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Warning: This episode features the difficult topic of sexual slavery during World War II. Producer Willa Seidenberg talks with recent graduate Hanyu Chen about her thesis, Our Bodies, Their Battlegrounds: The Conservation of Comfort Stations in China. Before and during World War II, the Japanese Imperial Army forced women and girls into sexual slavery for the military in its occupied territories. Their captors called them "comfort women" and their prisons "comfort stations." Two of the few remaining former comfort stations are in Hanyu's hometown.In this episode, Hanyu discusses how the "comfort women" system developed, why these crimes took so long to reach the public eye, and why conserving the few former stations is critical to reclaiming these women's stories.See episode page for transcript, photos, and links Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

In case you missed it, we're re-releasing an episode from our first season, chosen by our Save As intern, Emily Kwok. It's an Emily's Pick! Have you ever considered sound a character-defining feature? Musician and alum Kasey Viso Conley certainly has. She knows why Nat King Cole, Janis Joplin, Van Halen, and countless other recording artists insisted on using specific studios to get a certain sound. It’s the physical environment of the studio, from acoustic tiles to echo chambers. Yet the transformation of recording technology has studios closing left and right. Why save these places when you can simulate their sounds with an app? How do you preserve pegboard that’s no longer made? Hear how Kasey explored these issues and many more in her thesis, Acoustic Heritage of Recording Studios: Physical Characteristics and Signature Sound.Photos and links on episode page Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

In case you missed it, we're re-releasing an episode from last season, chosen by our Save As intern, Emily Kwok. It's an Emily's Pick!   Should the Brady Bunch House be in the National Register of Historic Places? Why not? asks alum Jonathan Kaplan. In his master’s thesis, the TV writer-turned-heritage conservationist makes a case for designating sites specifically for their use in movies and TV shows. Along with literary precedent dating back to Chaucer, Jonathan cites the deep meaning and shared cultural experiences these places create.  If a place inspires meaning, does it matter where that meaning comes from? Does reality matter in these fact-fluid times? Join us for a fascinating conversation that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Photos, links, and thesis on episode page Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

How can taking a building apart possibly relate to heritage conservation? Join us in the Upside Down for a chat with architect and alum Guadalupe Flores about his thesis, Deconstruction: A Tool for Sustainable Conservation. When a building can't be saved, reusing the materials makes perfect sense. The concept of deconstruction certainly isn't new. But how do we make the case for it in a disposable society—and make sure it’s used only as a last resort? Photos,  links, and transcript on episode page Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

Chinese American architect Gin D. Wong, FAIA (1922-2017) defined what it means to achieve the American dream. He immigrated from China as a boy and went on to have a 60-year career as a successful architect in Los Angeles. He played a key role in the design of post-World War II L.A., with projects including LAX, CBS Television City, and the iconic Union 76 gas station in Beverly Hills. In this episode, new alum Nirali Sheth discusses her thesis, A Silent Legacy: The Influence of Gin D. Wong’s Work on the Los Angeles Built Environment. She shares insights on Wong's life and work, how credit can elude architects in big corporate firms, and how she researched her subject without access to his archive.Photos, transcript, and links on episode page Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

This episode delves into global heritage conservation, as producer Willa Seidenberg talks with recent grad Haowen Yu about his thesis, Examining Feng Shui as Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage. Many Americans consider Feng Shui primarily an approach to arranging space. Yet it’s a far more complex system of knowledge, practice, and tradition that has spanned more than a millennium. Feng Shui underlies virtually the entire built environment of China, but it hasn’t (yet) been designated as a form of cultural heritage. Haowen discusses why he’s not so sure it should be, and how Feng Shui has been viewed in China and around the world.Photos, transcript, and links on episode page Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

