Rebuilding Los Angeles

Summary

Today, Explained: Rebuilding Los Angeles – Episode Summary

Release Date: February 3, 2025
Hosts: Sean Rameswaram and Noel King

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Introduction

In the episode titled "Rebuilding Los Angeles," Vox's daily news explainer podcast Today, Explained delves into the multifaceted challenges facing Los Angeles in the aftermath of the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires. Hosts Sean Rameswaram and Noel King, alongside expert guests Liam Dillon and Alyssa Walker, explore the intricate processes of recovery, rebuilding, and the looming impact of upcoming mega-events like the Olympics, World Cup, and Super Bowl on the city's restoration efforts.

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The Aftermath of the Fires

The episode opens with a grim depiction of the devastation wrought by the Eaton and Palisades fires, which destroyed approximately 16,000 structures. Alyssa Walker, editor of the "Torched" newsletter, describes the scene as "post apocalyptic" (03:00), highlighting the extensive environmental contamination with pollutants such as lead, asbestos, and heavy metals dispersing miles downwind. The immediate priority, as outlined by Walker, is the clearance of toxic debris, a process projected to take 18 months according to the US Army Corps of Engineers (02:40). This timeline leaves many families in a state of limbo, grappling with the loss of their homes and the uncertainty of when they can begin to rebuild.

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Governmental Response and Challenges

A critical discussion revolves around the role of various government levels in expediting the rebuilding process. Alyssa Walker emphasizes the complexities of federal involvement, particularly under the Trump administration, where aid is often tied to unrelated policy changes (04:25). Meanwhile, state and local leaders, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass, are actively seeking to reduce bureaucratic hurdles by passing regulations that waive certain permitting and environmental rules to accelerate reconstruction (05:14).

Walker notes, "These waivers remove or at least attempt to reduce various permitting and environmental rules, particularly for homeowners who want to rebuild their houses exactly as they were before or slightly larger" (05:28). However, this swift action raises concerns about enforcing stringent fire codes crucial for future safety, potentially increasing rebuilding costs but ensuring more resilient structures.

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Housing and Rent Crisis

The fires have exacerbated Los Angeles's notorious housing affordability issues. Alyssa Walker details a rampant price gouging scenario in the rental market, with rents for one-bedroom apartments soaring from $2,500 to as much as $25,000 per month in areas like Oxnard (07:07). The state has implemented laws limiting rent increases to no more than 10% above pre-disaster rates, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta is actively pursuing criminal charges against violators (07:55). Walker states, "These are crimes. People can go to jail for up to a year and be slapped with a $10,000 criminal fine as well" (08:07), highlighting the severity of enforcement measures.

Residents are leveraging social media and activist groups such as the LA Tenants Union to document and report instances of rent gouging, with over 1,300 potential cases identified in the aftermath (08:35). This grassroots effort underscores the community's resilience and determination to protect vulnerable populations from exploitation during the crisis.

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Comparisons with Past Rebuilding Efforts

The episode contrasts Los Angeles's current rebuilding challenges with previous wildfire responses. Alyssa Walker references the 2018 Malibu fires, where six years later, less than half of the destroyed homes have been rebuilt (10:06). In stark contrast, the 2017 Santa Rosa fires saw an 80% reconstruction rate within three years, attributed to factors such as neighborhood demographics and funding allocation (10:13). This comparison underscores the variability and unpredictability of recovery timelines, heavily influenced by economic and social factors.

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The Impact of Mega-Events on Rebuilding

A significant portion of the discussion centers on how upcoming mega-events—specifically the 2028 Olympics, the 2026 World Cup, and the 2027 Super Bowl—are influencing and pressuring the rebuilding process. Liam Dillon expresses skepticism about Los Angeles's ability to host "the largest peacetime gathering in the history of the world" while simultaneously addressing its infrastructure deficits (11:53). He articulates the city's infrastructural shortcomings, including inadequate sidewalks, bike lanes, parks, street lighting, and homelessness issues, which are critical barriers to accommodating millions of visitors (19:55).

Walker elaborates on the logistical challenges of hosting car-free Olympics amidst ongoing reconstruction, stating, "There's this growing concern that LA is not going to be able to pull it off, particularly in a way that is going to make the city better than it was before" (24:00). The reliance on Metro's $900 million federal funding for rail expansions, initially earmarked for the Olympics, is now strained as resources are redirected to essential rebuilding efforts (22:30).

