Alex Villanueva, an underdog maverick, runs for LA County Sheriff as a progressive reformer in 2018 and wins, surprising everyone. After taking office, he turns into a vindictive leader who mocks reform, protects his friends and attacks his enemies. And now he’s up for re-election. Follow veteran KPCC correspondent Frank Stoltze as he pieces together this story in a 5-episode season of Imperfect Paradise.

Visit laist.com/imperfectparadise to listen to all 5 episodes, available now. 

Imperfect Paradise, produced by LAist Studios, is a longform narrative podcast showcasing California stories with universal significance. Each of our stories takes on something essential about California – its progressiveness, its reputation as a home for dreamers and schemers, its heartbreaking inequality, its varied and diverse communities, its unique combination of dense cities and wild places – and breaks it down into three, 20-30 minute episodes that will be released occasionally.

Visit Talkspace.com and get $100 off your first month when you use promo code imperfect at sign-up.

Go to HelloFresh.com/imperfect16 and use code imperfect16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts!

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Introducing WILD by LAist Studios, a podcast about origin stories. About those moments big and small that transform people forever. Season 1 of WILD: Home Forever is a time capsule of these kinds of moments captured during a global pandemic that left a lot of us "growing up" again while stuck at home for more than a year.

In episode 1, we meet Daisy Figueroa who went back to her childhood home and decides to transform it. In the process, she creates her own business and redefines the standard of living for people in her community. 

Sponsors include:

Match with a licensed therapist when you go to talkspace.com and get $100 off your first month with the promo code WILD.

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

We are back with another episode of Yeah No, I'm Not OK. 

Karla shot to fame when she wrote an essay about being an undocumented student at Harvard. But instead of book deals, she looked for more meaning in writing and exploring her identity. Along the way, she learned more about herself and tells Diane how the correct diagnoses, therapy, strict personal boundaries, and self-acceptance have all changed her life for the better.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the United States at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). You can find a list of additional resources at SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

More information on borderline personality disorder here: https://www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.org/consumer-recovery-resources/

Learn about DBT therapy here: https://www.onlinedbtcourses.com/

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay on top of new episodes with a note from Diane, recommendations from listeners and our team, and listener stories. Sign up at laist.com/newsletters.

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Who is Diane Guerrero and why is she talking about mental health? In this episode, we learn more about Diane’s personal experience and her commitment to making mental health a priority in communities nationwide, especially communities of color. Then for the very first time, Diane sits down with her big brother Eddie to have an honest conversation about their family history of addiction, anxiety, and depression.  

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay on top of new episodes with a note from Diane, recommendations from listeners and our team, and listener stories. Sign up at laist.com/newsletters.

For more resources on addiction or to get help, please visit: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline.

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/sapc/ 

More support (via text) can be found at: https://www.crisistextline.org/

Additional Information on depression and anxiety can be found here: https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Depression

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Introducing Norco 80, the unbelievable true story about God, guns, survivalism and the bank robbery that changed policing in America forever.

May 9th, 1980 began as a regular Friday in sleepy Norco, a small town about 48 miles east of Los Angeles, known mostly for its horse trails and old western look. But around 3:30pm, five masked men with assault rifles would attempt to rob the Security Pacific Bank downtown.

Host Antonia Cereijido introduces us to a region that was rapidly becoming the “Bank Robbery Capital of the World'' in the 1980s. The robbers themselves describe the beginning hours of the ill-fated robbery, that forty years later is still used to justify the evolution of armed policing and crime response in America.

Norco ‘80 is produced by LAist Studios in collaboration with Futuro Studios.

This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Billups receives and interesting letter, the investigative team looks into prosecutors and a special recommendation. 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department inspector general tells his people to listen to the podcast and look into questions raised. Sheriff Jim McDonnell is up for re-election, and Deputy Mike Coberg supports his opponent. Tennell Billups is transferred to another prison. 

It often falls to local law enforcement to decide what use of force is reasonable and when officers cross the line. Acceptable conduct can differ depending on where you live. In California, much of the work of police accountability — from the internal investigations to details of the findings — is kept hidden from public view, some of it by state law. There are some who believe the public is not equipped to understand police behavior. But are these secretive laws protecting officers and their public employers from scrutiny? Reporter Annie Gilbertson takes what she’s learned about Deputy Gonzalo Inzunza to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials, who promise to review his conduct. Annie does her own review, looking for clues that may point to how officials have determined what level of force is acceptable.

Retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Forlano fired his gun in seven incidents, grisly experiences he says stems from working busy patrol areas and regularly encountering armed suspects. Sheriff’s department lore holds that certain deputies are magnets for specific types of crimes — so-called “shit magnets” — such as frequently finding suspects with guns. Reporter Annie Gilbertson finds the sheriff’s department is tracking deputies with multiple shootings, and she raises the question: should repeat shooters remain on patrol? 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigates its own officers’ shootings —a common practice in California. Officials are adamant that their investigations into police shootings are impartial, highly supervised and beyond reproach. Reporter Annie Gilbertson talks to an investigator assigned to one of Deputy Gonzalo Inzunza’s shootings about discrepancies in the case. Along the way, she discovers some troubling details. 

All four of the men Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Gonzalo Inzunza shot at were accused of a crime. Tennell Billups believes law enforcement purposefully sought trumped up charges, making Billups look dangerous and Inzunza appear as though he had to shoot. Did the evidence back the men’s claims? Reporter Annie Gilbertson scours statements from deputies who witnessed the shooting to figure out what they saw the day Billups was shot. She unearths startling details about Billups’ past, further complicating the question of what happened. 

Each time, Inzunza said he feared for his life, and each time officials found Inzunza was justified to shoot. But three of the men who were shot at tell a different story. They claim Deputy Inzunza either shot without provocation or lied to justify his shootings. Reporter Annie Gilbertson heads to the home of Deputy Inzunza to ask about his shootings and digs into the background of the men he shot at.

On the morning of April 4, 2011 a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy shot a suspect who tried to run from the scene of a burglary. The deputy told investigators the burglar pointed a gun at him. The burglar, who later pleaded guilty, claims the officer planted a gun to justify the shooting. Investigative reporter Annie Gilbertson combs through the evidence in an effort to piece together what happened that morning. 

Repeat is an investigative podcast from LAist Studios.