Lu Olkowski

Lu Olkowski

Independent Producer

Producer

Lu Olkowski is an independent producer based in New York. Her radio work has been heard on State of the Re:Union, Studio 360, This American Life, Radiolab, All Things Considered, Weekend America, The World and the BBC World Service among others. Her work has won the National Edward R. Murrow award, the Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the RTNDA/Unity award, three Gracie awards, a Third Coast International Audio Festival award and the Salute to Excellence award from the National Association of Black Journalists. In 2014, Lu produced Cargoland, a five-part series for KCRW that goes behind the gates of America's busiest waterfront, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Lu Olkowski on KCRW

A cigarette at his lips, parrot Bok-Bok on his shoulder, Johnny O spent 68 years on the San Pedro waterfront, he calls himself a pirate. (Repeat)

The Pirate

A cigarette at his lips, parrot Bok-Bok on his shoulder, Johnny O spent 68 years on the San Pedro waterfront, he calls himself a pirate. (Repeat)

from UnFictional

Move over Facebook, Microsoft and Snapchat. Google is coming to Playa Vista on 900,000 acres next to the “Spruce Goose” hangar, a relic of innovation past.

High-Tech Meets Hollywood in Playa Vista

Move over Facebook, Microsoft and Snapchat. Google is coming to Playa Vista on 900,000 acres next to the “Spruce Goose” hangar, a relic of innovation past.

from Which Way, L.A.?

Big changes have come to local ports since the Great Recession. Traffic moves faster, the competition is stiffer and cargo ships are massively bigger.

More Business but Fewer Jobs at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles

Big changes have come to local ports since the Great Recession. Traffic moves faster, the competition is stiffer and cargo ships are massively bigger.

from Which Way, L.A.?

More from KCRW

The Quibi ad blitz has begun.

from Screengrab

The Universal satire-horror film "The Hunt," from prolific producer Jason Blum, was pulled before its release last fall, following back-to-back mass shootings.

from Hollywood Breakdown

A new screen version of "The Call of the Wild" is calling to us; it's the Jack London story of a California dog named buck who goes native in the Yukon of the Gold Rush days.

from Film Reviews

Kitty Green's "The Assistant" is audacious in a deadpan way, a #MeToo drama that comes on like an HR video illustrating the responsibilities of an entry-level job.

from Film Reviews

Art fairs of all shapes and sizes pop up in Los Angeles, from blue-chip to artist-run.

from Arts & Culture Stories

In the first scene of playwright Steven Leigh Morris' new play "Red Ink," our protagonist makes a cri-du-coeur:  "What was he thinking?...Why would a successful business man do to his…

from Opening the Curtain

Celebrate Mid-Century design and more in Palm Springs; explore Frieze LA on the back lot of Paramount Studios; and visit several other art fairs and related events across town;…

from Design and Architecture

Browse the pop-up galleries at the LA Art Show; participate in a symposium on climate change and the built environment; browse and shop for fine art prints antiquarian books; see films…

from Design and Architecture

Comedian Russell Peters talks about causing trouble and his new highly personal Amazon comedy special, "Deported".

from The Treatment