Sean Rameswaram and Alyssa Walker highlight the tension between advancing mega-event preparations and the immediate needs of residents, questioning whether Los Angeles can balance showcasing its resilience on a global stage while ensuring comprehensive local recovery (25:16).

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Resilience and Future Planning

The guests debate Los Angeles's resilience, with Walker criticizing the city's preparedness for large-scale disasters. She asserts, "We haven't planned in a way, both through our infrastructure or our policy to absorb the great risk and the impacts of something like this" (25:36). Walker advocates for prioritizing local needs and integrating recovery with sustainable urban planning, rather than relying on sporadic events to drive improvements.

The episode concludes with a call for a more inclusive and equitable rebuilding strategy that benefits all Angelenos, rather than succumbing to the pressures of hosting international events that may divert critical resources away from the city's foundational recovery.

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Notable Quotes

• Alyssa Walker (03:00): "Post apocalyptic is really what it looks like. Burnt cars, charred trees... the only thing left standing are remnants of brick chimneys."

• Sean Rameswaram (05:14): "California leads the nation in environmental stewardship. I'm not going to give that up. But one thing I won't give into is delay, red tape, bureaucracy. All of it must go."

• Alyssa Walker (07:55): "These are crimes. People can go to jail for up to a year and be slapped with a $10,000 criminal fine as well."

• Liam Dillon (19:55): "We are in no shape to host millions of people here, let alone care for the people who use our city on a daily basis."

• Alyssa Walker (25:36): "We haven't planned in a way, both through our infrastructure or our policy to absorb the great risk and the impacts of something like this."

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Conclusion

"Rebuilding Los Angeles" offers an in-depth exploration of the city's ongoing struggle to recover from massive wildfires while facing the added pressure of preparing for significant international sporting events. The episode underscores the complexities of disaster recovery, the critical role of government intervention, and the urgent need for sustainable urban planning to ensure Los Angeles can emerge stronger and more resilient. Through expert insights and poignant testimonials, Today, Explained paints a comprehensive picture of a city at a crossroads, striving to balance immediate relief with long-term development.

Transcript

[Sean Ramasoor]

Donald Trump was not at the Grammys last night. Beyonce was. She won country album of the year. Lady Gaga was too. She shouted out trans rights. Alicia Keys was there. She shouted out DEI Chapel. Roan won best new Artist and shouted out healthcare. Shakira showed up and shouted out immigrants. But no one got more shout outs than the firefighters. In Los Angeles, the city that hosted the show, an all star band, opened the Grammys with a cover of I Love LA by Randy Newman. The host, Trevor Noah, was asking for donations all night. When Cowboy Carter won album of the Year, it was Los Angeles firefighters who finally got to hand our queen the prize she's been after for all these years.

[Liam Dillon]

Cowboy Carter.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Los Angeles fires are finally fully contained. We're gonna ask what comes next on TODAY Explained. Support for TODAY Explained comes from Addio. Addio is attio. What do they do? It's an AI native CRM built for the next era of companies. They say its powerful data structure adapts to your business model, syncs in all your contacts in minutes, and enriches everything with actionable data. You can go to addio.com todayexplained and you'll get 15% off your first year. That's a T T I O.com todayexplained Thumbtack presents the ins and outs of caring for your home. Out procrastination, putting it off, kicking the can down the road in plans and guides that make it easy to get home projects done. Out carpet in the bathroom like in knowing what to do, when to do it and who to hire. Start caring for your home with confidence. Download thumbtack today.

[Liam Dillon]

Today Today it rained.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Sean Ramasvoor I'm here with Liam Dillon, who covers housing affordability issues for the Los Angeles Times. With something like 16,000 structures destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires, we asked him what comes next for those looking to rebuild.

[Alyssa Walker]

Well, I think in the first place, when you go up there now and look at these areas now, I mean, post apocalyptic is really what it looks like. Burnout, cars, charred trees. The only thing left standing in many of these homes are like remnants of brick chimneys.

[Liam Dillon]

That was our kitchen.

[Sean Ramasoor]

It's just gone. Everything is just gone.

[Liam Dillon]

This has been our family and everything.

[Alyssa Walker]

Is a total loss.

[Liam Dillon]

This looks like the apocalypse.

[Alyssa Walker]

This is like a toxic waste site. These two areas, I mean in the air you have lead, asbestos. I mean, I saw a photo of someone posted of their bike totally vaporized, right? Doesn't exist anymore. And that, you know, the metals from that go into the air and so you have these heavy metals that have been measured miles downwind from the fires. Ammunition, propane tanks, pesticides, car batteries. Really bad stuff. And so I think this first challenge that you have is clearing out this toxic area.

