Guest, Six-Time Emmy Winning Actor and Philanthropist, Hank Azaria, Wraps Up #L.A. Rising Podcast’s Inaugural Year
Hank Azaria, Final Guest of #L.A. Rising Podcast's Inaugural Year shares pearls of wisdom on staying sober, giving back and turning pain into purpose.
Turning Pain into Purpose during the Holidays: ‘The Journey is Usually From Hurting to Healing to Helping.’
PACIFIC PALISADES, CA, UNITED STATES, December 23, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Marking its first year of providing a living history of the double disaster of L.A.’s January 2025 Palisades and Eaton Fires, the non-profit podcast #L.A. Rising — Stories of Healing, Help & Hope, concludes 2025 with a landmark episode featuring six-time Emmy-winning actor and philanthropist, Hank Azaria.
Host and wellness industry veteran, Kim Marshall, shepherds a heartfelt discussion with Azaria about addiction recovery, social justice and the resilience required to move forward after life-altering events. The actor is refreshingly honest about takeaways from his recovery journey and his relationship with the late, beloved actor, Matthew Perry. Also, in this episode, Stanford’s Dr. Adrianne Heinz, a disaster mental health specialist, discusses tips and tools for coping with the unique stresses of the first holiday season after the fires in the platform’s regular Wellness Lift segment.
A Local Podcast with an International Message
Born from host Kim Marshall’s harrowing escape on foot from the Palisades Fire—with two dogs and a suitcase in tow —the post-fire storytelling platform has created a living history of know-how, courage and community that has risen from the ashes.
In launching the podcast two weeks after the fires, Marshall’s goal was also to showcase models of proactive resilience to encourage other communities around the world who have or will suffer from climate disasters.
• Episode #12 featured an interview with Maui’s Mayor Richard Bissen and First Lady Isabella Bissen discussing lessons learned from 2023’s catastrophic Lahaina Fire.
• Episode #4 includes a conversation with economist and author Thierry Malleret, founder of the Global Risk Network at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on the broader economic and global implications of climate change and the crucial importance of planet-first policy decisions.
A Year of Wellness and Healing Tips & Tools
Under Marshall’s leadership, #L.A. Rising has bridged the gap between disaster recovery and the wellness industry. The show’s signature Wellness Lift segments offer survivors expert-backed tools, including:
• Somatic Therapies: Techniques to calm anxiety and regulate the nervous system.
• Breathwork & Gratitude: Practical applications for healing from grief and melancholy.
• Physical Recovery: Addressing the benefits of saunas for wildfire-affected lungs and contrast bathing for a nervous system reset.
Examples of Resilience, Leadership and Hope
In its inaugural year, the podcast -- featured in a number of media outlets -- has hosted a wide range of voices, from local leaders like L.A. Supervisor Lindsay Horvath and Colonel Eric Swenson of the Army Corps of Engineers, to the founders of Eaton Fire Residents United, Team Palisades, Eaton Fire Survivors Network and After the Fire USA. Besides climate change experts and green architects, #L.A. Rising has also featured heart wrenching fire survivor stories like Rabbi Amy Bernstein of Palisades Kehillat Israel whose lessons from the Biblical story of Moses & the Burning Bush were especially relevant since her own house burned down but the temple for her 900 congregants survived. Another unforgettable moment? Altadena Poet Laureate Lester Graves Lennon reading his poem born from the ruins of the fires, “The Proud Chimneys of Altadena.”
2026 and Beyond
As #L.A. Rising expands its focus to "multi-peril" events -- including floods, hurricanes, and droughts linked to a warming planet -- the first episode of 2026 will feature, tourism resiliency expert, The Honorable Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism for Jamaica. The Minister explains how the country orchestrated a full tourism restart less than two months after the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa decimated nearly 1/3 of the island in late October.
Marshall, a member of what her mentor and After the Fire USA Founder, Jennifer Gray Thompson, calls “The Worst Club with the Best People,” explains why the last episode of the podcast’s first year is so fitting.
"Having a voice like Hank’s in the conversation is especially relevant, since it underscores that while the challenges we each face are unique, the tools for healing are universal,” explains Marshall, “which includes finding ways to turn your pain into purpose.”
About #L.A. Rising: In a fiscal partnership with the Creative Visions Foundation and production by S'Well The Agency and NOVA, #L.A. Rising is a non-profit podcast dedicated to providing tools, stories,and expert advice for communities affected by natural disasters resulting from a warming planet.
Kimberly Marshall
S'Well The Agency
+1 310-487-3554
kim@swelltheagency.com
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Actor Hank Azaria's charity work focusing on mental health & addiction recovery is particularly relevant during the first post-megafire holiday season in L.A.
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