Dr. Drew Pinsky says his longtime broadcasting partner, Adam Carolla, has a "crystal brain."
It's a compliment, a sign that the comedian-turned-podcaster see things that others don't. It's how he knew Dr. Anthony Fauci was, in Carolla's words, "compromised" long before many realized the infectious diseases expert wasn't to be trusted.
Or, in the case of California, the lifelong resident simply knows what to expect next. it doesn't take a crystal brain to realize past is prologue.
So when the Palisades erupted in flames more than a year ago, Carolla recorded an emergency podcast episode from a hotel room. He had to flee his home, but he wanted to share an important message.
California will not be built back anytime soon. Now, Carolla is doing a depressing recap of his predictions.
Carolla, standing adjacent to the California coastline in his newest vlog installment, shares what he said in January 2025 and how it matches the reality captured his camera crew.
Homeowners will be "knee deep in the permit process" he said at the time. "Good f***ing luck."
"A year and a half later, we have this," Carolla says in the new video, his arm extending to reveal a stretch of coastal land without any new buildings. "These lots took about two days, maybe three days, to clear."
And they've stayed "clear" ever since. The images are stark and disconcerting.
"It's not like these people don't have the will or the money ... this is not their first house, their second house," he says. "These are these rich guys' fifth houses ... but they can't get a permit and they can't get it pushed thorugh the bureaucracy of the city." It's not just an issue for the elites, though.
"We also can't have low-cost housing for the homeless population, either, because the same people are making the same rules," he adds.
Carolla isn't doing a victory dance. Nor does he avoid offering some possible solutions. He threw his weight behind Spencer Pratt, the upstart candidate who tried to dethrone LA Mayor Karen Bass at the polls earlier this year. Pratt lost his home to the Palisades fire and vowed to be the kind of leader who would prevent future chaos.
He lost, assuming the city's turtle-like vote-counting process could be trusted. That's despite reports of Bass' negligence having made the fire damage even worse.
So it's up to people like Carolla to remind the public what's at stake in the bluer-than-blue City of Angels.
That coastal land may still be vacant, but there's a smattering of hope for those inland. President Donald Trump helped to fast-track some building permits earlier this year. That allowed some distraught residents to get closer to their version of "home" at some point.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who was tapped by Trump to help expedite rebuilding, revealed in April that the executive order helped drive nearly 2,000 permit approvals across the county.
Life will return to normal oh, so slowly in this California parcel. Even some of the burned-out businesses are coming back at long last. Sadly, the locals are still voting for the same people who helped make this living nightmare a reality.
