California City

Country: USA

Number of Episodes: 10

Average Length: 40 minutes

Year of Release: 2022

Created by: LAist Studios

I’ve always enjoyed tales of things normally created organically coming about in an inorganic way. California City tells the story of such a town, located in a south western pocket of California, the 1950s vision of charismatic sociology professor and developer, Nat K. Mendelsohn for a new city to rival Los Angeles in terms of size and influence. As of 2020 though the city has a population of a mere 15,000. The podcast tells the story of Mendelsohn’s path to building the city and examines whether his motivations were honest and misguided or plainly fraudulent. Questionable tactics stretch into the 21st century as sales people continue to lure vulnerable purchasers with promises of a glistening, prosperous future anchored by property ownership in California City. An intriguing study of how people frame deception and delusion.