WILD is a podcast about growing up… kind of. About those big and small moments that transform us forever. About how sometimes we come out on the other side of chaos or adversity with scars, but we come out stronger.WILD is back for season two. This season, it's all about love with co-hosts Erick Galindo and Megan Tan.

You heard Megan's pandemic love story in season one. This time, Erick tells Megan a fictional love story, inspired by the wildest thing he once did for love... It starts with an invite on a cross-country road trip with the woman who stole his heart.

Join him and Melinna Bobadilla, Gabrielle Ruiz, and Atsuko Okatsuka. Does Erick find his one true love? Listen to WILD Season 2: I Think I’m Falling in Love now.

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Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at https://www.stamps.com/WILD 

Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show!

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

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)

Support K-pop Dreaming and other LAist Studios podcasts by donating now at LAist.com/join

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.

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)

Support K-pop Dreaming and other LAist Studios podcasts by donating now at LAist.com/join

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.

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/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.

I’m Vivian Yoon, writer and host of K-Pop Dreaming, the newest season of the podcast California Love from LAist Studios -- a series that blends memoir, pop culture analysis, and oral history to examine our shared sense of belonging.

I grew up in Koreatown, Los Angeles in the 90’s and 2000’s. And even though I listened to K-pop all throughout my childhood and teen years, I never told anyone that I liked the music. The reason for this is complicated, but it essentially stemmed from me not knowing how to reconcile the two halves of my identity -- the Korean and the American.

Which is why I was so surprised when K-pop suddenly became a globally-loved genre and started leading trends and influencing pop culture worldwide. I just couldn’t understand how this massive shift in the recognition and love of the music had happened. How did a genre of music that I used to only hear in my neighborhood become a full-on global sensation?

My search for the answer led me to discover Kpop’s rich and complicated history -- spanning all the way from 1930’s Korea during the Japanese occupation, to the 90’s underground hip hop scene in L.A. And surprisingly, diving into this history led me to fill in gaps in my own family history, with stories about my parents and grandparents that I had never heard before. 

This is the story of K-pop’s coming of age. 

Stay tuned to listen to episode 1. I hope you enjoy it!

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.

California City listeners, from LAist Studios, the creators of The Big One, the second season of The Big Disaster series will provide you with a wildfire survival guide that includes not just tangible safety tips — but hope for our future. As the world enters a new age of wildfires, science reporter Jacob Margolis hosts Season 2: The Big Burn, a deep dive into personal stories that illuminate the history of how we got here, why we keep screwing things up, and what we can do to survive and maybe even thrive while the world around us burns.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/bigburn and get on your way to being your best self.

We check out an unconventional solution to wind-driven fires.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/bigburn and get on your way to being your best self.

Why prescribed burning won’t solve all of our fire woes.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/bigburn and get on your way to being your best self.

Digesting what we’ve learned. Plus, how other places in the U.S. have figured out fire management.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/bigburn and get on your way to being your best self.

We know prescribed burning is a major solution…so why aren’t we doing more of it?

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/bigburn and get on your way to being your best self.