You Can't Eat the Sunshine: Recent Episodes
Esotouric
You Can’t Eat the Sunshine is the podcast of Esotouric, the offbeat Los Angeles company that turns the notion of guided bus tours on its ear. Each week, join Kim Cooper and Richard Schave on their Southern California adventures, as they visit with fascinating characters for wide-ranging interviews that reveal the myths, contradictions, inspirations and passions of the place. There’s never been a city quite like Los Angeles. Tune in if you’d like to find out why.
Download Podcast Episode! You Can’t Eat the Sunshine returns with an all-new Quarantine format, inviting folks who are passionate about Los Angeles history and historic preservation to join us for […]
Download Podcast Episode! Welcome everyone, and thank you for listening to our podcast, You Can’t Eat The Sunshine, for the week of May 25th, 2020. We are on day 69 […]
Download Podcast Episode! You Can’t Eat the Sunshine returns with an all-new Quarantine format, inviting folks who are passionate about Los Angeles history and historic preservation to join us for […]
Download Podcast Episode! You Can’t Eat the Sunshine returns with an all-new Quarantine format, inviting folks who are passionate about Los Angeles history and historic preservation to join us for […]
Download Podcast Episode! A note on the audio quality: this episode is a bit tinny, due to the learning curve on setting up multi-guest remote podcasting, and the present difficulty […]
Download Podcast Episode! A note on the audio quality: this episode is a bit tinny, due to the learning curve on setting up multi-guest remote podcasting, and the present difficulty […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we visit with Gregg Sutter, who for 33 years was the researcher and assistant to writer Elmore Leonard, to learn about the […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we meet some of the interesting people working at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. We visit […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we talk with Harry Chandler about his family’s newspaper empire and our upcoming Historic Cultural Monument hearing seeking to landmark the Los […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we talk with architect and historian Alan Hess about the ongoing Pereira in Peril campaign and our work together seeking to landmark […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we talk with Dr. Louise Ivers, architectural historian and preservationist, about her new book, The Remaking of a Seaside City: Mid-Century Modern […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we talk with preservationist John Girodo about his struggles to preserve Hollywood’s historic built environment as that small neighborhood experiences hyper-gentrification. We’ll […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we get an education from two devoted parks interpreters: LuAnn Thompson shares her favorite things about the landscape and creatures found in […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we talk with Donald Spivack, former Deputy Director of Policy & Operations for the CRA-LA, about the two biggest challenges facing Los […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we talk with author Brad Schreiber about his book Revolution’s End: The Patty Hearst Kidnapping, Mind Control, and the Secret History of […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month for a special episode dedicated to the iconic Civic Center artworks created by Joseph Young (1919-2007), and the various ways that the […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we talk with Gordon Pattison, Bunker Hill native son, about the reopening of Angels Flight Railway and other ways in which his […]
Download Podcast Episode! Once Upon A Time in French-Speaking Los Angeles & Early Days of Angels Flight on Old Bunker Hill Join us this month as we talk with C.C. […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month for an episode dedicated to the vibrant, historic and soulful neighborhood of Boyle Heights, centered on the southeast corner of 4th Street and […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month for an episode dedicated to Llano del Rio, the socialist cooperative experiment that hosted its final May Day celebrations in the Antelope Valley […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we talk with preservationist Steve Luftman about his efforts to save Kurt Meyer’s Lytton Savings, a mid-century landmark threatened with demolition because […]
Download Podcast Episode! Join us as we go deep inside master architect Paul R. Williams’ SeaView tract home development in Rancho Palos Verdes, as architect and historian Alan Hess and […]
