We open this episode with some unexpected news. After the Ashes was named a Spotify 2025 Most Binged Show, a 2025 Marathon Show (listeners stuck with us 75% longer than the average podcast), and a 2025 Instant Hit, with a debut season more popular than 80% of other new podcasts.

Whoever you are listening out there — thank you. Truly. We're doing this for you.

From there, we dig into what may be a pivotal moment in the fight for accountability and recovery in Altadena. And yes, this is also the episode where Steve gets his groove back.

This episode explores:

• Assemblyman John Harabedian’s audit of the Eaton Fire response — what it is, what it isnt', and why the other "official" investigations have fallen short
• Whether an audit with subpoena power could finally deliver what fire survivors and advocates have been calling for
• The importance of hearings and what it would mean if this committee exercises its authority to compel testimony
• Early discussion of financial tools and recovery mechanisms that may be coming online
• LA County’s emergency rent relief program for landlords and how (or if) it helps stabilize displaced communities
• The possibility of a revolving loan fund and other capital-based recovery strategies
• A brand-new legislative session. Will it bring new solutions?
• We revisit our conversations around tax reform, including Prop 13, and how structural tax policy could shape recovery, rebuilding, and local government capacity
• Finally, we explore the bigger-picture questions ahead — Opportunity Zones, recovery incentives, and whether policy will finally meet the scale of the problem

It's worth noting that the day after we recorded this episode, the Trump administration announced it was looking into ways to address this issue, underscoring how suddenly these long-stalled conversations may be re-entering the national policy arena.

The throughline. You don’t always get what you want but sustained pressure and persistence can move the needle.

Small Business Shout-Out: Bevel Coffee

This episode’s small business shout-out goes to Bevel Coffee, which is making steady progress on its first brick-and-mortar location on Allen, just up from Altadena Beverage. Until then, you can find Bevel on the patio at Prime Pizza
and at pop-ups and events all over town. They’ve become a familiar and welcome presence in Altadena’s recovery and we’re cheering them on every step of the way. Follow their journey on Instagram @bevecoffee

One year after the Eaton Fire, the dust still hasn’t settled — literally or figuratively.

In this more emotionally raw episode of After the Ashes, co-hosts Shawna Dawson Beer and Stephen Sachs look back at the first 90 days after the fire. What was happening on the ground, what we understood then, how many solutions were proposed, and how many of today’s cascading failures were locked in during those earliest weeks.

We also name something that isn’t being talked about nearly enough: Year Two is a financial siege on fire survivors. Shawna has said repeatedly that Altadena residents are being “smoked out” — priced out, delayed out, and exhausted out of returning home. Steve adds we are being “starved out,” as the financial granaries that kept families afloat are depleted while rebuilding remains stalled for too many.

This is our 27th episode and we cover:

• Where we each were during the first three months after the fire
• Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement of a new wildfire recovery fund and potential mortgage relief
• What's up with FEMA’s limited lead soil testing program, with results not expected until April
• The expanding environmental crisis across Altadena revealing itself
• The complete absence of county oversight, post-remediation testing, or enforceable standards
• And the “cowboy” cleanup economy, where contaminated soil and debris are being hauled from site to site across our community with little to no monitoring

With responsibility now clearly established, this episode marks our continued shift away from blame and toward solutions — the ones we’ve been advocating for since day one and the new ones we're going to need as Altadena enters its second year after the fire — and how we can continue to be our own best advocates. Steve also shares how the emotional weight of this year has finally caught up to him, prompting a rare pause from his usually relentless daily writing on AltaPolicyWonk.

This isn’t a light listen but it’s an important one. The section on how toxic soil is being moved around Altadena unchecked is worth the time all on its own.

Small Business Shout-Out: Sidecca

We close every episode by uplifting a local business, and this week it’s Sidecca, the beloved clothing and gift shop at Mariposa Junction (Mariposa & Lake). They had just celebrated their reopening when they were hit again by water damage after the recent rains. If you love Altadena style, thoughtful gifts, and community rooted businesses, Sidecca is another one to support. Follow them on Instagram @sidecca. Donate via their GoFundMe if you can. And don’t miss the beautiful new mural currently going up at their storefront

This is our second episode of the new year, and the second of two back-to-back recordings made during the one-year anniversary week of the Eaton Fire. We begin shifting back into deeper policy conversations, asking one of the most important questions of all: did it have to go this way and does it still have to?

Steve takes us through a deeper dive into the financing options for the $20 billion rebuild of Altadena and other fire-impacted communities. Options that existed then and still exist now. We revisit the “Marshall Plan” Governor Newsom called for in January 2025 and ask why so little of that bold rhetoric translated into meaningful recovery on the ground.

We also dig into two major reports that dropped during the anniversary week. The House Judiciary Committee report on where the $100 million in FireAid concert funds actually went, and the Milken Institute report on the roughly $1 billion in philanthropic dollars distributed in the name of fire survivors. The findings are sobering but not suprising. Very little of that money ever made it into the hands of people who lost their homes and lives in the fires.

We also discuss Governor Newsom’s announcement this week of $107 million in grants for affordable housing for fire survivors. Despite the headlines, none of that funding was awarded to projects in Altadena, raising serious questions about how recovery dollars are being distributed.

This week’s coverage also included a major spotlight for this podcast itself. We were featured on KCRW’s Press Play with Madeleine Brand, discussing the anniversary and the ongoing fight for accountability and resources for fire survivors.

Small Business Shout Out

Rather than a traditional small business shout-out this week, Shawna takes a moment to highlight the brands — from small businesses to major corporations — that have truly shown up for fire survivors and earned real brand loyalty in the process. A full list will be published soon on Substack, so keep an eye out for that.

And a quick production note: Episodes 25 and 26 were recorded on January 8 and would have landed a little sooner, but Shawna decided to get wild and sprained a wrist this week. A reminder that even when you’re chasing accountability and rebuilding a community, life still finds a way to slow you down!

Thanks for being here as we keep asking the hard questions and keep pushing for better answers.