[Liam Dillon]

The US Army Corps of Engineers recently told residents it could take 18 months just to clear the debris before owners even begin to rebuild that timeline, leaving many families in limbo.

[Sean Ramasoor]

We can't move forward until our properties are cleaned.

[Alyssa Walker]

And that caused a lot of consternation from people who want to try to rebuild their homes, obviously much faster than that.

[Liam Dillon]

How are people going to live in that timeline? How do people's loss of use cover them when they're still paying their mortgages, when they're now paying rents on top of it? Please don't kill our spirit.

[Alyssa Walker]

And we just want to go home.

[Sean Ramasoor]

That's it.

[Liam Dillon]

We just want to rebuild, and we.

[Alyssa Walker]

Want to go home. That estimate's now been revised to a year, but still a really long time just for this sort of first stage of the rebuilding effort.

[Sean Ramasoor]

So you said the Army Corps of Engineers. So does that mean this is going to be a federal effort? Is the federal government funding this effort?

[Alyssa Walker]

Right. So there's a lot of questions and challenges about the role of the federal government, particularly under the Trump administration and congressional leaders as well, tying aid to changes in unrelated California policy.

[Liam Dillon]

I want to see two things in Los Angeles.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Voter id, so that the people have.

[Liam Dillon]

A chance to vote, and I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state. Those are the two things. After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen.

[Alyssa Walker]

But these sorts of strings, you know, may well function as a potential concern for how quickly and how comprehensively some of the rebuilding efforts may go.

[Sean Ramasoor]

What about local government? What about state government? How can they be expediting this process for people right now?

[Alyssa Walker]

So California Governor Gavin Newsom, Louisiana Mayor Karen Bass, the County Board of Supervisors, all of these groups and individuals have passed rules trying to cut regulations that would block or slow down rebuilding.

[Sean Ramasoor]

California leads the nation in environmental stewardship. I'm not going to give that up. But one thing I won't give into is delay, red tape, bureaucracy. All of it must go.

[Alyssa Walker]

And, you know, these rules are these waivers, you know, get rid of or at least attempt to, various permitting and environmental rules, particularly for homeowners who would like to kind of rebuild their house exactly as it was before, before, or slightly larger. Another question when it comes to the rebuilding effort is, you know, many of these homes built A half century ago or a century ago. Today's fire codes in California, some of the strictest fire codes in the country for new builds. In some cases that may make rebuilding more expensive, but that could make these houses much safer to live in. And I think it's still unclear exactly under what kind of fire code or fire regime or building code that people are going to either want or need to rebuild their houses to. And of course that affects the cost of it and whether in some cases they'll actually rebuild.

[Sean Ramasoor]

And we're mostly talking here about people who own their property, who own their homes. But of course there's a lot of concern for renters. We know Los Angeles has notoriously, some would say criminally high rent.

[Alyssa Walker]

Right.

[Sean Ramasoor]

I can't imagine the fires are helping.

[Alyssa Walker]

No, and that's just one of the issues. I think what you're finding in the immediate aftermath of these fires is kind of insane bidding wars. I mean, 30 families we've reported looking through one rental home over a 10 minute period. Right.

[Sean Ramasoor]

What?

[Alyssa Walker]

Also very widespread reports of price gouging.

[Liam Dillon]

I've been quoted maybe 5,000. Some of my friends have talked to.

[Sean Ramasoor]

People and they said 6,000 plus.

[Liam Dillon]

And then one girl told me somebody was charging 8,000amonth.

[Alyssa Walker]

And these are for tiny one bedroom apartments.

[Liam Dillon]

One bedroom apartments, yes.

[Sean Ramasoor]

The gouging is out of control already.

[Liam Dillon]

I'm seeing things double. I'm seeing rentals in Oxnard for $25,000 a month.

[Sean Ramasoor]

And you mentioned that there's attention on permits and, you know, clearing out toxic materials. But is any government, state, local, federal paying attention to the renting crisis?

[Alyssa Walker]

So there is a California state law that says you cannot raise advertised rents more than 10% above what they were before. Natural disaster certainly includes these fires. And so the state attorney general, Rob Bonta, has tried to sort of marshal an effort to deal with this.

[Liam Dillon]

We have multiple criminal investigations right now.

[Alyssa Walker]

That are moving towards prosecution, arrests, holding people accountable. These are crimes. People can go to jail for up.

[Liam Dillon]

To a year and be slapped with.

