Thousands of homes need to be built in Malibu, the Pacific Palisades and Altadena over the next decade. With many homeowners still looking for architects and blue prints, there is an opportunity to rethink the modern home.Dustin Bramell is one Palisades Fire who is drawing a parallel to eighty years ago and the Case Study Houses that rose up during the post-World War II building boom.The Case Study movement called for inexpensive and efficient model homes - a kind of blueprint - for a stylish and modern America. Many of those homes are still standing today in Southern california, including the Eames Home, which narrowly escaped the Palisades Fires, and the iconic Stahl House in the Hollywood Hills.The new effort is called “Case Study: Adapt,” and its objective to is to build with the risks of climate change and fire in mind.

Guests: Dustin Bramell, co-founder, Case Study: Adapt
Kathleen Katims, Palisades Resident and co-founder of Saved By A Story

Check out the CSA designs here:See How 16 Families are Rebuilding After the LA Fires: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/see-how-16-families-are-rebuilding-after-the-la-fires
A display of student-constructed CSA home models at the USC school of architecture: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRF82C2Eiu1/ **This exhibit will soon move to the Eames House in 2026.More info on Kathy Katims organization, Saved By A Story: https://www.savedbyastory.com/about

The official investigation into the cause of the Eaton Fire is not over, but power company So-Cal Edison has already said that it likely sparked from their equipment.Edison is facing dozens of lawsuits from survivors, and one from the U-S Department of Justice, accusing the company of not only starting the fire, but also of negligence.Edison says it wants to make things right and has come up with a Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program for survivors. Eligibility is fairly expansive but many survivors say it does not go far enough, especially those who are also struggling with insurance payouts.CEO of Edison International Pedro Pizarro, who lives in the area affected by the Eaton Fire, says he “want to be able to walk into the grocery store and look his neighbors in the eye” so he stopped by in early November to give host Kate Cagle his pitch for the program.

Guest:

Pedro Pizarro, CEO, Edison International
Dana Brumfield, Altadena Resident

Edison International’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program: https://energized.edison.com/wildfire-recovery-compensation-program

Edison increases compensation for Eaton fire victims, but some say it’s not enough: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-10-30/edison-increases-compensation-for-eaton-fire-victims-but-some-say-its-not-enough

Rick Caruso is a real-estate developer, a philanthropist, and in some ways a city insider — he ran for mayor against Karen Bass in 2022, and lost. He is also a Palisades Fire survivor. His family lost three homes that night — and were it not for the private firefighters he hired, Caruso’s businesses in the Palisades Village might have also burned down.
He started the nonprofit Steadfast LA to assist with the rebuilding of neighborhoods in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and Malibu, and has not been shy with his criticism of how local governments, particularly L.A. city Mayor Karen Bass, has handled the response to January’s deadly and destructive fires.He talks about all of it with host Kate Cagle.

Guests: Rick Caruso, L.A. businessman, founder, Steadfast LA
David Goldblum, filmmaker and Malibu resident

Related articles:AI is coming soon to speed up sluggish permitting for fire rebuilds, officials say: https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2025-05-14/l-a-wildfire-survivors-complain-that-rebuilding-is-too-slow-can-ai-helpCaruso-backed nonprofit partners with builder to give prefab homes to fire victims: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-02-20/caruso-backed-nonprofit-partners-with-builder-to-give-prefab-homes-to-fire-victimsDays before Palisades inferno, firefighters were ordered to leave smoldering burn site: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-30/firefighters-ordered-to-leave-smoldering-palisades-burn-siteMore on David Blum’s film @bigrockburning on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigrockburning/?hl=en