I have been to Adelanto and there is so much untapped potential for prosperity. Unfortunately, after the closure of George Air Force Base, the city has never been unable to recover. Hopefully, as the city digs its way out, they will learn from its past transgressions and become a vibrant community once again.

Fails to deliver. It ends up telling a pretty narrow story of the failed political career of a local activist who is naive and demonstrates very poor judgement. The most compelling character bows out after episode 2 only to reappear as a footnote in the epilogue. Waste of time unless you’re from the area.

One of the first California desert communities to welcome large scale cannabis cultivation, the comedy of errors that ensues (including failing to collect the taxes that were supposed to save the town) is an object lesson in what NOT to do if you’re counting on cannabis to save the day. Told with a mixture of in-person interviews with elected officials charged with cleaning up the mess of the previous administration and residents who are understandably disgruntled this podcast just never disappoints. It’s also a fascinating meditation on what happens to citizens when circumstances compel them to take up the role of legislator because the previous regime has screwed up so monumentally as to be beyond inept. Highly recommended.

I lived this for a year. When your vice mayor doesn’t wear shoes to work, you know you have a problem. You can’t fix stupid!

Starts out very compelling with a great premise of cannabis and corruption. About four episodes in, it veers off into monotonous small town politics. Should have done a far more in-depth look at the initial story. Disappointing.

As a longtime Victorville resident, I was drawn to this podcast. I had no idea exactly what the story would entail but I wasn’t expecting much. I was drawn in because it was well produced and heavily featured my friendly associate who I met via Facebook. I would recommend this podcast to anyone, but especially High Desert residents. I learned a lot and even gave it a second listen because it was quite entertaining.

A meandering and tilted show that’s starts as an investigation and then just wanders into a profile of a councilwoman, glossing over the compelling to focus on boring nonsense.

Enjoyed this well-made podcast series. For anyone who has lived in a small town “on the ropes” it all rings true.

Gripping story with lots of twists, had me hooked from beginning to end.

I loved this podcast. I couldn’t wait to listen to each week’s episodes. All the people in it were fascinating and I loved the narration! Brilliant!

Fabulously and objectively told.

It begins with cannabis, but this story is really a detailed look at how small town politics operate, and the difficulties of making change. Told with wit, compassion, and humor, all the qualities I’ve come to expect from David Weinberg.

So many similar podcasts don’t bother to care about the audience. They assume the genre is secure - ramble about some small town folk and it’s going to be celebrated as avant-garde storytelling. This series cares about the audience, builds suspense and interest, and delivers narrative payoffs. Much respect to this team!

The lesson from this story is what happens when citizens do not hold elected officials accountable. Perhaps the path of inviting medical grade dispensaries into the town encouraged the spotlight for this podcast, but the real issue is how favoritism and cronyism is detrimental for everyone (think Detroit bale out).

Breaking Bad meets the Music Man. This podcast is one of my faves of this year. Thrilling and compassionately told, extremely well reported. Incredible characters that can only exist in small town America. And the recap narrator at the beginning sounds like the hot lady version of Sam Elliott. Cowboy hats off to the team. Loved it.

I was so excited about the original premise - a story of cannabis and local corruption - and shared the first episode with a bunch of 420 industry folks. The focus seemed to jump around after the first few episodes, zooming in on one council member. Dropped the thread on all the teasers about pot, arson, bribery, and economic development false promises. I’d like to finish the series, but no weekly episodes have been released since episode 8 on 7/19. I’m disappointed because the original premise was so worthwhile to cover!!

They get everything right. I would listen a second and third time to an episode right after finishing the first pass because I found it that fascinating. David rolls out this story perfectly...slowly getting to know each character in this city makes me think of how all the small cities in America function. This is important journalism. A bonus is having a woman recap each episode rather than David doing it....that's a cool element.

I finished the series and just gave a shrug. Someone tried (unsuccessfully) way to hard to create an interesting narrative. Also, the narrator was a completely shameless appropriation of “The Stranger” from the Cohn Brothers The Big Lebowski.

This is the worst limited-run podcast that I have listened to. Starts with an interesting premise for 2-3 episodes. Quickly devolves into a character study of one local city council member. The podcast ultimately wraps up with a cursory summary of the marijuana issue in the last few minutes. The marketing is misleading and the “story” that gets told is not interesting.

I grew up in the High Desert and had friends from Adelanto. I know this town well. This podcast provided so much light and background. Great writing, storytelling, pace. I really enjoyed it. Definitely recommend.

A slickly produced, expertly reported, well written story of…absolutely nothing. Doesn’t even bother to tell the story it purports to tell. Kind of starts off with the whole ‘big weed in a small town’ vibe but quickly switches to an entirely different story of run of the mill, inconsequential, boring small town politics. There’s no story here, nothing happens, a complete bait and switch that meanders for a few episodes and eventually takes you down an expertly crafted road to nowhere. Still better than most podcasts.

