Hour 2: Los Angeles Wildfires (feat. David Wallace-Wells)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz – Hour 2: Los Angeles Wildfires (feat. David Wallace-Wells)
Release Date: January 8, 2025
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Chris Cote, Billy Gil, Mike Ryan
Guest: David Wallace-Wells, Opinion Writer for The New York Times and Author of The Uninhabitable Earth

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Introduction

In this episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, the hosts transition from their usual sports and pop-culture banter to address a pressing environmental crisis: the devastating wildfires sweeping through Los Angeles. The segment features a guest appearance by David Wallace-Wells, whose expertise provides a deep dive into the implications of climate change on urban environments.

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Main Discussion: Los Angeles Wildfires and Climate Change

Overview of the Wildfires

Dan Le Batard opens the discussion by highlighting the alarming severity of the recent wildfires in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. He introduces David Wallace-Wells to shed light on the magnitude and future implications of such events.

Dan Le Batard [27:03]:
"These fires that have swept in with wind over Santa Monica place that I did not know that there could be fires have created such atrocity that firefighters can't get in because cars are being abandoned."

Climate Change and the New Fire Regime

David Wallace-Wells provides an in-depth analysis of how climate change is transforming wildfire patterns, making them more frequent and destructive.

David Wallace-Wells [27:03]:
"Seven of the eight largest wildfires in California history have burned since the year 2000. We are in an entirely different fire regime than we have ever been in before."

He explains the concept of an "urban firestorm," where modern homes themselves contribute to the spread of fires due to new climate conditions and inadequate zoning policies.

David Wallace-Wells [29:57]:
"The new climate conditions, in addition to the new zoning policy that has pushed so many of these homes into the wildland urban interface, we are now living in a new era in which we can no longer take comfort in homes as firebreaks and have to treat them as, as potentially flammable fuel as well."

Impact of Fossil Fuels and Emissions

Wallace-Wells emphasizes the unprecedented levels of fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions, which exacerbate global warming and, consequently, wildfires.

David Wallace-Wells [27:03]:
"We are burning more fossil fuel and producing more carbon emissions today in 2024 than we ever have in the history of the world."

He critiques the slow pace of mitigating actions, noting that despite the green transition efforts, fossil fuel consumption continues to rise.

David Wallace-Wells [27:03]:
"Every year so far in my lifetime has been more destructive for the future of the planet's climate than every year before it."

Local and National Policy Failures

The conversation shifts to policy shortcomings at both local and national levels, highlighting inadequate measures in housing policies and forest management.

David Wallace-Wells [27:03]:
"We're not doing enough to thin our forests and prevent fuel buildup, which means that when fires happen, they can be incredibly destructive."

He also points out the reliance on underpaid inmate firefighters in California, underscoring systemic issues in disaster response.

David Wallace-Wells [27:03]:
"30% of California firefighters fires are actually inmates in California prisons that are paid something like a dollar a day to fight in these fires."

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Host Reactions and Commentary

Acknowledging the Severity

Dan Le Batard commends Wallace-Wells for his comprehensive insights but expresses frustration over the lack of public attention to climate issues.

Dan Le Batard [35:35]:
"He has hijacked the program with all of his good information, I'm going to put him in the picture."

Balancing Seriousness with Humor

The hosts attempt to balance the gravity of the situation with their characteristic humor, navigating their responses to Wallace-Wells' detailed exposition.

Mike Ryan [38:25]:
"I want the knife, please."

Encouraging Action and Awareness

Despite the somber topic, Wallace-Wells emphasizes human resilience and the necessity for collective action to manage future fire threats.

David Wallace-Wells [38:04]:
"We are living in an entirely new climatic regime which presents new challenges which humans can navigate and we will survive."

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with reflections on the discussions, reiterating the urgent need for addressing climate change to mitigate future disasters. Dan Le Batard thanks David Wallace-Wells for his valuable contributions and encourages listeners to stay informed and proactive in combating environmental crises.

David Wallace-Wells [38:04]:
"Don't look away from the damage. See it. See it clearly and try to take action."

Dan Le Batard [40:27]:
"Your information is great. It's just I'm perpetually wrestling with how much people don't want it, even though it's burning right in their face like I can't even imagine."

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Notable Quotes

• David Wallace-Wells [27:12]:
  "We are living in an entirely new climatic regime which presents new challenges which humans can navigate and we will survive."

• Dan Le Batard [29:57]:
  "Can you please explain to me in California the precedent for what we're witnessing?"

• David Wallace-Wells [35:35]:
  "The new climate conditions ... we are now living in a new era in which we can no longer take comfort in homes as firebreaks."

• Dan Le Batard [42:16]:
  "The Venmo bucket fine chart is $1 per mistake. $2 cough and phlegm. $3 pestering..."

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Takeaways

• Climate Crisis Escalation: The Los Angeles wildfires exemplify the intensified fire regimes caused by climate change, necessitating urgent policy and community responses.

• Policy and Infrastructure Needs: Enhanced housing policies, forest management, and professional firefighting resources are critical to mitigating future disasters.

• Public Awareness and Action: Increased public understanding and proactive measures are essential in addressing and adapting to the new environmental realities.

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This episode serves as a critical reminder of the escalating climate challenges and the imperative for collective action to safeguard communities and the environment.

Transcript

[Dan LeBatard]

You're listening to Giraffkings Network.

