After the Fires: A Limited Podcast Series

Caltech
  • 4.8 (10)
  • SCIENCE

As the Caltech community grappled with loss and uncertainty after the 2025 Los Angeles fires, researchers jumped into action, collecting data as soon as flames erupted. In this series, find out what they are learning, as they are learning it. Hear from scientists and engineers on Caltech's campus and at JPL who lend their expertise and answer questions from the local community.

Episodes

  1. Debris Flows and the Fire-Flood Cycle

    JUL 18

    Debris Flows and the Fire-Flood Cycle

    In this limited series, find out what Caltech scientists on campus and at JPL are learning, as they’re learning it.   In this episode, hear an interview with Professor Michael Lamb and graduate student Emily Geyman about their work to study the science of post-wildfire debris flows and how the data they’ve collected since the Eaton Fire is providing new insights into this natural hazard.   This episode was produced by the Caltech Office of Communications and External Relations and Caltech Academic Media Technologies.  Learn more at scienceexchange.caltech.edu.   Produced by Alyce Torrice/Caltech Office of Communications and External Relations © California Institute of Technology, 2025

    27 min
  2. Lead in the Environment, an Update

    JUN 9

    Lead in the Environment, an Update

    In this limited series, find out what Caltech scientists on campus and at JPL are learning, as they’re learning it.  In this episode, learn more about lead that was released into the environment during the Eaton fire. Hear from Caltech scientists who are testing the ash and dust outside and in homes, plus a colleague from Chapman University who is testing soil on properties near the fire.  This episode was produced by the Caltech Office of Communications and External Relations and Caltech Academic Media Technologies. Learn more at scienceexchange.caltech.edu.    Referenced in episode:  Watch the full webinar, Conversations After the Fires: Studying Lead in the Environment, on the Caltech Science Exchange. Produced by Alyce Torrice/Caltech Office of Communications and External Relations © California Institute of Technology, 2025

    28 min
  3. Resiliency and Rebuilding

    APR 11

    Resiliency and Rebuilding

    In this limited series, find out what Caltech scientists on campus and at JPL are learning, as they’re learning it.   In this episode, “the Earthquake Lady” Lucy Jones shares how lessons about disaster response and recovery learned from decades as a seismologist apply to the 2025 fires. Hear Jones’s insights into how communities confront events like these and remain resilient.   This episode was produced by the Caltech Office of Strategic Communications and Caltech Academic Media Technologies.  Learn more at scienceexchange.caltech.edu.     Referenced in episode:   View lead data from Caltech professor Francois Tissot’s lab at scienceexchange.caltech.edu/lead.   Fill out the emergency alert survey at https://www.scsn.org.   Clips used:   “L.A.'s rock star seismologist heads off to retirement,” March 30, 2016  CBS Evening News  “Caltech seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones — aka "The Earthquake Lady" — was in the middle of a news conference about Friday's 5.1 temblor,” March 29, 2014  KTLA 5 News  “Dr. Lucy Jones discusses 4.4 quake, biggest to hit LA in 3 years,” August 29, 2018  ABC7   “Volunteer efforts underway for Eaton Fire victims,” January 10, 2025  NBC4LA  “Altadena Church that survived Eaton Fire helping community heal,” February 12, 2025  FOX11 Los Angeles  “Eaton Fire collaborative introduced,” March 19, 2025  KTLA 5 News  Produced by Alyce Torrice/Caltech Office of Communications and External Relations © California Institute of Technology, 2025

    15 min
  4. Data in the Immediate Aftermath

    MAR 21

    Data in the Immediate Aftermath

    In this limited series, find out what Caltech scientists on campus and at JPL are learning, as they’re learning it.  In this episode, you’ll hear about the air and soil data scientists collected and analyzed during and after the fires and how that can help us understand potential health risks.  This episode was produced by the Caltech Office of Strategic Communications and Caltech Academic Media Technologies, in partnership with the Keck Institute for Space Studies, Resnick Sustainability Institute, and the Linde Center for Global Environmental Sciences. Learn more at scienceexchange.caltech.edu.  Resources mentioned:  Caltech Post-fire airborne Hazard Observation Environmental Network for Integrated Xposure-monitoring (PHOENIX) real-time map of Altadena/Pasadena air quality ASCENT Network real-time air quality data AQMD's AQI map (Today's forecast) (Tomorrow's forecast) Fire AirNow Clips used:  “The City That Disappears,” 1957   Stanford Research Institute via Periscope Film  “Air Pollution In LA At Its Worst,” 2014  David Hoffman “Palisades, Eaton Fires grow as crews battle deadly blazes,” January 11, 2025  KTLA5 Los Angeles  “ABC TV reporter battles ‘vicious’ winds amid LA fires,” January 8, 2025  ABC News Produced by Alyce Torrice/Caltech Office of Communications and External Relations © California Institute of Technology, 2025

    18 min
  • 4 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

As the Caltech community grappled with loss and uncertainty after the 2025 Los Angeles fires, researchers jumped into action, collecting data as soon as flames erupted. In this series, find out what they are learning, as they are learning it. Hear from scientists and engineers on Caltech's campus and at JPL who lend their expertise and answer questions from the local community.

Information