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California City

Author: LAist Studios

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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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Part 2: Adolfo learns that there was a dark side to Oscar’s experience in the Chicano student movement.  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. This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
Imperfect Paradise: The Forgotten Revolutionary, the 2022 podcast from LAist Studios, has been optioned by Participant and is simultaneously being developed as a scripted and documentary limited series.  Part 1: Oscar Gomez was a star of the 1990s Chicano student movement and then, unexpectedly, he died. A rattling event in host Adolfo Guzman-Lopez’s life spurs him to investigate Oscar’s death.  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. This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido is joined by LAist Senior Health Reporter Jackie Fortier and Higher Education Correspondent Adolfo Guzman-Lopez to break down their investigation into why many students and faculty across California's public universities don't know that medication abortion is mandated on their campuses. This is the latest LAist Investigates episode on Imperfect Paradise that highlights reporting from our newsroom. CONTENT WARNING: This episode includes first-hand description of an outpatient abortion procedure. For additional information and resources, you can visit https://abortion.ca.gov/     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.
Part 4: Half a year after Star Garden reopens as a union club, the dancers are still negotiating a contract. LAist producer Emma Alabaster brings you the latest. Plus, some of the dancers have set their sights on a different dream: a worker-owned cooperative strip club.  Here are some resources that informed our reporting: LA Co-op Lab U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives 2021 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector Report Yes, A Stripper Podcast For more resources  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.
Part 3: The Star Garden Topless Dive Bar reopens as a union strip club, but the fight doesn’t end there. What happens after the victory? LAist Producer Emma Alabaster has the story. Here are some resources that informed our reporting: Working It: Sex Workers on the Work of Sex  (In particular, the essay "White Supremacy in Organizing" by Domino Rey) Yes, A Stripper Podcast Unequal Desires: Race and Erotic Capital in the Stripping Industry by Siobhan Brooks Tits and Sass: Service Journalism by and for Sex Workers Click here for more resources  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.
Part 2: When the Star Garden strippers go public with their union campaign, they get pushback from the club’s management and a group they didn’t anticipate - other strippers. LAist Producer Emma Alabaster reports.  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.    
Part 1: In 2023, North Hollywood’s Star Garden reopened as the only unionized strip club in the U.S. LAist Producer Emma Alabaster tells us the behind-the-scenes story of the workplace conditions that pushed the dancers into action.  CONTENT WARNING: This episode includes sensitive content about sexual assault. For sexual assault and harassment support and resources, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673, which is a service of RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network). For more, visit https://LAist.com/ImperfectParadise Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/donate 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.
Imperfect Paradise Host Antonia Cereijido speaks with philosopher and author of Elite Capture: How The Powerful Took over Identity Politics (And Everything Else) Olúfemi O. Táíwò. They examine the question: are identity politics over? It’s a question that was raised and we began to explore with Imperfect Paradise’s Nury & The Secret Tapes series. Antonia examines that question more deeply with Táíwò and presses him on why he believes identity politics have failed to deliver on their promise to create greater social equity and what he thinks is the more effective political alternative. Antonia’s conversation with Táíwò kicks off the first Imperfect Inquiry, a recurring Imperfect Paradise segment in which Antonia interviews thinkers, experts, and stakeholders on themes, issues, and questions that we examine on the show.  For more, visit https://LAist.com/ImperfectParadise Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/donate 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.
Imperfect Paradise: Yoga's "Queen of Conspiracies": Part 4: RFK Jr. - The Presidential Candidate for Wellness Conspiracists?A year after Yoga’s “Queen of Conspiracy Theories” first release, Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido explores a new, unexpected chapter in this story with Conspirituality podcast host Matthew Remski, Politico journalist David Freedlander, and LAist Correspondent Emily Guerin, who reported the series. This episode examines how the conspiracy theories, once relegated to a subset of yoga and wellness communities, are being brought into the political mainstream through the presidential candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is campaigning on a mix of conspiracies from both the wellness world and the far right. For more, visit https://LAist.com/ImperfectParadise Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/donate 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.
Part 3: Kundalini Yoga’s #MeToo MomentIn early 2020, just as fears about coronavirus are worsening, women begin accusing the founder of Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Bhajan, of sexual assault. Guru Jagat’s surprising response sets the stage for her radicalization during the pandemic. CONTENT WARNING: Mentions of Sexual Assault (Original Air Date: Jan. 18, 2023)  Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise Go to HelloFresh.com/imperfectfree and use code imperfectfree for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. 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 2: Kundalini RoyaltyKatie Griggs, a young woman from rural Maryland, discovers Kundalini yoga in her early 20s and goes all in. She transforms herself into Guru Jagat, a beloved and controversial yoga and wellness influencer in Los Angeles. In this episode, her friends, family, and coworkers grapple with how she changed in the final years of her life. And we explore the connections between yoga and conspiracies like QAnon. (Original Air Date: Jan. 11, 2023)  Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise Go to HelloFresh.com/imperfectfree and use code imperfectfree for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. 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.
