Alex Cohen: Journalism, Japan, and the Derby Dolls

Brian Toll & John Terzian: The Making of L.A. Nightlife

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.

Robert Stone: Basketball, Cancer, and Following Your Heart

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: Style, Substance, and the Reinvention of L.A. Dining

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: Journalism, Japan, and the Derby Dolls

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.

Keith Corbin: Prison, Purpose, and Reinventing His Life Through Food

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.