We hope you enjoy this season's sample of LAist Studios’ K-Pop Dreaming!

In this episode, we head to an American military neighborhood in Seoul in the late 1980s. Tucked in an alleyway was a little grimy club that blasted American hip-hop, the place was for African American GIs to cut loose, but it pulled in an unexpected crowd – young Koreans who would become the pioneers of modern K-pop. Itaewon was also the setting for the beginning of another story – it was the place where Vivian’s parents met and fell in love. Features Kang Won Rae, one of K-pop's legends that came out of the Moon Night scene.(Originally published March 9, 2023)

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This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Save 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/DreamingThis episode is brought to you by your local Kia dealers. Visit kia.com to discover movement that inspires.

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We hope you enjoy this season's sample of LAist Studios’ K-Pop Dreaming!

Vivian begins her exploration of K-Pop's history with a genre of Korean music called Trot that emerged during the Japanese colonization of Korea. Trot holds up a mirror to Korea’s history and gives rise to an enigmatic quality that, some say, informs K-pop. Vivian’s guide for this episode: her grandmother. Also features 2023 Korean Music Awards nominee and K-pop artist, 250.(Originally published March 2, 2023)

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This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Save 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/DreamingThis episode is brought to you by your local Kia dealers. Visit kia.com to discover movement that inspires.This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

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Vivian puts together a mixed CD with some of her favorite K-Pop songs from the 90’s and 2000’s. Each song is connected to a different moment in her life and they all happen to be some of K-pop’s greatest hits. And together, these songs tell the early history of the genre’s evolution and growth, as well as their migration to the Korean diaspora in Los Angeles.(Original published February 23, 2023)

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Save 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/Dreaming

This episode is brought to you by your local Kia dealers. Visit kia.com to discover movement that inspires.

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/donate

For many LA Latinx teens coming of age in the 2000s, flier parties and the party crew scene were an escape from the pressures from immigrant parents and the harsh realities of the world. From VICE and LAist Studios as part of the My Cultura Podcast Network, a series that explores what happens when your safe space isn’t always safe. Hosted by Janice Llamoca.

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Hey, Imperfect Paradise listeners, this is Emily Guerin. I'm one of the hosts and senior producers of this show. We're doing something a little different and we're bringing you an episode of the NPR podcast Code Switch. My colleague Josie Huang is talking to one of their hosts about the mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, and what it says about the dark side of the Asian American dream. I hope you like it.

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In early 2020, just as fears about coronavirus are worsening, women begin accusing the founder of Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Bhajan, of sexual assault. Guru Jagat’s surprising response sets the stage for her radicalization during the pandemic.

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Katie Griggs, a young woman from rural Maryland, discovers Kundalini yoga in her early 20s and goes all in. She transforms herself into Guru Jagat, a beloved and controversial yoga and wellness influencer in Los Angeles. In this episode, her friends, family, and coworkers grapple with how she changed in the final years of her life. And we explore the connections between yoga and conspiracies like QAnon.

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Guru Jagat starts the pandemic with an understandable skepticism of official medical advice, but quickly grows to embrace an array of far-right conspiracy theories.

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Before her sudden death in 2021, Guru Jagat had become a famous Kundalini yoga teacher based in Los Angeles. But as the global pandemic grew, she started talking like a far-right coronavirus conspiracy theorist. What does her journey down the rabbit hole tell us about the appeal of conspiracies in the yoga and wellness community?

This 3-episode season explores Guru Jagat’s rise to fame and follows along as she responds not just to the pandemic, but to a #metoo movement scandal that rocked the Kundalini yoga world in early 2020. It also explores themes of misinformation, how a healthy distrust in government and medicine can turn dark, the "relativism around truth" in the wellness industry and the influence of social media on radicalization.

Episode #1 will be available to stream on January 3rd.

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Alex Villanueva has conceded the election. The next sheriff of LA County will be Robert Luna. More analysis to come soon.

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