KCRW is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its signature local news show Which Way, LA? with Warren Olney next week. WWLA was born in the immediate wake of the LA riots, as way to publicly explore the complex social dynamics of the civil unrest. The show was Olney’s first at KCRW, and he’s stayed at the station ever since.

“It was a safe and even comforting place to turn to as people searched for ways to go forward,” says former KCRW general manager Ruth Seymour of the show’s origins. “[T]he program remains a trusted source for discussion and debate about the problems and concerns of Southern Californians. The program has now served a generation of KCRW listeners. That surely is more than a success; it’s a triumph.”

KCRW has been commemorating the anniversaries of WWLA and the riots by airing several hour-long specials on that chaotic time in 1992, and exploring whether or not a similar uprising could happen in Los Angeles today.