After the Ashes: A Beautiful Altadena Podcast
We are Beautiful Altadena, the online community group that launched in 2015 and the Substack by the same name. We started this podcast to ask: Who’s writing the rules of recovery? Who benefits? Who’s being left out? This podcast deep dives into the issues of recovery and rebuilding through the lens of policy.
Each episode, we dissect the policies and bills impacting Altadena, Los Angeles County, and the rest of the country post disaster. We break down what they say, what they really mean, who they affect, and what – and who – they leave out. Every episode closes out with a local small business shout out and most include a media roundup of what's making the headlines and what's not.
Your hosts:
Shawna Dawson Beer / @BeautifulAltadena, Eaton Fire Total Loss Survivor
Stephen Sachs / @AltaPolicyWonk, Eaton Fire Survivor, Current Altadena Resident
We are not advertiser, sponsor or grant funded and have no agenda beyond ensuring our neighbors in Altadena, the Palisades and beyond are as in the know as possible so that we can all be our own best advocates for ourselves and our towns.
Episodes
Season 2/Episode 8: The Water Wars Wage On as the Rebuild Trudges Along
Season 2 / Episode 7: Back to the Policy Future
Season 2 / Episode 6: Everyone’s Suing Everyone & Survivors Turned Investigators
Season 2 / Episode 5: The Billion Dollar Questions
Season 2 / Episode 4: You Can’t Always Get What You Want… But If You Try Real Hard
Season 2 / Episode 3: The One We Forgot to Title
Season 2 / Episode 2: Missed Chances & Bad Bets. Could It Have Been Different?
Season 2 / Episode 1: Weeee’re Baaaack
Episode 24: Read the Room – Philanthropy and More Cracks in Recovery and Accountability
Episode 23: Eight Crazy Nights
Episode 22: On Golf Courses and Lobbyists, Another CRD, and the Real Estate Roller Coaster
Episode 21: Rebuilds, Roadblocks and the Coming Water Fight
Episode 20: TIME Magazine, In Government We (Mis)Trust, and the Call for Unity
Episode 19: Altadena in the Big Picture – Local Failure, National Conversations
Episode 18: Journalists Are Writing the First Draft of History
Episode 17: The Stories They’re Writing—And the Ones We’re Living
Episode 16: The Long Rebuild – Nearing One Year and Facing What Comes Next
Episode 15: From the Ballot to the Burn Zone – Post-Remediation Realities and Post-Election Reflections
Episode 14: The Sound of Neglect – No Policy, No Peace
Episode 13: A Bit Dog Always Squeals – SB 254, SCE’s ‘Final Offer,’ and LA County’s $2M Secret
Episode 12: Lines of Power – A Redistricting Primer
Episode 11: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot – What Just Happened in Sacramento?
Episode 10: Philanthropy & Power — Who’s Rebuilding Altadena, and Why?
Episode 9: Insured & Burned – Who Pays, Who Profits, and What You Should Know
Episode 8: Relief or Ruse? AB238, Property Tax Increases & the Questions Still Unanswered