Imperfect Paradise: Is it possible to build a fire-proof house?
Some of the most striking images to come out of the Los Angeles wildfires are photos of a single intact house, surrounded by rubble. We wond...
Radio and PodcastLive Radio & Podcasts
Science & Medicine
The Big One: Your Survival Guide
When The Big One hits it’ll take under two minutes for more than 10 million Southern Californians to lose internet, power, and a sense of security. Host Jacob Margolis and Producer Misha Euc...
Episodes
20 of 27 episodes
Imperfect Paradise: Why fires happen in Southern California — and how we can prevent them
The same factors that make Los Angeles an appealing place to live, like large urban scale development intertwined with nature, are also the...
Imperfect Paradise: The first five days: Inside LA’s most destructive wildfires
Larry Mantle has been a radio host in Los Angeles for nearly 40 years. Over the course of hosting his live, daily, public affairs call-in sh...
LA Wildfires Special Coverage with Jacob Margolis: What to expect when recovering fire losses and rebuilding
LAist Science Reporter Jacob Margolis looks at what Angelenos affected by the LA wildfires can expect as they try to rebuild their lives. In...
LA Wildfires Special Coverage with Jacob Margolis
LAist Science Reporter Jacob Margolis puts the wildfires and the devastation throughout Southern California into context and explains the sc...
Imperfect Paradise: LAist newsroom answers your questions about the fires
Los Angeles County has been ravaged by multiple fires. Thousands of structures were destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of Angelenos have e...
The Big Burn: What Comes Next?
We get into our feelings. Visit www.preppi.com/BigBurn to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (with any purchase over $100) and be prepared...
The Big Burn: The Advice Episode
Jacob and retired LA County Fire Captain Derek Bart answer your burning questions. Visit www.preppi.com/BigBurn to receive a FREE Preppi Eme...
The Big Burn: The Bunker Solution
We check out an unconventional solution to wind-driven fires. Visit www.preppi.com/BigBurn to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (with any...
The Big Burn: The Southern California Problem
Why prescribed burning won't solve all of our fire woes. Visit www.preppi.com/BigBurn to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (with any purch...
The Big Burn: Taking A Step Back
Digesting what we've learned. Plus, how other places in the U.S. have figured out fire management. Visit www.preppi.com/BigBurn to receive a...
The Big Burn: The Impediments
We know prescribed burning is a major solution…so why aren't we doing more of it? Visit www.preppi.com/BigBurn to receive a FREE Prep...
The Big Burn: Setting A Forest On Fire
What it's like to put good fire to the ground. Visit www.preppi.com/BigBurn to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (with any purchase over $...
The Big Burn: How It All Went Wrong
Gold, genocide and colonialism: our path to seeing fire as the enemy. Visit www.preppi.com/BigBurn to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (w...
The Big Burn: Saving Our Giant Sequoias
Why trees that are adapted to living with fire are now burning… and how we might save them. Visit www.preppi.com/BigBurn to receive a...
The Big Burn: The New Normal
We examine one particularly pivotal wildfire - the Tubbs fire of 2017. Visit www.preppi.com/BigBurn to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (...
Introducing Season 2: The Big Burn
As the world enters a new age of wildfires, science reporter Jacob Margolis dives deep into personal stories that illuminate the history of...
The Big One: The Wake-up Call
For the first time in a generation, a pair of big earthquakes shook Southern Californians. If you felt it -- or even just heard about it --...
The Big One: The Perfect World
We're back at Union Station, moments before the Big One hits, but this time you, our hero, and the city are prepared. And then back to reali...
The Big One: The Lessons
In this episode, a rat learns to skateboard and we learn how our brain processes (or doesn't) the idea of a big one. Visit www.preppi.com/Bi...