One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
LAist's 'Imperfect Paradise' wins National Murrow for episode on prison reentry, ultrarunning
The story of Cesar Quijano, center, with his Amity support team at the finish line of the San Diego 100, has been honored with a National Murrow Award.
(
Courtesy RTDNA, Lucy Copp/LAist
)
Listen
49:34
How one man rebuilt his life, 100 miles at a time
Listen to the episode that won the large market radio 2026 Edward R. Murrow Award for podcasts.
LAist’s weekly podcast Imperfect Paradise has won a 2026 national Edward R. Murrow Award — among the highest honors in journalism.
The episode "Rebuilding a life, 100 miles at a time" won in the Podcast category and tells the story of Cesar Quijano, who was struggling with addiction and reentry following years in prison.
Quijano found purpose and salvation in an unlikely hobby: ultrarunning. The episode follows Quijano as he prepares and completes a 100-mile race and unpacks consequential questions about the support people need to successfully transition out of prison and into society.
The episode was co-reported by Lucy Copp and Senior Producer Natalie Chudnovsky and hosted by Antonia Cereijido, with production help from James Chow and engineering by Shawn Campbell.
The award was announced Thursday.
"We're honored for this recognition," said LAist Editor in Chief Megan Garvey. "This is a moving, well-told story of resilience and rebirth. It's a great example of the deep and human-centered enterprise journalism that is a hallmark of LAist and our flagship podcast, Imperfect Paradise."
The winning episode advanced to national consideration after taking top regional honors earlier this year. Another Imperfect Paradise episode, "Rebuild or leave? One Black family in Altadena decides their future after Eaton Fire" also won a regional Murrow award.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
