Jacob Margolis
What I cover
I cover science, with a focus on environmental stories and disasters, as well as investigations and accountability.
My background
I created, wrote and hosted the LAist Studios podcasts, The Big One: Your Survival Guide and The Big Burn: How To Survive In The Age of Wildfires. I was part of the team that won the 2021 Investigative Reporters and Editors Audio Journalism Award for the series "Hot Days: Heat’s Mounting Death Toll On Workers In The U.S. "Most recently, I’ve published investigations into large scale illegal dumping in L.A. County and previously unreported heavy metal concentrations in fire retardants.
My goals
To uncover how science, policy, and power intersect — so people have the information they need to hold decision-makers accountable and protect their communities.
Best way to reach me
You can reach me by email: jmargolis@laist.com. Or for encrypted communications, I'm on Signal: jacobmargolis.1.
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The fire was reported around 4 p.m. Wednesday. -
The Puente Hills landfill was once one of the largest landfills in the country. -
The Santa Monica Mountains Fund is giving away narrow leaf milkweed, which is one of the only plants that monarch butterflies lay their eggs on. -
After a short break from wildfire smoke, it may come back tonight. -
They are drilling bore holes to find the water that's likely making the Portuguese Bend landslide worse. -
The change could incentivize those businesses to clean up their emissions, which often affect poorer areas of the region. -
Beetles can kill a tree that's been around for a millennia in less than a year. Scientists aren't sure why they've gotten so lethal. -
As the weather warms, algal blooms have begun to pop up in freshwater lakes. -
A five-year, $7 million restoration effort faces some real challenges. -
One researcher said that they saw 20,000 birds pass through in a single day.
