Los Angeles Guest: Gary Krist, author, "The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles" LA was built against all odds—no water and no people in desiccated country. It took innovation, creativity, and a little deception to persuade people to come and make it thrive. New York City Guest: Donald L. Miller, John Henry MacCracken Emeritus Professor of History, Lafayette College, and author, "Supreme City: How Jazz Age Manhattan Gave Birth to Modern America" It's the place you went to see the future: the Big Apple. NYC's booming transformation in the early 20th century changed world culture.