Listen to Episode #116! Download Podcast Episode! And we’re back from hiatus! Join us this month as Alan Hess, architect and architectural historian, walks us through his Palos Verdes Art […]
Listen to Episode #115! Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we talk with acclaimed Hollywood historian and preservationist, the recently deceased Bob Birchard, about his golden youth spent […]
Listen to Episode #114! Download Podcast Episode! Join us this month as we talk with Jonathan Shaw, influential tattoo artist and novelist, as he shares his current projects, including the […]
Listen to Episode #113! Download Podcast Episode! In this special mid-month episode, we’ll talk with Alan Hess, architect and architectural historian, about the imminent threat to two important William L. […]
Listen to Episode #112! Download Podcast Episode! Join us as talk with Michael Weinstein, President and co-founder of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, about his work in helping to establish the Chris […]
Listen to Episode #111! Download Podcast Episode! Join us this time for a special episode dedicated to the influential Los Angeles artist Wallace Berman (1926-1976). Our guests are Hollywood gallerist […]
Listen to Episode #110! Download Podcast Episode! Join us this week as we talk with Jean Bruce Poole, historic museum director of El Pueblo from 1977-2001. We’ll also visit with […]
Listen to Episode #109! Download Podcast Episode! Join us this week as we talk with Roger E. “Waldo” Kislingbury, Pasadena impresario and Old West aficionado, about his new book, “American […]
Join us this week as we talk with Patricia Diefenderfer, Senior City Planner with the City of Los Angeles, about the new HI Ordinance (Hybrid Industrial Live/Work Zone), and with […]
Join us this week as we talk with 99-year-old Margaret Freed about her adventures running the legendary gift shop at Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Elysian Park. We’ll also visit with […]
Join us this week as we talk with Brian Kite, managing partner at SRK Architects, about his 1994 restoration of the Spanish Colonial Revival masterpiece, Monterey Park’s tile-drenched El Encanto. […]
Join us this week as we talk with Romy Wyllie, co-founder and director of the Caltech Architectural Tour Service (CATS), and with docent Kenon Breazeale of Los Angeles Public Library, […]
Join us this week as we talk with George Redfox, president of the Downey Conservancy, about the white-knuckle preservation saga of Downey’s legendary Harvey’s Broiler, a core site in Southern […]
Join us this week as we talk with Joan Jobe Smith about her new memoir, Tales of an Ancient Go-Go Girl, and about bikers, bars, Charles Bukowski, and her loving […]
Join us this week as we talk with Ansley Davies, Associate Curator for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks \& Recreation about the otherworldly Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park […]
Join us this week as we talk with architect Wade Killefer, partner at Killifer Flammang, about the firm’s recent renovation of the 19th century Pershing Hotel at the corner of […]
Join us this week as we talk with realtor Jack Nendel, President of Friends of The Historic Lafayette, about that former hotel in downtown Long Beach. We’ll also visit with […]
Join us this week as we talk with Downey historian George Redfox about one of his city’s gems, the oldest surviving “golden arches” style McDonald’s drive-in restaurant. We’ll also talk […]
Join us this week as we talk with realtor Jack Nendel, President of Friends of The Historic Lafayette, about that former hotel in downtown Long Beach. We’ll also visit with […]
Join us this week as we talk with George Redfox, President of the Downey Conservancy, about the grassroots campaign to save the original Taco Bell restaurant building in Downey. We’ll […]
Join us this week as we talk with Bill Martinet, a retired employee of the Sunkist corporation, about the year he spent working in the gorgeous, now-demolished Sunkist Building (1935) […]
Our focus this week is on the Trails, a legendary Western-themed Route 66 roadhouse that operated in Duarte, California from 1952-2001. We talk with Duarte City Planner Jason Golding, who […]
Join us this week as we talk with Ansley Davies, Associate Curator in Planning and Development for the County of Los Angeles’ Department of Parks and Recreation, about the extraordinary […]
Join us this week as we talk with Donald Spivack, former Deputy Chief of Operations and Policy for the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles, about Bunker Hill’s Grand Avenue […]
Join us this week as we talk with Myllie Taylor, longtime La Mirada resident and historian, about Bill Neff, whose sale of his grandfather’s 2,000+ acre citrus and olive farms […]
Join us this week as Louise Ivers, Long Beach architectural historian and preservationist, pays last respects to a pair of Mid-Century Modern Long Beach municipal structures facing imminent demolition: the […]
