Part 1: When Carly Usdin moved to Los Angeles, they became obsessed with getting inside its iconic members-only club for magicians, the Magic Castle. LAist Senior Producer Natalie Chudnovsky tells the story. 



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Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

Part 1: When Carly Usdin moved to Los Angeles, they became obsessed with getting inside its iconic members-only club for magicians, the Magic Castle. LAist Senior Producer Natalie Chudnovsky tells the story. 
For more, visit <a href="https://laist.com/ImperfectParadise">https://LAist.com/ImperfectParadise</a>
Support LAist Today: <a href="https://laist.com/donate">https://LAist.com/donate</a>
Go to <a href="http://hellofresh.com/50imperfect">Hellofresh.com/50imperfect</a> and use code 50imperfect for 50% off plus 15% off the next 2 months! Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at <a href="http://shopify.com/paradise">SHOPIFY.COM/paradise</a> Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

Imperfect Paradise is LAist's weekly on-demand news magazine show that pulls back the curtain and dives deeper into the biggest and most consequential SoCal stories of the week from our newsroom. New episodes drop every Friday.

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

Imperfect Paradise is LAist's weekly on-demand news magazine show that pulls back the curtain and dives deeper into the biggest and most consequential SoCal stories of the week from our newsroom. New episodes drop every Friday.
Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

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The Castle: Part 1

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 sheriff’s race on LAist.com.

Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

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.&nbsp;
Check out Frank&rsquo;s Voter Game Plan guides for <a href="https://laist.com/news/politics/voter-guides/2026-election-california-primary-la-mayor">the mayor</a> and <a href="https://laist.com/news/politics/voter-guides/2026-election-california-primary-los-angeles-county-sheriff">the sheriff&rsquo;s race</a> on <a href="https://laist.com/news/politics/voter-guides/2026-election-california-primary-los-angeles-county">LAist.com</a>.
Grow your business&ndash;no matter what stage you&rsquo;re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at <a href="http://shopify.com/paradise">SHOPIFY.COM/paradise</a>
Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

Imperfect Paradise: Voter Game Plan Part 3 — The primary races for LA mayor and LA County sheriff heat up

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 sheriff’s race on LAist.com.

Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

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&rsquo;s Voter Game Plan guides for <a href="https://laist.com/news/politics/voter-guides/2026-election-california-primary-la-mayor">the mayor</a> and <a href="https://laist.com/news/politics/voter-guides/2026-election-california-primary-los-angeles-county-sheriff">the sheriff&rsquo;s race</a> on <a href="https://laist.com/news/politics/voter-guides/2026-election-california-primary-los-angeles-county">LAist.com</a>.
Grow your business&ndash;no matter what stage you&rsquo;re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at <a href="http://shopify.com/paradise">SHOPIFY.COM/paradise</a>
Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

Voter Game Plan Part 3: The primary races for LA mayor and LA County sheriff heat up

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 Cato Hernández discusses each of the judicial candidates and shares some important tips from a former judge.

Check out Cato's Voter Game Plan guides on the LA and OC Superior Court judges at LAist.com. 

Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

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 Cato Hern&aacute;ndez discusses each of the judicial candidates and shares some important tips from a former judge.
Check out Cato's Voter Game Plan guides on the <a href="https://laist.com/news/politics/voter-guides/2026-election-california-primary-la-county-judges">LA</a> and <a href="https://laist.com/news/politics/voter-guides/2026-election-california-primary-orange-county-superior-court-judges">OC</a> Superior Court judges at <a href="https://laist.com/news/politics/voter-guides?ms=google-ads&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=evergreen_food_p&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=22535541502&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAD8riMOlbsjO7dV9PB5cD9wOtdhdJ&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjw-8vPBhBbEiwAoA39WjubEUJ1EV8qe2ZctBQ683BPhOBx7TsjL69Ox7F51nvmoDVumEXoFxoCDUkQAvD_BwE">LAist.com.</a>&nbsp;
Grow your business&ndash;no matter what stage you&rsquo;re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at <a href="http://shopify.com/paradise">SHOPIFY.COM/paradise</a>
Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

The Castle: Part 1

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