[Alyssa Walker]

A $10,000 criminal fine as well. He's encouraged people to report examples, sent warning letters to more than 650 landlords and hotel operators around Southern California. And he's even at this point criminally charged two people, real estate agents, for violating, allegedly violating these price gouging laws and sort hopes these efforts will have at least a deterrent effect on what's been going on in the market. And you could see videos on social media that people were posting in the days after the fire.

[Liam Dillon]

What's up, guys, it's Christina, your price gouging landlord's worst nightmare here to report another property whose rent was raised since the fire started. I scrolled down to the bottom to look at the rental history, and, oh, look, this listing was increased by $2,500 a month on the second day of the devastating fires. That is a price gouge. They are obviously trying to take advantage of people who have lost their homes and need a place to stay. This is my spreadsheet that I'm keeping.

[Alyssa Walker]

People videoing themselves going on Zillow, finding an example of a listing that increased its rent by more than 10%, telling people how to report them. And there was even one group of activists led by the LA Tenants Union, which has crowdsourced a list that came up with more than 1300 possible examples of rent gouging again. And there's just sort of few weeks since this fire.

[Sean Ramasoor]

This isn't the first time Los Angeles has seen one of these destructive wildfires. I think a lot of people will remember a couple of fires in Malibu at least.

[Alyssa Walker]

Yeah.

[Sean Ramasoor]

What do those fires tell us about how rebuilding might go? I mean, are we going to get 100% back to where we were? 50%, 125%.

[Alyssa Walker]

So I think it's really variable in these wildfire responses in California, even within California, but also around the country. I mean, you look at the recent fire in Maui, and there have been reports that have come out that only after 18 months, only three homes have been rebuilt.

[Liam Dillon]

It's sad.

[Alyssa Walker]

It's disappointing, because so much time has gone by.

[Liam Dillon]

Yeah.

[Alyssa Walker]

A year and a half later, town.

[Liam Dillon]

Of Lahaina has not moved forward in terms of a percentage. What is.

[Alyssa Walker]

Are any of the businesses up and running?

[Liam Dillon]

0.

[Alyssa Walker]

Businesses.

[Sean Ramasoor]

0.

[Liam Dillon]

0.

[Alyssa Walker]

A closer example you referenced in Malibu, there was a fire in 2018 that destroyed roughly 400 homes in Malibu and more in the surrounding area. But less than half of them in Malibu have been rebuilt. And we're six years on. But you also have some stories of things getting done faster. There was a big fire in Northern California wine country, a city called Santa Rosa, in 2017. Three thousand homes burned, and then 80% was rebuilt within three years. And so it can be really circumstantial in terms of what happens where and why. You know, in Santa Rosa, for instance, the neighborhood that came back the quickest was in Flatland and more middle class, and so easier and cheaper rebuilds than what happened in the richer neighborhoods actually in Santa Rosa.

[Sean Ramasoor]

And I know the focus right now is just on helping People who have lost everything to something, to something in between. How much discussion is being had about what the city's getting ready for in the next few years? A World cup on Olympics.

[Alyssa Walker]

So I think a lot, I mean, the president has brought that up.

[Liam Dillon]

I just met with the Olympic people and they're all set to do a real job.

[Alyssa Walker]

The governor has certainly talked about that.

[Liam Dillon]

That only reinforces the imperative, moving quickly, doing in the spirit of collaboration, cooperation.

[Alyssa Walker]

He enlisted the head of the LA 2028 effort as one of the key fundraisers for raising money, private dollars, to help rebuild Los Angeles. I mean, the Olympics in LA will.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Be the largest peacetime gathering in the history of the world. What an opportunity to bring the world.

[Liam Dillon]

To a revitalized and a new Los Angeles.

[Alyssa Walker]

And so these events, not just the Olympics in 2028, but we have World cup events in LA in 2026. Super bowl is coming to LA again. And so these mega events are at the least kind of putting timelines on things that, absent them, may not exist for rebuilding efforts. And so at a base level, people are saying LA is going to be showcased not just nationally, but worldwide in many events over the coming years. And you know, you want every building effort that shows that resiliency and that recovery to show the world that you can do it. And I think that is certainly a challenge given the timeline here that folks are looking at and facing.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Liam Dillon, latimes.com In a minute on Today explained. We're going to try and figure out if Los Angeles can rebuild and get ready for what some are calling the largest peacetime gathering in the history of the world. If they can do those two things at the same time.

[Alyssa Walker]

Foreign.

