Street-level wandering with jokes, history, and detours.
Walkin' About follows Alan McLeod on foot through neighborhoods, parks, stairways, and public spaces, usually with a guest beside him. The appeal is in the wandering: a sidewalk problem, a transit tangent, a local landmark, or a coffee stop can become the reason the walk matters.
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Walkin' About is a walking show with a strong sense of place and a patient ear for whatever the route turns up. Alan McLeod moves through neighborhoods, parks, stairways, and public spaces with guests, letting the physical walk set the rhythm. The result feels relaxed, funny, and unusually concrete. A sidewalk mess, an aggressive-goose false alarm, a staircase, a dog in a field, or a quiet path through Central Park can become the hinge of a whole conversation. The show does not treat city history as a lecture. It finds it in street names, freeway scars, old parks, transit plans, storefronts, and the way people argue about what a neighborhood is supposed to be. Recent Los Angeles walks pass through Silverlake, Echo Park, Burbank, Boyle Heights, and Kenneth Hahn State Park. Other episodes step into New York, including a route from Hell’s Kitchen to Central Park with Charlie Todd. Guests bring their own obsessions and local knowledge. Jason Mantzoukas talks routines, recovery, and the bodily comedy of simply being out in the world. Eric Brightwell brings transit enthusiasm into a conversation about the D-line, the K line, Beverly Hills, Torrance, and LA’s rail memory. Carl Tart helps turn Burbank from a tidy surface into a stranger civic map of vintage shops, gun stores, pandemic-era conflict, and local character. Katie Kershaw’s Boyle Heights walk moves through Hollenbeck Park, immigrant history, stairs, coffee, and the belief that street-level people can be more interesting than mountains. Even the bonus previews keep the same spirit, turning the Baxter Stairs climb into a sweaty exchange about knees, electrolytes, hot dogs, relish, and frozen pizza as fuel. The humor is casual and sometimes blunt. The curiosity is real. What sets the show apart is how often the digression is the destination: food talk, transit talk, body aches, old film locations, park renovations, and neighborhood politics all belong because walking naturally makes room for them. It is an excellent fit for listeners who like urban exploration without polish, comedy without constant performance, and history that arrives by way of a block, a bench, or a very steep staircase.
Made for: For listeners who like city walks, neighborhood lore, public transit talk, comedy-adjacent guests, and casual conversations that notice the built world. It especially suits people who enjoy Los Angeles texture but are happy to wander elsewhere too.
What sets it apart: The show’s structure is genuinely pedestrian: the route, interruptions, scenery, and physical effort shape the conversation in real time. It turns ordinary sidewalks and parks into living prompts rather than backdrops.
Join Allan McLeod as he moseys through the streets, trails, parks, and public spaces that shape our cities. From tranquil nature hikes and cemetery strolls, to urban exploration and bar crawls, come along with Allan and his funny, famous, and friendly guests as they find their way on foot. Let's get our walk on!
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Alan McLeod uses neighborhood walks to connect Los Angeles street life, guest memories and carefully placed local history.
Walkin' About turns Los Angeles strolls into conversations shaped by whatever the pavement brings into view. Alan McLeod lets guests guide the route through neighborhood memory and daily life, while prepared context gives passing buildings, parks and local disputes a longer…
Human-size sidewalk evidence turns your stroll with Allan McLeod into amateur urban forensics.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Echo Park Lake frames a loose late-night walk about routine, work, and a goose scare.
Walkin' About turns Echo Park Lake into a late-night stroll that starts with a goose scare after a lav mic housing slips off a belt, then eases into a relaxed exchange between Alan McLeod and Jason Mantzoukas.
A filthy sidewalk opener turns into a blunt, funny surgery story.
Walkin' About starts with a sidewalk so foul it becomes its own piece of evidence, and Alan McLeod and Jason Manzoukas keep circling the footprints, drag mark, and the scrape where someone tried to clean it off a shoe.
Burbank's sunny sidewalks and gun-store politics share the frame.
It uses a Burbank neighborhood walk to sketch a city that can look like a Hallmark movie and still hold block parties, Easter egg hunts, a MAGA bar standoff, and gun stores.
Boyle Heights comes through as a walkable history lesson with vivid street detail and a bit of park fatigue.
Alan McLeod and Katie Kershaw guide a street-level tour of Boyle Heights, a working-class neighborhood east of the Los Angeles River that the episode casts as the Ellis Island of the West.
This episode turns Los Feliz into a memory map through school histories, storefront details, and a walk through the neighborhood's older layers.
Evan Kleiman's path through Rose Charlene Echo Park Cooperative Nursery School, Franklin Avenue, Thomas Starr King, and Marshall gives the episode a clear childhood compass, while Alan McLeod ties walking, food, and memory to Los Feliz in a way that feels grounded rather than…
NHPR's Jason Moon investigates the Bear Brook barrel murders and a New Hampshire wrongful-conviction case.
Alan McLeod opens with a goose scare that turns out to be his lav mic battery housing bumping his leg.
Alan opens on a sidewalk mess.
The episode opens with a MaxFunDrive 2026 appeal, then Alan McLeod and Carl Tart settle into Burbank, where the streets feel almost like a Hallmark movie.
Alan McLeod opens with a street-level case for walking in Los Angeles.
Host Alan McLeod and guest Sam Sanders explore the verdant Kenneth Hahn State Park in Los Angeles, celebrating the city's natural beauty while promoting the Max Fun Drive for listener support.
This episode continues a conversation with Charlie Todd about finding solitude while walking in Central Park's Ramble area during winter in New York City.
The host and guest Charlie Todd discuss the transformation of a street from seven to four traffic lanes with improved pedestrian and bike infrastructure, highlighting the benefits of equitable urban space use.
Host Alan McLeod and guest Phoebe Robinson walk through West Hollywood, discussing its significance as an LGBTQ hub, art and design destination, and rock and roll lifestyle haven.
Alan McLeod walks Las Feliz with Evan Kleiman.
Alan McLeod and Lauren Lapkus discuss the magical, low-key appeal of gardens, inspired by the trailer for 'Secret Garden', as part of a walking-focused podcast episode.
Alan McLeod and Andy Richter discuss the artificial and engineered nature of architecture in Los Angeles, particularly in places like Hancock Park and Ferndell Nature Preserve.
This episode of Walking About features host Alan McLeod discussing contemplative walking and the LA River with guest Phil Augusta Jackson.
The host shares a personal story about seeing a solitary cow standing on a hill overlooking the ocean, sparking reflections on curiosity and the inner spirit of animals.
Alan McLeod and Jon Gabrus explore the elevated Bunker Hill Pedway in downtown Los Angeles, discussing its potential as a unique date spot and urban walking experience.