Conversation Live: Altadena Rising with James Farr
by KBLA Talk 1580
KBLA TALK 1580’s Conversation Live: Altadena Rising is the show of record, chronicling this tragedy for the nation over the next 52 weeks. Host and journalist James Farr leads the investigation, documenting the community’s fight for accountability and its journey through roots, resilience, recovery, rebuilding, and reunion.
Episodes
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KBLA’s Altadena Rising Town Hall: Understanding the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Fund (Part Two)
Is SoCal Edison’s “Fast Pay” Program Truly Fast and Fair? In Part Two of this conversation, Tavis Smiley, Chief Visionary Officer and flagship host of KBLA Talk 1580, and KBLA host James Farr lead an Altadena Town Hall on Thursday, November 6, 2025, where fire survivors are still left without...
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KBLA’s Altadena Rising Town Hall: Understanding the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Fund (Part One)
s SoCal Edison’s “Fast Pay” Program Truly Fast and Fair? In part one in this town hall conversation, KBLA Talk 1580’s Chief Visionary Officer and flagship host, Tavis Smiley, along with KBLA host James Farr, lead an important discussion in Altadena on Thursday, November 6, 2025, where fire...
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Altadena: Somebody Didn’t Do Their Damn Job
In this episode of 'Conversation Live: Altadena Rising" with James Farr — “Somebody Didn’t Do Their Damn Job.” Nine months since the Eaton Canyon Fire… and now this so-called “After Action Report” lands. Polished up, typed out — but it doesn’t tell us a thing we didn’t already know. Folks in...
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Answering the Call: Altadena Relief and Resources
On this podcast episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising" with James Farr — Freddy Sayegh. Fire survivor. Lost seven properties. Now leading Alta Design Works to help neighbors rebuild. Homes. Hope. Community. Victoria Williams joins next. Founder of the Black Education Expo, connecting...
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The Recovery Will Not Be Televised
On this podcast, "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising" with James Farr, Andre Barnwell joins the conversation. A writer, producer, director, and fire survivor still displaced from his home, Barnwell is shaping a TV drama rooted in Altadena. Youth voices at the center. Local crews behind the…
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Altadena Rising: Congresswoman Judy Chu. Ways. Means. LA Fire Aid Relief or Waste
On this podcast episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising" with James Farr. Congresswoman Judy Chu will face the burning question: Will survivors ever see real relief, or will the system tax, delay, and deny them? She sits on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, shaping aid, safety...
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Altadena Rising — Truth. Resilience. Community. Love. With Dr. Cornel West Jr.
On this podcast episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising" with James Farr—Dr. Cornel West. A Black prophetic voice. Scholar. Truth-teller. Together, we mark Altadena as sacred Black ground. Memory stands a weapon against erasure. Fire scarred it. Displacement tested it. Still, the people...
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Black Family Breaksground, Altadena: The Emersons Story
Coming up on this podcast episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising" with James Farr, seven months. Eleven days. After the Eaton Canyon Fire, Jarvis Emerson broke ground for his Black Altadena family’s home. A home lost to flames. Shovels in hand. Soil that once burned. He begins to rebuild....
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Asset-Rich, Cash-Poor: Generational Wealth Re?Imagined
On the podcast episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising" with James Farr, Dr. Brent Musson joins us to ask the question Black Altadena is still living with thirty-two weeks after the fire: Generational Wealth Re?Imagined. Musson, an Altadena native, housing policy expert, award-winning...
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Brandon Lamar: Charity or Surrogacy? Seven Months After the Fire — The Politics of Disaster Relief
On this episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising" with James Farr, seven months after the Eaton Canyon fire, who’s helping Altadena — and who’s just putting on a show? Pasadena NAACP President Brandon Lamar joins us to break it down. Neighbors are feeding and housing families with dignity,...
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Working on a Building: Mayor Bass Leads L.A.’s Fire Recovery & Building
On this episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising" with James Farr, rebuilding isn’t just brick and mortar. It’s power, politics, and who gets left behind. Mayor Karen Bass breaks down L.A.’s push after the Palisades fire — fast-tracking permits, cutting red tape, and President Trump's...
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School, Smoke, and Survival: Altadena Students Rise with Dr. Lawton Gray
On this episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising" with James Farr, the fire is out, and the smoke is gone. But for students in Altadena, rebuilding and finding new normals are just beginning. Dr. Lawton Gray, principal of John Muir High School and a son of Pasadena and Altadena, joins the...
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Breaking Barriers, Building Community: Fire and Robinson Family Legacy
On the next episode of The “Conversation Live: Altadena Rising” with James Farr, a powerful and personal conversation with Dennis Robinson, great-nephew of Olympian Mack Robinson and Major League Baseball legend Jackie Robinson. We talk legacy, loss, and how his Pasadena-rooted brand, PASADENA...
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Martin Gordon: Still Waiting, Six Months After the Fire
On this episode of “Conversation Live: Altadena Rising,” James Farr — Martin Gordon, Chair of the Pasadena Community Coalition, returns to share where things stand six months after the fire that scorched his home and rattled a community. His story mirrors what many feel: the flames are gone, but…
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Altadena: Where Champions Are Made and Legends Rise
On this podcast of “Conversation Live: Altadena Rising,” James Farr sits down with Laurence Todd, founder of the Pasadena Sports Hall of Fame, to explore the rich athletic legacy of Northwest Dena — where Altadena and Pasadena blur as one community. Known names like Jackie and Mack Robinson are...
