Imperfect Paradise

This special episode on Imperfect Paradise is from our friends at Latino USA and CalMatters. It tracks the rise of Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, a key figure in the Trump Administration’s deportation efforts and explores the consequences of the raids to the people captured here in LA and around the country. Support LAist Today: https://laist.com/join

In less than a thousand days, Los Angeles will be hosting the summer Olympics. Many cities worldwide have been put into debt by the games, so what could they mean for Los Angeles? LAist reporter Libby Rainey joins Imperfect Paradise  to look back at the history of the games when LA last hosted them, the financial outlook for the city, and what role the federal government might play.  Thi...

Regulations on gas storage facilities have been tightened since the detection of the Aliso Canyon leak, which started in 2015 and lasted nearly four months. But residents remain worried about long term health effects following the leak. LAist Climate and Environment Reporter Erin Stone discusses the 10-year anniversary of the disaster and what’s standing in the way of the facility being clos...

The Trump administration’s immigration policies have resulted in raids and protests in Southern California and across the country, and the administration has also moved to tighten who gets citizenship. Recently, the federal government pushed out new guidelines for naturalization. The situation has raised fundamental questions around what it means to be a U.S. citizen and how the process to b...

Proposition 50 is part of a nationwide battle over control of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Californians are being asked to take a side: Should the state be temporarily allowed to redraw congressional maps to counter the Trump administration and redistricting in Texas? LAist Civics & Democracy Correspondent Frank Stoltze and Civics & Democracy Engagement Producer Brianna Lee break...

A charter reform commission was created in 2024 in response to multiple Los Angeles city government scandals, including the leak of a racist tape featuring City Council President Nury Martinez. One of the commission’s aims was to modify the LA charter, which is basically the city’s constitution. But reports indicate that this commission is struggling to do its job. There are calls for...

A new report details the Eaton and Palisades fires, including failures in the emergency response. But this report bears striking similarities with another -- which chronicled the response to the 2018 Woolsey Fire in Southern California. LAist science reporter Jacob Margolis discusses the reports and what they mean for L.A. County moving forward. This LAist podcast is supported by Amazon Autos. Buy...

Big companies like Amazon and SpaceX are claiming that the National Labor Relations Board – an independent federal entity in charge of overseeing unionizing efforts – is unconstitutional. In addition to those companies, colleges like the University of Southern California and Loyola Marymount University are also joining the movement to push back against labor groups. If this movement su...

After the George Floyd protests of 2020, California took steps to rein in violent policing of protests by passing laws restricting how law enforcement uses less-lethal weapons, like tasers and rubber bullets. But high profile protests in 2024 and 2025 – including this summer’s protests against the ICE raids in Los Angeles – have revealed major flaws in those laws. LAist Senior Ed...

Censorship efforts at libraries nationwide have increased steadily over the last several years. In the 2023 - 24 school year, more than 10,000 book bans were counted in the country’s public schools. These efforts have become a cornerstone of a larger national debate over cultural influences and parents' rights to restrict those influences. LAist Orange County Correspondent Jill Replogle join...

Last month, former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristen Crowley filed a legal claim against Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, alleging defamation, retaliation and negligence in the wake of Bass’ firing of her. It’s the latest chapter in a feud that erupted during the historic wildfires in January. In light of these new developments, we bring you our original episode from April 2025 about how Bas...

Disgraced former Orange County supervisor Andrew Do reported to federal prison in Arizona on August 15th. Do had been found guilty of accepting bribes in exchange for directing millions of taxpayer dollars to a nonprofit that was supposed to be feeding hungry seniors  during the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of those dollars were diverted elsewhere. Now that Do is in prison, LAist watchdog corr...

Across the U.S., states are constantly in the midst of teacher shortages. California's teaching prep and residency programs are supposed to be part of the solution. But many hopeful teachers struggle to balance their passion with the risk of debt and high cost of living. Imperfect Paradise guest host and K-12 Senior Reporter Mariana Dale and LAist’s Higher Education Reporter Julia Barajas br...

Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies severely beat Joseph Perez in 2020, then arrested him. His mom Vanessa alleges that she had previously told law enforcement that Perez has a serious mental illness and would need to be placed in a psychiatric facility. Mother and son believe the deputies used unnecessary force on Perez and are the center of an ongoing legal battle, attempting to hold...

West Altadena residents Anthony Mitchell Sr. and his son Justin Mitchell were stuck at home when the Eaton Fire erupted Jan. 7. Both had disabilities, and to evacuate, they needed help. Mitchell Sr. and family members called 911 multiple times as the fire spread. But first responders didn't make it in time to evacuate the father and son. Seven months after the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires...

Diapers, concrete and construction debris. The open secret about trash in Southern California is that some of the waste people assume is being properly handled is actually being disposed of on remote sites in the California high desert. The state agency in charge of waste, CalRecycle, has said the scale of illegal dumping has become an emergency. LAist science reporter Jacob Margolis investigated...

In honor of Guam Liberation Day on July 21, this week we feature an episode from the Inheriting podcast. It's about a CHamoru woman untangling the deeply complex history between the U.S. and the island she was raised on. Leialani Wihongi-Santos is CHamoru and was raised on the island of Guam with a distorted view of history. She was taught that the United States "saved” her island from occup...

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 prison and into soc...

As Democrats confront declining Latino support across three consecutive presidential elections, a fierce debate is unfolding within the party: Are Latino advocacy groups and polling firms helping or hurting the Democratic cause? Critics argue that a flawed messaging strategy — and a complacent advocacy infrastructure — have led to Latino voters drifting right, even toward Donald Trump....

For decades, there’s been a persistent story about Mexican immigrants crossing the border for a better life in the United States. But there’s a new trend emerging: Mexicans and Mexican Americans, disillusioned with American politics, moving to Mexico for a more fulfilling life. In the second episode of a three-part collaboration with Latino USA , Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereiji...

During a flurry of election-related anxiety, Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido re-downloaded TikTok and fell down a very specific rabbit hole: Latina trad wife content. Videos of women waking up at three in the morning, making “lonche” for their husbands and espousing traditional lifestyles – have become popular and gone viral on social media. In the first episode of a th...

On February 18th, 2025, the LA Unified School District, the second largest public school district in the country, implemented an all-day cell phone ban for its students. Now that it’s the end of the school year, we head to Venice High School to see how the ban actually went. This LAist podcast is supported by Amazon Autos. Buying a car used to be a whole day affair. Now, at Amazon Autos, you...

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 just experie...

In 2009, Gloria Arellano de la Rosa was banned from re-entering the U.S. for ten years, finding herself separated from her four children and husband. But unlike Daniel Zamora, she didn’t remake her life in Mexico. Every day she waited to go home to the U.S. Fernanda Echavarri tells the story of what happens when Gloria finally returns to the States and reunites with her family. This LAist po...

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we bring you an episode from Inheriting Season One. Inheriting  is a show about Asian American and Pacific Islander families, which explores how one event in history can ripple through generations. Nicole Salaver’s uncle, Patrick Salaver, was one of the leaders of the Third World Liberation Front at San Francisco State Univ...