Made in LA

Bright Blue Gorilla was born in 1990, when Robyn and Michael quit their L.A. jobs, sold everything they had (except their guitars) and hit the road. They've been on a world tour ever since, making music and movies, that is until Covid-19 sidelined the couple's travel plans just before the release of their new film, "36 Husbands." Learn how they're coping with staying in one place until the pandemic blows over and sets them free again.

Tige Charity is executive director of non-profit organization Kids in the Spotlight, which helps kids in foster care write, cast and star in their own short films. Covid-19 has thrown Tige a curveball, as she struggles to make ends meet for a program that is not deemed "essential," even though it is a creative lifeline for many kids.

Chris Sey and Lola Glaudini had close encounters with Covid-19. Sey's wife and son felt symptoms and so did Glaudini and her husband. The illness inspired them to start a non-profit organization called Dine11.org that feeds healthcare workers on the frontline with the help of local restaurants in Los Angeles. In this episode, we hear how Sey and Glaudini hatched their idea in the eye of the C-19 storm. For more information about their organization, please visit www.dine11.org.

Ever wonder who’s the glue behind a professional basketball team? The equipment manager. Meet Rudy Garciduenas, who spent 28 years as the equipment manager for the LA Lakers during a period when Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant played for the team. Rudy won six championships with the Lakers and has the rings to prove it.  In this episode, he talks about what it was like to get players dressed, serve as therapist and travel the country with one of the most successful teams in NBA history.

Brett Berns was only 2 years old when his dad died. Little did he know he'd spend most of his adult life resurrecting his dad's legacy, which includes writing the songs "Twist and Shout," "Piece of My Heart," "Here Comes the Night," and "Hang on Sloopy." In this episode, Brett tells us how he and his sister, Cassie, devoted their lives to illuminating their dad's contributions to music, eventually getting him inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Shola Richards came to Los Angeles to pursue a modeling and acting career, but a series of setbacks led to a suicide attempt that served as a wake-up call to pursue a different path. In this episode, Shola explains how he channeled his inner strength to overcome personal challenges and help people who are suffering from bullying, racial discrimination and other forms of harassment in the workplace.

Luis Conte left Cuba on his own when he was 14 years old, fleeing Fidel Castro's regime. He landed in Hollywood, Calif. and started living with a distant relative. In this episode, Luis tells his story on how he stayed true to his Cuban roots in Los Angeles and became one of the most successful percussionists in the world.

Dana Bartholomew is a veteran print journalist who knows what the innards of Los Angeles look like. His chops as a writer come from decades of transforming everyday subjects into extraordinary tales. Print journalism has a murky future with the evolution of digital media. But one thing is for sure: The yarn that Dana spins as an L.A.-based reporter transcends space and time.

Azadeh Hawkins was growing up in Iran during the country's revolution in the late 1970s when her parents decided to leave and eventually move to Los Angeles. Today, she is one of the most sought after tastemakers in L.A.'s luxury hotel scene and serves as creative director of Montage International. In this episode, Azadeh talks about moving to L.A. when she was 7 years old, adapting to life in the San Fernando Valley, and leveraging her marketing roots in punk music to become a successful hotel designer.

How do you go from successful child actor to running for Superior Court judge?  In this episode, I sit down with Troy Slaten, who starred in “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose” when he was a kid and is now running for Los Angeles County Superior Court judge in the March 3 election.

I didn't celebrate Christmas growing up and always envied those kids who scored a photo with Santa at the mall. I was also curious about the man in the red suit. Was he merely a prop for a photo or really Santa? So about a week ago, I went to a mall in Los Angeles to find out. Not only did I get a photo with Santa, I grabbed a bite with him the next night at a barbecue restaurant. In this episode, you will hear my dinner conversation with a man who goes by Santa and Dan and "Danta."

You don't know pizza in Los Angeles until you've eaten D'Amore's pizza. And you really don't know D'Amore's until you've met its owner and founder Joe. In this episode, we learn why Joe moved to L.A. from Boston and how he created a legendary pizza brand in the seaside community of Malibu. A lot of Joe's success has to do with the water he uses to make his pizza and his grandmother's recipe. That's D'Amore! This episode is sponsored by funreadingglasses.com.

So, I'm not a spin class enthusiast. In fact, I can barely ride a bicycle. But at my wife's urging, I took a class at Soul Cycle in Malibu, and that's where I met "MB," who was my instructor. My first impression of MB was that she was a hard-core New Yorker, and I was a prime target in my flowery board shorts. Within a few minutes of the class starting, I realized there was something else going on here, something magical, something life-changing. For this episode, I try to understand what is behind MB's magic, and how she is Made in LA.

Former Saturday Night Live performer, prolific stand-up comic, and part-time wrestling coach at Palisades High School Jay Mohr tells me why he lives in Los Angeles, and it's not just about the weather. It's about the city's "open space," namely the ocean and mountains, that helps Jay prioritize his life and focus more intimately on who he is as a person. Yes, he made a name for himself playing Bob Sugar in the hit romantic comedy Jerry Macguire. But it's the anonymity of Los Angeles that makes him feel right at home. This episode is sponsored by funreadingglasses.com.