Editors' Picks 2017
2017 was an astounding year of cultural shifts, artistic explorations, and environmental challenges in the United States — and California was no exception. The editors, writers, and producers at KCET worked hard to capture these pivotal moments and nurture conversations about our changing landscape in the West. Follow the links below to our editors' picks for 2017.
"Adornment" Exhibit Highlights Beauty and Traditions of Women of Color
Amanda Lopez and Tanya Melendez capture the beauty and dignity of brown and black women through elaborate hairstyles adorned with gold jewelry and beautifully composed photography.
City Rising: Full Episode
This multi-platform documentary shows how gentrification is deeply rooted in a history of discriminatory laws and practices in the United States.
Ecology of a Riot: The Deserts of Rodney King and Mike Davis
Rodney King and Mike Davis are existential neighbors, both subjects and critics of succeeding Western regimes of boom and bust and busted heads, of magical and haunted encounters with the land.
Forgotten Black Women of Early Hollywood Take Center Stage at CAAM
In the first half of the 20th century, black women were largely relegated to playing mammy and jezebel roles. A new exhibition reveals how as early as 100 years ago, independent black filmmakers presented complex portrayals of women of color.
How Mexican-Themed Bar La Cita Bridges L.A.'s Diverse Communities
For more than 60 years, La Cita bar has wrapped its arms around a diverse set of the city’s residents — from recent Central American immigrants to second generation Chicanx feminists — making people feel at home amid its red tiles and sparkling lights.
The Past, Present, And Future of Chinatown's Changing Culinary Landscape
In four years, over a dozen eateries have sprouted in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza and its surrounding area, bringing in tow a new vibe, clientele, and cultural and housing changes — both good and bad, depending on whom you speak to — to the community.
Inside One of the Country's Busiest Fire Stations That Serves the City of Los Angeles
Station 9 is one of the nation’s busiest stations. But a blaze isn’t breaking out on every corner of the station’s 0.75-square mile territory, in fact, hardly at all. Station 9 serves Skid Row, a 54-block area of L.A. that somehow got left behind.
We All Live Downstream: At Risk From the Dakota Access Pipeline
All pipelines leak eventually. When they do, living things downstream are in trouble.
The Fascinating History of the Massive Pyramid and Granite Monuments in the California Desert
The drive from California to the Arizona border on Interstate 8 can be an uneventful one, until you reach a 21-foot, pink-granite pyramid curiously erected in the Sonoran Desert that marks the “Center of the World.”
The Honey Man of El Sereno Continues a 300-Year-old Family Legacy of Beekeeping
Victor Jaramillo Soriano started raising bees in El Sereno in 1948, but his honey business is a family legacy that goes back hundreds of years.
Pachucos: Not Just Mexican-American Males or Juvenile Delinquents
Participants of pachuco culture were not just male, youth or Mexican-American. The history of the culture includes a number of complexities.