Julia Paskin
I think of myself as a reverse engineer when it comes to the experiences of Southern Californians. I work to understand and highlight stories from often unheard voices and work backwards to demonstrate how and why that experience is possible. From immigration, law enforcement, to homelessness, to the environment, how do laws and policies impact our lives? And what social, political, and environmental forces inform our experiences? What solutions work and who do they serve?
I grew up in an old New York City tenement, raised by a working-class, single mom (shout out to Mama Paskin). I came to California to study at CalArts and in search of lower rents (the misguided irony!) so issues of economic equity and the arts are both close to my heart. I came to journalism after working in the performing arts and then social justice and political organizing.
While I may have left NYC fleeing an unlivable economy, I stayed here after falling in love with Greater Los Angeles and all that our diverse communities have to offer. I have now spent nearly half my life here and have made an art of defending LA from anyone who dares to talk trash-- because anyone who doesn’t have anything nice to say about our town, just doesn’t know enough about it.
Julia is the weekend host of The L.A. Report podcast and Weekend Edition on LAist's sister station, 89.3 KPCC.
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Clawing back from extinction, the small fox's future hangs in the balance, challenged by lack of genetic diversity. -
For CalFresh beneficiaries, that means losing an average of $107 per month for food.
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Now we get a brief break in the skies before a much milder storm moves in later Sunday.
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L.A. Fire officials hoisted three people stranded by rising water to safety on Saturday. L.A. County beaches were closed for several hours.
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L.A. County sheriff's officials have called a 3 p.m. news conference to talk about an arrest made in connection with the homicide.
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Snails and slugs are a pretty good indicators of how of well nature is surviving in our urban landscape.
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Join the Culinary Historians of Southern California for a dive into the history of ice cream, and sample special recipes made with locally-sourced ingredients.
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Thousands of Angelenos descended on the Greek Theatre Saturday in honor of P-22, the mountain lion who became a symbol of perseverance and the need for wildlife protections.
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The recent mass shootings and more incidents of people killed by police have left many feeling emotional distress — and they can exacerbate existing mental health conditions. But help is available.
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The three killed Jan. 28 have been identified as women visiting from the Chicago-area and Arizona.