Join us this week as we visit with Louise Ivers, Long Beach architectural historian and preservationist, for an overview of that city’s rich and quickly disappearing architectural legacy. We’ll also […]
Join us this week as we visit with amateur historian Dennis Harbach, who has recently completed the herculean project of identifying almost all the names inscribed in the guestbook at […]
Join us this week as we visit with Steve Lech, historian and docent with the Mission Inn Foundation, to learn about that hotel’s rich history, which dates back more than […]
Join us this week as we talk with Diana McIntyre, Curator and Docent Coordinator of the Point Vincente Interpretive Center, about the upcoming whale watching season, and their museum, which […]
Join us this week as we head south to Orange County, where we’ll talk with Cynthia Ward about the pleasures and challenges she’s experienced as a Trustee of the historic […]
Join us this week as we visit with Scott Rubel to get the story of his uncle Michael’s Rubel Castle, a breathtaking folk art environment in Glendora. We’ll also visit […]
Join us this week as we talk with Tim Whalen, Director of the Getty Conservation Institute, about the decade of work the Institute and the city’s Office of Historic Resources […]
Join us this week as we talk with Kate Eggert & Krisy Gosney of the Save the Santa Monica Boulevard Streamline Moderne campaign, for the riveting saga of their astounding […]
Join us this week for a special episode dedicated to South L.A.‘s tiled folk art environments, from the celebrated to the obscure. Our guests are Alison Bruesehoff, executive director of […]
Join us as we talk with the irrepressible Myllie Taylor, Boyle Heights native daughter, about her suburban adventures in the newly-formed community of La Mirada in the early 1960s. We’ll […]
Join us this week as we visit again with Emma Roberts, Rare Books librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library, as part of an ongoing guided tour of some of […]
Join us this week as we talk with Ellen Calomiris, Executive Director of the historic Rancho Los Cerritos in Long Beach, about the past three decades of curatorial strategies for […]
Join us this week as we talk with Philip Mershon, owner/operator of the Felix in Hollywood Tour Company about his abiding passion for recapturing the past and making it tangible […]
Join us this week as we talk with Bunker Hill native son Gordon Pattison about his childhood memories of Angels Flight, the neighborhood’s iconic incline railroad. We’ll also talk with […]
Join us this week as we visit with author David Boulé to learn about “The Orange and the Dream of California,” his new book packed with juicy citrus lore. We’ll […]
Join us this week as we visit with Richard Adkins, past-President of Hollywood Heritage, for insights into the early years of the legendary Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, home of the first […]
Join us this week as we talk with writer Jon Boornstin about his non-fiction novel “Mabel & Me,” which chronicles the adventures of silent screen comedienne Mabel Normand. Next we’ll […]
Join us this week as we talk with Albert Okura, founder of Southern California’s rotisserie chicken restaurant chain Juan Pollo, and self-proclaimed “fast food king” of the Inland Empire, to […]
Join us this week as we visit with Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of the Union Rescue Mission, for an update on the humanitarian and public policy crisis facing Skid Row. […]
Join us this week as we talk with preservation advocate Kate Eggert about the grave threat facing two notable West Hollywood buildings, a 1938 Wurdman & Beckett Streamline Moderne animal […]
Join us this week as we talk with Gordon Pattison in a food court in the Wells Fargo Plaza—the site of his beloved childhood neighborhood, which was leveled in the […]
Join us as we focus on the Boyle Heights community that has rallied to protect the Wyvernwood Garden Apartments (David J. Witmer and Loyall F. Watson, 1939) from threatened redevelopment. […]
Join us this week as we talk with Bob Adjemian about his golden youth clerking at the legendary Pickwick Bookshop on Hollywood Boulevard. We’ll also visit with Brian Kaiser, Southern […]
Join us this week as we visit with State Parks Ranger Jean Rhyne for her tips for exploring nature in the Antelope Valley this summer. Then we’ll dip down to […]
Join us this week as dip down to Long Beach where Kerstin Kansteiner shares the inspiration behind her popular establishments Portfolio Coffeehouse and Berlin Bistro. We’ll also visit with poet […]
Join us this week as we talk with City Archivist Michael Holland about more exciting relics from Los Angeles’ past he’s uncovered in “The Vault.” We’ll also visit with author […]
