“The scale of this disaster is so overwhelming. It goes beyond a house or building. Being lost is not in the material things. There’s no insurance policy that you can buy for your culture; there’s no insurance policy for that feeling of knowing your neighbors. The survivors of Hurricane Katrina really spoke to that experience. What was wiped out wasn’t just your house— it was a whole world with history and tradition and family.”
-Emily Witt, episode 400 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
Writer Emily Witt (“Health and Safety: A Breakdown”) has spent the past two weeks on the ground covering the Los Angeles wildfires for The New Yorker.
Her latest story centers around the Benns (5:39), a multigenerational Black family with deep ties to Altadena (8:35), where they’ve raised children in homes they’ve owned dating back to the late 1950s (16:13). We discuss how they’re managing as the Eaton fire continues to rage (17:00), the value of community in crisis (18:40), and the measures the city was urged to take to mitigate this disaster (23:28).
On the back half, Witt reflects on her 2023 interview with Mayor Karen Bass (32:40), the prophetic work of Altadena author Octavia Butler (39:28), how on-the-ground reporting offers a chance to “write a first draft of history” (46:30), and where Los Angeles goes from here (56:10).
Special thanks to Weyes Blood.
Show-notes:
- Read Emily Witt’s latest pieces on the LA wildfires in The New Yorker.
- To help support the Benn family, visit their GoFundMe or text “talk” to 858-358-5881.
- Follow live updates on the LA fires.
- Find volunteer opportunities in Los Angeles.
- Read Emily’s new book Health and Safety.
- Follow Emily on Twitter and learn more on her website.
Illustration by Krishna Shenoi.
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