Episodes

  • The New Generation of Emergency Management with Kesley Richardson

    The New Generation of Emergency Management with Kesley Richardson
    Apr 23 2022

    As both a practitioner and researcher in emergency management, Kesley Richardson is a looking to be a game changer.  Bringing youthful energy and the mind of a multidisplinary scholar to the field, he is ensuring that best practices are not just talked about but integrated.  Join us today on this episode of the Multi-Hazards podcast as Kesley Richardson shares his vision, experience and passion for emergency management and protecting communities.

    Kesley Richardson’s Bio

    Kesley Richardson is a U.S. Virgin Islands Native, scholar, public speaker, researcher, and practitioner in the field of Emergency Management. Currently as a doctorate student in Public Administration at West Chester University and being apart of organizations such as International Association of Emergency Managers(IAEM), Black Emergency Managers Association (BEMA), Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) with the United Nations, and Florida Emergency Preparedness Association (FEPA), he hopes to network with likeminded professionals to make actionable change. With his diverse background, Kesley hopes to leverage his awards such as the 2022 Govenors Hurricane Conference of Florida Rising Star and fellowship with the Bill Anderson Fund to support his goal of cultivating a more diverse field of Emergency Management.  

    Intro: "Ten Inch Spikes" by Jeremy Korpas on Youtube Audio Library
    Outro: "Island Dream" by Chris Haugen on YouTube Audio Library
    Bio Photo from Kesley Richardson
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    38 mins
  • Innovating Engagement Technology for Community Resilience with Ginny Katz

    Innovating Engagement Technology for Community Resilience with Ginny Katz
    Feb 28 2022

    To really protect communities, Ginny Katz and her team at HazAdapt Inc. are designing technology that pays attention to communities and truly addresses their needs.  Ginny is part of a new wave of entrepreneurs who believe equity and diversity should be at the forefront of innovation and not an afterthought.  Join us today on this episode of Multi-Hazards as we hear the wisdom and heartfelt passion of Ginny Katz, at the cutting edge of both technology and community resilience.

    Check out the company, their app and podcast.

    Ginny Katz’ Bio

    Ginny Katz, MPH, has a BS Public Health Epidemiology & Disease Control (the University of Texas at San Antonio), MPH Global Health Disaster Systems and Digital Communication (Oregon State University) and is a Geography PhD Student, 2022 (Oregon State University).

    While working to become an Emergency Management GIS and digital communications specialist in 2017, Ginny experienced the impact of emergency communications gaps firsthand. Without relevant information and support, so many people were becoming more vulnerable to hazards, most significantly impacting underserved communities.  Realizing that emergency managers are lacking the tools needed to facilitate meaningful and equitable mass engagement with their communities, she became a woman on a mission to build the tools that were so needed. In 2018 Ginny turned this problem into P.h.D. research at Oregon State University and in 2019 created a startup, HazAdapt Inc., to build the solutions. Now, Ginny is proud to present the first results of their hard work, HazAdapt, the Humanity-Friendly Hazard Guide and Emergency Assistant. HazAdapt is a free app and web tool built to boost community resilience from the bottom - up. 

    Intro: "Ten Inch Spikes" by Jeremy Korpas on Youtube Audio Library
    Outro: "Chasing the Dragons" by Joel Cummins, Kris Myers, Andy Farag on YouTube Audio Library
    Bio Photo from Ginny Katz
    Episode Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels
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    37 mins
  • Finding Certainty in the New Year (Remix with Margaret Heffernan)

    Finding Certainty in the New Year (Remix with Margaret Heffernan)
    Jan 1 2022

    Another year rolls by and certainty seems just as hard to find. Dr. Margaret Heffernan's recent book Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future has a message: Tomorrow may be uncharted territory, but we can learn to handle uncertainty and move forward with confidence and agility. Join Dr. Heffernan and Multi-Hazards podcast host Vin Nelsen in this remix from early last year, all the more relevant now that we face new and challenging times going into a new year.

    Study Guide here, click where it says "PDF" on the middle left: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/finding-certainty-in-the-new-year-remix-with-margaret-heffernan

    Topics in this podcast include:
    * Why can we be optimists?
    * Why could asking experts for their opinions about the future be a waste of time?
    * Why and how our planning needs to change?
    * Uncertainty: necessarily bad or good?
    * How can uncertainty represent possibility?
    * What do transhumanists want?
    * How can aging bring out the best in us?
    * What is the "doctrine of inevitability"?
    * Why are driverless cars a problem?
    * How has technology taken away our willingness to explore?
    * Why are artists better with unpredictability?
    * Why do artists keep producing things that are ahead of their time?
    * How are scientists sometimes like these artists?
    * What generates breakthroughs in science?
    * How can we "reskill" for the future?
    * How can we have hope for the new year?

