Imperfect Paradise

Los Angeles has long been considered a “car-centric” city, but is that changing? On this episode of Imperfect Paradise, LAist transportation correspondent Kavish Harjai joins to talk about the history of transit in L.A., the backstory behind the much-delayed People Mover train at LAX, and whether there’s enough time for L.A. to deliver what organizers have said will be a “transit-first” 2028 Olympics.

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This episode originally aired on January 8, 2025.

Struggling with addiction and reentry after multiple stints in prison, Cesar Quijano discovers ultrarunning, a hobby that turns into his addiction and salvation. Through Cesar’s story to complete  a 100-mile race, Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido and producer Lucy Copp explore urgent questions around what support people need to successfully transition out of pris...

Is homeownership falling out of reach for millennials and Gen Z in the Golden State? LAist housing correspondent David Wagner joins Imperfect Paradise to examine this trend, the obstacles to homeownership and why we may need to shift our conception of what housing looks like in California. 

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The death of Jackie signals the end of her story with Shadow – as well as for Big Bear Lake, and for millions of fans who followed the eagles’ saga on livestream for years. LAist reporter Makenna Cramer joins Imperfect Paradise to examine how the eagles turned the tides for a fight against luxury housing development in the San Bernardino Mountains, as well as what celebrity animal culture can tell us about our relations...

Homelessness increased in Los Angeles this year following two previous years of declines, according to the recently released 2026 “point-in-time” homeless count. It’s a setback for the region, and for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass who’s touted prior declines as evidence that her approach to addressing the homelessness crisis is working. But is it really? On this episode of Imperfect Paradise, LAist reporter Aaron Sc...

The city of Los Angeles is home to over two thousand active oil wells, many concentrated in communities of color where residents have long reported serious health issues. On this episode of Imperfect Paradise, LAist’s Erin Stone takes us inside one neighborhood’s fight to shut down a drill site, and explores what a broader effort to phase out drilling could mean for a region whose economy and infrastructure were built o...

Immigration bond denials have jumped sharply under the second Trump administration — nowhere more than at the Adelanto ICE detention center in Southern California. On this week's Imperfect Paradise: LAist's Jared Bennett follows the case of a 70-year-old L.A. street vendor held at Adelanto for six months, what it took for his family to get him released, and what immigration advocates say is behind the shift in bond denials.

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For the first time ever, more fathers than mothers applied for Paid Family Leave to bond with their newborn child in California. LAist’s Elly Yu dives into the reasons behind this growing trend and talks with three men about their role as fathers.

Read Elly’s reporting on paid family leave on LAist.com. 

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Hosting the World Cup was supposed to be an economic boost for Los Angeles, but what effect has it really had on local businesses? LAist reporter Destiny Torres examines this question through one historic tourist destination in Los Angeles: Olvera Street.

Read Destiny’s reporting on Olvera Street at LAist.com.

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Los Angeles has a new museum: Dataland –- the world’s first museum completely devoted to AI-generated art. In a time of high anxiety around the impact of AI on jobs, the environment and human creativity, can Dataland change the conversation around human-AI collaboration? LAist All Things Considered Host Julia Paskin takes us inside Dataland.  

Read Julia’s essay on Dataland at LAist.com.

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This episode originally aired on June 13, 2025.

ICE raids began last Friday across Southern California. People have been detained and there have been confrontations between protesters and law enforcement. What exactly went down and where does Los Angeles go from here? We hear from family members of people detained by ICE and talk with LAist Civics and Democracy Correspondent Frank Stoltze about the unprecedented week that Angelenos...

The Iran national soccer team competed in its first match at the 2026 World Cup in Los Angeles – after months of uncertainty over whether they’d play amid the US war on Iran. It's the first time in the tournament’s history that a host nation has gone to war with a participating nation. In our final installment of our World Cup series, LAist reporter Libby Rainey looks at the Iranian team’s precarious path to...

Los Angeles is hosting eight matches for this year’s FIFA World Cup. Today, LA is home to three professional soccer teams and one of the biggest soccer youth organizations in the nation, but did you know its history with soccer goes back over a century? With the world cup at our doorstep, LAist correspondent Adolfo Guzman-Lopez traces LA’s relationship with soccer, from its celebrity scene to its immigrant roots.

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The stakes are high for this year’s FIFA World Cup. For the first time in the tournament's history, 48 national teams will compete across 16 cities. That includes Los Angeles. And despite the sport’s biggest names battling it out on the field, high ticket prices, ICE’s role at the games, and other issues have caused concern among fans. LAist reporter Libby Rainey joins us for an overview of the World Cup and what ...

If you still haven’t voted and need some help, listen to this encore of the first episode in our Voter Game Plan series – LAist Community Engagement Senior Producer Brianna Lee previews the key races and answers burning questions on navigating the primary election. And be sure to check out all the episodes in our series. Whether you’re voting for L.A. mayor, the school board or superior court judge, we bring you w...

In the fourth installment of our Voter Game Plan series, we cover a number of hotly contested primary races in Orange County. These include races for jobs that determine how the county spends billions of taxpayer dollars, to another that oversees the county’s education system, serving nearly a half million students. Plus we dive deep into two OC races where multiple candidates are facing troubling allegations. LAist reporters...

The stakes are high for two of the most high profile local races on the June primary ballot. The L.A. mayor and L.A. County sheriff are hugely influential positions, and the incumbents in each race face crowded fields of challengers. LAist Civics and Democracy correspondent Frank Stoltze breaks down both races and discusses the front-runners and their platforms.

Check out Frank’s Voter Game Plan guides for the mayor and the s...

Traffic ticket disputes. Child custody cases. Theft. Voters decide which Los Angeles and Orange County superior court judges rule on these kinds of cases and other daily issues that directly affect how we live. Though multiple local judges are up for a vote on the June primary ballot, finding information about these candidates can be trickier than other races. In the second installment of our voter game plan series, LAist Reporter ...

All month long on Imperfect Paradise, we’re bringing you a special series devoted to the June primaries. Whether you’re voting for L.A. mayor, the school board or superior court judge, we'll help you make an informed vote. To kick off the series, LAist Community Engagement Senior Producer Brianna Lee previews the key races and answers burning questions on navigating the primary election cycle.

Check out all the Voter Ga...