[Stugatz]

You know that sound? It's the sound of money hitting your Venmo account. A friend paying you back. Or maybe it's getting cash back from your favorite business when you pay with the Venmo debit card. Or it's realizing you can pay with Venmo at checkout at thousands of brands now there are so many more ways to answer the question. What's your Venmo? Download Venmo. Today the Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank N.A. pursuant to license by MasterCard International Incorporated. DOSH Cash Back Terms apply.

[Amin Elhassan]

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[Stugatz]

Levatar show with the Stugats podcast.

[Billy Gil]

This episode of the Dan Levitard show with Stugach is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours.

[Dan LeBatard]

I saw a great item on the Internet and I don't know why it is. These things always suck me in, but they will every last time suck me in. And I know Amin will appreciate this. As someone who cares about the movie. Somebody just started a thread of best movie weapons of all time.

[Chris Cote]

Rocky's Fist.

[Dan LeBatard]

Once I saw you're terrible at this game. Have been since 1978 because your every reference is Rocky related and it's not the way to play this game. You're just. You haven't updated your movie references since 1978 and you're proud of yourself for doing it that way. And it stinks. It stinks like Trey Lance stinks.

[Mike Ryan]

And also numerically, we've proved that Drago's fist.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, okay, there it is. So. But. But I when I saw and this always happens with these kinds of games, when I saw what I thought was the best nominee, I'm like, well, no one's going to be able to better than Anton Chigurh's weapon in no country for Old Men where he's using a silencer that is meant to I guess de brain cows or something. And. And it's just an amazing movie weapon from one of the most amazing movie villains there's ever been.

[Chris Cote]

How about Rambo's machete.

[Billy Gil]

How about Will Smith and Men in Black being able to get your. Your memory all gone with one push of a button?

[Mike Ryan]

Not a weapon.

[Dan LeBatard]

The neural.

[Mike Ryan]

That's a weapon. It's not a weapon.

[Billy Gil]

It's a device.

[Stugatz]

Didn't in one of the comic book movies, spoiler alert. Someone just snap and half the people died.

[David Wallace Wells]

Avengers.

[Stugatz]

Is that a weapon?

[Mike Ryan]

Thanos? Yeah. Thanos killed half of all existence with a finger snap. I kind of feel like the glove was really the weapon. The Infinity Stones was the weapon. And then he used.

[Dan LeBatard]

What is the best movie weapon of all time? So if I ask you guys, is there a consensus on this? My wife selected the bowling pin in that Daniel Day Lewis used to. To kill on the bowling alley. The past. What is his name? What is that? It's not Thanos. It's Nanos or something. What is the name.

[Chris Cote]

What is.

[Dan LeBatard]

What is the name?

[Chris Cote]

Nanos?

[Dan LeBatard]

What is the name of the. Of the preacher man that Daniel Day Lewis killed with a bowling pin? It's a good nominee for my dark.

[Mike Ryan]

Princess wife, Thanos Jenkins.

[Chris Cote]

How about the ball guy's finger?

[Dan LeBatard]

Again, from the movies to gods. From real life, anything from the movies to gods. That's not Rocky. Help yourself to anything in the movie genre. Anything at all that isn't Sylvester Stallone. It would hold a matchstick.

[Mike Ryan]

It would go Brady Cobretti, Marion Cabretti.

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, I wanted to ask you about whether or not you have in your history as a front office executive any experience with doing anything like what it is that happened with Mike Evans and the bucks and incentives and money.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, yeah. We do have a story. When I was in Phoenix, Grant Hill had an incentive, but it wasn't. It wasn't a team incentive. It was a sneaker incentive. So a lot of people don't know this. The sneaker companies will often have incentives in the deals. And for Grant Hill, I think it was to average like 15 points a game or whatever it was, and he needed 25 in the last game of the season. And Grant, you know, Grant, at this point, he's an elder statesman. He's a role player. He's averaging probably like, you know, not. Not like just shy of 15, but it usually comes on, you know, just getting shots here and there. But we knew we got to get Grant his money, so we force fed him the ball. He shot more times in that last game than he had shot in the entire season. He shot more free throws than he shot, I think, in his entire tenure as a Phoenix Sun. And when he hit the number. The bench went crazy and the announcers didn't know why. The sun's been really, you know, up in arms over Grant Hill. Making that layup or making that free throw or whatever.

[Billy Gil]

Up in arms is a negative.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah. Up in arms is not used correctly there. Why are people up in arms? Can you tell me, like, what up is it just like. Yeah, so raising. They are raising guns over their heads. Up in arms. That's. That. That. I don't know what that would be.

[Billy Gil]

Up in guns.

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Billy Gil]

It originated in the late 1500s as a reference to an armed rebellion.

[Dan LeBatard]

So.

[Billy Gil]

Yes.

[Dan LeBatard]

Okay, but. But is it physically running into a place with bayonets over your head because you're.

[Mike Ryan]

That noise.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes. You're attacking in riot form with a bayonet over your head. Somebody who can shoot you because you're using your gun to stab them.

[Mike Ryan]

Billy's here.

[Chris Cote]

There's always follow ups. Jeremy.

[Dan LeBatard]

I do have follow ups, just because. Forgive me for loving the origins of things. I just. Up in arms was used incorrectly there.

[Chris Cote]

It was.

[Dan LeBatard]

No, it was just.

[Chris Cote]

It was used incorrectly.

[Dan LeBatard]

It was simply used incorrectly. It's not something that can be disputed. I wanted to talk to the group about something that I. That feels incorrect to me and I wonder if anyone cares. Rex Ryan being recycled in an interview by the jets is amazing for a number of reasons, not the least of which is they don't need to interview him. They know how terrible he is.

