



Imperfect Paradise: Is LA becoming a public transit city?
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 t…

Imperfect Paradise: How one man rebuilt his life, 100 miles at a time Redux
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 Ce…

Imperfect Paradise: Most Californians don't own a home until 47. What that says about the CA Dream
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. Grow y…

Imperfect Paradise: More than an internet star. The life & legacy of Big Bear’s famous eagle Jackie
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 h…

Imperfect Paradise: After two years of progress, homelessness went up in LA. Why?
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 …

Imperfect Paradise: Can a city built by the oil industry stop drilling for good?
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, an…

Imperfect Paradise: Who gets due process? Inside the fight over immigration bond hearings at Adelanto
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 …

Epilogue
We close the series with a meditation on how 28 years after the 1992 Riots, for many in L.A., things feel exactly the same.

Ellie
Eleuteria “Ellie” Hernández moved to Los Angeles from a small town in Mexico when she was 14 and fell in love with the city. In this episode, Walter sits down with Ellie, his mother, to understand her relationship to L.A. and how it shaped his own. California Love sponsors include: UCLA Extensi…

Compton Cowboys
There’s a horse ranch in the heart of Compton that may hold the answers for salvation and redemption for the city’s black cowboys. Read the original NYTimes article, "For the Compton Cowboys, Horseback Riding Is a Legacy, and Protection." Read Walter Thompson-Hernández's book The Compton Cowboy…