Fighting Fire with Facts & Compassion
Sounds Like Impact: A newsletter for audio and action
Welcome to Sounds Like Impact!
This edition we are going to revisit an interview with Adriana Cargill, creator of Sandcastles, about a community impacted by a wildfire. We are also going to revisit a past curation I did at Spotify regarding wildfires.
FYI: Next week there will not be an edition of the newsletter; publishing resumes 1/29.
ICYMI: Last week I spoke about the homelessness—read affordable housing—crisis. I also issued a CTA to guest curate and be interviewed.
🎧 #AudioForAction Theme of the Week
Fighting Fire with Facts and Compassion
I am sure your timelines and news consumption continue to be inundated with images from Southern California, and I’m sure you’ve come across misinformation about who or what is to blame. As with any disaster, it’s heartbreaking, it’s confusing, and it’s maddening.
What home means is something I continue to think about, as alluded to in last week’s newsletter, and nothing makes you think about it more than experiencing loss or being witness to loss. In times like these I try to ground myself in compassion, and part of that process for me is understanding and fostering understanding.
When I was at Spotify, I wanted to show that there is a synergistic relationship with video documentary and podcasts, so I created some podcast curations related to documentaries I watched. Fire in Paradise (Netflix) was one of the films I selected, and you can find a playlist below of the podcast episodes I selected (older now, but still very relevant). Around that time we were also piloting a public Discord channel through podcast editorial, and I invited producers from How to Save a Planet and Every Little Thing to participate in an AMA about wildfires. It was an insightful conversation that I wish I could share with you today.
There is so much to make sense of about how we arrived at the different wildfire disasters we’ve seen over the years—particularly in California—and hopefully the film, and/or the podcasts I’ve shared can help shed light. I also hope you increase awareness of the unique vulnerability that people with disabilities and those who are incarcerated face. There are relevant episodes in the playlist. Also, I was alerted at the end of last year about a podcast called Fire Escape, about an incarcerated female firefighter. I have not listened yet, but you may want to check that out as well.
We are all vulnerable if we don’t work together. Please continue to engage on affordable housing and climate change.
If you have time for one listen this week:
Sandcastles is “a podcast about home, how we create it, and why we fight so hard for it.” It covers the Woolsey Fire, which occurred in Malibu (California), and how members of the community came together to help one another. There are lessons to be learned, and I am so glad that this story was told and framed the way it was.
To read my interview with the show creator, Adriana Cargill, click below:
If you want to check out the Fire in Paradise playlist, you can find it on Spotify, or feel free to look up the episodes below in the podcast player of your choice.
🚨 Calls to Action
Support Mutual Aid
Support Organizations
Los Angeles Food Bank: Providing emergency food assistance to disaster victims
Direct Relief: Supporting California wildfire victims
Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation: Equipping firefighters on the front lines
California Fire Foundation: Providing direct assistance to wildfire victims
Read
*Altadena is where Octavia Butler was laid to rest.
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