[Chris Cote]

Wait a second. We went to back to back AFC.

[Dan LeBatard]

Championship games, but they know what he is.

[Billy Gil]

Let's get a damn snack.

[Dan LeBatard]

All right. They know how great he is. Fine. Whatever. The interview's unnecessary. Least offensive of these two interviews. Jon Gruden. His name being mentioned near anything should cause shame eternally for everyone involved with that league. The idea that that can be recycled into something after what that has done publicly. Just because he smirks and is charming and we're in a different America than we were when he was the highest paid face and voice at ESPN on behalf of football enthusiasm. I understand that. Barstool resuscitated. I don't blame second chances. I think everybody should actually get second chances. But that guy with those crimes going right to the top of the food chain again for the top of the jobs. Because the way to do all this stuff, whether it's Louis Riddick over here or whether it's Rex Ryan is just be on television. One of these football teams will think that's leadership enough. Just be around talking about football and we'll figure out how to make it a leader. And it doesn't matter what, how many. How much, how much garbage is on the resume.

[Chris Cote]

I love the jets having the guy that they fired as their gm, Mike Tannenbaum, heading up this search.

[Dan LeBatard]

And, like, it's so good.

[Chris Cote]

All the fire guys end up at espn and that's who the jets are going to hire to run their organization.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, Mike Tanamo. Where did he work? Also espn. This is just calling everybody he went.

[Dan LeBatard]

To work with so bad. It's so lazy, man.

[Mike Ryan]

But, Dan, what you're seeing is exactly what you described earlier, which is billionaires have toys. You think these people are sophisticated and discerning. No, they're just like, oh, he sounds pretty smart. Get him on here. Oh, there's the carousel going.

[Billy Gil]

I can't believe Ben. The funniest coaching news that I saw yesterday was Ben Johnson just being like, jets, I'm good. Don't need an interview. No, thanks. Seems like the origin of up in arms really dates back to 1297, when they first started using arms as a means for armor. In 1430, a coat of arms is first detected as something to refer to people bringing into a space with armor. But eventually, and it's unclear that's split changes somewhere in the late 1400s to late 1500s to turn arms specifically into up and arms with weaponry as opposed to armor.

[Dan LeBatard]

Chris, Cody, you are excellent at the carousel. Billy, you should.

[Billy Gil]

The first compliment you give me in eight months.

[Dan LeBatard]

Billy, you stink at the carousel. You are. You don't participate in the carousel. Your carousel energy stinks.

[Chris Cote]

It hurts my neck.

[Stugatz]

I was listening to all that information about arms.

[Mike Ryan]

Dan, to be fair, in every carousel, there's one that doesn't work.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes, okay, but we always have frames that don't work around here.

[Stugatz]

I'm the bench on the carousel.

[Billy Gil]

Damn bench. According to phrases.org. oh, my God. The use of up in arms has significantly decreased in the last 20 years. It was at its peak in printed material in the mid-1990s, but since then, it's only decreased.

[Dan LeBatard]

Amin is the only one who's using it incorrectly these days in a way to get comment, the only one using it, and communication bringing it back off the ground, but incorrectly with a new twist.

[Billy Gil]

The bench is up in arms.

[Dan LeBatard]

It just didn't make sense. It was the wrong phrase to use. Thank you for all your contributions to the program. I wanted to ask how it is Mike Ryan is not here and there are some judgment things that I don't know about in terms of things that I can Talk about or cannot talk about as it relates to the FOX Sports lawsuit, as it relates to our negotiations with DraftKings, and as it relates to this project that we're doing with Dan Patrick in New Orleans that I don't know if it's already sold out. We just announced Dan versus Dan. Yeah, it should be Dan versus Dan. We aired in not naming it, that we did Dan interviews Dan and that was a mistake.

[Chris Cote]

This is a project or. I mean.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, I'm going to explain to you what it means to me.

[Chris Cote]

Diorama or something like that.

[Dan LeBatard]

Thank you for asking. I appreciate you allowing me to promote this. You could go to TicketWeb.com and you could search LeBatart. But I. I'd like to explain to people why it is that I want to do this because it's gonna be a cool night for either fans of this show or fans of Dan Patrick's show. But no one in the history of the industry has influenced this show more in terms of promoters, sorry, producers talking and just giving us permission to do some things that we have done with our career. And I really admire a man who the second part of his career is more impressive to me than the first part of his career. In the first part of his career, he changed all of sports television because he didn't think that he could do the thing of creating a community of people who would listen to him after he left ESPN to make that radio show. And he's got a community of among like 5 to 10 communities anywhere in the history of this medium that in sports is an economy because he left ESPN so successfully and has always been fair while doing it. Like that last part stugats like hasn't had to cheapen himself at any turn with any hot take aggregations or any thing of the kind. And when I talk about Pat Riley or Dan Patrick or people who have conquered the industry and I tell you, my admiration is so profound for them. I don't give it in a way that's loose. And the reason that I give it is because somebody I believe merits it with a. With a career that is bigger and better than most I've ever seen.

[Chris Cote]

You got to save some of this for the project.

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, I will have plenty to tell people.

[Billy Gil]

And Patrick's eulogy.

