Being hard of hearing is a source of a lot of material for stand-up comedian D.J. Demers. Without his hearing aids, he’s considered deaf. When he takes them out to sleep at sketchy hotels, he says, “I’m very easy to murder.”

And since hearing aids aren’t waterproof, “pool parties are a nightmare,” he jokes. “I’m not very good at Marco Polo.”

As a new dad, people warned him to be ready for a lot of sleepless nights. “It’s been pretty chill. I’d love to help more, but this damn disability, you know?”

Nothing to joke about at first

Demers was diagnosed with hearing loss when he was 4 years old. As a kid, he saw nothing funny about it.

“I never joked about my hearing aids when I was young. I actually kind of hid them,” he says. “If I had to change them at recess or something, I would kind of run away from everybody and do it in a private corner.”

Then Demers learned that making people laugh was a way to make friends and deflect potential ridicule.

“If they had any feelings that they didn’t want to be friends with me because I had a disability, I could overcome that because I was funny,” he says.

He’s so funny, the Canadian-born Demers won the “Homegrown Comics” competition at the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal in 2014. That led to spots on Conan, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and America’s Got Talent. He developed and starred in a sitcom for CBC Television and filmed four specials. His latest, Azoospermia, is about his and his wife’s journey conceiving a child.

Sign language interpreters in his stand-up

After about five years doing stand-up for hearing audiences, Demers realized having a sign language interpreter on stage would help him reach others in the deaf community. The first interpreter he hired was Jennifer Lees.

“I’ve seen concerts with interpreters for music and I’ve seen lots of spoken word stuff,” says Lees. “But comedy, definitely, there was a gap there for deaf and hard of hearing consumers who just want to be able to go out to Yuk Yuks or one of the [other] comedy chains and have some fun.”

Lees, who’s interpreted for Demers many times, says deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences can relate to his material, like his jokes about not being able to lip read during the pandemic.

“Nobody’s ever talked about [hearing loss] in a funny way,” says Lees. “You know, people very rarely talk about it at all, never mind with an incredible insight into how awkward and strange communication can be.”

Not just ‘the hearing aid guy’

From the beginning of his stand-up career, Demers says, he was reluctant to make too much of his act about his disability. “But there’s so much stuff to talk about and a lot of funny stuff and it is a unique perspective.”

And that perspective has changed over time.

“I have a kid now and now he’s got a hard of hearing father. So I’m watching how he perceives me when I can’t hear him well. And so that’s shifting my own perspective on my disability,” he says.

“If I really leaned into being, you know, the hearing aid guy, I could really, like capture that market,” Demers reasoned, “But at what cost? I have to explore more beyond it just to be artistically fulfilled.”

Ramy Arida/D.J. Demers

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Still, Demers doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as “the hearing aid guy.” In fact, much of his material has nothing to do with disability at all. He’s joked about social media, his passion for speed walking and being tested for infertility.

Yet with the explosion of stand-up in recent years, some comedians feel pressure to find their niche and stick to it.

“If I really leaned into being ‘the hearing aid guy,’ I could capture that market,” Demers says. “But at what cost? I have to explore more beyond it, just to be artistically fulfilled.”

Demers will make his second appearance on The Tonight Show this week (scheduled for Nov. 26) and then he will go on to tour the United States.

Jennifer Vanasco edited this story for broadcast and digital. Chloee Weiner mixed the audio.

Los Angeles is teeming with beautiful places to walk, but for many of us, our favorite paths are those that are closest to home. These are the walks we do again and again, when we need to shake out our blues, get a new perspective or just enjoy some of our city’s famous sunshine. So it comes as no surprise that when we asked readers to share their favorite walks, many of you responded with a path in your neighborhood.

As someone who recently relied on suggestions from friends across the city to help me choose — and plot — the 11 most essential walks in L.A., I can say that there is nothing better than exploring an area through the eyes of a local. Their insights and experience add a deeper dimension to a walk. Each time a friend showed me around, I came away with a new appreciation for the part of the city they call home.

So it is with great gratitude and pleasure that I present a handful of the walks submitted by our readers who generously shared their own expertise on where to walk, and what to see. Nobody knows a city better than those of us who live here.

Reader Rick Jashnani submitted this image from his Ballona Creek walk.

(Rick Jashnani)

Down the Ballona Lagoon nature path, back on the beach, and over to the marina to close the loop

Starting location: Start at 4001 Via Dolce, Marina del Rey

Distance: 2.5 miles

Length of time: 60 minutes

What makes it special: ”The nature walk is really pretty and borders a wildlife sanctuary where you can see egrets and other migratory birds. There are always little lizards on the path as well. As you turn the corner to the ocean, you can see larger seabirds and if you’re lucky you can see dolphins. The marina is always nice to check out the calmness of the water and all the boats. Plus, if your dog is well-behaved, you can generally take him or her off leash and no one will bug you.”

— Rick Jashnani, Venice

Reader Ducan Addicott submitted this photo from his Mount Lowe excursion.