[Liam Dillon]

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[Alyssa Walker]

Just to play or are you playing to win?

[Liam Dillon]

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[Alyssa Walker]

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[Liam Dillon]

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[Alyssa Walker]

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[Sean Ramasoor]

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[Alyssa Walker]

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[Liam Dillon]

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[Alyssa Walker]

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[Liam Dillon]

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[Alyssa Walker]

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[Liam Dillon]

Okay guys.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Support for Today Explained comes from Deleteme. People go to extraordinary lengths to feel safe. They set up security systems, they get a mean dog, but then they jump on the Internet without a care in the world. Many people don't realize their online data is a commodity and it's being collected and sold to the highest bidder by data brokers. And when it's compromised, it can lead to identity theft. Our colleague Claire White has used Delete Me to remedy this situation and here's what she had to say.

[Liam Dillon]

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[Sean Ramasoor]

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[Liam Dillon]

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[Sean Ramasoor]

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[Alyssa Walker]

Today.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Explained.

[Liam Dillon]

My name is Alyssa Walker. I'm the editor of Torched, which is a newsletter that tracks the legacy, improvements and policy decisions leading up to LA's mega event era.

[Sean Ramasoor]

And how awkward has the name of your newsletter become in the past?

[Liam Dillon]

I wouldn't say awkward. I would say prescient. And not what I was thinking when I named it that. But you know what? We also kind of knew this might have been a possibility.

[Sean Ramasoor]

So there's a lot of focus on the Olympics right now, and it doesn't feel insensitive to talk about something that's years away, because people are talking about it. Gavin Newsom is talking about it. President Trump is talking about it. And it's not even the first mega event that's coming to Los Angeles in the coming years. Can you tell us about what's on the slate for the city?

[Liam Dillon]

Yes. Next year, LA is hosting World cup matches along with other cities across the continent.

[Sean Ramasoor]

And we are joined by the world's most famous soccer mom and her eldest son, Saint Kim Kardashian. Saint, welcome.

[Liam Dillon]

Got some big news for us. Yes, we are honored to be here to tell you that the US will be playing its first World Cup 26 game here in Los Angeles. That will be 40 days of fan festivals and watch parties all over the region. And then we have the Super bowl in 2027. Big announcement today. The big game is coming back here in 2027. It's so exciting. Yeah, a Super bowl is coming up. And then we have the Olympics and Paralympics for a month in 2028, which is supposed to be seven Super Bowls a day.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Seven Super Bowls a day.

[Liam Dillon]

Seven super bowls a day. We are basically bringing millions more people to a city that is having a real crisis when it comes to our infrastructure. Already. I can't really communicate how severe the situation was before the fires happened. We were plummeting into a deep FIS crisis here at the city of la. The city does not have money to plan and implement basic fixes to sidewalks, bike lanes, parks, street lights. There's a lot of trash everywhere. We don't have enough shade trees. You've seen our famous graffiti towers. We are in no shape to host millions of people here, let alone care for the people who use our city on a daily basis.

[Alyssa Walker]

If there is, God forbid, another fire and LA faces even more rebuilding. You're talking about resources for any big sporting event. They need extra police, they need traffic control, they need garbage collection. All of Those things.

[Liam Dillon]

We need our city to be so much cleaner. We obviously need to deal with homelessness. I would love to see the graffiti changed into murals.

[Sean Ramasoor]

We're about to host the Olympics in 2028. Oy vavoy. I don't know how this happened.

[Liam Dillon]

There was this great quote from John Mulaney who did this live variety show about LA last year. And he really explained, I think, how everybody in LA feels about the Olympics coming.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Making LA host the Olympics. That would be like if you had a friend and she was having a nervous breakdown and she had no money and part of her house was on fire. And to cheer her up, you made her host the Olympics.

[Liam Dillon]

So there's two things that are important to know about our mega event era here in la. One is you've probably heard this promise that it's a no Build Games.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Among the many ways the city hopes.

[Liam Dillon]

To distinguish themselves is by building.

[Sean Ramasoor]

No Build new venues for the biggest.

[Alyssa Walker]

Sporting event on the planet.

[Liam Dillon]

Zero. We don't need to build a major, major stadium. We have all of the stadiums built.

[Sean Ramasoor]

What we do need to build is housing so our people are not on the street.

[Liam Dillon]

The other part of it is not really happening and that is these little infrastructural connections, including the transportation infrastructure which we are scrambling to build out. Because as you might have also heard, we're supposed to be a car free Games.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Part of having a no car Olympics means getting people not to drive, but also using public transportation to get to.