[Dan LeBatard]

Maybe we'll introduce Michael K there as well to do Michael K's eulogy while we're there as well. I simply want. Look, man, I am. So let me explain something to you here about watching, for example, Tony Reali at ESPN create an Empire of voices and a community when it's really hard to do that, Even if for 25 years you're in the middle of a daily sports lineup. That show is gonna disappear in six months the way Bryant Gumbel's show disappeared after 29 years instead of 30. Doing some of the best stuff that's available because the corporations are chewing everything up and eating everything up. So that Tony Reilly, I don't know what he's gonna do in six months, but it's not gonna be help other sports writers be great at television on a show that creates community for list that are lasting. And so I want to admire these people while they're still alive, because we're killing some of the things that made them, made me and us respect them.

[Chris Cote]

I mean, Tony realy is alive, right? He's young, he's healthy, he's got. He's got more career left, right? He's not at that phase yet where he's going to help the younger people out. To your point, I was shocked upon meeting Dan Patrick, how helpful he was willing to be to me and to many, many others. He is. He is a great human being.

[Dan LeBatard]

The part I'm talking about, though, is being all of the things I'm saying and fair. Look, you can have whatever your issues are with Oberman on whatever side you are or me or anybody, because of whatever your divisions are. Do you know how hard it is to make it in this business for that long? Being a pillar of professionalism who doesn't say shitty things about people like, doesn't like just is. You can. He's fair. You can think what you want about Skip Bayless, Jim Rome. However it is people do what they do. To do that fair. The degree of difficulty is damn near impossible.

[Mike Ryan]

Can I play devil's advocate? He stars in a lot of shitty Adam Sandler movies.

[Chris Cote]

It's one of the perks.

[Billy Gil]

I mean, also some good ones.

[Chris Cote]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Which ones? Adams.

[Stugatz]

Adam Sandler gets like a lot of hate. That I think is envy. I think if you made a movie, it would not be as good as Adam Sandlers.

[Mike Ryan]

First of all, yes, it would.

[Chris Cote]

But no, it would not mean absolutely.

[Stugatz]

You could not make a movie better than Adam.

[Mike Ryan]

I swear to God, no. I've got three of them ready to go right now.

[Chris Cote]

I appreciate the confidence, but you're wrong.

[Mike Ryan]

Not giving it away. Not giving it away for free. Give me the Adam Sandler budget, number one. Number two, envy. Of course, someone hands me hundreds of millions of dollars and all I do is invite my friends to Go to Puerto Rico to have fun.

[Dan LeBatard]

And then I fart.

[Mike Ryan]

And then I, like, cast my wife and my kids and everything. And then they hand me more. Hundreds of millions of dollars. Who doesn't want that? Of course I'm envious.

[Billy Gil]

For what it's worth, it's tough to make a movie worse than Jack and Jill. So Amid might have a point.

[Chris Cote]

That's fair.

[Mike Ryan]

Duncan Chino, that was real. He got Al Pacino, one of the greatest actors in the history of the medium, to do a fake Dunkin Donuts commercial where he sang and danced about the Duncan Chino.

[Chris Cote]

Are you saying Sandler is overrated? What are you saying he's not funny?

[Mike Ryan]

I'm saying Dan Patrick is a hack for doing Sandler movies.

[Billy Gil]

Dan, hat trick.

[Mike Ryan]

And you know what, Dan? I've decided right now I'm coming to New Orleans. And I'm coming in this Dan versus Dan thing.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's Dan and Dan or Dan coming to interviews. Dan, thank you. I appreciate you coming to it. I love having the payoff. And Amin will be there.

[Mike Ryan]

I'll be there to tell Dan Patrick.

[Dan LeBatard]

To his face that he's a fraud.

[Mike Ryan]

Not a fraud. Not a fraud. Because all the things you said are accurate. He is a trailblazer. They used to say, when you leave espn, it's over for you. And Dan Patrick was a guy that showed everybody, like, no, it's not. There's life and lucrative things on the other side of that. But he is a hack for doing all those Adam Sandler movies. Absolutely.

[Stugatz]

Didn't he play Dick from Dick's Sporting Goods in a movie? Come on.

[Chris Cote]

That's awesome.

[Dan LeBatard]

Can I play for you guys some sound here? And I know we're gonna do. I really will need help from the audience, from you guys, because I have assigned some work to Jeremy and others to cover the Jimmy Butler stuff even more than we are presently covering it. And I want to know where the right side of talking about all of this too much is, even though it's in our wheelhouse. When I talk about respecting people with long legacies and when I talk about how much the media has changed Stugatz, you would understand why a Pat Riley being eviscerated by people like Gilbert Arenas and Paul Pierce. And I really don't say that as indictment of either Gilbert Arenas or Paul Pierce. I say it just to say that both of those human beings will say just about anything to make noise. And they probably. Even though Paul Pierce is a Hall of Famer, they probably are a little looser with disrespect towards someone like Pat Riley than the average commentator because they're famous for saying outlandish things. So let's hear from Gilbert Arenas here. And I want to get a meme thoughts on how fair this is or isn't, because only Gilbert Arenas and Paul Pierce will do things like this.

[Jeremy]

We are showtime. You're nobody. He was right. He moved to the Knicks. He ain't doing nothing. He moved to Miami, right? He got my. He got Shaq. I mean, he got Dwyane Wade. He came and got Shaquille O'Neal. Then they brung a whole bunch of other players to help win. You can't pretend you that guy. It's them. You're not bigger than them. You're pretending you are. They left. LeBron came. They won a championship. You can't pretend you're bigger than LeBron. LeBron leave. This crashes. Jimmy Butler comes, he gets you to the championship. If he tells you, bring me one more star, mother, bring him one more star then. Cause if he can get you to the championship with this, bring me one more star. I got you. So for you to pretend that you are the Heat culture and you can do this, you're lying. Because when he leaves, mother, nobody's coming there.

