Inside one of America’s deadliest cities, and why some say FEMA isn’t doing enough about extreme heat and wildfires

Main Topic: The podcast episode covers various news stories, but the main topic is the federal government's response to extreme heat and wildfires, particularly the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) handling of these disasters.

Key Points:

1. FEMA does not formally recognize extreme heat and wildfires as major disasters, unlike hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.
2. Health care and environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, are petitioning FEMA to add extreme heat and wildfire smoke to its regulations, which would unlock critical funding and aid for disaster relief.
3. FEMA argues that its current definition of a natural catastrophe is broad enough to allow the agency to mobilize for extreme heat or wildfire smoke, but the petition points out that FEMA has hesitated to provide aid for these emergencies in the past.
4. Extreme heat has contributed to more deaths over the last three decades than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined, and smoke from wildfires contributes to nearly 16,000 deaths every year.
5. The American Lung Association recommends checking local air quality through the website airnow.gov to protect health during wildfires.

Participants:

1. Yasmin Khan, host