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California City

California City

The Dark Side of the American Dream

LAist Studios

67 episodesEN-US

Show overview

California City has been publishing since 2020, and across the 6 years since has built a catalogue of 67 episodes. That works out to roughly 30 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a roughly quarterly cadence.

Episodes typically run twenty to thirty-five minutes — most land between 24 min and 32 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language News show.

The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 4 days ago, with 42 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2026, with 42 episodes published. Published by LAist Studios.

Episodes
67
Running
2020–2026 · 6y
Median length
27 min
Cadence
Quarterly-ish

From the publisher

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. 

Latest Episodes

View all 67 episodes

Imperfect Paradise: Route 66 has a 100-year legacy of American road trips and expansion, but the Mother Road had its problems too Redux

Nov 6, 202623 min

Imperfect Paradise: Bass and Raman in a dead heat for LA mayor and the 411 on CA governor race

Oct 30, 202634 min

Imperfect Paradise: Prop 40: Should California tax its billionaires to fund health care?

Oct 23, 202630 min

Imperfect Paradise: The battle over voter ID comes to CA

Oct 16, 202628 min

Imperfect Paradise: Affordability, immigration & the DSA. Diving into LA mayor & CA governor races

Oct 9, 202633 min

Imperfect Paradise: What went wrong with the Lineage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights?

Oct 2, 202633 min

Imperfect Paradise: Why some chefs are trading high-end dining for home kitchens

Sep 25, 202623 min

Imperfect Paradise: President Trump says ‘Hollywood is dead.’ What’s being done to revive it?

Sep 18, 202622 min

Imperfect Paradise: Is your smoke-damaged home safe? The toxic aftermath of LA’s 2025 fires

Sep 11, 202625 min

Imperfect Paradise: Is LA becoming a public transit city?

Sep 4, 202627 min

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

Aug 28, 202648 min

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

Aug 21, 202623 min

Imperfect Paradise: What our obsession with bald eagle Jackie tells us about ourselves

Aug 14, 202623 min

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

Aug 7, 202632 min

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

Jul 31, 202630 min

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

Jul 24, 202624 min

Imperfect Paradise: On the ground for LA's historic ICE protests (Redux)

Jun 26, 202637 min

Imperfect Paradise: War, politics, and sports collide as Iran competes in LA for the World Cup

Jun 19, 202623 min

Imperfect Paradise: From immigrant roots to celebrities, how LA became a soccer city

Jun 12, 202622 min

Imperfect Paradise: The World Cup is more than just soccer. How it’s a flash point for politics, the economy and ICE for host cities like LA

Jun 5, 202626 min
2026 KPCC | Southern California Public Radio