90 episodes

Imperfect Paradise is an award-winning weekly narrative podcast showcasing California stories with universal significance, hosted by Antonia Cereijido. Each deeply reported story is driven by characters who illuminate aspects of American identity and underscore California's reputation as a home for dreamers and schemers, its heartbreaking inequality, its varied and diverse communities, its unique combination of dense cities and wild places. New episodes premiere Wednesdays, with broadcasts on LAist 89.3 the following Sundays.

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 LAist Studios

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.5 • 505 Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

Imperfect Paradise is an award-winning weekly narrative podcast showcasing California stories with universal significance, hosted by Antonia Cereijido. Each deeply reported story is driven by characters who illuminate aspects of American identity and underscore California's reputation as a home for dreamers and schemers, its heartbreaking inequality, its varied and diverse communities, its unique combination of dense cities and wild places. New episodes premiere Wednesdays, with broadcasts on LAist 89.3 the following Sundays.

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.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Lions, Coyotes, & Bears: Part 1 - The Mountain Lion Celebrity

    Lions, Coyotes, & Bears: Part 1 - The Mountain Lion Celebrity

    One of Hollywood’s recent celebrities wasn’t a person, but a feline. The famed mountain lion made headlines in Los Angeles and nationwide. He became a household name for making his home in Griffith Park, right in the middle of L.A. But the overwhelming support for P-22 wasn’t enough to save him. LAist Correspondent Jill Replogle looks into P-22’s stardom, people’s obsession with him, and what his story says about our ability to coexist with wildlife in a rapidly changing, increasingly urban world.
     
    Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradiseSupport for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.
    Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/join

    • 45 min
    NHPR’s Outside/In: The New Space Race on Imperfect Paradise

    NHPR’s Outside/In: The New Space Race on Imperfect Paradise

    This week, Imperfect Paradise brings you New Hampshire Public Radio's Outside/In.  In this episode, host Nate Hegyi and producer Justine Paradis explore the new space race and how it could impact our views of the Big Dipper. What if you were to look up at the sky and see more visible satellites than stars? What if the Big Dipper and Orion were drowned out by a satellite traffic jam, criss-crossing through space? A growing number of astronomers are sounding the alarm about such a possibility, even within the next decade.
    Featuring Samantha Lawler, Jonathan McDowell, Aaron Boley, and Roohi Dalal, with thanks to Edward Oughton.
    Listen to new episodes of Outside/In every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts.
    Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/join

    • 36 min
    Return from Mexico

    Return from Mexico

    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. 
     
    Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradiseListen to Reimagining Democracy for A Good Life, hosted by longtime equity advocate Angela Glover Blackwell. Available now at policylink.org/reimagining-democracy or wherever you get your podcastsSupport for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.
    Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/join

    • 41 min
    LAist Studios presents Passing The Mantle: Is Gen Z less curious than the Baby Boomers?

    LAist Studios presents Passing The Mantle: Is Gen Z less curious than the Baby Boomers?

    Passing the Mantle is a new podcast from LAist Studios about family, curiosity and the things that change — and stay the same — across generations. In this first episode, Larry Mantle and his son, Desmond, 23, talk about their wide-ranging interests and shared drive to understand why things are the way they are, and discuss whether today's generation is as intellectually curious as Larry's peers in the 1970s.
     
    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.
    Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/join

    • 15 min
    Return to Mexico: Part 3

    Return to Mexico: Part 3

    Unable to return to the U.S., Daniel Zamora struggles to build a life in Mexico, until a trip abroad suddenly upends his perspective. Lorena Ríos reports. 
    Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradiseListen to Reimagining Democracy for A Good Life, hosted by longtime equity advocate Angela Glover Blackwell. Available now at policylink.org/reimagining-democracy or wherever you get your podcastsSupport for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.
    Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/join

    • 32 min
    Introducing Passing The Mantle, from LAist Studios

    Introducing Passing The Mantle, from LAist Studios

    Passing the Mantle is a new podcast from LAist Studios about family, curiosity and the things that change — and stay the same — across generations.
    It's co-hosted by Larry Mantle, host of LAist 89.3’s AirTalk, the longest-running daily talk show in Southern California, and his son Desmond Mantle. Even though Desmond is in law school pursuing a different career, he shares his dad’s fascination with the world and drive to understand why things are the way they are.
    Diving into topics like gender dynamics, mental health, religion and sex, Larry and Desmond will discuss shifting societal values, the life experiences that have shaped their perspectives and stories that neither of them have shared before... gaining a new understanding of the world, and each other, in each episode.
    Passing the Mantle premieres July 8th.
    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.
    This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
    Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/join

    • 2 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
505 Ratings

505 Ratings

Reyoktam ,

My new favorite podcast

Great show with real journalistic integrity. So many times broadcast news drops a story once the headlines are pushed out by the newest topic with no follow up. This podcast does a deep dive into the stories that affect all of us and the way we move forward as a society.

Beachespeaches ,

People vs Emily Guerin

Emily Guerin is so mealy-mouthed (and vaguely an apologist for racist, entitled behavior) in the People vs Karen episode. She goes so far as to rue that a white woman’s feeeeelings are on trial. Spoiler: it was her actions that were on trial. And her actions endangered the reputations and lives of two innocent people of color. Ms Guerin’s entire take is pathetic. Shame that she’s on the air.

Tarkito ,

Surprisingly Amateurish

Feels more like a college radio show than a professional podcast.

The hard left political angle, as well as the chicken little climate “crisis”
screeching that infuse every aspect of the show, as well as long pauses that make me think the show ended or dropped out, the horrible reading skills of the hosts, improper pronunciation, and childish sounding speaking voices (interspersing sentences with “like”) all add up to a particularly inept cavalcade of ineptitude.

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

Hysterical
Wondery | Pineapple Street Studios
Politickin' with Gavin Newsom, Marshawn Lynch, and Doug Hendrickson
iHeartPodcasts
The Ezra Klein Show
New York Times Opinion
The Viall Files
Nick Viall
Stuff You Should Know
iHeartPodcasts
Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes)
Team Coco & Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson

You Might Also Like

California City
LAist Studios
This American Life
This American Life
Reveal
The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX
Radiolab
WNYC Studios
Embedded
NPR
Inheriting
NPR