Join us this week as we visit with the colorful Antonio Pellini, whose Eatalian Café is a culinary oasis in industrial Gardena. We’ll also talk with Swami Atmatatvenanda about the […]
Join us this week as we talk with Cathee Shultz, who with her husband J.D. runs the eclectic and macabre Museum of Death in Hollywood. We’ll also visit with Bob […]
Join us this week as we talk with the magnificently mustachio’d historian Paul Greenstein about the old Llano del Rio colony in the Antelope Valley and its upcoming May Day […]
Join us this week as we visit with Altadena’s own compost guru, Tim Dundon, for a mind-expanding primer on how to get composting in your own backyard (or balcony) in […]
Join us this week as we drop by City Hall, the most iconic Film Noir location in Los Angeles, to talk with poet and educator Suzanne Lummis about the Poetry […]
Join us this week as we talk with Gail Pierce of the Historic Neff House in La Mirada, the childhood home of architect Wallace Neff. We also visit with poet […]
Join us this week as we talk with Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Urban Planning Professor and an Associate Dean at the Luskin School of Public Affairs, about the sidewalks and other public […]
Join us this week as we talk with historian Philip Mershon as he reveals the inspirations behind his 90-minute Sunset Boulevard entertainment history walking tour and his Felix In Hollywood […]
Join us this week as we slip into the Bradbury Building and find actress Dale Raoul lurking on a mezzanine, in the mood to muse on April’s Poem Noir-themed LAVA […]
Join us this week as we talk with Cathee Shultz, who with her husband J.D. runs the eclectic and macabre Museum of Death in Hollywood. We’ll also visit with Southern […]
Join us this week as we talk with historian Jim Dawson about his book “Los Angeles’s Bunker Hill: Pulp Fiction’s Mean Streets and Film Noir’s Ground Zero!” and how this […]
Join us this week as we talk with Marc Chevalier, historian of the Oviatt Building, about debunking myths and bringing L.A.‘s past back to life. We’ll also visit with Terence […]
Join us this week as we talk with Gale Banks, the guru of automotive turbo-charging, about the mentors and apprenticeships that shaped his career in high performance. We’ll also visit […]
Join us this week as we talk with Jackie Miller of Sister Aimee Semple McPherson’s Heritage Center on Echo Park about the celebrated evangelist’s motion picture connections, including Charlie Chaplin’s […]
Join us this week as we talk with historian Don Lattin about the British expatriate writers Gerald Heard & Aldous Huxley and their work with Eastern Mysticism and psychedelics. We’ll […]
Join us this week as we talk with Dan Lewis, Chief Curator of Manuscripts at the Huntington Library, about “Remarkable Works, Remarkable Times,” the permanent installation in the Library’s newly […]
Join us this week as we talk with Ed Nordskog, senior arson investigator for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, about his new book, “Fire Raisers, Freaks and Fiends: Obsessive […]
Join us this week as we talk with Gale Banks, the guru of high-performance automotive turbo-charging, about his time as a child prodigy on the Southern California evangelical circuit in […]
Join us this week as we talk with actor/producer Paul Sand about his “Song Story” of Brecht-Weill tunes, a 1920’s German, waterfront cabaret act with pretty girls, and handsome men […]
Join us this week as we talk with writer Rick Baudé about his research into the little-known Great Eleven cult, a fascinating group whose eccentricities and brash proselytizing provide backdrop […]
Join us this week as we talk with novelist Martin Turnbull about the celebrated and much lamented Garden of Allah, from its humble beginnings as a fixer-upper for silent screen […]
Join us this week as we visit with Jackie Miller, historian at the Parsonage of Sister Aimee Semple McPherson, about the design and construction of the monumental Angelus Temple which […]
Join us this week as we talk with Dave Judson, the 5th generation proprietor of the Judson stained glass studios (founded 1895) about the rich legacy of the Arroyo Guild […]
Join us this week as we talk with Carolyn Paxton, proprietor of Urban Radish, about the inspirations behind her new gourmet market in the Arts District. We’ll also visit with […]
Join us this week as we talk with Ken Bernstein, Manager of the Office of Historic Resources of the City of Los Angeles, about that organization and its creation and […]
This week we visit with Michael Holland, acting City Archivist, as he unearths civic treasures from deep in the vault, among them early photos of the soon-to-be-demolished 6th Street Viaduct. […]