Before I listened to this podcast I always dreamed of moving to California to start my own utopian weed farm paradise. David Weinberg’s nuanced storytelling pulled the wool from my eyes and disabused me of my naivety. I don’t want to get yelled at by people in clown suits and feel all itchy after the shower. Definitely gonna stick to just smoking weed and not try to grow it.

The production values are excellent. The first couple episodes are very compelling, but it seems to lose the original thread after that. The focus shifts so some tangentially related topics and people, whose stories amount to nothing as it relates to the initial premise. I’m not upset that I listened to it, as it’s very well put together, but in the end it was left wondering what the point was.

I have spent quite a bit of time in Adelanto. The story of its trials and tribulations has always fascinated me, beginning with the school board in Adelanto. Only one slight criticism, the occasional female’s voice is grating and fake. People here don’t talk like that.

I usually love everything crooked media puts out but I’m legitimately confused as to what the point do this one was about. I listened all the way through and I’m still lost. There seemed like there was an attempt to dig deep into something real like injustice in the child welfare world but in the end there was little fact and Ms. Evans admitted that her mom and sister are committing fraud by continuing to receive adoption subsidies from the state despite letting the children they adopted live back with their mother…

It would have been beneficial to share what else comes with the San Bernardino County Sheriffs contract that Stevana didn’t mention. 24/7/365 access to Sheriff’s aviation 24/7/365 access to Homicide/ SWAT/Crimes against children teams The city pays for 1/2 of a lieutenant and does not pay for the station captain. 24/7/365 access to the Sheriffs crime lab 24/7/365 access to the Sheriff’s automotive fleet services. 24/7/365 access to regional gang and narcotics teams There contract pays for three deputies per shift covering four shift. Mobile field force- crowd control

I’m not the target audience, but it didn’t matter because the storytelling is unmatched 🙌🏾‼️

I drive through Adelanto 4-5 times a year and had no idea how much was going on in this seemingly sleepy desert town. Great reporting!

Law & Order-level plot twists, which is to say, painfully predictable. I mean, it’s about drugs and I’d describe myself as…a fan of the content matter. But it’s not Crooked-worthy. Mother Country Radicals was great, IMO. This ain’t that. This is a podcast to turn on if you’ve already run through your usuals, and at the end of the week/weekend, you’re looking to hear words in your ears that will keep you sane. That’s the best compliment I have for it.

It’s amazing what you’ll find when you start digging around in a small town!

Whoever made this had a good nose for a story. The reporting was good, with tapes from raucous town meetings. The podcast embraces a lot of colorful, offbeat characters. There’s something very free about it. The bigger narrative about the new plan to grow weed is also set up well. I was loving the podcast until Chapter 4 when it became like a feature story on one person. They were trying to link it to political issues of the town, but I felt I was thrust into an NPR story. This digression took away the story’s momentum for me. I pressed stop in the middle.

Awesome storytelling and fascinating story!! Can’t wait for the next episode

Really interesting story. A little all over the place. Could lose the beginning intro of the recap being told- it makes it sound like a fake story. Other than that- I’m interested to see how this pans out.

adelanTO? buddy, more like adelantWHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I NEED THIS PODCAST AT OVER 140 DECIBELS I WANT THE BEAUTIFUL SOUND DESIGN AND THOUGHTFUL EXPOSITION TO SHATTER MY BONES AND RENDER ME INTO HUMAN DUST I WANT TO BECOME ONE W THIS PODCAST EVERY MOLECULE OF MY MATTER MARRIED TO THIS MARIJUANA MASTERPIECE ADELANTO FOREVER (really great stuff)

Big fan of David Weinberg’s reporting. Excited for this to unfold.

The first two episodes were great, I can’t wait to hear the rest of this story

Somewhere in the first few episodes the story is compared to both a “psychedelic Western” and “The Music Man.” It feels a little fantastical, a little tall tale. It’s the entrepreneurial spirit of Johnny Appleseed, but weed. (Bug Weedseed?)

I just started listening but I’m really into this podcast. It’s well researched and reported. I hope Crooked continues this series and profiles other stories of other towns.

David Weinberg’s documentaries are riveting deep dives, and this show is fantastic! The episodes ratchet up the tension ending with cliffhangers that leave listeners on the edge of their seats. His story-telling style is engaging and immersive, bringing us into this small Californian town. The score fits the podcast like a glove, with an occasional twanging guitar reminiscent of a Western from the 60s providing the perfect musical backdrop. The sound design is minimal, offering listeners a sonic glimpse into this town, with a gust of dry wind, or cannon fire to illustrate a battle for the land between the Spanish and the Europeans in the late 16th century. The episodes are the perfect length. Bravo, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Bring it folks. Y’all are wonderful and this sounds awesome

This sounds better than a high desert bong rip!

As someone who tried to maneuver in the cannabis space in Adelanto a few years back, I can. not. wait to hear what this podcast unearths. It’s no surprise to me that there’s a story here; it was mind-boggling attempting to deal with “professionals” — city and not — in this space.

Very excited for this