Overview: Big Hearts in Tough Times: LA Kids Discuss the Fires
Starting the second week of January 2025, Los Angeles, CA has been grappling with unprecedented wildfires, which roared through the city, powered by strong winds and dry conditions. Hundreds of thousands of people had to evacuate their homes as firefighters battled the wildfires.
In this special episode of Little Kids, Big Hearts, four LA Kids — Amicko, Kiaan, Kaveer, and Cleo — share their experiences and feelings related to the wildfires.
They travel with LKBH host Todd Loyd to the Land-of-Qook-a-lackas where they visit with a Link-a-doo friend, Linkala, who fled the Isle of Link-a-doo in the Great Link-a-Doo Flood. Linkala shares memories and feelings — as well as some useful ways to cope with disasters and get through hard times — and answers the kids’ questions about surviving similar disasters.
Linkala is played by Dr. Cara Spitalewitz.
Sound design and mixing is by Ryan Marth, and the ukulele music you hear is by actor and composer Bill English.
Meet our Guest Link-a-Doo!
Usually, professional actors play the roles of Qook-a-lackas and Link-a-doos on Little Kids, Big Hearts. This time, we thought it was important for someone trained in working with kids who are living through scary and traumatic events to chat with the kids about their feelings and experiences. We were lucky that our friend Dr. Cara Spitalewitz agreed to play the role of Linkala, one of the Link-a-doos, who fled the Isle of Linkadoo to escape the Great Flood.
Cara is a clinical psychologist who works with children and adolescents in New York City. Cara previously was a supervising psychologist at Bellevue Hospital Center and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine. She holds a B.A. from Columbia University, an Ed.M. in Human Development & Psychology from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University-Brooklyn. She completed an APA-accredited Clinical Internship at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and her postdoctoral training at Bellevue Hospital Center.
Some Organizations to Support in LA
Good Morning Song
“Good Morning Song” is an original song written and performed by composer and educator Benjamin Weiner for the Little Kids, Big Hearts podcast. In February 2025, Little Kids, Big Hearts released a special episode about getting through hard times, in which we talked with four Los Angeles kids affected by the LA fires. In the episode, our Link-a-doo friend, Linkala, mentioned that keeping regular routines — like singing a good morning song every day — can help people get through challenging times. This song — inspired by Linkala’s good morning song — debuted on our mission & song episode that was released on Feb. 14, 2025.
Educator Resources: Tough Times
Explore the topics the episode in your classroom:
- It’s Routine: Write a class song about your routines!
- Helpers Album: Create and share an album of many amazing helpers in your school, families, and community.
- Helping Hands: Outline everyone’s hand on paper and then help each child to write/draw a way they want to help inside the hand outline! We can all help, in big and small ways.