LA Stories Unfiltered with Giselle Fernandez

Tennis legend Billie Jean King is a visionary whose legacy is ever-evolving. King, a crusader for social change and gender equality, was listed as one of the most important Americans of the 20th century by "Life" magazine for her work and achievements. But one of the greatest honors of her life, she says, is the full circle celebration of the new Long Beach Library being named after her. King credits her hometown of Long Beach for making her the success she is in sports and beyond. She discusses being a lifelong Dodgers fan and her fulfilled dream of becoming a part-owner of the franchise. The sports pioneer opens up about the shock, trauma and consequences of being painfully and publicly outed as gay back in 1981. She also discusses her homophobic parents and how that influenced her own homophobia, self-acceptance and eating disorder. King explains to Giselle Fernandez why she believes women and girls should be brave and not perfect.

While he’s worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry — Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys — legendary record producer Clive Davis admits it wasn’t the career he had planned on. It was while he was working at a law firm that Davis was offered a job at Columbia Records, where he became known as "The Man with the Golden Ears” due to his rare ability to recognize musical talent and hit songs. Davis discovered Whitney Houston as a teenager and was with her every step of her skyrocketing career, now making it his mission to vindicate Houston’s legacy by making a documentary about her life. Now approaching his ninth decade, Davis continues to reinvent himself while serving as chief creative officer of Sony Music with no plans to slow down.

In 2016, just after the birth of his son, Ady Barkan was hit with a devastating blow: He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. As the medical bills began pouring in, Barkan was inspired to take action against what he says is a flawed health care system in the U.S. When his ALS progressed, leaving him paralyzed and unable to speak, Barkan used his ailing body as a weapon in the fight for health care rights, which is chronicled in the new documentary “Not Going Quietly.” Knowing his time is limited, Barkan wants to do everything he can to leave the world in a better place for his kids and has hope that something good will come out of his diagnosis.

You may know her best from her glamorous and sassy roles on TV shows such as "Desperate Housewives," but today, Eva Longoria says her baby boy is the leading man she's desperately in love with. It's a love that's re-prioritizing everything the actress, producer and activist does in her busy life, including the roles she takes on in Hollywood. Longoria recently played Dora's mom in the live-action film version of "Dora the Explorer," for example, which is just the kind of dynamic role that projects a positive image for the Hispanic population. Longoria opens up to host Giselle Fernandez about the importance of meditation in her life, her goals of working toward more representation of the Latino population and women in the industry, and how her disabled sister has served as a lifelong inspiration for her.

Coming up on "LA Stories Unfiltered," host Giselle Fernandez delivers more in-depth conversations with impact makers from here in Southern California. She sits down next week with Susan Burton, who has worked tirelessly to break the cycle of mass incarceration for women. Beyond that, Fernandez speaks with Greg Gorman, who has photographed most of Hollywood's icons. Listen and subscribe wherever you prefer to get your podcasts.