LAist Studios

California City

News EN ↓ 53 episodes

Deep in the Mojave Desert, there is a little town with a big name and a bizarre history: California City. For decades, real estate developers have sold a dream here: if you buy land now, you’ll be rich one day. Thousands of people bought this dream. Many were young couples and hard-working immigrants looking to build a better future. But much of the land they bought is nearly worthless. In this new podcast from LAist Studios, host Emily Guerin tells a story of money, power and deception.

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Author

LAist Studios

Episodes

A Man with a Dream 20.07.2020 38:41

The vision that Ben Perez was sold in 2017 began in 1958, with one man's dream to build a utopian desert city from scratch. This LAist Studios podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and our listeners get 10% off their first month of online therapy at  BetterHelp.com/LAist Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a...

Turning Desert Dust Into Gold 13.07.2020 47:59

In 2017 Ben Perez goes to a Mojave Desert resort for a free vacation and ends up signing away his life savings. Turns out Ben is one of tens of thousands to believe a version of this dream over the past 60 years.

How I Found Out About California City 09.07.2020 6:02

It was supposed to be a simple story about the California drought. Instead, reporter Emily Guerin became obsessed with the bizarre history of a sprawling, half-built desert city.