Dukes of Hazards: The Emergency Management Podcast

The Dukes relive a heroic day with Drs. Tricia Wachtendorf and James Kendra, authors of American Dunkirk: The Waterborne Evacuation of Manhattan on 9/11. From the first impact on the towers, boat captains came by the dozens to rescue hundreds of thousands of survivors in under nine hours. If you don't know this story, you should. Tricia and Jim use it to explore a whole new theory of disaster management. Plus: Andrew learns the Texas Chicken Maneuver and, yes, Mitch cheated. ALSO, we swear (but only about New Jersey). (Some audio borrowed from Boatlift, a brief documentary about the evacuation that you should check out on YouTube).

Mitch and Andrew swallow the red pill with Kathleen Tierney, the former head of the Natural Hazards Center, and learn how society creates disaster risk as well as how homeland security after 9/11 made things worse, not better. Plus, the best congressional testimony of all time (seriously) and how one stroke of a President's pen hurt the professionalization of emergency management. Also, which FEMA Director would be which Marvel Avenger? and we ALMOST get Mitch's Wifi password on the air.

Pulitzer-prize winning author and New York Times journalist Sheri Fink ("Five Days At Memorial") for some reason agrees to visit the Dukes! She takes us on an intense tour of health and medical lessons from the historic 2017 Coastal Storm season, including stops in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. Plus, we learn how Sheri first got obsessed (er, interested) in disasters in the Balkans, and why she always asks her interviewees about their last drills but never goes to see disaster movies. And, yes, it took Mitch years to make a go kit for his wife, but he feels really bad about it now.

The Dukes shut up (for once) and hand things over to their crack co-hosts, Drs. Nicolette Louissaint and Samantha Montano, to discuss the personal and professional journeys of women in Emergency Management. Joined by Sarah Miller and Susamma Seeley, we cover everything from first mentors to being the only woman in the room to why every single middle age white guy needs to explain things to you and check in about your hair. Really? Plus, it's a bigger problem: If emergency managers keep creating rooms without women, how will they make sure they serve all survivors? No worries: We have an Improvement Plan on the way, and mostly no F-bombs.

The Dukes hotwash the International Association of Emergency Management (IAEM) conference and programs with a whole host of experts - Susamma Seeley, Sarah Miller, Diane Logsdon and Andrew McGuire. From Tech (Drones! Smart Cars!) to Education (Are EM degrees worth it?) to Healthcare (Yes, there are healthcare emergency managers), we catch you up on all the latest issues in your global network of fine disaster practitioners. Pro tip: Pronounce it "I'AM" Also: we take a look at the culture of emergency management, which is working to diversify, but still has a ways to go.

The Dukes bring on Nicolette Louissaint, the Executive Director of Healthcare Ready, to talk about the Hurricane Maria disaster in Puerto Rico, the federal response to that disaster, and her organization's work helping the healthcare system to recover. Spoiler alert: It's all about comms and logistics. Plus, Nicolette can do wicked things with bombs and mashed potatoes, Andrew plans to rule IAEM and Mitch realizes he actually has no idea what silicon is (trust us, it's relevant). And, yes, we totally forgot to cover the US Virgin Islands, like everybody else, but we feel really bad about it.

The Dukes sit down with Jeff Schlegelmilch, the Deputy Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University (whew, long title) and basically make him answer the hard questions about what happened in Hurricanes Harvey and Irma - and why. From the Cajun Navy to Florida's massive evacuation, we've got you covered, including evacuation decision making, better forecasting, the joys of prepositioning, early disaster declarations, healthcare response and why the whole community doesn't work without the WHOLE community. Plus, Mitch is obsessed with Jon Snow and Andrew confirms that, yes, you can now dance in Beaumont. Listen now, rock on, and if you're still responding to one of these monster storms, God bless!

The Dukes hold forth with Garrett Graff, author of the incredible (yes, we said it) new book Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself--While the Rest of Us Die. The title really sells itself. We cover fifty years of Cold War continuity planning, complete with underground bunkers, massive evacuation plans, overly complicated command/control protocols - and a huge crop of best practices (and lessons learned) that are still valuable today. Plus, Andrew really loves Nicholas Cage and there are some acronyms even Mitch can't pronounce. Dig yourself in; this one really blew us away.

