Skip to main content

Up Next

bombay beach

Desert Fantasy

Season 3 Episode 2
26:40
Four surfers stand in front of their boards- black and white

Beach Culture

Season 3 Episode 3
26:39
Bodie

Ghost Towns

Season 3 Episode 4
26:40
venice_canal_header.jpg

Venice

Season 3 Episode 5
26:40
Fantasyland Banner

Fantasyland

Season 3 Episode 6
26:40
Young men walking with a view of Griffith Observatory | Courtesy of the California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California Library

Griffith Park - The Untold History

Season 4 Episode 1
26:48
Who Killed the Red Car?

Who Killed the Red Car?

Season 5 Episode 1
26:46
Back to Show
Lost LA

Yosemite

Season 3 Episode 1

Californians have long fought over what Yosemite means and how to manage it. Since its birth as a park and preserve in 1864, Yosemite has become a postcard for the natural beauty of California. Each year, millions visit from around the globe to see the cliffs, waterfalls and meadows that inspire wonder and reverence of the American West. This episode explores how Yosemite has changed over time: from a land maintained by indigenous peoples to its emergence as a tourist attraction and national park to the site of conflict over humanity’s relationship with nature.

We talk with long-time Yosemite National Park Ranger and scholar Shelton Johnson about finding the authentic Yosemite experience. We also spend time with actor and John Muir interpreter Lee Stetson. We speak with descendants of the native Ahwahneechee People, who went into hiding in an attempt to avoid the violence of the Buffalo Soldiers. Park Ranger Scott Gediman explains the Firefall at Glacier Point, and we meet with filmmaker David Vassar, who shares his experience of capturing the Stoneman Meadow Riot of 1970.

Support Provided By
Season
Tiki Bars and Their Hollywood Origins
26:40
Tiki culture isn’t a Polynesian import — it’s a Hollywood creation.
Tuberculosis: The Forgotten Plague
26:49
Archives reveal the “forgotten plague” that shaped Southern California: tuberculosis.
Eternal City: Los Angeles Cemeteries
26:50
Visit Hollywood Forever, Evergreen and Forest Lawn, where L.A. reinvented the cemetery.
Hiking Trailblazers
26:40
The hiker-activists who led Angelenos into their hills and onto the trails.
Historic Filipinotown
26:39
How Filipino Americans in Southern California are making their heritage more visible.
Fast Food and Car Culture
26:47
Iconic fast-food chains from McDonald’s to Taco Bell were born in SoCal.
From Little Tokyo to Crenshaw
26:37
After internment camps, Japanese Americans made L.A.'s Crenshaw neighborhood their home.
German Exiles
26:04
During WWII, L.A. became a sanctuary for Europe’s accomplished artists and intellectuals.
Prehistoric Landscapes
26:46
Dig deep into Southern California’s past to reveal lessons for our climate-changed future.
Winemaking
26:41
Explore a forgotten age when winemaking was Southern California’s principal industry.
Who Killed the Red Car?
26:46
Why did Los Angeles dismantle one of the greatest rail transit systems in the nation?
Shindana Dolls | Still from "Lost LA" S4 E6: Shindana Toy Company
26:40
Explore the lasting impact of the Shindana Toy Company, created out of the need for community empowerment following the 1965 Watts uprising, whose ethnically correct black dolls forever changed the American doll industry.
Active loading indicator