We said “so long” to summer with a trip to the Santa Monica beach with historian Alison Rose Jefferson, whose work at USC launched a deep dive into African American recreation areas in the Golden State. Her master’s thesis on Lake Elsinore led to her widely acclaimed book, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites in the Jim Crow Era. Alison shares some of the struggles, successes, and legacies of Black leisure spaces in early twentieth-century SoCal. We also hear from an oral history with the late Verna (Deckard Lewis) Williams, who experienced fun in the sun—and racism from white beachgoers—firsthand.See episode page for photos and linksFor news and extras,  join us on our new Save As social feeds!@saveasnextgen — Instagram and Twitter Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

When is a light fixture not just a light fixture? When it helps tell the story of a remarkable home designed, and lived in, by one of the twentieth century’s greatest architects. The 1951 Reunion House in L.A.’s Silver Lake neighborhood was designed on spec by Richard Neutra. It housed Neutra and his family as his home/studio down the street was rebuilt after a fire, and it served as the long-time home/studio of his son, architect Dion Neutra. In this episode, we hear how students Brannon Smithwick and Jesús (Chuy) Barba Bonilla learned about materials conservation by poring over switch plates and climbing on the roof of Reunion House. We also talk with instructor Peyton Hall, FAIA and Sian Winship of the Neutra Institute for Survival through Design, the home’s new steward. If you think studying lighting, roofs, windows, and wood is boring, think again. This episode will give you a new appreciation of the materials in a historic home—with a love story thrown in for fun. Photos, links, and more on the episode page Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

Is Leimert Park the most significant neighborhood in Los Angeles? Katie Horak thinks it might be. “I don't think there's any neighborhood in the city that tells so many different important stories about our history as a city, and that really has the integrity to still tell that story,” she says in this episode of Save As. A USC alum, principal at Architectural Resources Group, and adjunct professor, Katie took her students out of the classroom and into the neighborhood to document Leimert Park's remarkable architectural and cultural heritage. We also talk with three of Katie's students—Zongqi Li, Emily Varley, and Kira Williams—about what they found on their adventure. They unraveled a mystery about how Leimert Park developed, saw how persistent racism affected African American and Japanese American residents, and traced the evolution of schools and churches. You’ll hear why Katie considers Leimert Park so important—and you might even agree.See episode page for links, photos, and recording of class presentationTake our survey for a chance to win a Save As mug! Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

Last month, about ninety volunteers spent a weekend excavating the former hospital site at Manzanar, a World War II incarceration camp about 225 miles north of Los Angeles. Some of those volunteers were students in Mary Ringhoff’s Cultural Resource Management class. One of those students was Save As producer Willa Seidenberg, who interviewed people on site about why they travel from near and far to care for this site of tragic memory. In this episode, we dig into the study of archaeology with Mary, hear Willa’s great reporting, and talk with student Dani Velazco about what she got out of the experience (besides getting very, very dirty). Visit the episode page for links and photos, including fantastic images by photographer William Short! Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

As a kid, Laura Dominguez would sit under the kitchen table during tamale season, listening to family stories as the grownups handed her corn husks to play with. Now she’s one of the people setting a new table for heritage conservation, with community as the centerpiece. In this episode, Laura shares the personal roots of her professional path, her doctoral research into the origins of conservation in Los Angeles, and a glimpse of the future she's helping to shape.See the episode page for photos and linksDon't miss Latinos in Heritage Conservation's Congreso! April 28-30, 2022, in Denver with virtual optionLearn more and register here Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

You may know that Greater Los Angeles has the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia. But you might think it’s concentrated in the city of Glendale and Hollywood’s Little Armenia. Recent alum Erik Van Breene found pockets of Armenian Americans throughout the county while researching his thesis, Not So Little Armenia: Conserving Armenian Heritage Sites in Los Angeles. In this episode, Erik shares how these enclaves formed in waves of immigration from the 1910s through the 1990s. He also gives us a glimpse of the vibrant Armenian economy encompassing food, media, and music–including a recording studio that drew Armenian artists from around the world in the 1970s. That means disco, which you do not want to miss. And he makes the case for mapping and more to conserve Armenian sites before it’s too late. Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