[Dan LeBatard]

I got these.

[Jeremy]

Nobody's coming to. You got south beach in your favor.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes, I got you.

[Jeremy]

And you treat south beach like it's a prison.

[Mike Ryan]

Gilbert is speaking from the truest point of view of a player. What he's giving is the player perspective, which isn't invalid, but it also is not the whole picture, which is why when I see Amazon announce, hey, this is our broadcast team. Taylor Rooks, Dirk Nowitzki, Blake Griffin. Great names, great names. All funny people, all smart people. But you need another perspective in there. You need another perspective in there, whether it's a coach, whether it's a former front office person, whoever. Because what a lot of shows studio shows are doing are leaning more and more on just the players.

[Dan LeBatard]

Billy says you need. You just. You're applying for work.

[Stugatz]

Sounds like you're applying for a job, right?

[Dan LeBatard]

You're sitting here.

[Stugatz]

You know what?

[David Wallace Wells]

You need me.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's what it sounds like.

[Mike Ryan]

I didn't say that. I was just talking about.

[Chris Cote]

It sounded like you were saying that.

[Dan LeBatard]

It sounded like. Those perspectives are fine, but what you need is the right perspective, my perspective.

[Mike Ryan]

You need a balanced diet. You can't just have lima beans.

[Chris Cote]

But why would Pat Riley at. At this age, or at any age for that matter, care what Gilbert Arenas has to say about him? Pat Riley has had a Hall of Fame career. Pat Riley is considered one of the two. He's on the Mount Rushmore of NBA head coaches. Do you think is he cares and a bunch of guys who didn't win anything have to say about him.

[Dan LeBatard]

So I ask you this question sincerely. Do you think immortals are totally immune to insecurity, especially as mortality approaches? I'm asking you this question sincerely. Do you believe there's an age that people are so confident that they never doubt anything?

[Chris Cote]

I think they. They will doubt their entire lives when it's coming from someone they perceive to be equal. If that was Phil Jackson saying that or someone like that, there is no equal, okay. But it would hit home more with Riley than Gilbert Arenas, who's just saying.

[Dan LeBatard]

But there is no equal. And Pat Riley is going through something that has no precedent in. I mean, you said Gilbert dismissed what he did in New York. Shit, New York hasn't gotten back there since. New York has been telling me how they're now, like, no, they're not. They haven't gotten back there since, like.

[Chris Cote]

Made it to the Finals.

[Dan LeBatard]

They were not as good at any point over the last 20 years, living off of what Riley did with them as a stop between places where he did it. Gilbert Arenas, like, look, Paul Pierce's resume is fine. It ain't Riley's resume. Gilbert Arenas is sure as shit isn't.

[Mike Ryan]

But, like, look, Gilbert. Like I said, he's speaking from a player's perspective. Also, Gilbert knows how to put a little extra on it, right? Paul knows how to put a little extra on it. And also, Paul is dancing on the grave of, for him, the organization that represents the biggest rival, right? When he looks across the way, it's like, that's the team I really, really didn't like. So obviously, these guys are gonna do their thing in terms of a little dance on the grave of. Or the perceived grave of the Miami Heat. But I'm with Stu Gatz. I don't think Gilbert Arenas saying that stuff bothers Pat Riley.

[Chris Cote]

I think Riley laughs at that.

[Billy Gil]

I think he's tuning in.

[Stugatz]

I don't think he has any way of knowing how to even find out. Respectfully, to all parties.

[Mike Ryan]

I think. I think when Dan Levittard says some stuff now, that's different.

[Billy Gil]

That's on at the arena.

[Stugatz]

Exactly.

[Amin Elhassan]

The Dan LeBatard show with Stu Gotz is sponsored by Better Help. Every January feels like a fresh start. 365 blank pages just waiting for your story to be written in 2025. Maybe you're ready for a plot twist, Ready to revise the parts of your story holding you back. Life isn't about New Year's resolutions that disappear by February. It's about picking up the pen and becoming the author of your life. Therapy can help you do just that. Therapy isn't just for the big traumas. It's for anyone who wants to grow, heal and thrive with BetterHelp. Therapy is convenient and affordable. It's fully online. You can access it anywhere, anytime, BetterHelp connects over 5 million people with a network of 30,000 licensed therapists, specialized, experienced and ready to help. If it's not a right fit, you can switch therapists at any time at no extra cost. Write your story with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com DLB today to get 10 off your first month. That's BetterHelp H E L p.com DLB.

[Billy Gil]

Okay guys, it says here I'm supposed to tell you about the refreshing tropical lime flavor of Mountain Dew Baja Blast. But what does refreshing tropical lime mean exactly? Allow me to describe it in a way that my fellow DraftKings players will understand. Mountain Dew Baja Blast tastes like a buzzer beating three pointer to cover the spread, Nailing a multi leg parlay, setting the perfect daily fantasy lineup. It's like hitting an underdog money line. And I want you to know that feeling too. So make your picks and then grab some tropical lime flavored Mountain Dew Baja Blast for you and your buddy. Available wherever refreshing beverages are sold. Hey, Happy New year friends. It's 2025 and a new year can mean new opportunities for a lot of you out there. I imagine you spent the last couple of weeks sitting and thinking how to make your 2025 special different and set yourself in the right direction. One way that you can do so is actually by following my boss Dan LeBatard's path and starting your own business. You might have a lot of questions. How do I get started? How do I come up with a brand? How do I sell stuff to people? What am I even going to sell? Just take a deep breath. Shopify has got you. Shopify makes it simple to create your brand, open for business and get your first sale. Get your store up running easily with thousands of customizable templates. No coding or design skills required. All you need to do is drag and drop. But I know you're thinking, what happens if I don't act now? Will I regret it? What if someone beats me to the idea? Don't kick yourself when you hear this again in a year because you didn't do anything. Now with Shopify, your first sale is closer than you think. Established in 2025. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com but all lowercase go to shopify.com butard to start selling with Shopify today. Shopify.com batard don lebatard there's sunglasses in boxes today, but in my bed in.