Before her sudden death in 2021, Guru Jagat had become a famous Kundalini yoga teacher based in Los Angeles. But as the global pandemic grew, she started talking like a far-right coronavirus conspiracy theorist. What does her journey down the rabbit hole tell us about the appeal of conspiracies in the yoga and wellness community? Yoga's "Queen of Conspiracy Theories" explores Guru Jagat’s rise to fame and follows along as she responds not just to the pandemic, but to a #metoo movement scandal that rocked the Kundalini yoga world in early 2020. It also explores themes of misinformation, how a healthy distrust in government and medicine can turn dark, the "relativism around truth" in the wellness industry and the influence of social media on radicalization. The series first came out in December 2022. We're republishing it because it's one of our favorites and remains relevant. We've updated the series with a fourth episode. In this first episode, Guru Jagat starts the pandemic with an understandable skepticism of official medical advice, but quickly grows to embrace an array of far-right conspiracy theories.  Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise Go to HelloFresh.com/imperfectfree and use code imperfectfree for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. 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 week, Imperfect Paradise is featuring Part 3 & Part 4 of a four-part series from How To LA.  HTLA host Brian De Los Santos and producer Evan Jacoby are taking a closer look at L.A. Mayor Karen Bass's "Inside Safe" program. They also recap some of the big questions we've asked throughout the series, and bring a new question to many of our guests from the previous episodes: "What should the relationship be between mutual aid volunteers and government agencies?" If you want to learn more about mutual aid in Los Angeles, check out Evan's reporting on LAist.com Or, if you want to learn about mutual aid groups in your neighborhood and maybe join them, check out these resources: Los Angeles:  https://mutualaidla.org/get-involved/ https://thepeoplesproject.la/get-aid/ National: https://www.mutualaidhub.org/ CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains strong language and includes sensitive content about drugs, rape, suicide, and death. For substance dependency and mental health support and resources, call SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or text 988. Guests in Part 3: Nono, unhoused resident of an Inside Safe motel in Palms; Nick Gerda, LAist Unhoused Communities Reporter; LA Mayor Karen Bass; Councilmember Kevin de León of Council District 14; Councilmember Nithya Raman of Council District 4; Hawk, U.S. Veteran & Skid Row Resident Guests in Part 4: Aria Cataño, founder of WaterDrop LA; Ndindi Kitonga, founder of Palms Unhoused Mutual Aid (PUMA); Councilmember Nithya Raman of Council District 4; Benjamin Henwood, PhD, professor of social policy and health at the University of Southern California Music in Part 3 episode composed by: Chris Schlarb, Dexter Thomas, Evan Jacoby, Geir Sundstøl, Meitei, Ricky Eat Acid, Woo Music in Part 4 episode composed by: Dexter Thomas, Evan Jacoby, Ill Considered, Meitei, Nala Sinephro, Ricky Eat Acid Go to Hellofresh.com/50imperfect 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 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.This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
This week, Imperfect Paradise is featuring Part 1 & Part 2 of a four-part series from How To LA.  Unsheltered life in L.A. can be dangerous and even deadly — and there has been a massive increase in the death rate for unhoused people in the county over the last few years.There is work being done by the mayor’s office to get people off the street and into temporary housing. But the promise of services — whether in the form of housing, treatment for substance addiction, or mental health counseling — cannot help if people aren’t alive in 6 months, a year — or 5 — to receive them.While they wait, many unhoused people have come to rely on mutual aid volunteers to cover their immediate needs, from overdose prevention to fresh drinking water.In this mini-series from How To LA, host Brian De Los Santos and producer Evan Jacoby explore what these mutual aid groups actually do for our unhoused neighbors, and where these service gaps come from in the first place. CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains strong language and includes sensitive content about drug overdose and death. For substance dependency and mental health support and resources, call SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or text 988. Guests in Part 1: Ndindi Kitonga, founder Palms Unhoused Mutual Aid (PUMA); Jesse Goldshear, volunteer with PUMA and postdoc researcher studying public health at the University of California, San Diego; Aria Cataño, co-founder of WaterDrop LA; Sade Kammen, volunteer with WaterDrop LA and social worker in Skid Row Guests in Part 2: LA Mayor Karen Bass; Councilmember Kevin de León of Council District 14; Councilmember Nithya Raman of Council District 4; Hawk, U.S. Veteran & Skid Row Resident; Sade Kammen, Volunteer With WaterDrop LA; Nick Gerda, LAist Unhoused Communities Reporter Music in this episode composed by: Chris Schlarb, Dexter Thomas, Evan Jacoby, Floating Points, Geir Sundstøl, Ill Considered, Imaginary Softwoods, indiegamemusic.com, K. Leimer, Laurie Spiegal, Nala Sinephro, Laurie Spiegal, Meitei, Ricky Eat Acid, Woo Go to Hellofresh.com/50imperfect 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 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.This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
Part 4: What’s the history behind the on and off-stage gender dynamics in Western magic? And what impact did the summer of 2020 have on the field of DEI? Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido explores these questions with magic historian Margaret Steele and Amber Johnson, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Chief of Staff of the Division for Equity and Inclusion at UC Berkeley. For more, visit https://LAist.com/ImperfectParadise Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/donate Go to HelloFresh.com/imperfectfree and use code imperfectfree for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. 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.
Part 3:  Carly Usdin is at risk of getting kicked out of the Magic Castle. Plus, after 2020, the Magic Castle makes changes to address issues of inclusion, including setting up a Diversity and Inclusion Committee. LAist Senior Producer Natalie Chudnovsky explores how the Castle’s promises to do better pan out, several years later.  For more, visit https://LAist.com/ImperfectParadise Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/donate Go to Hellofresh.com/50imperfect 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 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.
Part 2: Once inside the iconic members-only Magic Castle, queer hobbyist magician Carly Usdin starts to become disillusioned with the club. LAist Senior Producer Natalie Chudnovsky dives into how this comes to a head in 2020, when the Magic Castle faces allegations of racism and sexism.  For more, visit https://LAist.com/ImperfectParadise Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/donate Go to Hellofresh.com/50imperfect 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 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.
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 https://LAist.com/ImperfectParadise Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/donate Go to Hellofresh.com/50imperfect 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 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.
Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido is joined by LAist reporter Elly Yu for a special single episode of LAist Investigates, the first of many to come episodes dedicated to one of our newsroom’s investigations. Elly breaks down the history and reality of treatment that led to the “warehousing” of mental health patients in nursing homes across California. Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/donate Go to Hellofresh.com/50imperfect 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 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. This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
Part 4: LAist Correspondent Emily Guerin and Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido explore how and why Sadie and Eddie Martinez’s accuser, Katie Sorensen, went viral with her false accusation, plus how mom-fluencers can spread conspiracies. With insights from “Momfluenced” author Sara Peterson.   Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/donate   #SadieMartinez #ImperfectParadise #LAistStudios Go to Hellofresh.com/50imperfect 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 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.This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
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Comments (11)

