California City
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.
Episodes
Is homeownership falling out of reach for millennials and Gen Z in the Golden State? LAist housing correspondent David Wagner joins Imperfect Paradise to examine this trend, the obstacles to homeownership and why we may need to shift our conception of what housing looks like in California.
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The death of Jackie signals the end of her story with Shadow – as well as for Big Bear Lake, and for millions of fans who followed the eagles’ saga on livestream for years. LAist reporter Makenna Cramer joins Imperfect Paradise to examine how the eagles turned the tides for a fight against luxury housing development in the San Bernardino Mountains, as well as what celebrity animal culture can tell us about our relations...
Homelessness increased in Los Angeles this year following two previous years of declines, according to the recently released 2026 “point-in-time” homeless count. It’s a setback for the region, and for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass who’s touted prior declines as evidence that her approach to addressing the homelessness crisis is working. But is it really? On this episode of Imperfect Paradise, LAist reporter Aar...
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 o...
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.
Silver Saddle Ranch gets sold, and the people who still believe it’s worth something stage a protest. Plus, a former employee comes forward with a disturbing story.
For decades, Californians have been obsessed with trying to profit off desert land. In this bonus episode of California City, host Emily Guerin, the Desert Oracle’s Ken Layne, and artist and curator Kim Stringfellow explore the myths of the Mojave Desert as "wasteland," failed schemes and utopias, Instagram-driven tourism and coronavirus refugees. The audio was recorded during a live virtual event on Septe...
Silver Saddle gets shut down and accused of fraud. Will the company - and the dream Ben Perez believed - survive?
California City is a limited series with 8 episodes. Show support by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts.
California City sponsors include:
Sun Basket is offering $35 off your order when you go right now to SUNBASKET.com/calcity and enter promo code calcity at checkout.
Try SimpliSafe today at SimpliSafe.com/CALC...
Fear, rumors, and looking the other way. How salesmen have sold the fantasy of California City for so long.
California City is a limited series with 8 episodes. Show support by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts.
California City sponsors include:
Sun Basket is offering $35 off your order when you go right now to SUNBASKET.com/calcity and enter promo code calcity at checkout.
Try SimpliSafe today at SimpliSafe.com/CALCITY. Y...
Emily confronts the owner of Silver Saddle and walks away doubting herself. Plus, Ben becomes part of Silver Saddle's sales machine.
California City is a limited series with 8 episodes. Show support by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts.
California City sponsors include:
Sun Basket is offering $35 off your order when you go right now to SUNBASKET.com/calcity and enter promo code calcity at checkout.
Try SimpliSafe today at ...
Ken Donney is a hero to some, but most people would call him a villain.
California City is a limited series with 8 episodes. Show support by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts.
California City sponsors include:
Sun Basket is offering $35 off your order when you go right now to SUNBASKET.com/calcity and enter promo code calcity at checkout.
This LAist Studios podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and our listeners get 10%...
Nat builds an army of salespeople to sell his dream. And then, then Ralph Nader intervenes.
California City is a limited series with 8 episodes. Show support by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts.
California City sponsors include:
Sun Basket is offering $35 off your order when you go right now to SUNBASKET.com/calcity and enter promo code calcity at checkout.
This LAist Studios podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and our lis...
The vision that Ben Perez was sold in 2017 began in 1958, with one man's dream to build a utopian desert city from scratch.
This LAist Studios podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and our listeners get 10% off their first month of online therapy at BetterHelp.com/LAist
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 p...
In 2017 Ben Perez goes to a Mojave Desert resort for a free vacation and ends up signing away his life savings. Turns out Ben is one of tens of thousands to believe a version of this dream over the past 60 years.
It was supposed to be a simple story about the California drought. Instead, reporter Emily Guerin became obsessed with the bizarre history of a sprawling, half-built desert city.
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