    Intro: "Ten Inch Spikes" by Jeremy Korpas on Youtube Audio Library
    Outro: "Floating Home" by Brian Bolger on YouTube Audio Library
    Photo by John Gibbons on Unsplash

    Margaret Heffernan’s Bio

    Dr. Margaret Heffernan produced programmes for the BBC for 13 years. She then moved to the US where she spearheaded multimedia productions for Intuit, The Learning Company and Standard&Poors. She was Chief Executive of InfoMation Corporation, ZineZone Corporation and then iCast Corporation, was named one of the "Top 25" by Streaming Media magazine and one of the "Top 100 Media Executives" by The Hollywood Reporter. The author of six books, Margaret’s third book, Willful Blindness : Why We Ignore the Obvious at our Peril was named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times. In 2015, she was awarded the Transmission Prize for A Bigger Prize: Why Competition isn’t Everything and How We Do Better, described as "meticulously researched... engagingly written... universally relevant and hard to fault." Her TED talks have been seen by over twelve million people and in 2015 TED published Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes. Her most recent book, Uncharted: How to map the future was published in 2020. She is a Professor of Practice at the University of Bath, Lead Faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Programme and, through Merryck & Co., mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organizations. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath and continues to write for the Financial Times and the Huffington Post. Text and photo taken from her website: https://www.mheffernan.com/biography.php#modal-close
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Climate Change and Disasters

    Climate Change and Disasters
    Dec 28 2021
    What does climate change have to do with disasters? Experts on The Multi-Hazards Podcast weigh in on how climate change is affecting the planet and human society, and how it plays a role in increasing disasters. Join us for this exciting podcast! Study Guide here (click on PDF, top left): https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/climate-change-and-disasters Topics include: * How does climate change increases the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events? * What does "1 in 20/50/100 years" probability of a flood or other disaster mean? * How can climate change factor into where we build homes to avoid floods? * How has the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) been affected by extreme weather events these past few years? * What are "freshets"? * How does the amount of snow (snowpack) and the way it melts factor into potential floods? * How can knowledge of climate change risks be brought into emergency management? * What's "risk assessment"? "Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (HRVA)"? * Why is it important that risk assessment start at the national level? * Why is "What do the elders say?" an all-important question for First Nations people? * How will climate change change life for First Nations? * Why are polar bears are eating out of garbage dumps at James Bay in Canada? * How does "chance favour the prepared mind"? * How are some First Nations preparing for climate change and possibly relocating? * Why is it so important to get the message out about emergencies and climate change? * Why are we always reminded about climate change, even when we want to forget about it? * Why is it important to show the projected costs of climate change? * What are these health factors from climate change: declining air quality due to ground-level ozone, increasing incidence of Lyme disease and the health effects of hotter temperatures? SOURCES (past Multi-Hazards episodes): S01 E13 Earthquakes, Disaster Education & Protecting Communities - Interview with Dr. Burçak Başbuğ Erkan, June 18, 2020 Link: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/earthquakes-disaster-management-education-protecting-communities-interview-with-dr-burak-babu-erkan S01 E17 Emergency Management with the Red Dragon - Interview with Paul Edmonds, June 25, 2020 Link: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/emergency-management-with-the-red-dragon-interview-with-paul-edmonds S02 E02 The Cutting Edge - First Nations & Emergency Management - Interview with Wilbert Wesley, July 24, 2020 Link: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/the-cutting-edge-first-nations-emergency-management-interview-with-wilbert-wesley S04 E15 Black Emergency Managers Worldwide - Conversation with Charles D Sharp, July 2, 2021 Link: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/black-emergency-managers-worldwide-conversation-with-charles-d-sharp S04 E19 The Health Costs of Climate Change with Dylan Clark, the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices, July 30, 2021 Link: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/the-health-costs-of-climate-change-with-dylan-clark-the-canadian-institute-for-climate-choices Intro: "Ten Inch Spikes" by Jeremy Korpas on Youtube Audio Library Outro: "Friendly Dance" by Nico Staf on YouTube Audio Library Photo by British Columbia Ministry of Transportation on Flicker: "Commercial vehicle stuck in mudslide debris on Highway 12. Heavy rain on August 16 [2021] caused multiple mudslides on BC Highway 1 and 12 in the Fraser Canyon. Crews continue to work to clear the debris and re-open the highways."
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    38 mins
  • Earthquakes and Volcanoes (Disasters and Human Response)

    Earthquakes and Volcanoes (Disasters and Human Response)
    Nov 3 2021

    Earthquakes and volcanoes are among the various disasters dealt with on The Multi-Hazards Podcast. Here we revisit earlier interviews with Dr. Burçak Başbuğ Erkan and Dr. Gio Roberti. What should we all know about earthquakes and volcanoes, and, most of all, what is the human element? How have we mitigated, prepared for, responded to and recovered from these disasters? Join us for this exciting podcast!

