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Ava Peguese:
Welcome back to the podcast! This week, we learn how ASU students have been affected by the wildfires in LA county
Connor Greenwall:
Also, A student book club… but for listening to albums
Ava Peguese:
I'm Ava Peguese.
Connor Greenwall:
I’m Connor Greenwall, and this is State Press Play.
Ava Peguese:
Hello listeners and welcome back. Today im here with ellis preston, a politics reporter here at the state press. Ellis, can you share a bit of your background and where you’re from in LA?
Ellis Preston:
Hi! Thank you for having me. So I'm a politics reporter at the State Press. This is my second semester doing politics, and I'm also a journalism major at ASU, and I'm in like, I live. I'm from the San Fernando Valley in LA, so it's just like a valley, like, next to, like, the city and near the Calabasas area.
Ava Peguese:
What went through your head when you first heard about the fires?
Ellis Preston:
I honestly ruled it out, like, I didn't think it was going to end up as extreme and, like, devastating as it ended up being, just because we're used to having fires this time, like every year, and they usually get put like, it's bad and there's a lot of smoke, but usually they get put out pretty quickly. So these were just, these were lasting way longer than I thought. So when I first heard about it, I wasn't really worried or thinking about it.
Ava Peguese:
What do you think set this fire apart? It was it the fact that there was multiple, like, maybe they were spreading quickly. Like, this has been such a devastating event, and I wonder, like, what was different this time?
Ellis Preston:
Yeah, all of the above. It was, there were so many and so I LA is like a giant circle, and I live in the in the center, pretty much like I live outside of the mountains. And fires happen in the mountains, because that's where there's all the brush. So it felt like the fires were like, closing in on us, because they were all like, they were all going, like, expanding so quickly, and more and more just kept popping up, like every day. It was so strange. And we all downloaded this app called watch duty, which is, like, started by a nonprofit that like alerts you every time there's a new fire, and, like, it gives you evacuation warnings and stuff like that. It's like, really great to have, but it was a little fear mongery, kind of, because, like, you're like, oh my gosh, new fire here, new fire here. Like, you're always freaking out. So it was just, yeah, that was scary,
To hear more from Ellis, please tune in to State Press Play.
Connor Greenwall:
I'm here with from the album listening club. Jordan is a sophomore studying mechanical engineering with a focus on energy and environment. Jordan, can you tell me a bit about the Album Listening club?
Jordan Payne:
Yeah, of course. So we like to describe ourselves as a book club for music. So every week, there's a dedicated genre, and then all the members get to nominate an album of that genre. And then we do multiple rounds of voting with a ranked choice algorithm, so it's a very democratic process. And then usually we announce a day or two after the voting which album won, and then everyone goes and listens to it, writes down their thoughts, really, just like, see if it resonates with them, and then at the following meeting, that's when we get to talk about it.
Connor Greenwall:
And how did you get involved with the album listening club?
Jordan Payne:
I actually discovered album listening club, like at the very beginning of my freshman year at the passport over at the mu. And I just, I mean, I've always been a very big music nerd, so it immediately resonated with me. And the first time I went to go check it out, it just, I knew it was a good fit for me.
Connor Greenwall:
What does music mean to you?
Jordan Payne:
I know that music can mean a lot of different things for different people. For me, I think it's a great way to just like connect to the human experience and understand, you know, it's a good way to relate about things that are going on in your own life, and to understand emotions you've experienced. And like hear about other people's stories and learn about that in a creative and fun and engaging way.
To hear more from Jordan, please tune in to State Press Play.
Ava Peguese:
And that’s all for this week’s State Press Play. I’m Ava Peguese.
Connor Greenwall:
And I’m Connor Greenwall. State Press Play is produced by our podcast desk editor, Kylie Saba. Our original music is by Ellie Willard and Jake LaRoux.
Ava Peguese:
Special thanks to our managing team, Morgan Kubasko and Matthew Marengo.
Connor Greenwall:
You can check out all these stories and more on statepress.com. See you next week
Ava is a freshman studying journalism and mass communication. This is her second semester with The State Press.
Connor is a junior studying journalism and mass communication. This is his second semester with The State Press.
