-
Listen Listen
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.
Stories by Jacob Margolis
-
Besides low humidity and temperatures in the 90s this weekend, there’ll be wind wind gusts in some places as high as 30 miles per hour — the key ingredient for fast fire spread.
-
Is your favorite spot on Heal The Bay's Beach Bummer List?
-
Niland, a small, impoverished community near the Salton Sea, was devastated overnight as strong winds pushed a brushfire into neighborhoods.
-
Niland, a small, low income community near the Salton Sea, was devastated overnight as strong winds pushed a brushfire directly into neighborhoods.
-
A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck just south of Lone Pine, California at 10:40 a.m Wednesday morning.
-
Memories of the deadly 2017 earthquake came flooding back as Oaxaca, Mexico was hit by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, killing at least one.
-
No widespread damage has yet been reported in Oaxaca City, but hours later information is still slowly trickling in.
-
As wildfire season gears up across the West, firefighters face not only the standard cavalcade of threats – burns, smoke inhalation, heat stroke, exhaustion – but illness caused by COVID-19 as well.
-
Sizeable outbreaks could impact wildfire response.
-
Strong, dry winds are creating optimal wildfire weather. That's unusual for this time of year.
-
The Santa Ana winds driving the fires are uncommon for this time of year.
-
About 20,000 people who were signed up for the MyShake app got a heads up about Wednesday's quake before it hit.
