The Moth - City of Angels: The Moth Podcast

Episode Date: September 11, 2026

This episode originally aired on August 30, 2019Two stories from Los Angeles. This episode was hosted by Dan Kennedy.Storytellers:Bryan Kett encounters some fellow Angelonos at a grocery store.Julieta Gilbert decides to march in a protest.Podcast # 613

Welcome to the Moth podcast. I'm your host, Dan Kennedy. When it comes to big cities, it seems like there's always been this unspoken difference or divide between New York and L.A. Some of you may know that the moth started here in New York City, but what you may not know is that Los Angeles was actually the second city to host a Moth StorySlam. And when it comes down to it, maybe the two cities aren't actually as different as they seem. Both places are full of transit. plans trying to make it in the big city. And just like New York, L.A. is not always an easy place to live. Man, it sure seems like it is from 3,000 miles away. I have lived in New York for the last 20 years. I was born and raised in California. I always think L.A. has got to be easier. But every time I get there, I realize we're all people and life is life and it's going to find us wherever we are. And it only takes one visit to be reminded of that. So this week, we're going to hear a couple of Los Angeles stories about moving in and fitting in. First up is this one from Brian Kett.

Brian told this story at our L.A. StorySlam, and the theme of the night was culture shock. Here's Brian Kett. Hi. All right. So when I feel lonely, I go for long walks. And my first year in Los Angeles, I walked so much that I had to resold my shoes two different times. You know, I, it was just, LA felt so foreign to me. You know, it's a tough city.

And back in Chicago, I knew tons of people, and out here I knew hardly anyone. And I missed humans. And what made my day-to-day even harder was that I worked from home writing medical brochures about, you know, diabetes and catheters. And some days my biggest human interaction would be when I would hear my very loud neighbors

screaming through the walls. You know, I didn't know if they were fighting or celebrating. And so I was just in this island in my apartment. And when my landlord dropped off my lease to be renewed for the following year, I was hesitant. You know, I felt like I needed a sign, some sort of human connection to convince me to stay, to show me that L.A. wasn't so foreign. And so I set the lease aside, and I went to work from a coffee shop for the day.

And at the coffee shop, I tried to engage with the barista. And I said, hey, man, what kind of thing? pastry is your favorite. And he just stared at me. He gave me no response. And so I picked out a croissant that sucked. And I sat down next to this woman on her laptop. And when I asked if I could share her electrical wallet with her, it was like I was asking her for a kidney or something. There was so much disdain. And it was then and there, I decided that I was done. I was done with Los Angeles. And so for the rest of the day, I just sat in silence. And I wrote about how catheters can cause bacterial infections.

Doing a few hours of that, reminded me that I was out of shower soap at home. And so that evening, I packed up and I walked over to Albertsons, and Albertsons was slammed. Everybody in Los Felis was there shopping at the same time, and it was so crowded. It took me so long to even get back to where the soap was, that by the time I did, I was really fed up, and I decided that I deserved a treat, damn it. And so I picked up some chocolate milk because I'm an adult. And I went to the checkout line.

I sat down the soap next to the chocolate milk, and this woman in front of me who had really big hair turned and looked back at me, and she scoffed. She gave me a dirty look. And I knew why, clearly, it's because if you buy one item, that's an errand, right? But if you buy two items, everybody assumes you're somehow going to use just those two items concurrently.

And she gave me this real nasty look like she just knew I was going to go home and drink the milk when I was all lathered up in the shower like a pervert. And so I just pushed her out of my mind and I focused on how I was going to pack up my apartment. But that's when someone behind me tapped me on the shoulder. And I turned around and it was the oldest woman in Los Angeles. She had this face like a dried apple and she was wearing a plastic babushka even though I hadn't rained. in like months. And she was saying something I really couldn't make out as she was unloading vegetables

that I'd never even seen before onto the conveyor belt. And I thought she was a crazy person. You know, that's fine. And there's a business man in line behind her, and I tried to engage with him. And I gave him a look that said, like, you know, this lady, am I right?

And he gave me no response. He gave me the old barista treatment. And so before I turned away from her, I kind of realized, you know what? Here's a human who wants to interact with you. And, you know, beggars can't be choosers. Maybe she's not crazy. So I said, excuse me, ma'am?

And she was saying, how do you cook the dinosaurs? And I thought, damn it, you know? But she wasn't saying, cook. It was cook. So it was, how do you cook the dinosaurs? And then she continued. And she said, if my grandchildren do not want, I do not want to waste. And from her cart, she pulled out a small plush stegosaurus,

and a small plush Tyrannosaurus rex that she got in the toy aisle. She set them next to down to her vegetables And she said, so? So how do you cook? And she wasn't crazy She was the most adorable woman in Los Angeles And I said, you know what, ma'am? Normally I broil my brontosaurus And she let out this great laugh that sounded like clucking

But that's when it happened The big-haired woman in front of me leaned in And she said, last week Velociraptor was unspecial It was delicious So the three of us are in the enjoying this wonderful moment of humanity out of nowhere. And then the businessman gets in on it.

