Imperfect Paradise

The city of Los Angeles is home to over two thousand active oil wells, many concentrated in communities of color where residents have long reported serious health issues. On this episode of Imperfect Paradise, LAist’s Erin Stone takes us inside one neighborhood’s fight to shut down a drill site, and explores what a broader effort to phase out drilling could mean for a region whose economy and infrastructure were built on an oil field.

Read Erin’s reporting on LAist.com

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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.

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Immigration bond denials have jumped sharply under the second Trump administration — nowhere more than at the Adelanto ICE detention center in Southern California. On this week's Imperfect Paradise: LAist's Jared Bennett follows the case of a 70-year-old L.A. street vendor held at Adelanto for six months, what it took for his family to get him released, and what immigration advocates say is behind the shift in bond denials.

Read Jared’s reporting on LAist.com. 

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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.

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For the first time ever, more fathers than mothers applied for Paid Family Leave to bond with their newborn child in California. LAist’s Elly Yu dives into the reasons behind this growing trend and talks with three men about their role as fathers.

Read Elly’s reporting on paid family leave 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.

Support LAist Today: https://laist.com/join

Hosting the World Cup was supposed to be an economic boost for Los Angeles, but what effect has it really had on local businesses? LAist reporter Destiny Torres examines this question through one historic tourist destination in Los Angeles: Olvera Street.

Read Destiny’s reporting on Olvera Street at LAist.com.

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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.

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Los Angeles has a new museum: Dataland –- the world’s first museum completely devoted to AI-generated art. In a time of high anxiety around the impact of AI on jobs, the environment and human creativity, can Dataland change the conversation around human-AI collaboration? LAist All Things Considered Host Julia Paskin takes us inside Dataland.  

Read Julia’s essay on Dataland at LAist.com.

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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.

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This episode originally aired on June 13, 2025.

ICE raids began last Friday across Southern California. People have been detained and there have been confrontations between protesters and law enforcement. What exactly went down and where does Los Angeles go from here? We hear from family members of people detained by ICE and talk with LAist Civics and Democracy Correspondent Frank Stoltze about the unprecedented week that Angelenos just experienced. Also we take a look at the history of this moment -- and why it's significant that it's all happening in LA.

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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.

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The Iran national soccer team competed in its first match at the 2026 World Cup in Los Angeles – after months of uncertainty over whether they’d play amid the US war on Iran. It's the first time in the tournament’s history that a host nation has gone to war with a participating nation. In our final installment of our World Cup series, LAist reporter Libby Rainey looks at the Iranian team’s precarious path to LA, the role politics has played in the largest and longest World Cup in FIFA history, and the issues the team and LA's large Iranian diaspora continues to navigate.

Check out more of Libby’s reporting and LAist’s World Cup guide at LAist.com/WorldCup

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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.

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Los Angeles is hosting eight matches for this year’s FIFA World Cup. Today, LA is home to three professional soccer teams and one of the biggest soccer youth organizations in the nation, but did you know its history with soccer goes back over a century? With the world cup at our doorstep, LAist correspondent Adolfo Guzman-Lopez traces LA’s relationship with soccer, from its celebrity scene to its immigrant roots.

Check out more of Adolfo’s reporting and LAist’s World Cup guide at LAist.com/WorldCup

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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.

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The stakes are high for this year’s FIFA World Cup. For the first time in the tournament's history, 48 national teams will compete across 16 cities. That includes Los Angeles. And despite the sport’s biggest names battling it out on the field, high ticket prices, ICE’s role at the games, and other issues have caused concern among fans. LAist reporter Libby Rainey joins us for an overview of the World Cup and what the historic event will mean for Angelenos and visitors.

Check out more of Libby’s reporting and LAist’s World Cup guide at LAist.com/WorldCup

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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.

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If you still haven’t voted and need some help, listen to this encore of the first episode in our Voter Game Plan series – LAist Community Engagement Senior Producer Brianna Lee previews the key races and answers burning questions on navigating the primary election. And be sure to check out all the episodes in our series. Whether you’re voting for L.A. mayor, the school board or superior court judge, we bring you what you need to make an informed vote. 

Check out all the Voter Game Plan guides at LAist.com/vgp

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.

Support LAist Today: https://laist.com/join