    Study Guide here, click where it says "PDF" on the middle left: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/-earthquakes-and-volcanoes-disasters-and-human-response

    Topics include:
    * What's happening in Turkey now in terms of disaster management?
    * How does the nation prepare their structures for earthquakes?
    * How often does Turkey get earthquakes? How does this affect the level of preparedness?
    * What are the practices and training required to be prepared for earthquakes?
    * Should we worry about earthquakes?
    * What are some lessons learned from the 2011 Van earthquakes in Turkey?
    * How is Disaster Management interdisciplinary?
    * What's so significant about Mount Meager, a volcano with glacial ice covering it, outside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada?
    * What happened to Mount Meager in 2010?
    * What kind of gases can injure or kill researchers who go to the top of these glaciated volcanoes?
    * How is climate change affecting glaciated volcanoes like Mount Meager?
    * Big volcanic eruptions can put ash in the atmosphere. How does this affect the skies and weather in nearby regions of the entire world?
    * What are the clusters of volcanoes along the West Coast of North America?
    * What is the "ring" with "plates" underneath around the Pacific Ocean and why is it important?
    * Which mountain poses a threat to Seattle, Washington State, United States?
    * Which famous volcano erupted on the US West Coast in May 1980? What happened?
    * How do landslides resulting from volcanoes pose a risk to communities?
    * Which famous volcanic eruption occurred in Italy during the Roman Empire and destroyed the city of Pompeii?
    * Why would it be more dangerous if this volcano erupted today?

    Dr. Burçak Başbuğ Erkan is Associate Professor in the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. Source: https://stat.metu.edu.tr/en/burcak-basbug-erkan
    Dr. Gio Roberti is Section Head, Minerva Intelligence in Vancouver, Canada. Source: https://minervaintelligence.com/about-us/

    Earthquakes: S01 E13 Earthquakes, Disaster Management Education & Protecting Communities: Interview with Dr. Burçak Başbuğ Erkan

    Link to original episode: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/multi-hazards/id/14935682
    From original's 12:35 - 23:45 minutes mark (TOTAL 10:50) and original's 27:57 - 33:41 minutes mark (TOTAL 4:44)

    Volcanoes: S01 E02 Volcanoes, Landslides & Artificial Intelligence: Interview with Dr. Gio Roberti
    Link to original episode: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/multi-hazards/id/14536736
    From original's 11:20 to 28:39 minutes (TOTAL 17:19)

    Intro: "Ten Inch Spikes" by Jeremy Korpas on Youtube Audio Library
    Outro: "Nine Lives" by Unicorn Heads
    Episode Photos by Richter Scale Image by Tumisu from Pixabay and the rest are from Befunky Collages
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    43 mins
  • Environmental Racism with Dr. Ingrid Waldron

