New Episodes Explore Car Racing, Science Fiction, True Crime and Botanical History
By Judy Shields
Hollywood, California (The Hollywood Times) 01/13/2026 -Emmy®-winning historical documentary series LOST LA with public historian and writer Nathan Masters returns as host uncovering Southern California’s connections to the history of car racing, origins of science fiction, evolution of the true crime genre and the region’s colorful flora from wildflowers to jacarandas.
The series is a co-production with the University of Southern California Libraries, as part of their longstanding commitment to building public engagement with regional history collections.
The eighth season of LOST LA premiered on Tuesday, Jan. 6 on PBS SoCal Encored on Wednesday Jan. 7 on PBS SoCal Plus.
LOST LA is available to stream online, on YouTube and the free PBS App starting Jan. 6.
New Episode Details:
“The Fast and the Forgotten” – Tues., Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
Explore Southern California’s century-long love affair with car racing. Once a major form of entertainment, racing drew crowds and shaped the region’s car culture. Host Nathan Masters visits the Auto Club of Southern California’s archives, watches land speed racers in the high desert, tours the Petersen Museum’s vault and uncovers the hidden racing history of the Santa Monica Mountains. Featured interviews include author Harold Osmer, historian Morgan Yates, archivists Laura Fisher and Nathaniel Salvini, photographer Allen Kuhn, retired ranger Tom Young and SCTA race director Bill Lattin.
“Sci-Fi Origins” – Tues., Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal /Wed., Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
Boldly go into the heart of science fiction storytelling and discover its deep roots in Los Angeles. From UC Riverside’s vast sci-fi collection to author Octavia Butler’s Pasadena, host Nathan Masters explores how Southern California became a launchpad for stories that imagine new worlds—and reflect hopes and fears. Featured interviews include librarian Phoenix Alexander, scholar Ayana Jamieson, curator Alexis Bard Johnson, ONE Archives at USC Libraries director Joseph Hawkins and Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society members.
“True Crime” – Tues., Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
Host Nathan Masters examines old crimes like a 1950s Burbank murder and how these moments shaped the true crime genre. Featuring author Michael Connelly, former prosecutor Marcia Clark, podcaster Kate Winkler Dawson and historian William Deverell, the episode explores how Los Angeles’ crimes have influenced storytellers and the city’s cultural identity.
“California Blooms” – Tues., Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal / Wed., Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
Meet the personalities who bring year-round color to California’s landscape. Hunt for native wildflowers in the Santa Monica Mountains, visit San Diego to learn how horticulturalist Kate Sessions colorized the Golden State, stop by Whittier for a debate on the controversial jacaranda tree and see how Burbank’s annual Rose Parade float comes together. Featured interviews include Los Angeles Times journalists Gustavo Arellano and Julia Wick, float designer Eric C. Andersen and botanist Mare Nazaire.
Enjoy our conversation about Season 8 of LOST LA:
Community Engagement Opportunities:
PBS SoCal has also made episodes from past seasons of the series available on the Events Resource Library on pbssocal.org. With a range of original local content, this free digital hub equips organizations to easily host community screenings. Offering customizable invites, downloadable episodes and engaging post-screening content, the Events Resource Library fosters local storytelling, dialogue and connections.
Additionally, the LOST LA Curriculum Project uses LOST LA episodes to present culturally relevant teaching materials centered on local history. The LOST LA Curriculum Project now features 17 lesson plans developed by Southern California educators on topics ranging from the history of Dodger Stadium to Tongva communities before and after Spanish arrival, L.A.’s environmental history, segregation in L.A. leisure activities and the region’s rapid growth during the 20th century. Teachers may navigate lessons by topic, watch the documentaries, download the PDFs of lessons and classroom activities as well as find related articles. The Lost LA Curriculum Project works with California’s history-social science instructional framework and aligns local stories and materials with state educational standards. The Lost LA Curriculum Project is a collaboration among PBS SoCal, USC Libraries, the UCLA History-Geography Project and the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.
LOST LA is supported by generous institutional funders.
For more information about LOST LA and to watch episodes online, visit pbssocal.org/LostLA
Follow us on social at @pbssocal.
About PBS SoCal
PBS SoCal uses the power of public media for good, strengthening the civic fabric of Southern California and providing our community with an essential connection to a wider world. As a local, donor/member-supported non-profit organization, PBS SoCal is available to stream on the PBS app and the PBS Kids App and reaches 22M viewers across 7 Broadcast channels — including 2 primary channels, PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal Plus and 5 digital subchannels. Select programming is also available on PBS SoCal’s YouTube channel. With a commitment to make content available anytime and anywhere for free, PBS SoCal offers programming that reflects the diversity of Southern California and showcases the full schedule of beloved and trusted PBS content spanning Education, News, Environment and Arts & Culture. PBS SoCal also sparks the sharing of ideas at in-person cultural events and community conversations /as well as prepares children for kindergarten and beyond by bringing bilingual, hands-on learning experiences to the community for free.
About USC Libraries
The USC Libraries actively support the discovery, creation, and preservation of knowledge at the University of Southern California and beyond. The libraries serve as host institution for L.A. as Subject, an association of more than 267 libraries, cultural institutions, official archives, and private collectors dedicated to preserving and telling the sometimes-hidden histories of the Los Angeles region. Southern California history is among the USC Libraries’ prominent collections and programming strengths, and Lost LA is an emblem of USC’s connection and commitment to Los Angeles as a Pacific Rim megacity.
