Boiling Point Presents: Smoglandia

About this episode

The episode explores the history and impact of smog in Los Angeles through interviews and narratives.

For decades, the city’s air was so thick and gross with smog that it hid the mountains from view, shut down Hollywood film shoots and sent children home from school with burning lungs and stinging eyes. What was in the air and where was it coming from? No one knew for sure. L.A. Times Studios presents a special season of Boiling Point: Smoglandia. Hosted by longtime Los Angeles Times columnist Patt Morrison, Smoglandia is a narrative audio series tracing the rise, impact and eventual retreat of L.A.’s most insidious form of pollution: smog. Through interviews with scientists, policymakers, filmmakers and artists who lived through the worst days, Smoglandia explores how Los Angeles became a testing ground for environmental regulation, and how science and innovation transformed public health. At a moment when our hard-triumphs over smog face new setbacks, Smoglandia explores a landmark victory for the City of Angels, and, through clearer air, looks forward to the lessons we still have to learn — and the battles we have yet to fight.

People in this episode

Host: Patt Morrison

Topics covered

• smog
• environmental regulation
• public health
• Los Angeles history
• pollution
• science and innovation

Keywords

• smog
• Los Angeles
• pollution
• environment
• public health
• air quality
• regulation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: L.A. Times Studios

Places: Los Angeles

More episodes of Boiling Point

• Introducing: The De Los Podcast · June 3, 2026 · 12 min
• Smoglandia Pt 6: FUTURE ELECTRIC, FUTURE TROUBLE · December 11, 2025 · 45 min
• Smoglandia Pt 5: SMOG CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK · December 4, 2025 · 38 min
• Smoglandia Pt 4: SCIENCE AND GOVERNMENT, BESTIES? · November 20, 2025 · 36 min
• Smoglandia Pt 3: COUGH COUGH · November 13, 2025 · 34 min
• Smoglandia Pt 2: SCIENCE TO THE RESCUE · November 6, 2025 · 33 min