[Liam Dillon]

The Games, which is mostly a logistical way of explaining that we can't let people drive and park at all these venues as they move around to participate in the seven Super Bowls a day.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Right. So people who have never been to Los Angeles may still have heard that commuting in the city is not easy, maybe historically hard. What was Los Angeles doing to prepare for seven Super Bowls a day? And how has that maybe been thrown in flux in recent weeks?

[Liam Dillon]

So we have Metro, which is our regional transportation authority. They put forth a plan called 28 by 28 years ago, right after we got the bid. And they had a list of big transportation projects like subway extensions that were going to be completed before the Games happened.

[Sean Ramasoor]

This nearly $900 million in federal funding.

[Liam Dillon]

That is coming to the region to.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Expand Metro's rail system ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be vital for our success.

[Liam Dillon]

Some of those are finished. Not all of them are finished. Some of them will definitely get finished. But what we've seen from Metro in particular is kind of a Reprioritization based on reality. And the concern, I think now post fires is that where the recovery money is getting spread around is, are a lot of those infrastructure dollars going to have to go to places like say the Palisades to rebuild their many, many infrastructural challenges that they now have.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Okay, so what I'm hearing is it was gonna take a boatload of money to get Los Angeles ready for the Olympics and now a boatload of money is needed to rebuild and to restore the city after these fires. Are there a lot of Angelenos right now saying, hey, let's prioritize one over the other and if so, which one is it?

[Liam Dillon]

There's definitely always been a big contingency of people who have said LA should not do this. The Nolympics. Nolympics is a global coalition, right? They're in many cities trying to show the harms of these mega events, which are documented. It's a real thing. The Nolympics groups kicked the bid out of Boston and that's how LA got the Games in the first place. So you can thank them for saying that their city shouldn't do it. And then LA was like, sure, we'll do it, no problem. But what I'm hearing now is a little bit different. There was some polling done over the summer that was like asking people, are you excited about the Olympics? And it was like a majority was excited. But then the second question was, do you think LA can produce a car free Olympics? And the answer was pretty much no. So there's this growing, I would say, concern that LA is not going to be able to pull it off, particularly in a way that is going to make the city better than it was before. We were promised these permanent improvements to the city and that people everywhere would benefit from having these games here. The LA 2028 Olympics is a once in a generation opportunity for the Games to have a positive impact on our local communities, our local economy, and celebrate our unique cultural tapestry on the world stage. And you know, even some council members are expressing that they have doubts.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Could LA say, you know what, we really want to do this, but we just had this huge setback. What if we did it a year later? Or do you think it would sooner go somewhere else? I mean, who knows?

[Liam Dillon]

Well, that's funny because, you know, immediately the right wing pundits started to post on X that we should have the Games taken away from us.

[Sean Ramasoor]

This is biblical level destruction. And the city of LA is hosting.

[Alyssa Walker]

The Olympics in four years.

[Liam Dillon]

There's no way we can showcase LA to the world.

[Sean Ramasoor]

A full federal takeover is needed. Invoke the Stafford act, the state's overwhelmed.

[Liam Dillon]

Martial law might have to be declared. That was really, I think, what prompted perhaps Newsom and other people here in LA to start to frame a recovery around the Olympics. But what's interesting is some sports are already moving out of the city of LA and the region of la. We have some sports going to Oklahoma City. That was already the plan before, even before the fires. So will they be taken away from us? I don't think so. But they always do have a plan to disperse events as needed, find backup venues. I mean, there's always a plan. The word that I hear a lot, and it's, you know, as someone who writes about mega events but also writes about climate disasters and writes about emergency preparedness, is that these claims that LA is a resilient city and they'll point to things like previous earthquakes or uprisings or the pandemic as evidence. And I don't think LA is a resilient city. We haven't planned in a way, both through our infrastructure or our policy to absorb the great risk and the impacts of something like this. And the recovery so far has been let's put everything back the way it was before and hope that nothing like this happens again. And it will. We are facing so many issues. We can have some fun mega events, we can have some parties, we can bring some tourists here, let them have a good time. But. But let's prioritize helping the people who live here already who are going to be experiencing the trickle down effects of this, even if they were not directly impacted for a generation. And let's figure out how to make a city that works for everybody.

[Sean Ramasoor]

Alyssa Walker Reader at Torch LA Abhishai Artsy made our show today from la. He was edited by Amna Al Saadi Fact checked by Laura Bullard and mixed by Andrea Christensdotter not from la. It's today explained.