Podcast Episodes

Imperfect Paradise: 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 l…

Published on 6 months, 4 weeks ago

Inheriting: Nicole & the Third World Liberation Front

Nicole Salaver’s uncle, Patrick Salaver, was one of the leaders of the Third World Liberation Front at San Francisco State University in the late 1960s. This movement not only led to the recognition …

Published on 7 months, 1 week ago

Imperfect Paradise: How the Rent Brigade took on LA’s landlords

In the days after LA’s early-January wildfires, tenant advocate Chelsea Kirk noticed a trend: rent gouging. Rents were shooting up past their legal limit. In the wake of the fires, as natural disaste…

Published on 7 months, 3 weeks ago

Imperfect Paradise: From ranchers with guns to gurus with crystals: How extremism in the American West has evolved

When Portland, Oregon-based reporter Leah Sottile began covering extremism in the American West a decade ago, she was interviewing ranchers, fundamentalist Mormons and “sovereign citizens” who did no…

Published on 8 months ago

Imperfect Paradise: Can Oakland point the way for the future of liberal cities

Journalist Alexis Madrigal is obsessed with the port of Oakland. He even has a tattoo of a shipping container! In his new book, The Pacific Circuit, he makes the case that Oakland is where the real-w…

Published on 8 months, 1 week ago

Imperfect Paradise: The fallout over LAFD funding: Bass vs. Crowley

Amid the devastating Palisades and Eaton Fires that killed more than two dozen people, a political conflict came sharply into focus surrounding the funding of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). …

Published on 8 months, 2 weeks ago

Imperfect Paradise: Rebuild or leave? One Black family in Altadena decides their future after Eaton Fire

The biggest question hanging over most people in Los Angeles who lost homes in the Palisades and Eaton Fires is whether to rebuild or leave -- a question that's especially fraught for Altadena's Blac…

Published on 8 months, 3 weeks ago

Imperfect Paradise: When the disinformation machine comes for you

Renée DiResta joined the Stanford Internet Observatory to analyze how propaganda spreads online. But in 2023, she went from studying the online disinformation machine to becoming its target. We dive …

Published on 9 months ago

Imperfect Paradise: ‘Free the Tee’ Redux: Fighting back against LA golf course scalpers

This episode originally aired on June 12, 2024.

LA was rocked on March 4 when Dave Fink, a golf influencer, posted a viral video on Instagram detailing how brokers - largely using a Korean messenger …

Published on 9 months, 1 week ago

Imperfect Paradise: Meet the filmmakers who love AI

It’s hard to find people in Hollywood who are willing to speak publicly about their enthusiasm for AI, for fear of being seen as “siding with the machines.” And yet, many people are quietly using the…

Published on 9 months, 2 weeks ago