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Lost LA
How One Spanish Word Saved Countless Lives
Lost LA host Nathan Masters joins writer Geoff Manaugh and CSU Professor José Alamillo to explore the heroic actions of Officers Thornton Edwards and Stanley Baker during the St. Francis Dam disaster. The conversation highlights Edwards’ efforts to warn the largely Mexican community in Santa Paula and examines the long-overdue recognition of these local heroes.
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27:05
Trace the devastation of the 1928 St. Francis Dam collapse and its deadly flood.

26:40
How Cold War vigilance and secrecy shaped Southern California culture.

26:39
The Space Shuttle Endeavour’s journey is traced from its origins.

26:40
Tiki culture isn’t a Polynesian import — it’s a Hollywood creation.

26:49
Archives reveal the “forgotten plague” that shaped Southern California: tuberculosis.

26:50
Visit Hollywood Forever, Evergreen and Forest Lawn, where L.A. reinvented the cemetery.

26:40
The hiker-activists who led Angelenos into their hills and onto the trails.

26:39
How Filipino Americans in Southern California are making their heritage more visible.

26:47
Iconic fast-food chains from McDonald’s to Taco Bell were born in SoCal.

26:37
After internment camps, Japanese Americans made L.A.'s Crenshaw neighborhood their home.

26:04
During WWII, L.A. became a sanctuary for Europe’s accomplished artists and intellectuals.