[Dan LeBatard]

Ending our lives, all the same stugats.

[Billy Gil]

It's the final nightgown.

[Stugatz]

This is the Dan Levatar SHOW with the Stugats.

[David Wallace Wells]

Foreign.

[Dan LeBatard]

David Wallace Wells joins us now. This is an awkward transition. You will forgive me for the awkwardness of this transition. It seems at every point we've blessedly gotten away from this over the last couple of months, real life intrudes on whatever nonsense it is we're doing around here to remind you that a whole lot of people are in peril for a whole lot of reasons and subjects that feel a little apocalyptic. So David Wallace Wells is joining us now and he's an opinion writer for the New York Times. He's helped us ruin this show before. He's also the author of a best selling book called the Uninhabitable Earth. And these fires that have swept in with wind over Santa Monica place that I did not know that there could be fires have created such atrocity that firefighters can't get in because cars are being abandoned. And we're seeing some stuff in Americ that it feels like we have not seen before. So, David, thank you for joining us. And can you just take me through this horror when it's going to stop? Like, because it seems to me that when it comes to climate related stuff, all of this is only going to get worse. We don't have an ability to stop some things that are coming that keep and keep getting more kinds of worse.

[David Wallace Wells]

Yeah, I mean, I think we're, we're tempted often to call events like this a new normal. And even that is difficult for us to really wrap our heads around. If this kind of disaster that we're seeing in the Pacific Palisades especially, but across Los Angeles becomes a new normal, that really changes the way that we might think about life in that part of the country. But of course, climate change means higher temperatures down the line, inevitably that will be happening for at least several decades, probably for as much as the rest of the century. And that means that fire risk will be growing too. We don't know exactly how much, but much worse than it is today. And unfortunately, all the things that we might be doing to kind of navigate that new landscape, making better housing policies so that we're not building homes in the path of fire as we have with literally tens of millions of homes in the American west being built directly in high fire risk areas over the last couple of decades. We're also not doing enough to thin our forests and prevent fuel buildup, which means that when fires happen, they can be incredibly destructive. But we are also now in a new fire regime, in part because of the new climate conditions we're living under, whereby it's no longer just the trees or the brush that we need to worry about. Homes themselves have become flammable to an extent that they were not before and can themselves become fuel. So when you think about what is effectively an urban, or maybe you could generously call it semi suburban development like we're seeing in the Pacific Palisades, it's no longer enough to look down a street and say, oh, there's all that pavement, there's all that concrete. There are all these modern homes. Those homes themselves can be what carries the fire from place to place. And that's exactly what we've seen in Los Angeles over the last 12 to 24 hours as this historic wind event swept in winds blowing 100 miles an hour, carrying embers miles farther from where the flames were actually burning. And in those conditions, whenever an ignition starts, it lights out. I mean, it is literally the case that Cal Fire has never been able to stop a fire burning with wind powered by winds like these. So when winds are blowing like this, they can try to protect some structures. They tried to protect the fire department in Palisades last night, but generally speaking, all we can do is wait for the winds to change. And even though almost all of Pacific Palisades has been burned through already, the footage is incredible. Dreary, bleak, gray, mercifully just a couple of deaths, but nevertheless, the neighborhood is devastated. We can expect something like 24 to 36 more hours of this wind event in California continuing, which means we may see other fires in the Los Angeles basin as destructive as this one emerge. And we're probably going to see continued devastation and destruction in the places where fires have already ignited. So it's a. It's a bad. It's a dark day in Los Angeles, and there's a reminder that we are, as you say, kind of careening into a quite terrifying climate future.

[Dan LeBatard]

Explain, please. And I know I ruin the show every time that I do this, but I think people need to be shouting from burning mountaintops about what it is that we're doing to the Earth as we do things like, you know, make polio great again, and we deny that there is no climate crisis. That's the energy secretary and oil industry CEO is saying there is no climate crisis. Can you please explain to me in California the precedent for what we're witnessing? Because there can be a coldness from people listening to this until it's their home burning up and they lose all their stuff, because I don't know if it's hundreds of miles, but many, many miles from where people were expecting fire, there is now fire.

[David Wallace Wells]

