LAist Studios, Southern California Public Radio’s podcast studio, is relaunching its award-winning podcast Imperfect Paradise as a weekly podcast.
It is going to relaunch on 27 September as both a weekly podcast and on-air series for LAist 89.3. Antonia Cereijido, who previously served as Executive Producer for LAist Studios, will become the regular host of the long-form narrative journalism show.
Upcoming stories include a never-before-seen look behind the secret recordings made of LA city council members, a false accusation against a Latino couple by a white mom-fluencer, the unconventional push by dancers at a strip club to unionise, and a secretive private club for magicians forced to reckon with its problematic history.
Each Imperfect Paradise story cycle will be told over the course of four weeks – with the main story comprising three episodes, followed by a fourth episode featuring topical conversations and interviews.
Podcast episodes will be released every Wednesday, with the broadcast version airing the following Sunday. Additional content from each story will be available on LAist.com, YouTube and across LAist’s social media.
Cereijido played a pivotal role in the initial launch of Imperfect Paradise in January 2022. In her new host role, she will work with journalists from the LAist newsroom, LAist Studios team, and outside contributors to tell stories that highlight complex aspects of American identity, forged in California.
Catherine Mailhouse, Director of Content Development for LAist Studios, will serve as Executive Producer of Imperfect Paradise. Day-to-day operation of the podcast studio will continue to be led by Shana Naomi Krochmal, VP of Podcasts for LAist Studios.
“Antonia demonstrated her strength and versatility as a reporter and presenter when she hosted ‘Norco ‘80’ and ‘LA Made: The Barbie Tapes,’ proving that she has a knack for telling exactly the kind of stories we want to continue highlighting in ‘Imperfect Paradise’ – ones with high human stakes and character-driven reporting that matter to Southern Californians but also reverberate nationwide,” remarked Krochmal. “Relaunching the show as a weekly podcast and on-air broadcast with Antonia at the helm allows us to further deliver on what we know our listeners want more of deeply reported journalism on themes that our talented newsroom is uniquely positioned to explore.”
Imperfect Paradise is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR One and all other podcast platforms.