In this Hot Takes special mini-episode, we take a look at the concerning weather events of 2025, and how they led to the heartbreaking destruction within the Los Angeles community due to the wildfires that ignited in early January. Walking through the history of Los Angeles weather events and how we have seen the loss of our seasons in recent years, we try to better understand the causes and effects behind these destructive fires, and how we as a community can not only rebuild, but learn to prevent them in the future. Narrated through an educational lens, the Hot Takes podcast hopes to bring awareness to the catalysts and lasting effects of wildfires and Southern California’s “winter warmerland.”

Co-Hosts and Writers: Tiana Hoang, Natalie Gurzeler, and Isaac Lee

Additional writing support from Yasmine Qushair

Check out shownotes here: https://tinyurl.com/hottakes7

This episode, join us as we learn more about heat through a sensorial and historical lens from our guest Dr. Kara Schlichting. Through her research, Dr. Schlichting delves into the individual’s experience with temperature through a holistic standpoint, particularly with how heat manifests in metropolitan areas. Highlighting her work with Melting Metropolis, a project which examines temperatures in the urban climates of New York, London, and Paris, Dr. Schlichting offers insight into the history of heat, as well as a hopeful perspective on warmer weather. Remember to stay cool, eat some ice cream, and stay tuned for our next episode. Recorded on Zoom, April 2024.

Check out shownotes here: https://tinyurl.com/hottakes6 

There is a critical need for more in-depth environmental curricula to prepare students for the climate-impacted world they'll soon inherit. The UCLA Heat Lab's education team creates digestible lesson plans about thermal inequality for students ranging from 4th graders to high schoolers. From mapping schoolyard shade to brainstorming cool inventions, join us for a behind-the-scenes look on the trials and triumphs of inspiring the next generation of climate leaders.

Check out shownotes at: https://tinyurl.com/hottakes5

Although many of us are familiar with mass incarceration and environmental injustice as separate issues, we often don’t put the two together. Through his Carceral Ecologies lab, Dr. Nicholas Shapiro does just that - examining unjust environmental conditions in the prison industrial complex. Join us, Dr. Shapiro, and special guest Kate McInerny we discuss the lab’s community driven research and delve into abolitionism.

Check out shownotes at: http://tinyurl.com/hottakes4

Many of us love food trucks, but the food we enjoy often conceal a hidden reality—the workers enduring extreme heat. This is thermal inequality, the idea that some people bear the heat so others don't have to. Join us in an episode with Sofia Sabra and Olivia Toledo as we unravel the often-overlooked challenges faced by food truck workers and brainstorm potential solutions.

Check out shownotes here: https://tinyurl.com/hottakes3

If you live in Los Angeles, or another super-hot city, you know how important shade is. Whether it’s a dog-owner trying to hop from one patch of shade to another to prevent burned paws, or an exhausted commuter hoping to grab a seat under a shaded bus shelter on the way home from work, everyone needs shade. In this episode with journalist Sam Bloch, we learn that not everyone has access to shade – and that this is often by design. 

Check out shownotes here: tinyurl.com/hottakes2

Heat continues to increase in frequency, duration, and intensity. Yet it remains an overlooked (and under researched) part of our lives. Dr. Bharat Venkat is the founder and director of the UCLA Heat Lab, an interdisciplinary effort to study the experience of thermal inequality. His upcoming book project involves engaging with nearly 200 years of heat research to tell a synthetic story of what heat is today and how we've come to understand it. He joins us to discuss the work of the Heat Lab, different methods of studying heat, and why we’re studying the phenomena in the first place.

Check out shownotes here: tinyurl.com/hottakes1