This summer, I was feeling a little down on my time in Los Angeles. I must admit, it comes in waves; some days I love this city and some days I'm wondering how I, one, all, could tolerate a 2-hour, 14 mile commute on a Monday. There are moments where I feel like I wouldn't want to be anywhere on Earth, though. A sunset at the Hollywood Bowl, a morning walk along the ocean, a taco on the side of the road. And, of course, there are the museums, and damn, did the city get two good ones this year: the new Geffen Galleries at LACMA and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. So I love this city again, right now.

So when looking at this evolving place, I wanted to talk to author Rosecrans Baldwin about his book, Everything Now: Lessons From the City-State of Los Angeles. With these new institutions, and his deep-dive into the history, neighborhoods and people that make this city such an expansive and confusing narrative, he felt like someone who might have some insight into what I was seeing and feeling. The stories that Baldwin tells are not so much why LA is what it is, but the stories of people who are aren't so much trying to make sense of it, but survive it.

I also wanted to share my thoughts on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, and what I think the critics get wrong and, to be honest, what is the critics role in deciphering the art that was mostly trying to avoid the critics for so long...

This episode is hosted by Evan Pricco of The Unibrow, and you can subscribe to our print edition now. You can also listen on Spotify or wherever you get your pods, too.

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