s vast Korean diaspora and the influential neighborhood of Koreatown.

On “K-Pop Dreaming,” LAist Studios will tell the history of the K-pop genre, connecting the dots between its conception as a “soft power” export by the Korean government, to its utter omnipresence in today’s culture. K-pop isn’t just impacting the way we listen to music or how we dress, but even how we vote. K-pop fans in the U.S. tend to democratic leaning ideologies and will often flood a hashtag with which they don’t agree with videos of their favorite stars. K-pop fans even impacted a Trump presidential rally by buying up tickets so actual supporters couldn’t attend. And much of the K–pop trend in the U.S. started by way of L.A. This podcast will look at how the Korean American diaspora and enclaves like LA’s Koreatown have helped shape the sensibility of K-pop and, conversely, how K-pop is shaping global culture.

“Lost Chapter: The Forgotten Revolutionary”

Premieres Spring 2022

“Lost Chapter” is a new seasonal limited run series exploring mysterious stories of American history that have been left out of the history books. In the first season, “Lost Chapter: The Forgotten Revolutionary,” KPCC and LAist reporter Adolfo Lopez-Guzman presents an investigative noir exploring the Chicano students rights movement of the 1990s and unravels the mysterious death of one of its leaders - Oscar Gomez.

In the early 1990’s, Gomez was one the most prominent voices of the movement, galvanizing the public through the power of radio as the host of the KDVS’ radio show, “La Onda Chicana.” But on November 17, 1994, Oscar was found dead on the Santa Barbara shore. Police never determined his cause of death. Lopez-Guzman was a bright-eyed writer for San Diego State University’s Chicano newspaper when news broke of the untimely death of the young activist in November 1994.

Through new interviews and found audio, the series follows Lopez-Guzman as he investigates Oscar’s death and recovers his own Chicano voice, while introducing listeners to a forgotten generation of activists who went beyond fighting against racist laws to demand a centering of indigenous identities in education, media and the arts. The voices of this story are the connective tissue between the civil rights movement of the 60s and antiracism struggles of today.

“Human/Nature”

Premieres Early 2022

We are facing an anxiety epidemic, and with a quick glance at the news, it’s easy to understand why. Studies show one simple thing that can help ease anxious minds – stepping outside. In this weekly series, host Marcos Trinidad becomes a guide to the world beyond our doorsteps, helping awaken curiosity about the great outdoors. We are held captive by social media sites that know how to manipulate us into doom-scrolling or numbing out for hours. Marcos will show us how to break free from the algorithm, get in touch with our humanity and reclaim our attention. Spending time in nature isn’t just good for our minds – in this tech obsessed culture, it’s ultimately a form of resistance.

“The Big Burn”

Premieres Fall 2022

As the world enters a new age of climate change-driven megafires, science reporter and host Jacob Margolis (“The Big One: Your Survival Guide”) dives deep into personal stories that illuminate the history of how we got here, why we keep screwing things up, and what we can do to survive - and even thrive - while the world around us burns.

Ultimately, the series aims to not only help people come to terms with where we’re at, but to offer the audience hope and a practical roadmap for success at the individual, societal, and governmental levels to help reform the way that we think about wildfires in the age of climate change.

More shows are expected to be launched during 2022.

For more information about LAist Studios, visit laist.com/podcasts.