(Ducan Addicott)

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Mount Lowe Trail/ San Merrill Trail to the ruins of the Mount Lowe Hotel

Starting location: The corner of Loma Alta Drive and Lake Avenue. Goes all the way up to (34.21097° N, 118.12077° W)

Distance: 5 miles

Length of time: At a fast pace, around an hour and 45 minutes. At an average pace, about three hours

What makes it special: ”Since my family lives near the trail, we occasionally hike the trail to the top of Echo Mountain (where the Mount Lowe Hotel remains are) to see the view of Los Angeles.”

— Duncan Addicott, Altadena

Reader Thomas Nagano submitted this photo from his Hill Top walk.

(Thomas Nagano)

Hill Top View

Starting location: North Thomas Avenue in Lincoln Heights

Distance: 3 steep miles up and back.

Length of time: 45 minutes

What makes it special: “The 360 degree view from ‘Flat Top.’”

— Thomas Nagano, Los Angeles

Hikers walk across the Mark Ridley-Thomas Bridge, which stretches over La Cienega Boulevard and links Kenneth Hahn Park to the Stoneview Nature Center.

(Allison Zaucha/For The Times)

Culver City park to Baldwin Hills Park to Kenneth Hahn Park

Starting location: “From Culver City park, start off in the parking lot near the Boneyard and take the wooden ramps up the hill. Walk across Bill Botts field to the connector to the Baldwin Hills park. Walk to the top of the hill, enjoy the views and then find the parking lot. At the back of the lot is a path that connects down the hill to Stoneview Nature Center. Do a lap around the nature center, pick a piece of fruit or rest on a bench, then take the path back out of the nature center and walk over La Cienega into Kenneth Hahn Park. If you are walking for fitness you can do this in a couple of hours. You can spend more time in any of the parks as you walk.”

Distance: About 3 miles

Length of time: Two hours

What makes it special: “It is so cool to see all these parks linked to each other and find such a long walking route in L.A. that really doesn’t pass along any roads. You can make the walk longer by spending more time in these parks or walking longer routes through the parks or you can just go for a walk and consider the parks marker points as you go from Culver City to Kenneth Hahn.”

— Lisa Collins, Culver City

Greer Cowan submitted this photo from her Griffith Park hike.

(Greer Cowan)

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Riverside trail in Griffith Park

Starting location: 2715 N. Vermont Canyon Road, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Distance: 2 miles

Length of time: 30 minutes

What makes it special: “I grew up in rural Vermont and it’s hard to describe to friends and family why I’ve chosen to live in L.A. This is a place where I bring people who visit me in LA from the East Coast to demonstrate what I love about it. The walk has a gorgeous view of downtown but it’s peaceful and away from cars and pavement. When I bring people from Vermont to this walk they start to understand what I love about L.A.”

— Greer Cowan, Los Angeles

A boy plays in the fountains in Gloria Molina Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to Gloria Molina Grand Park to L.A. City Hall

Starting location: 555 W. Temple St.

Distance: .5 miles

Length of time: 15 minutes

What makes it special: “As I ease into the morning work day, I park at the underground parking garage next to Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. I cross Temple Street by the court buildings constructed in the late 1960s and early 1970s and walk over to Grand Park. I start my trek at 7:15 am and finish around 7:35 am — not a long walk time down the escaliered concrete staircases but it helps me to see nature and ease any anxiety I have before I start work during my monthly three-day work days in downtown L.A. As I get close to the L.A. City Hall, there are police officers moving overnight persons camping in the park out so that city hall workers, mostly female, arrive to a safe environment before entering city hall’s employee entrance.”

— Thomas Foster

Reader Larry Blivas submitted this photo of his walk from the Venice Pier and the Santa Monica Pier.

(Larry Blivas)

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From the Venice Pier to the Santa Monica Pier along the beach

Starting location: Washington Boulevard and Ocean Front Walk

Distance: 2 miles

Length of time: 1-2 hours depending on your pace

What makes it special: “If you walk along the beach next to the water this is the most memorable walk in Los Angeles, with the most beautiful beaches full of birds, sea lions, surfers, dolphins, occasionally a few whales and the most beautiful surf! You can walk it barefoot or as many people do, wear lightweight tennis shoes. [You can go with] your dog or with a friend or by yourself. It is really incredible. If you walk along the walking bike path it has the Venice Art Walk, many bicycles and it ends at the Santa Monica Pier, [where you can] enjoy the festivities. The other option is to start at the Santa Monica Pier and walk to the Venice Pier and back for a beautiful walk, exercise and best day of your life!”

— Larry Blivas, Los Angeles

Self Help Graphics 50th annual Dia De Los Muertos event at the East L.A. Civic Center.

(Sarahi Apaez/For De Los)

Highland Park Metro Station to East Los Angeles Civic Center

Starting location: Ave. 59 to Figueroa St. through downtown LA and then east on E. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd. to the ELA Civic Center.