And the businessman says, You know, normally I deep fry my dinosaurs, even though I know it isn't good for me. And the four of us are just in it, and it's amazing, and it's lovely. And then the cashier cleared his throat, because the bigger woman had to pay. We all snapped to attention. Our fun was over.

But then the cashier leaned across the conveyor belt, and he said, Albertsons has the tastiest brand of dinosaur. because the Albertson's brand of dinosaur comes with its own stuffing. And everyone broke out in these smiles. And so the big hair woman paid, and she went on her way, and then I paid for my milk and my soap

that I wasn't going to do anything perverted with. And I turned to the old woman, and I said, I really hope you enjoy your dinosaurs if your grandchildren don't, and she beamed. And I left there feeling a part of something larger. Because this human connection, it's all around us, is even when we're not looking for it, and it's even in these seemingly insignificant moments,

it's even in Albertsons, you know, it's even in Los Angeles, which didn't suddenly seem so foreign. And so when I got home, I took a shower with soap. And then afterwards, I poured myself a big glass of chocolate milk. And then I sat down, and I resigned my lease. Thanks. That was Brian Kett.

Brian is an award-winning teacher, writer and storyteller from Chicago who now lives in Los Angeles and every week he tries to solve the Sunday puzzle on NPR. The end of this month will mark five years of living in Los Angeles for Brian and when we followed up with him he had this to say, quote, I'm so happy to say that I've found my community here. Over the last five years, I've met so many kind, caring, and creative people and all of that has come about from being open to whatever opportunities have presented themselves. The other evening, I was sitting on a rooftop with some friends, having a beer, and watching the sun set over the traffic, and the city really felt like home.

Up next, we have a story from Julietta Gilbert. Julietta told this story at an L.A. Story Slam where the theme of the night was bouncing back. Here's Julietta live at the Monk. A few weeks ago, I really didn't know if I wanted to go to the Women's March. But then I got all of these Facebook invites and texts saying things like Can I go with you? Where do I meet you? Should we take the subway? But I wasn't so sure.

I mean, even if I went, what was really the point of it? You see, I am no stranger to marches. I come from Mexico City, and there we march all the time. We march when we're happy. against oppression, against injustice for peace. We just do. March is with six million people. And I'm not judging anyone, but I was in the 2006 LA Immigration March,

and I only saw Latinos there. And a handful of white people that were probably married to the Latinos. That march accomplished nothing. Nothing came out of it. So thinking about that march made me question even more wanting to go to the women's march. Because after all, what were all of these women with all kinds of different causes were going to accomplish when we couldn't even get together to fight for just one cause? But then my friend, she told me that Shepard Ferre, you know the guy that made the Obama Hope poster, that he was giving away posters.

and he had made this beautiful Latino woman that I really wanted. So with this motivation, I told my friends that I was going. My friend and I waited in that gallery for three hours like assholes. By the time I made it all the way to the front, there were no posters, free or for sale. As I was waiting for my friends in Union Station, I was just I just had the worst attitude

because I really didn't want to be there I mean I didn't even get the poster that I wanted but then I met this seven-year-old girl she was in a wheelchair and she was wearing her little nasty woman t-shirt and her dad

I'm here because I support her rights t-shirt and they were so happy and so pumped that it made me feel a shame of myself because I was just throwing so much negativity to the world if she could do it

so could I I found my friends and we entered like this sea of people let me tell you Americans do not know how to organize a march it was a hot mess but also the most

apologetic one every time anybody touched me they were like I'm so sorry, are you okay? Can I help you? As we walked down Broadway, I saw like 30 Middle Eastern men. They had like these super long beards. And they were giving away the most delicious vegan food for free. They were not asking for anything in return. Their act of kindness blew me away.

We passed in and we continued walking. And at some point we were stuck, like we could not move. And I could hear these little Mexican kids chanting, La Rasa Unida Hamaser Venceda. And barely anybody chanted along. But this white girl, she was like, Uni! And then the kids started chanting,

the people united will never be defeated. And like fire, it spread in all of the street. It was magical. As I was walking towards the subway, I bumped into this girl, and she had the poster that I wanted. Hey, where did you get it? Oh, they were just giving them away, but they ran out of it. Oh, and then she just went like this with her poster,

and she had another one. Do you want it? and I couldn't believe that this girl just gave me the poster that I wanted so much just like that as I wrote the subway back home I was trying to digest what I had just experienced and I was intoxicated with this sense of

love, unity, support so much humanity this is the smallest march of my life only 750,000 people, but by far the most meaningful one. That was Julietta Gilbert. Julietta is a writer-producer from Mexico who moved to L.A. in 2005. She's an Emmy and Pro Max award winner and also owns DFLA Films,

a production company that creates content for the U.S. and Mexico. That's it for us this week on The Moth podcast. Until next time, from all of us here at the Moth, Have a story worthy week. Podcast production by Julia Purcell. Dan Kennedy is the author of Loser Goes First, Rock On, and American Spirit. He's also a regular host and storyteller with The Moth.