Support for LAist comes from
Become a sponsor
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Donate
Stay Connected

LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network.

Listen
Donate
Podcasts Take Two
Climate Change: How Wildfires Are Affecting the American West, Race in LA, CA Scales Back High Speed Rail Plan
solid orange rectangular banner
()
Take Two Logo
Sep 10, 2020
Listen • 52:09
Climate Change: How Wildfires Are Affecting the American West, Race in LA, CA Scales Back High Speed Rail Plan

Wildfires continue to burn across the west coast, we have our latest installment of Race in LA and we have updates on CA's high-speed rail project.

A strong wind blows embers from smoldering trees at the Thomas Fire on December 16, 2017 in Montecito, California.
A strong wind blows embers from smoldering trees at the Thomas Fire on December 16, 2017 in Montecito, California.
(
David McNew/Getty Images
)

Climate Change: How Wildfires Are Affecting the American West

Wildfires are burning throughout the West coast right now, but it didn't have to be this way. We talk about the connection between fires and climate change. 

Guest:

  • Peter Kalmus, a climate scientist and author of “Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution"

Fires Continue to Burn in CA

Fires continue to burn across California Thursday and have scorched through more than two million acres just this year. Here in SoCal, the Bobcat fire in the Angeles National Forest has now burned 23,890 acres and is 0-percent contained. It’s not looking great for the Golden State… but how did we get here? And what can be done to prevent more wildfires in the future?

Guest:

  • Elizabeth Weil, reporter at ProPublica covering climate and California

Mountain Lions Inbreeding

Researchers have been saying it for years: because there are so few mountain lions left in the Santa Monica Mountains, it's likely that they're becoming inbred. This week, researchers found physical evidence of that when they captured a young adult cougar with a kinked tail—and some other problems.

Guest:

  • Seth Riley, UCLA professor and wildlife ecologist with the National Park Service

Race in LA: Tracey Park

We have the latest installment of our new series: Race in LA. In it -- we ask Angelenos how race and identity shape their day-to-day lives. The essays, written by both community contributors and LAist staffers, are published each week. The hope is that these stories fuel meaningful, authentic conversations about our lived experiences as a certain race or ethnicity. This week, contributor Tracy Park shares her essay about a racial incident she experienced here in LA. 

CA Scales Back High Speed Rail Plan

The future of the scaled-down high-speed rail project between Merced and Bakersfield is now even more uncertain due to rising costs, delays and land acquisition issues. We discuss how the financial crisis is impacting the ambitious plans to bring high speed rail to CA.

Guest:

  • Ralph Vartabedian of the LA Times