Distance: About 12 miles

Length of time: 3-4 hours depending on whether there’s a parade or a march happening

What makes it special: “It cuts to the core of Los Angeles, from its oldest community along the Arroyo Seco to its oldest cultural hubs and sprawling historic avenues, and crossing five freeways and the raging rivers of clanging metal below. I’ve been doing it for several years and it is never the same walk, like a search for meaning.”

— Richard Vasquez, Los Angeles

The labyrinthal channels of Marina del Rey

Starting location: Admiralty Way and Bali Way

Distance: 2 miles

Length of time: 30 minutes

What makes it special: “Sights and sounds don’t come much more spectacular than a saunter around the labyrinthal channels of Marina del Rey. You have the Ballona Lagoon offering pleasant tidal salt marsh views ideal for brandishing binoculars where one can espy many a seabird sneaking up on unsuspecting french fries. And further walk away your woes as you peer waterward at salty-sneezing harbor seals, sun-soaked kayakers, and spry runaway skiffs cascading along the horizon with swollen sails.

I enjoy any ambulatory miles I can accumulate in the Marina area. From morning jaunts evaluating artisanal turnips at the Famer’s Market every Saturday morning near Mother’s Beach to tranquil late afternoons spent strolling among the shelves of the Lloyd Taber-Marina del Rey Library. The custom sail-shaped windows look out onto the sunset.

Ahoy, it’s a showstopper.”

— Tommy Bui, Pacoima

Visitors can hear Björk’s immersive, otherworldly soundscape, Nature Manifesto, over the next few weeks as they climb the long, glass escalator that hugs the side of Centre Pompidou in Paris, France.

Björk is not only an Icelandic pop star, but also an avant-garde artist and climate activist. Her new sound installation blends the noises of endangered and extinct animals with her own voice, reading text she co-wrote alongside editor and photographer Aleph Molinari.

“It is an emergency. The apocalypse has already happened. And how we will act now is essential,” Björk recites over an array of ear-tingling wildlife noises that are sometimes natural, sometimes otherworldly. “In a pioneering sound strata of mutant peacocks, bees, and lemurs, biology will reassemble in new ways.”

A journey through different sonic worlds

Created with IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique), a preeminent music and sound research institute based in Paris, the installation employs field recordings of animal sounds. Some of these were manipulated using artificial intelligence.

“As you go up the escalator, you go through all these different sonic worlds,” said IRCAM sound artist Robin Meier Wiratunga, who collaborated with Björk on the installation. “We have orangutans, mosquitoes, beluga whales, and then when you reach the top floor, the climactic musical event, which we lovingly call the ‘Dolphin Disco.’” 

Some creatures whose vocalizations appear in Nature Manifesto, such as the Hawaiian crow, cannot be heard in the wild anymore. The creative team grabbed this bird’s call from an archive of extinct animals.

“This immersive sound piece gives endangered and extinct animals a voice by merging their sounds with our words, handing them the microphone,” Björk said in a statement shared with NPR. “We wanted to share their presence in an architecture representing the industrial age, far away from nature. We wanted to remind citizens of the raw vitality of endangered creatures.”

Capturing the sounds of lost species

We don’t know for sure what sounds many extinct animals made. University of Texas paleontologist Julia Clarke, who studies the sounds of extinct animals, said we can glean clues by studying sound-making in living species and the preserved soft tissues, skeletons and fossils of extinct ones.

“We might look at the sound-producing structures, like vibratory vocal cords,” Clarke said. “We might look at the structures that are rubbed together or banged together.”

Up to one million plant and animal species are facing extinction due to human activity including climate change, pollution and habitat loss, according to a 2019 global report on biodiversity.

“What we’ve noticed in mass extinction is really the absence of sound,” Clarke said.

But she added that Nature Manifesto isn’t only highlighting this catastrophic loss. It also suggests if we stop destroying the planet, that species might continue to evolve.

“It’s challenging us to think about in visceral ways what a very different and very acoustically diverse future might sound like,” she said. “I hope it is that acoustically diverse.”

Björk and Aleph Molinari collaborated on Nature Manifesto at Centre Pompidou in Paris.

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Björk the climate activist

Björk’s passion for environmental stewardship runs deep. Some of her albums touch upon the natural world and its complex relationship to technology, such as Biophilia (2011) and Fossora (2022). She also advocates strongly for ecological causes, including her ongoing fight against intensive fish farming in her native Iceland. A recently discovered butterfly species — Pterourus bjorkae — was recently named in her honor.

The singer, visual artist and activist Anohni, who is exhibiting a companion video piece alongside Nature Manifesto at Centre Pompidou, said she and Björk often talk about climate issues.

“We’ve spoken a lot about environment over the years, just as artists between each other, trying to understand our right-size relationship to this unfolding crisis and the different ways that we might utilize our agency as artists,” she said. “She’s always been such a profound and moving optimist.”

Jennifer Vanasco edited the broadcast and digital versions of this story. Chloee Weiner mixed the audio.