Robert A. Kennard, FAIA (1920 - 1995) led an extraordinary life as an architect, mentor, and humanitarian. The son of a Pullman car porter, Kennard defied steep odds to build a successful career, design more than 700 structures, and create one of the longest-running African American-owned architecture firms in the western U.S. He “believed that people were more important than the spaces they occupied,” wrote USC alum Jerome Robinson in his master’s thesis, An Odyssey in B-Flat: Rediscovering the Life and Times of Master Architect Robert A. Kennard. Jerome passed away before we could interview him for this podcast, yet he left a trove of stellar research and archival audio. We bring you some of it in this episode. We also hear personal stories of Kennard from his daughter Gail, who still runs the firm he formed in 1957. This episode is longer than usual (around 40 minutes), but stick with it–you’ll find it worth your while, or your money back!See episode page for photos and links Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

Cemeteries mean many things to many people. In this episode, we talk with alum Rachel Trombetta about her thesis, Beit Olam: A Home Everlasting--The Jewish Cemeteries of East Los Angeles. Rachel shares the history of Jewish congregations in Los Angeles, how they moved away from the central city over the years, and what that means to the burial grounds established as their “forever homes.” She discusses distinct features of Jewish cemeteries and the specific challenges of conserving cemeteries in general. And she shares her unusual path to heritage conservation from the world of TV and film locations.See the episode page for photos and linksIf you've taken our 3-minute survey, thank you! If not, take it now and enter to win a fab Save As mug! Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

We need to hear from you! Please take 180 seconds to let us know what you think about Save As:Click here to take the Save As surveyIt means so much to your friends who work hard to share the future of heritage conservation with you. And you can enter to win a highly collectible, limited-edition Save As mug!Thank you thank you thank you!Take the Save As survey Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

San Francisco is a preservation-minded city, but as we hear in this episode, not all parts of the city get the same amount of preservation love. Alum Andrea Dumovich Heywood talks with us about her research into Clement Street, a diverse neighborhood in the city’s Inner Richmond area, that is considered the city’s second Chinatown.  You’ll hear what makes this neighborhood vibrant, the few places that have been landmarked, and the case for designating some of the area’s intangible heritage. And please complete our quick survey - enter to win a fab Save As mug!  Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

At the Alcoholism Center for Women (ACW), women regain their lives and claim their space in the world. They also take care of two century-old homes in one of L.A.’s oldest neighborhoods. Brenda Weathers founded  ACW in 1974 to give women—primarily lesbians, mainly women of color—a place to heal. Miracles have taken place there for nearly half a century. Recent grad Lindsay Mulcahy has spent the past few years delving into ACW’s rich history, which she shared with us last year (Sisterhood Is Beautiful, Season 1, Episode 7). In this new episode, she returns to talk about a public history project centering the women of ACW, and how recovery and conservation are more alike than we might think. Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

In this grab bag of SoCal history, we talk with alum Sian Winship, an architectural historian with her fingers in many, many pies. She explored the world of modernist tract homes in her master’s thesis, Quantity and Quality: Architects Working for Developers in Southern California, 1960-1973. Quantity and quality also characterize this wide-ranging conversation about mid-century modernism, women’s heritage, social justice, the Civil War, and Palm Springs’ dirty secret. Sian also shares her path from advertising to conservation and how she used gravel as a career move.   Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook

When M. Rosalind Sagara entered the world of heritage conservation, she brought along a deep passion for, and background in, community organizing. At USC, she researched heritage advocacy through the lens of two contentious campaigns -- both led by local stakeholders working not just to save places, but to build power and community. Hear what Rosalind learned about community-led conservation then, and how she's building community and cultivating new leaders now with the Los Angeles Conservancy, Save Our Chinatown Committee, and Asian & Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation.  Connect with us @saveasnextgen on Instagram and Facebook