Seven of the eight largest wildfires in California history have burned since the year 2000. If you look at the modern history of wildfire, which stretches back more than a century now, really detailed statistics, statistics, we are in an entirely different fire regime than we have ever been in before. The same can be said for Canada, where they had completely off the charts fire season last year. So much fire burning in Canada that you could fit literally half the world's countries inside the burn scar of Canadian fires just from last year. In many parts of the world, not just these fire hotspots, but everywhere in the northern latitudes where we are at risk of fire, we are intensifying that risk risk by heating the planet, which, among other things, dries out fuel, evaporates water from the landscape and turns. Sorry, I said dries out fuel. That's the way the fire people talk. They talk about trees as fuel. And that language shift is the result of climate change. We would not be talking about trees as fuel if those trees were full of water and full of life. Instead, long droughts and even, you know, a crazy waterfall followed by a brief drought can turn huge portions of the landscape into essentially a pile of tinder. And that is not just true across California. It's true across the American West. It's true across the Canadian forest, it's true across the Russian forests. Increasingly, it's true across the Mediterranean. We're seeing just an entirely new kind and new scale of fire burning much more rapidly, much hotter. So hot that sometimes it can turn the silica in soil in California into glass just by burning through. And as I said earlier, so hot that it turns these homes, which used to be kind of natural fire, break into the equivalent of new fuel. All of that's happening because the planet's getting hotter. It's actually getting hotter at a faster rate now than it has ever gotten in the history of climate change. And in the history of the planet. We are burning more fossil fuel and producing more carbon emissions today in 2024 than we ever have in the history of the world. Which means to the extent that we think we have been hearing about climate change for a few decades, we're starting this green transition. That is true. But as we're continuing to roll out solar and wind and buy EVs and all the rest of it, we are still burning more fossil fuel every year than we have every year in the past. Which means every year so far in my lifetime has been more destructive for the future of the planet's climate than every year before it. And in the US we are now producing more oil and gas than we've ever produced in the history of the country and more than any other country in the world. As recently as 2016, we were exporting no natural gas and it was. And no oil. And now we are the world's number one producer of both of those things. A bigger petro state than all the petro states we name call in the Middle East. And we look around when a fire burns through our homes in California, and unfortunately I've been seeing on social media at least a lot of people trying to point the finger at government, local government, state government. I think this is a bigger problem. I mean, I think there are things that local policymakers can do, as I was saying earlier, changing housing, zoning policy, all the rest of it being more prepared, spending more on preparedness and fuel thinning. Also, on the, on the actual firefighting side of it, unfortunately, 30% of California firefighters fires are actually inmates in California prisons that are paid something like a dollar a day to fight in these fires. So we're not taking seriously enough the threat of them to properly fund professional firefighting operations. But beyond that, we are obviously dealing with a much larger, you know, in some sense, existential threat and challenge, which is not the matter of individual small scale policy choices or the behavioral leadership of this or that governor or mayor. We are living in an entirely new climactic regime which presents new challenges which humans can navig and we will survive. It won't be the end of us. But it represents a totally different risk landscape than anyone who has ever lived on the planet before has faced. Even those of us who lived in California and think we've had fires in the past. There's cultural memory of fires. That is all true. The fires we are facing now, especially in California, are much larger and more destructive than we've ever seen before. And that's especially true when we Talk about, as I was saying earlier, this new regime, it's called the return of the urban firestorm. We really used to think. We didn't think that homes only burned in like the 19th century in Chicago or in the 17th century in London. We didn't think that modern homes were susceptible to this kind of destruction. And the new climate conditions, in addition to the new zoning policy that has pushed so many of these homes into the wildland urban interface, into the path of fire, we are now living in a new era in which we can no longer take comfort in homes as firebreaks and have to treat them as, as potentially flammable fuel as well.

[Dan LeBatard]

I want to congratulate this man for being the most long winded guest in the history of the show not named Bill Walton. His information is extraordinary and exceptional and I understand why he's manic. He's here to tell you that the world is ending and he's got a lot of facts on the situation and nobody's listening. So it's a little alarming. But because he has hijacked the program with all of his good information, I'm going to put him in the picture. In picture. I'm going to do a little bit of a palate cleanser here and I'm going to bring in Amin to do a bit of a victory lap. A sponsored segment from another room where I get Amin el Hassan to do a victory lap because I've got to punish David Wallace Wells for ruining the show with his fire talk because there's no disputing most long winded guests in the history of our show. No, it's just Bill Walton, Bill Walton's number one. And now it's David Wallace Wells is number two.

[David Wallace Wells]

Yeah, but you're proud to be number two to 10.

[Chris Cote]

I mean, yeah, you're punishing a guy, though. You asked him to. Come on.

[Dan LeBatard]

I did. That is correct. I need to punish him right now, though. I'm going to. And I understand. I just told you, I understand why he's crazy because he's like telling everybody, hey, these fires, they seem bad. Like, listen to me and nobody's listening. And so like, of course. But I mean, what doing a victory lap on.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, Dan, first and foremost, I want to let everybody know that I am using my Peloton app right here and I'm going to be doing a morning meditation. You know what?

[Dan LeBatard]

That's, that's not the spirit of.

[Chris Cote]

How about you use the Peloton?

[Mike Ryan]

Because here it's Ms. Sh. It's a DT shot. Absolutely.

[Stugatz]

10 minutes doing this morning in my car. Not safe.

[Mike Ryan]

Dan, the important thing to realize here, for everybody who's curious about peloton, it's not just cycling and jumping up and down.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is the laziest thing I've ever seen.

[Mike Ryan]

Also other things like meditation. So I'm going to start the meditation and I'm going to meditate.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is not the point of the victory lap. The victory lap is for you to be winded and for us to get the payoff of your winded. It's not for you to do a meditation during the world is on fire.

[Mike Ryan]

Dan, you cannot shake me outside of my energy zone. I'm meditating right now, thinking about Will Manso and the apology he owed me.

[Dan LeBatard]

You're supposed to be.

[Chris Cote]

It appears you punished all of us.

[Dan LeBatard]

You're supposed to be winded. The other guy's long winded. I'm going to let both of you go now because you're not doing the show. I want to do do. Thank you for being on with us. I appreciate both of you. David Wallace, Wells, any last words? And I mean that literally.

[David Wallace Wells]

Don't look away from the damage. See it. See it clearly and try to take action.