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“After the Fire: Turning Survivors and Community Voices Into Action”
How does a community move forward after disaster—and who gets to decide what recovery looks like? In this episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising," host James Farr sits down with Dir. Jeffrey Marino from California’s Office of Data and Innovation. They’ll talk about Engaged California, a...
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Under Siege: Fires, ICE Raids, and the Fight for Altadena
Altadena burned—and the people still want answers. On "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising," host James Farr sits down with L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger this week. Why were evacuation alerts late? Who failed to protect Altadena—and especially its Black community? Across Los Angeles, ICE...
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Could More Have Been Done? Five Months After The Fire
Five months after flames tore through Altadena—leveling homes, rattling lives, and eroding public trust—the burning question remains: could more have been done? In this episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising," host James Farr sits down with retired Fire Captain Addington Stewart, former...
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TROOP: R&B Legends, Music, & the Fire That Changed Everything
On this episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising," James Farr sits down with Rodney Benford and John 'Jon Jon' Harreld of the legendary R&B quintet TROOP—short for 'Total Respect of Other People.' They were just 'Dena' kids with big dreams before the platinum records, sold-out tours…
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Twice Displaced: From Freeways to Fire in Black Altadena
What happens when a community is forced to start over—again? In this episode of “Conversation Live: Altadena Rising,” James Farr sits down with Tina Jackson Williams, Vice Chair of the Pasadena 710 Restorative Justice Committee, for an urgent conversation on how Black families lost their homes…
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Burned but Not Broken: The Fight to Save Altadena’s Small Businesses
On this episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising," host James Farr turns the spotlight on the nearly 1,800 small and home-based businesses impacted by the January wildfires across L.A. County—none harder hit than Altadena. These businesses—cafés, barbershops, childcare centers, and solo...
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Through Smoke and Ash: DL Lyons Fights for His Mother, His Shop, and Altadena’s Soul
On this episode of Conversation Live: Altadena Rising, host James Farr welcomes Darrin “DL” Lyons—celebrity barber, community icon, and entrepreneur with deep roots in Altadena. DL shares the unforgettable night he and his mother braved the Eaton Canyon fire, fighting to save his barbershop from...
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From Ashes to Estimates: The True Cost of Starting Over in Altadena
On this episode of “Conversation Live: Altadena Rising” with James Farr, we explore what it truly means to rebuild in Altadena after the Eaton Canyon fire. Erica Alexis of Bridgeline Construction reveals the unseen struggles—grief, stalled insurance claims, and the pressure to make life-altering...
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Faith Without Works Is Dead: Inside Altadena’s Journey from Devastation to Determination
In the aftermath of the Altadena Eaton Canyon Fire, two beloved voices — Perry Bennett, owner of Perry’s Joint, and Senior Pastor Jonathan DeCuir of Victory Bible Church — share powerful stories of resilience and renewal. In this episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising," host James Farr...
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Burned Twice? DA Hochman and Assessor Prang Answer to Altadena
Altadena burned once—will it be burned again by those in power? In this urgent episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising," host James Farr sits down with L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Assessor Jeffrey Prang to get real answers. As the community recovers from the Eaton…
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Justice for Rodney Nickerson: A Daughter’s Voice
In this gripping episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising," host James Farr confronts the fire’s human toll with a burning question: When corporate negligence takes a life, what does justice really look like for those left behind? Kimiko Nickerson speaks publicly for the first time about…
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Was Southern California Edison grossly negligent, and what about the legislation meant to prevent the fire?
On this week’s episode of "Conversation Live: Altadena Rising," host James Farr digs into the aftermath of the devastating Eaton Canyon fire that ravaged Altadena. With 18 lives lost and thousands displaced, the question remains: Did the utility company fail to take necessary precautions? Farr...
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From Ashes to Healing: Dr. Eshele Williams on Rebuilding After Disaster
How do you rebuild when the fire takes everything? For Dr. Eshele Williams, that question isn’t just theoretical—it’s deeply personal. The Altadena Eaton Canyon Fire didn’t just consume her home; it wiped out her entire family’s residences, leaving generations displaced. Her young son lost the…
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‘Altadena Rising’ – FEMA’s Broken Promises?
On KBLA TALK 1580’s “Conversation Live: Altadena Rising,” host James Farr demands answers. Despite the crisis, FEMA has yet to hold a single in-person town hall, leaving families to navigate endless hotlines and bureaucracy. With the March 31 application deadline looming, time is running out. But...
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Can We Trust FEMA? Can We Trust President Donald Trump?
First, their homes burned. Now, their hope is fading. On January 7, the Eaton Canyon fire tore through Altadena’s historic Black community, destroying 80% of Black-owned homes and leaving families in a desperate fight to rebuild. However, as survivors sift through the ashes, a second crisis…
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The Show of Record Chronicling a Community’s Fight for Justice
What happens when a fire doesn’t just destroy homes—but threatens to erase a community’s history? On January 7, the Eaton Canyon fire tore through Altadena’s historic Black neighborhood, reducing 80% of Black-owned homes to ash and causing financial losses that could climb into the billions. But...
About this show
KBLA TALK 1580’s Conversation Live: Altadena Rising is the show of record, chronicling this tragedy for the nation over the next 52 weeks. Host and journalist James Farr leads the investigation, documenting the community’s fight for accountability and its journey through roots, resilience, recovery, rebuilding, and reunion.
Hosted by
KBLA Talk 1580