Boiling Point Presents: Smoglandia Pt 6 — "Future Electric, Future Trouble"

Date: December 11, 2025
Host: Pat Morrison (LA Times Studios)

Episode Overview

This final episode of the Smoglandia series delves deep into Los Angeles' epic struggle and ongoing experiments with air pollution, climate change, and the future of transportation. Through personal stories, data-driven research, and colorful historical anecdotes, Morrison explores California’s journey from the smog-choked midcentury to the electric vehicle revolution. Yet, as much as technological progress (from electric cars to strict environmental laws) is celebrated, the episode cautions about political and social headwinds—casting doubt over whether hard-won gains will hold in a rapidly changing (and sometimes regressive) America.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. LA’s Smog Legacy and Environmental Injustice

• Personal Witness (00:08): Earl Ofari Hutchinson recalls LA’s dirty air obscuring the San Gabriel Mountains, highlighting both the tangible and psychological impact of smog:

  "Looking at the mountains during the summertime and oftentimes I couldn't see them...then I realized after October, the first rains...Wait a minute, we got some mountains here." (Hutchinson, 00:08)

• Environmental Racism (01:30 - 05:05):
  • Many Black and brown Angelenos lived and worked directly within polluting industries, e.g., Goodyear Tire plant, which brought both jobs and chemical exposure.
  • Dr. Jennifer Ofodile discusses her team’s research:

    "We found that when you separate census tracts into low and high income...low income Hispanic and Asian residents...were impacted by much higher emissions of these hazardous air pollutants, so ranging from 60 to over 100% on average." (Ofodile, 05:05)

  • Redlining and discriminatory city planning forced communities of color into pollution hotspots.

2. Making Air Pollution Personal & Political

• Mobilizing via Health (05:57):
  Hutchinson stresses the importance of framing pollution in terms of tangible harm:

  "If you just talk about the environment, that's not going to get it with a lot of people...But if you personalize it and say you breathe in poison air, it can shorten your life..." (Hutchinson, 05:57)

• Activism Ramped (06:23 - 07:31):
  Jane Fonda connects environmental justice with political mobilization and democratic urgency:

  "We have to use democracy to fight fascism...they can't be moderate. It's too late for moderate." (Fonda, 06:56) "After protesting and marching and getting arrested...what I've realized...is protest is important. Non cooperation is critical." (Fonda, 07:31)

3. Alternative Fuels: Past Obsessions and Present Realities

• Wild Experiments (10:19 - 12:21):
  • John Raby’s short-lived biofuel adventure, converting his Mercedes to run on used vegetable oil.
  • Leslie Kendall (curator, Petersen Automotive Museum) explains the once-fierce competition between steam, gasoline, electric, and even compressed air vehicles:

    "There was a time when electric cars outsold their gasoline counterparts. Electric cars are smooth, they're quiet...you can get right into them." (Kendall, 11:10)

4. America's First Great Electric Car Race (16:02 - 32:30)

• The 1968 Caltech vs. MIT Cross-country Showdown:
  • Wally Rappel, Caltech student and EV enthusiast, recounts the drama of building, racing—and fixing—an early electric VW bus in a cross-country contest against MIT and their Corvair.
  • Barriers included primitive battery technology ("300 pounds of batteries to store as much energy as one pound of gasoline" (Rappel, 18:19)), lack of infrastructure, and limited public interest.
  • Both teams suffered spectacular technical failures (MIT destroyed their motor due to excessive RPMs; Caltech caused a blackout), but relentless problem-solving pushed tech boundaries.
  • In the end, a miscalculation initially gave MIT the win, but after adjustment for time zones, Caltech was declared the champion:

    "It was the first time an electric car had gone across country. That was recorded." (Rappel, 32:30)

5. Regulation, Innovation, and Political Backlash

• Regulatory Success (34:54):
  Strong “carrots and sticks”—emission rules, bans on polluting equipment, and persistent California advocacy—helped drive dramatic air-quality improvement despite LA’s population boom.
• Federal-State Tensions (36:49 - 39:37):
  • Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Robert Garcia bemoan efforts by the Trump administration to strip California of its longstanding authority to exceed federal clean-air standards:

    "This has been what has irritated the Trump administration—that we have so many followers." (Schiff, 37:31)

  • Garcia rejects claims that clean-air laws hurt economic growth at the ports:

    "The reality is that none of that's happened. The ports have grown, we've become cleaner. The economy at the ports has grown stronger..." (Garcia, 39:17)

6. The Threat of Backsliding

• Health and Social Risks (40:56):
  • Schiff warns that if state protections are gutted, “there are going to be more cancers...birth defects...asthma...And we'll have Donald Trump to thank for it.”
• Smog in the DNA (41:24):
  • Morrison underscores LA’s deep bond with smog, as both cultural motif and perpetual health crisis—highlighting everything from astronaut Sally Ride’s 1983 view from space to pop references in Godzilla movies, music, and even the Olympics (where events and horses were moved over smog fears).

7. Never-Ending Battle and the Risk of Forgetting

• Although LA’s air is much improved (e.g., no stage-three smog alerts in half a century), Morrison warns:

  "This is one fight we may have to fight all over again." (44:48)

• Memorable Closing Image: Hunting for (and finally finding) an old gas mask—a symbol of preparedness lest history repeat itself (45:15–46:02).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Earl Ofari Hutchinson on smoggy LA:

  "You had a double whammy. You had employees and you had residents." (01:30)

• Jennifer Ofodile on redlined communities:

  "They had restrictive covenants in the 1930s...relegated to inland areas...The same issues have continued to compound." (03:51)

• Jane Fonda on moderation:

  "They can't be moderate. It's too late for moderate." (06:56)

• Wally Rappel, Caltech:

  "I was thinking about the distance, getting her where she wanted to get to...I was watching the voltmeter...the anxiety...was based on...the number of watt hours left in the battery." (16:20) "We caused the blackout...we were the culprit..." (27:27) "It was the first time an electric car had gone across country." (32:30)

• Adam Schiff, U.S. Senator:

  "Other states look at what we do. They know that we're using sound science and a smart approach, and they adopt it." (37:31) "People living near freeways are going to be sicker...And we'll have Donald Trump to thank for it." (40:56)

• Robert Garcia, Congressman:

  "The single largest polluter in and around the ports are actually cargo ships...which are completely unregulated in many cases." (38:49)

• Pat Morrison, closing warning:

  "This is one fight we may have to fight all over again." (44:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:08–05:43: Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Jennifer Ofodile — Lived impacts of smog & environmental justice
• 06:23–07:31: Jane Fonda — Political urgency on climate & air pollution
• 10:19–12:59: EVs and alternative fuels history with John Raby & Leslie Kendall
• 16:02–32:30: Wally Rappel — The 1968 Caltech vs. MIT cross-country electric car race
• 34:54–36:49: LA’s regulatory journey & milestones
• 36:49–40:56: Schiff & Garcia — Federal-state tension over air regulations & the ports
• 40:56–41:24: Schiff — Backsliding risks with climate politics
• 41:24–44:48: LA's smog in popular culture and memory
• 44:48–46:02: Morrison & Serafine Seagal — Searching for the old gas mask, readiness for the future

Tone & Final Takeaway

The episode blends nostalgia, science, activism, and humor while never losing its sense of urgency. It celebrates technological advances and community victories, but rings a clear warning bell about political developments that threaten to send LA “backwards, into the smog again.” As Morrison sums up, clean air is a hard-won and fragile thing—a legacy at risk if vigilance lapses. The true “future trouble” may well be forgetting how hard the fight has been.