L.A. Meekly: A Los Angeles History Podcast
L.A. Meekly is a monthly comedy podcast about Los Angeles history put out by comedians Greg Gonzalez and Daniel Zafran that battles the idea that LA has no history by delving in the weird, unbelievable and, occasionally, haunted details from the past of their native city.

Pull up your scariest chair under the hiss-letoe and get ready to spin your dread-le; it's Creepy Christmas/Chaunted Channukah!  This year we'll cover the scariest tales from the San Pedro/Palos Verdes peninsula including and limited to the Point Vicente and Fermin lighthouses (:20), the Warner Theater (:40), Clemente Clem (:55), the Hernandez house haunting (1:05) and the Vanderlip mansion (1:23).

Direct download: creepy_6_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

Take the 101, 405 or the 118 straight to the 818 for our latest field trip to the Valley Relics Museum!  We talk with museum founder and driving force Tommy Gelinas as he guides us on his journey from valley enthusiast and ash tray collector to full fledged museum owner and giant neon sign collector.  Fall in love with the valley all over again or for the first time right here.

Direct download: valley_relics_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

Forget the turkey and make your extended family angry with some cheap, fast food for Thanksgiving!  In this supersized episode we'll be covering the crunch shells of Taco Bell (:18), the garlic aromas of Zankou Chicken (:50), the chewy freshness of Western Bagel (1:11), the timeless perfection of In-N-Out (1:17) and the orange flavored goodness of Panda Express (1:56).  Come hungry and leave hungrier.

Direct download: fast_food_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

Don't run away, it's only Meek.  Put on your favorite Pagan harvest character costume and get ready for our door to door journey through LA Halloween parties across the decades and the candy that went along with them.  We'll start with the story of the local creation the Abba Zaba bar (:22), trek through the parties themselves (:26), then on to get some candy in bulk at Jack's Wholesale (1:00), some world famous toffee at Littlejohn's (1:02), a taste of the finest Swiss chocolates at Edelweiss (1:04), a few balls of mochi at Fugetsu-do (1:10) and, everybody's favorite, See's Candies (1:20) to close out the night.  Just remember we won't be driving you home and BYO pumpkin.

Direct download: candy_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

This is episode 57 but you might know it better as the old "Heinz Variety."  That's because this month we're talking about some of the most famous nicknames of people in Los Angeles history.  We'll go from the confrontational "Fighting Bob" Shuler (:17), "Slapsy" Maxie (:32) and "Greek" George Caralambo (:49) to the criminal "Two Gun" Davis (:58) and "Machine Gun" Walker (1:20).

Direct download: nicknames_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

It's the first of the month and you know what that means: It's time to listen to a brand new episode while you write out your excessively long rent check!  Tune in as we dive into a thoroughly researched yet still unqualified discussion on LA's housing crisis and the who, what, where, when and why of it.  Our answer?  We have no idea

Direct download: housing_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

Hot town!  Summer in the city is here!  Cool down with this month's episode on the harnessing of the LA River as the city's water source in the early days (:15) and the creation of the Owens Valley aqueduct and the ensuing water wars in the slightly less early days (:55).  Chinatown references need not apply.

Direct download: water_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:09am PDT

Welcome to the island!  Once your seasickness subsides take a load off and listen to the millennia spanning story of Catalina Island.  We'll cover everything from the pre-Spanish era of the Pimuvit (:20) to the gum chewing resort fun of the Wrigley era (:54) and literally everything in between.

Direct download: catalina_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

Here we go on another field trip in search of health, wellness and nice tiling at the Rockhaven Sanitarium in Montrose.  Listen in as we interview the President of the Friends of Rockhaven Joanna Linkchorst about her efforts to preserve this vital part of LA history started by women to help women in need.

Direct download: rockhaven_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

Now boarding all indirect flights to knowledge!  Settle in with a bag of airplane peanut references while we cover three of the most important airports in the city's history from Burbank (:19) to Grand Central Airport in Glendale (:25) to LAX itself (:58).  There will be no refunds and we've already been delayed until after whenever your connecting flight is.  

Direct download: airports_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

Put on your pod-ing glasses and settle in for this book discussion with author Craig Owens of "Haunted by History Vol. 1"moderated by your very own LA Meekly boys live from the Mystic Museum in Burbank.  We delve into the history and lore of some of Southern California's most haunted locations all while spooky speakeasy music plays faintly in the background.

Direct download: craig_talk_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

Stop what you're doing and take a couple minutes to hear (handsome) us explain how we want you (loyal) listener to be part of a new segment on LA Meekly!

Direct download: new_segment_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Sit. Stay. Download. Good audience. Lend us a floppy ear as we spend this month celebrating National Pet Day with some of LA's most famous citizens that haven't yet developed complex language. We'll be covering the MGM lion (12:28), the absurd lion obsession of Tippi Hedren (28:03), Toto (42:35), Room 8 the cat (51:26) and, unfortunately, the LA Pet Memorial Park (1:05:35). Plus we unleash a new segment on the show! Most species welcome.

Direct download: pets_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:08am PDT

We've already disabled your snooze button so it's time to get up and listen to our trip to one of the strangest, most indescribable "secret" societies in the city: the Los Angeles Breakfast Club.  We talk with the wizards behind the curtain of it all Lily Holleman and Phil Leirness about the inclusive positivity of the place and which of your favorite stars from yesteryear were once members.  

Direct download: breakfast_club_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

Kick off Women's History Month right right here with two men telling you the stories of Brenda Allen (Madame to the Stars) (5:24), Alice Stebbins Wells (Officer with a Star) (20:11), Aggie Underwood (Reporter of the Dead Stars) (34:43) and Amelia Earhart (Pilot that almost reached the Stars) (1:03:27).

Direct download: women_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

Grab the nearest planchette and ask your local ouija board if it's time to listen to our newest field trip episode and the answer will be most definitely probably!  Tune in as we talk to two of the owners of the Bearded Lady's Mystic Museum and stay tuned afterwards to hear about Mystic Dylan's experience with a haunted lamb!

Direct download: mystic_museum_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:21am PDT

50 episodes! Could ya ever believe it?  Could ya ever have even wanted it?  To celebrate, we've compiled all 50 of our episode intros into one long episode that you just keep wanting to start, but it never will.  We want to thank all of you for listening these past 50 episodes and for reading this far into the episode description.

Direct download: 50_intros_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

It's February and we're here to celebrate Black History Month like it's none of your business; unless your business is one of the businesses we're talking about. That's right, this month we are covering a few of the most famous LA businesses started by African-Americans. We'll be covering KJLH (6:24), Fatburger (20:42), Roscoe's (32:01), the Lincoln Picture Company (42:14) and Famous Amos (58:56). This is our 50th episode so tune back in in a few days for our big, unnecessary 50th extravaganza!

Direct download: black_businesses_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT

NAZI PUNKS FUDGE OFF! Listen to our first episode of the new year as we discuss the various homegrown local Nazi groups operating in the city pre-WW2 (7:58) and the efforts of Leon Lewis and his network of spies to bring them down (44:36) as they learn the hard way that two wrongs don't make a Reich.

Direct download: nazis_itunes_version.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am PDT