    Environmental Racism with Dr. Ingrid Waldron
    Oct 9 2021
    Can the environment be racist? No, but those with power can use it to further marginalise racialised communities. Industries, landfills and other large and small-scale projects are seldom put into affluent White neighbourhoods by the government and corporations, but more often where Indigenous, Black and Brown people live. Today the Multi-Hazards Podcast features Dr. Ingrid Waldron, professor at McMaster University, author of There’s Something in the Water: Environmental Racism in Indigenous and Black Communities and co-producer of the documentary film of the same name on Netflix. Join us as we discuss environmental racism and how communities and their allies are fighting for environmental justice. Direct download: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/multi-hazards/Environmental_Racism_with_Dr_Ingrid_Waldron.mp3 Best-looking link: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/20763668 Study Guide here, click where it says "PDF" on the middle left: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/environmental-racism-with-dr-ingrid-waldron Topics include: * What exactly is "environmental racism"?  "Racialised communities"? * Where do the communities that are often targeted by governments and corporations and their environmental racism live? * How has Ingrid's background and journey led her into this topic? * Why is environmental racism a very political topic? * Why are sociologists just as important as environmental scientists to deal with the social aspects of the environment? * How is environmental racism different from the term "environmental justice"?   * How does environmental racism fit into the big picture of systemic racism that includes "high unemployment rates, income insecurity, poverty, food insecurity, poorly resourced neighbourhoods," etc.? * What is "intersectionality"?  Who first used this phrase and why?  What are the various elements that can "intersect"? * Why would, for example, landfills or industries, not be placed in or near white upper or middle class communities?  What do they have that racialised communities do not have? * What are the "social determinants of health"? * What are some of the social institutions where racism is embedded in? * How did Ingrid get connected with actor Elliott Page? * Why did releasing the "There's Something in the Water" film on Netflix right when the global pandemic first arrived ensure more people watched?  Why was this such a huge coincidence? * Why was the film's emotional impact so obvious? * Who are the Mikmaq First Nations and also the African Nova Scotians? What kind of environmental racism happened to their communities? * What kinds of resistance, mobilising and activism are Indigenous and Black communities using in their fight against environmental racism? * Beyond political resistance, why is policy making so important? * Why is raising awareness so crucial? * What needs to change in the Canadian education system?  Why are young people a priority to reach? * Why do White folks have difficulty empathising with Black, Indigenous and other racialised communities? * Why do the media focus on White women who are murdered and missing and most often ignore the ones who are non-White? * What are some exciting new developments in the fight against environmental racism? Dr. Ingrid Waldron's Bio: Dr. Ingrid Waldron (MA, University of London; PhD, University of Toronto) is the HOPE Chair in Peace and Health in the Global Peace and Social Justice Program in the Faculty of Humanities at McMaster University. She teaches Peace, Environment and Health and Race, Place & Geographies of Violence in Indigenous & Black Communities (Special Topics Course) in the Global Peace and Social Justice Program in the Faculty of Humanities. She also teaches Social Justice Perspectives on Gender and Health in the Gender Studies and Feminist Research Graduate Program in the Faculty of Humanities. Dr. Waldron is the author of There’s Something in the Water: Environmental Racism in Indigenous and Black Communities (Fernwood Publishing), which was turned into a 2020 Netflix documentary of the same name and was co-produced by Waldron, actor Elliot Page, Ian Daniel, and Julia Sanderson and directed by Page and Daniel. Dr. Waldron is the founder and Director of the Environmental Noxiousness, Racial Inequities and Community Health Project (The ENRICH Project), which inspired the federal private members bill a National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice (Bill C-230). Bill C-230 was introduced in the House of Commons on February 26, 2020, by MP Lenore Zam and approved at second reading on March 24, 2021, and at amendments on June 21, 2021. She also co-founded the Anti-Environmental Racism Coalition, which has brought together organizations in the environment and climate change sector across Canada to collaborate on projects and share expertise and resources to address environmental racism and climate change inequities in Indigenous, Black, and other ...
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Empire 2.0 - How Racism & Colonialism Still Rule the World with Dr. Kehinde Andrews

    Empire 2.0 - How Racism & Colonialism Still Rule the World with Dr. Kehinde Andrews
    Sep 5 2021

    To change the world first requires us to understand the nature of society, to look seriously at the way that it is structured. Racism, white supremacy, is the most important feature of this global system and Black and Brown people suffer the most worldwide. The reality of it all is that capitalism continues its ruthless quest to dominate, accumulate, spread across the world and strip resources. This is also the source of today's environmental crisis. If the West keeps carrying on in this way, this would literally mean the end of the entire world. This is the most urgent issue for all of us. Something drastically needs to change. Can we get the buy-in necessary for everybody to make real change?

    Listen to Dr. Kehinde Andrews as he spells out how racism and colonialism are still ruling the world in Empire 2.0, from his latest book, The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World!

    (Adapted from "Did Colonialism Ever End? | Footnotes with Kehinde Andrews," https://youtu.be/nqcO3X2y5YY).

    Direct download: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/multi-hazards/Empire_2.0_-_How_Racism__Colonialism_Still_Rule_the_World_with_Dr._Kehinde_Andrews.mp3
    Best-looking link: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/20370041
    Study Guide here, click where it says "PDF" on the middle left: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/empire-20-how-racism-colonialism-still-rule-the-world-with-dr-kehinde-andrews

    Topics included:
    * What is the true definition of racism?
    * What is white supremacy?
    * Why are goods so cheap in the West?  
    * What's the real reason African countries are poor?
    * How are African countries the lowest on many charts of life quality and longevity?
    * Why should the draining of African resources be discussed in racial terms?
    * Why did Trump get it wrong about manufacturing jobs?
    * How did the West use genocide, slavery & colonialism to become #1?
    * Why are human rights just talk without economic inequality? 
    * How do the UN, IMF & World Bank maintain the global system of white supremacy?
    * How has the USA become the centre of this post-WWII global empire?
    * How is what we call "globalisation" really just "empire"?
    * What can the African Diaspora and the rest of us do?
    * Capitalism is going to destroy the world.  What can we do?

