Release date: 6 March 2025.

Here is the show on YouTube!

Edition 107 continues our exploration of ecofeminist theory and practice with an emphasis on ecofeminist practice and actions we can take to put women in places of power. We must (re)generate the healing changes we need in society to work together to overcome greed and land grabs, and work for a future of sane decision making in the direction of catastrophe prevention, including in the rebuilding of LA.

After Mary O’Neill delivers WLRN’s World News, enjoy a clip of the song Fire with Fire by AlicebanD before the interviews.

Hear from Ava Park, Priestess of the Temple of the Goddess of Orange County. Ava tells us a bit about her women-only organization and a bit about her philosophy and then goes on to tell us about how members of her community were impacted by the fires, including a member who called her in the middle of the night because she had lost everything, except the clothes on her back.

At the end of the interview with Ava, she makes an appeal YOU, the WLRN listeners to write to Mayor Karen Bass at mayor.helpdesk@lacity.org and let her know that you support the reinstatement of lesbian fire chief Kristin Crowly. Below, find the template letter Ava suggests you work with.

Dear Mayor Bass:

Please reconsider the termination of Fire Chief Kristin Crowley. The circumstances of our recent fires here in Southern California were extreme and unusual. Many respected community leaders support Fire Chief Crowley, believe she has done a fine job, and that this may not be the time to make a drastic change. Crowley has the experience needed; she can learn from this past fire season and doubtless handle matters better with that knowledge. A new fire chief will have a big learning curve. Even if she has made mistakes, let our community benefit from the experience Crowley has now gained.

Please reinstate Fire Chief Crowley and meet with her to design a plan for facing our coming fire season next year with all that you, your staff, the fire department and other Los Angeles leaders have learned from our recent disaster. Give Crowley the budget she says she requires to run the department properly. Nothing could be more important. See how she performs in the coming year. If you feel she is not competent, you can terminate her then and no one would question your judgment. Thank you.

– (Your name and any title or location info you want to put to validate you are a real person)

After the interview with Ava, stay tuned for Thistle’s interview with comedian and actor Goldie Hoffman after hearing a bit of Sinead O’Connor’s song Fire on Babylon. Goldie reports that when she returned home there was a gray dust covering her yard, “…the bushes, the trees, the grass, everything.” She describes touching it and goes on to tell about the possible toxic content she and others likely have ingested and may continue to ingest. These are scary times and real stories coming from women on the front lines of ecofeminism in the sense of staying alive as the world burns around them, and aiding in a spirit of cooperation and community when possible.

Goldie Hoffman is a comedian, actor and host in Los Angeles & Vancouver. A true ‘AmeriCanadian’ from NY and Montreal, she performs standup comedy in clubs and festivals throughout the US, Canada, and overseas. A versatile host and emcee, she hosts live events, comedy, television, and award shows. Credits include ABC, FOX, Miramax, Hallmark Channel, Comedy Store, Laugh Factory, Portland Comedy Festival, Laugh Riot Grrrl Festival, TMI Hollywood, Vancouver Television, VTV, Shaw, ANCA Awards, RawArtists, LogiCal-LA Festival, We The Women Festival, and a whole lotta unknown fun lil’ dives. In addition to theater school, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in History & Middle Eastern Studies from McGill University. A life-long feminist — often saying she knew what sexism was and criticised it before she even knew the word — Goldie is especially drawn to fighting for women’s and girls’ rights and for true egalitarian humanism for all. Connect with her on her Instagram: @thegoldieloxzone

Finally, hear Sekhmet SheOwl’s poignant commentary about how the number of homes destroyed in the fires impacts how people are handling the aftermath and that men are raping and trafficking women in increased numbers due to their destitution, vulnerability and homelessness. Sekhmet calls for us to build our female friendships and community as the human ship goes down.

On an up note, at the very very end, Freda invites us to learn more about WoLF Summer Camp for Radfems and to sign up here: womensliberationfront.org/2025-summer-camps

Margaret’s artist’s statement about the cover image:

For WLRN Edition 107, on the Los Angeles Fires, I started out with a photo I had of some flames.. For the background, I found a NASA image of the LA fires at night. I combined both of those images with an abstract section of one of my paintings – to get some texture.



The women figures are from a photo I took of a Camille Claudel sculpture, Les Causeuses from 1896. Claudel (1864-1943) was an extremely adept French sculptor who was confined against her will to the Montdevergues asylum during the last 30 years of her life, by her brother who had the power to do that to her. That put an end to her creative endeavors. It was quite the tragedy. The Getty Museum in LA hosted a major exhibit of Camille Claudel’s work in 2024. 



The Los Angeles fires in January of 2025 were a tragedy, on a grand scale. 29 people and countless animals died. More than 18,000 homes and businesses were destroyed. Art included.

I included the female figures in my design to represent women talking among themselves, as people might do during and after a calamity. Checking in, describing their situation. Somewhat  like what we do in our podcast. 



The sculptural figures are partly in shadow, but also appear to be in the midst of the flames. Naked, potentially vulnerable, but they are made of stone, so…. they remain unaffected. Not like those who actually lived through the disaster.