I'm listening

If the properties that are seized are being auctioned off at 500$ then isn't it cheaper to buy it from these auctions than from the scamming developers?

Mar 4th
Reply

Walter Zimmerman

so interesting i live 30 mins away I never knew any thing about that town other than it was an odd place with cheap homes and lots of tweakers.

Nov 25th
Reply

🤨

Why would you sneer at the fact that most Nader's people were men back then?! Do you need someone to give you a participation trophy every time?

Aug 16th
Reply

Danielle Luther

Kudos to you, Emily Guerin, for shedding light on this long term and horrendous scam. I am 💯% sure that other, high ranking politicians (that also share the title of Real Estate mogul), got rich this exact same way. Translation = by taking other people's hard earned money and taking advantage of individuals.

Jul 31st
Reply

Tammy Maggard Garcia

Great story Great storyteller!

Jul 28th
Reply

Helen Turner

very poor sound quality except for narration

Jul 27th
Reply

Incredible Similarity

@ 2:05. third largest city in California. Ha. not even close. Where do you get your information from I ask.

Jul 27th
Reply (2)

Shari Lynn

Not surprising that real estate agent Catherine has a bumper sticker for Trump as she is a fan (mark) of another con man, Nat Mendelssohn, the developer behind California City.

Jul 22nd
Reply (1)
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