[Dan LeBatard]

Thank you, David. I appreciate it.

[Chris Cote]

How do you feel about Dan's treatment of you? David, just. Just be honest for a second.

[David Wallace Wells]

I'm proud to be ranked number two behind Bill Walton on any ranking. I mean, what can I say, David?

[Dan LeBatard]

Your information is great. It's just I'm. I'm perpetually wrestling with how much people don't want it, even though it's burning right in their face like I can't even imagine. Stuart, wanted to ask you whether we have any hope. I don't know how it is you don't feel hopeless as someone who has more information on this than any of us have and know that people aren't paying enough attention to this.

[David Wallace Wells]

Well, when I see that only two people died in these fires, I mean, it's horrifying and tragic that those are two deaths, but we've seen fires like this over the last few years that killed dozens. And so I think we are learning something about how to evacuate seriously, to take the threat at the local level, level. We're not doing enough to prevent the fires from happening in the first place, but maybe we are adjusting to that new reality in a way that will allow us, tragic as it is, horrifying as it is, to see this as a manageable future full of fire threat, but also a lot of human resilience.

[Dan LeBatard]

David, thank you. Put him in picture. In picture again here for us and just make him sit there and be punished and watch Amin end the segment the way that this segment needs to end, which is the world's laziest victory lap. Amin, go ahead and finish the segment with all of your good work, please.

[Mike Ryan]

Dan, first of all, thank you, David. That was very informative. We need more people like you speaking truth to power and not being harassed and berated by Dan Lebatard. Speaking of harassing. Berated by Dan Lebatard. Hi, my name's Amin. We haven't met yet. Deep breaths. Because meditation in the morning is so important, especially when you're focused. Focused on demanding an apology from Will Mansell. Two years ago, Will Manso was offended when I said the Boston Celtics were a way more talented team, that the Heat had to overachieve and be perfect at every part of the execution in order to win, which was at the time, for me, a compliment to the Miami Heat and being able to execute. But somehow Will Mansell took offense and he berated me like Dan Levittar does. Does because he said, if they're so talented, why didn't they win? And I said, sometimes it's not just about talent to win.

[Dan LeBatard]

He's fallen asleep. David has fallen asleep meditating. And the mantra, the mantra is like, shitty. And I feel, I feel, I, I, I feel like the, the mantra, it feels to me is a little offensive. Like, it feels to me like you're not respecting the mantra.

[Mike Ryan]

I want the knife, please.

[Chris Cote]

Fine.

[Dan LeBatard]

Did you just make a golden child reference?

[Mike Ryan]

Yes.

[Billy Gil]

Dan, this meditation is brought to you by peloton. Find your push, find your power with peloton.

[Dan LeBatard]

No, it's not a meditation. It's supposed to be a victory lap. The payoff is he's winded while celebrating that he got something right.

[Mike Ryan]

Dan, if it comes to angering you or angering the sponsor, I'd rather anger you.

[Dan LeBatard]

David, thank you for being on with us.

[Chris Cote]

Sorry.

[Dan LeBatard]

You are always welcome here. We need more people like you. Thank you, sir.

[Mike Ryan]

I can catch on.

[Chris Cote]

I don't think David Wallace Wells is happy.

[Dan LeBatard]

I don't know. You guys tell me. Billy shaking his head bothers him more.

[Stugatz]

The fires of this show.

[Dan LeBatard]

I don't think he was bothered. I think he under. No, no, I don't think he was bothered. I think he understands the tension involved with telling people stuff they don't want to hear, but especially doing so long winded in a way that even further interrupts.

[Billy Gil]

It's that part. That part Long winded part. He could not have left the zoom quicker. If that's any kind of stuff from personal experience, I can tell you it doesn't feel good when you tell someone they're long winded.

[Mike Ryan]

To be fair, Dan, you kind of saved it when you called them or you compared him to Bill Walton. I think he really appreciated that. That. I wonder if he knows Bill Walton is no longer with us. Is that a 50 fine for David? I don't know.

[Chris Cote]

Oh, I thought you were talking about Dan.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, no, Dan knows. Dan. Dan, you knew, right?

[Dan LeBatard]

The Venmo bucket fine chart is $1 per mistake. $2 cough and phlegm. $3 pestering. $5 tone, $7 not listening. $10 phone interruption. $50 if you kill someone. Somebody.

[Chris Cote]

David Wallace Wells is a heck of a name, is it not? I mean, it is a great name. Wallace Wells.

[Dan LeBatard]

I feel like that was done better by David Foster Wallace, was it not? Am I wrong about this? I believe. Who's that guy? Okay, I'm glad.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm trying to. Trying to meditate. Stugots, don't break me.

[Amin Elhassan]

The day on the Batard show with Stu Gotts is sponsored by Better Help. Every January feels like a fresh start. 365 blank pages just waiting for your story to be written. In 2025, maybe you're ready for a plot twist, ready to revise the parts of your story holding you back. Life isn't about New Year's resolutions that disappear by February. It's about picking up the pen and becoming the author of your life. Therapy can help you do just that. Therapy isn't just for the big traumas. It's for anyone who wants to grow, heal, and thrive with Better Help. Therapy is convenient and affordable. It's fully online. You can access it anywhere, anytime, Better help connects over 5 million people with a network of 30,000 licensed therapists, specialized, experienced, and ready to help. If it's not a right fit, you can switch therapists at any time at no extra cost. Write your story with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com DLB today to get 10% off your first month. That's Better Help. HP.com DLB.