    Dr. Kehinde Andrews' Bio:

    Kehinde Andrews is Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University, where he founded, and is currently director of, the Centre for Critical Social Research. At BCU he was also one of the team who founded the first undergraduate degree in Black Studies. Andrews regularly writes for the Guardian, the Independent, Ebony Magazine, and CNN. He has been featured on Good Morning Britain, Newsnight, Channel 4 News, BBC News Channel, and Under the Skin with Russell Brand. Andrews’s first book, Resisting Racism: Race, Inequality and the Black Supplementary School Movement, was published in 2013 and he co-edited the first collection of British Black Studies, Blackness in Britain, in 2016. He wrote Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century published by Zed books in 2018. And in this podcast episode we discuss his latest book, The New Age of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule the World, published in 2021 by Bold Type Books. He lives in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

    Source: https://www.boldtypebooks.com/contributor/kehinde-andrews/

    Intro: "Ten Inch Spikes" by Jeremy Korpas on Youtube Audio Library
    Outro: "Circle Dance" by Sefchol on Youtube Audio Library
    Main Episode Photo by Cameron Venti on Unsplash
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Are We Adapting to Climate Change Yet? with Dr. Stewart J. Cohen

    Are We Adapting to Climate Change Yet? with Dr. Stewart J. Cohen
    Aug 27 2021

    What's happening with climate change these days? How is our adaptation going? What are the gloomy and bright spots? Join Dr. Stewart J. Cohen, climate change adaptation scientist, as he discusses the latest science and societal discussions about humanity adapting to a rapidly changing climate. Have a listen!

    Direct download: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/multi-hazards/Are_We_Adapting_to_Climate_Change_Yet_with_Dr._Stewart_J._Cohen.mp3 
    Best-looking link: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/20289026 
    Study Guide here, click where it says "PDF" on the middle left: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/are-we-adapting-to-climate-change-yet-with-dr-stewart-j-cohen 

    Topics include:
    * How have climate change deniers been "mutating" their message over the years, much like COVID-19 is mutating?
    * What is the harm that climate change deniers are doing on social media?
    * What are some solutions to dealing with climate change deniers?
    * What is the new assessment from the International Panel on Climate Change, "IPCC Sixth Assessment Report – The Physical Science Basis"?
    * Why is the word "unequivocal" so important in climate change science and in this report?
    * What is this new field of "attribution studies"?
    * What is the “Canada in a Changing Climate -- National Issues Report”?
    * What's happening to communities across Canada with climate change?
    * "You can't fight today's battle with yesterday's battle plan!"
    * What's "just transition" and why is it so important?
    * What's the case for optimism about climate change?
    * Why is "polarised dialogue" about climate change so harmful?
    * Even though heavy industry, transportation, agriculture, etc. are big fossil fuel emitters, how do our own voting and purchasing decisions also matter?
    * What is the most urgent issue in climate change adaptation nowadays?
    * How can we get away from so many surprises when it comes to climate change adaptation?

    Dr. Stewart J Cohen's Bio:

    Dr. Stewart J. Cohen is an author and educator on human-caused climate change. Dr. Cohen is currently a part-time instructor on climate change adaptation at Royal Roads University, and is writing posts on his blog, www.doctorclimatechange.com.

    His university education was in geography, obtaining degrees from McGill University, the University of Alberta, and the University of Illinois. Dr. Cohen has recently retired from a 35-year research career with Environment and Climate Change Canada. He began his career in Toronto where he created and led studies on the impacts of projected climate change throughout Canada, including the Great Lakes, Saskatchewan River and the Mackenzie Basin. In 1995, as part of a research partnership agreement with the University of British Columbia (UBC), he moved to Vancouver and began developing collaborative projects with the UBC community. He led several climate change impact and adaptation studies of the Okanagan region, and contributed to studies on forests in central and northern British Columbia, and on projected climate impacts and adaptation actions in the Vancouver area. He also created and taught a graduate course, “Climate Change in the 21st Century”. This led to him publishing a textbook with that title in 2009 (McGill-Queen’s University Press).

    He has been a member of author teams for national assessments of climate change in Canada and the United States, as well as several publications of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II – Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.

    Intro: "Ten Inch Spikes" by Jeremy Korpas on Youtube Audio Library
    Outro: "Travel Nonstop" by Squadda B on Youtube Audio Library
    Main Episode Photo by ELG21 on Pixabay
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    1 hr and 3 mins