L.A.’s freeways are like our bodies’ arteries: they are the vessels by which important stuff is transported (us, in our cars); when they get clogged, it’s dangerous (aka they become a real-world example of the Real World motto “find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real”). Consider them in their natural, unpopulated state, though, and it’s hard to imagine the 405, the 10, and their many siblings as anything but a pretty astounding feat of traffic engineering. (Plus, as evidenced by La La Land, Drive, etc., they make for solid filming locations.)

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KCET’s fascinating historical series, Lost LA (season two premieres October 10), spends part of its third episode diving into the highway system that not only determines your morning commute but defines our city. Vintage footage of our motorways in the ’70s will make you feel bizarrely proud of the fact that we’re a mostly-car town (the traffic is a soul-sucking monster, but it’s OUR soul-sucking monster!). Get a sneak peek of the episode, airing October 24, in the clip below, then watch the season trailer to see what else KCET has in store.