Join us this week as we talk with LA Public Library map librarian Glenn Creason about the resources the collection can offer the curious urban researcher. Then we dip down […]
Join us this week as we focus on the Watts Towers, a unique folk art environment in south Los Angeles. We’ll visit with conservator Sylvia Dorsch to learn about the […]
Join us this week as we talk with Los Angeles poet Suzanne Lummis about poetry in the Southland, from her grandfather Charles Fletcher Lummis’ day to Charles Bukowski’s and into […]
Join us this week as we focus on the history of the landmark Parley Johnson House in Downey. We’ll visit with Florence Towers, President of the Downey Assistance League, to […]
Join us this week as we talk with longtime Downtown LA resident Terry Ellsworth about the deep sense of community he found while living in the American Hotel in the […]
Join us this week as we talk with Rare Books Librarian Emma Roberts about some unusual gems in the Los Angeles Public Library’s collection. We’ll also visit with Ken Bernstein, […]
Join us this week as we visit with pioneering Downtown restaurateur Judith Markoff Hansen about her remarkable journey opening Gorky’s at 8th & San Julian in 1981. We’ll also visit […]
Join us this week as we visit with Alison Bruesehoff, Executive Director of the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum, to talk about 18th century rancho life and the site’s prominent role […]
Join us this week as we talk with Cal State Los Angeles history professor Mark Wild about his research into the contentious world of street speaking in early 20th century […]
Join us this week as we visit with raconteur and West Hollywood nightclub owner John Maljevic, to talk about his fifty-year friendship with the celebrated Western silversmith Charlie Sample. We’ll […]
Join us this week as we talk with J. Scott Smith about his 29 Palms photographic series, celebrating the varied beauty of Southern California’s palm trees. We’ll also visit with […]
Join us this week as we talk with Paul Rood, Professor of Political Science at Biola University, and biographer of one of Los Angeles’ great philanthropists, Union Oil man Lyman […]
Join us this week as we talk with Stephen Gee, author of a new book on the legacy of the iconic Los Angeles architect John Parkinson. We’ll also visit with […]
Join us this week as we talk with Jennifer Bastian, Visual Resources Specialist at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, about her flavorful new “Exhibition in Six Courses: Testing Recipes […]
Join us this week as we talk with Mona Leirich at the Villa Aurora, about the far reaching legacy of the literary lion Lion Feuchtwanger, who escaped the Nazis to […]
Join us this week as we talk with Elaine, caretaker for evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson’s 1920s Moorish castle in Lake Elsinore, about the building’s history, design and role as Sister […]
Tune in to Episode 22 of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Southern California tile expert Brian Kaiser about the German exile culture that flourished amidst the lovely tiles […]
Tune in to Episode 21 of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Peggy Ronning, curator of the Antelope Valley Indian Museum, about the museum’s fascinating origins as a Hollywood […]
Join us this week as we talk with Philip Estes, Regional Planner for the County of Los Angeles, about his work developing a new historic preservation ordinance. We’ll also sit […]
Tune in to Episode Twenty of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Phyllis Comstock about Tomo-Kahni near Tehachapi, the historic winter home of the Kawaiisu tribe and one of […]
Tune in to Episode Nineteen of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Dave Peters, Professor of Political Science at Biola University and board memberContinue Reading
Tune in to Episode Eighteen of the Esotouric podcast as we sit down with two artists about their site-specific artwork in downtown Los Angeles’ ArtsContinue Reading
Tune in to Episode Seventeen of the Esotouric podcast as we visit with John Maljevic, manager of nightclubs in West Hollywood’s wild and golden age.Continue Reading
Tune in to Episode Sixteen of the Esotouric podcast as we sit down with historian Marc Chevalier to debunk myths about the Oviatt Building andContinue Reading
Tune in to Episode Fifteen of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Jenny Watts, curator of photographs at the Huntington Library, about the accessionContinue Reading
Tune in to Episode Fourteen of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Jessica Holada, curator for the current Occidental College Library book arts exhibit,Continue Reading
Tune in to Episode Thirteen of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with filmmaker Alina Skrzeszewska about her work capturing a vanishing neighborhood in downtownContinue Reading