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Introducing LA Made: The Barbie Tapes from LAist Studios
Season 2
Season 2 of “LA Made” tells the true story of the making and marketing of the most famous doll in the world, Barbie, told by the people who did it. We’ll hear from Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler, who…
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago
Special Feature: Pomona's Victor Glover Will Pilot NASA's 2024 Moon Mission
Season 1 Episode 15
It's been more than 50 years since an American has set foot on the moon, or even gotten close to it. But on Monday, NASA named the four astronauts who will crew the upcoming Artemis II mission. One o…
Published on 2 years, 8 months ago
Blood, Sweat & Rockets: Flights of Fancy in Southern California (Bonus Episode)
Season 1 Episode 14
What is it about gazing at the stars that inspires humans — including our very own Suicide Squad — to attempt the impossible? And what is it about sunny Southern California that inspires them to do i…
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
Blood, Sweat & Rockets: Inside JPL (Bonus Episode)
Season 1 Episode 13
We go inside the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and get a tour that’s not available to the public: watching technicians build spacecraft with Kobie Boykins, hanging out with Nagin Cox at the Mars Yard, an…
Published on 2 years, 9 months ago
Blood, Sweat & Rockets: The Legacy of Frank Malina
Season 1 Episode 12
Frank Malina’s legacy has often been eclipsed by flashier figures in American aerospace (like Jack Parsons and Werner Von Braun). But in this episode, we’ll show how Malina’s work paved the way for m…
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago
Blood, Sweat & Rockets: The Explosive Demise of Jack Parsons
Season 1 Episode 11
When Jack Parsons dies in an explosion, conspiracy theories foment. Was it murder by a disgruntled ex-cop? Assassination by the US government? In this episode we wrestle to make sense of both the cir…
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago
Blood, Sweat & Rockets: Operation Paperclip
Season 1 Episode 10
After WWII, the U.S. hired and promoted Nazi aerospace engineers in a program called Operation Paperclip — yet it drove away its own rocketeers, Malina and Tsien, for alleged communist activity. In t…
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago
Blood, Sweat & Rockets: The Curse of Tsien
Season 1 Episode 9
While Frank Malina escaped the worst of the FBI's treatment, Suicide Squad member Tsien Hsue-Shen was not so lucky. This episode chronicles the shocking story of how the United States wound up losing…
Published on 2 years, 10 months ago
Blood, Sweat & Rockets: Lucky Break
Season 1 Episode 8
Malina leaves behind military work and brings his idealism to a new life and a new organization: UNESCO, in Paris. Back in the US, the FBI fumes, arrests Sidney Weinbaum, and makes every attempt to e…
Published on 2 years, 11 months ago
Blood, Sweat & Rockets: Seeing Red
Season 1 Episode 7
Horrified that his new rocket design will become the vehicle for a nuclear warhead, Malina leaves JPL… just in time for the Red Scare to ramp up. Malina flees to France, but the FBI is hot on his tra…
Published on 2 years, 11 months ago