Check your egos and grab your windbreakers, folks, because the former headmaster of FEMA goes with the Dukes on a rollicking tour through the last decade of emergency management, with guidance for anyone interested in emergency management, disaster response, or just how to build a great team. Plus, Mitch mansplains Craig's own idea back to him, Andrew designs a new windbreaker, and President Obama really thinks someone is doing a heckuva job. Also, yes, the University of Florida rules at all sports.

The Dukes talk the children of Katrina with Alice Fothergill and Lori Peek based on their award-winning research. It's a little heartbreaking, but the lessons are real. Plus, we score SO many points for good questions and Mitch peed with Ira Glass one time.

The Dukes talk with the former Director of Public Affairs at FEMA, Rafael Lemaitre, who dishes on communication lessons learned in crises big and small, from the tough messaging during the Flint Water Crisis to the social media campaigns of Hurricane Matthew to - GASP - why Disaster Deductibles are a good idea! Plus, we learn the best way to get Craig Fugate to say something, Andrew can't pronounce SnapCHAT, AND Mitch thinks that mitigation is the sexiest phase in the Emergency Management Cycle.

We're in a new age, folks, and we need to talk about the future. THE FUTURE of emergency management, from technology to policy to community integration to threats, we cover it all to give YOU a roadmap about where to go from here. Plus, Andrew takes a leak and Mitch can't stop saying Um. Also: Is Marty McFly all he's cracked up to be?

Mitch and Andrew walk through the Flint crisis with FSU's Brad Skillman. Plus, we find our favorite certificate program of all time (DRONES) and discover why Michael Brown may be the Forrest Gump of Emergency Management. Plus, Andrew loves America and Mitch roots for Lithuania for some reason.

Mitch and Andrew break down threats to our food supply with the man with the best title in the world: Pepsico's Senior Manager for Global Food Defense, Jason Bashura. From the Dalles salad bar salmonella to the Michigan salad bar mouse poisonings, from Ikea's horsemeat to the scariest Mexican food in Kansas, we cover where food defense has been, where it's going, and why we may never be able to drink iced tea again. Props to the FDA for the new "Final Rule for Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration". Okay, it could use a sexier name, but it's awesome. Finally - we inaugurate the Dukes of Hazards campaign to reinstate the Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience - Men of Cornwall stand ye steady! �

Suzanne Blake of MIT joins the Dukes to break down the emergency management response to active shooter incidents. Run hide fight like they do in Texas or run hide tell like they do in England? How do you notify folks in a timely manner? What's it like to pivot to planning major media events right after a massive tragedy? We get into what you need to cover - from Family Assistance Centers to Reunification. Then, a special segment from the Special Libraries Association of New York about how to keep our knowledge safe. Also, we get it, Andrew loves Texas and Mitch reads nerdy books.

BECAUSE the children are our future - Mitch and Andrew talk Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy and the long term effects of disasters on children and families with David Abramson, the founding director of NYU's Program on Population Impact, Recovery, and Resiliency (PIR2). Warning: It's not pretty. On the bright side: How do you get teenagers involved with disaster recovery? Can Mitch even get his own daughter to talk to him about disasters? Also, where were you when you heard John Lennon died? Can starving actors turn the tide on hurricane evacuation? And we get fan mail from Canada!

The Dukes are back in the studio with a breakdown of how emergency management can help you survive some of the most stressful times of your life. Whether it's planning your wedding, moving, having kids, traveling abroad, looking for a job or, you know, dying, Mitch & Andrew have got your back with real, concrete strategies to assist. We also take a look at the skills we've learned at other jobs and how those help us as emergency managers. Jump aboard for DJ Drabek, dear Aunt Edna and the wonders of alcoholic root beer.

Mitch and Andrew drink Shandies and break down all things tech+disaster with Brandon Greenberg of @disasternet. You may already have had your last avocado, thousands of people are sifting through pictures of Nepal right now, and Facebook urges you to check yourself before you wreck yourself with Safety Check. All this, the worst musical interludes of any podcast ever recorded, and even more in what may be the deepest episode of the Dukes of Hazards so far (which may not be saying much).

In this episode, special guest Jack Herrmann joins Mitch and Andrew for a compelling hour that looks at the response characteristics of the Nepal earthquake (including Facebook's new status check), why we suck at cybersecurity and the curious case of the radioative sand in Tokyo. Then, in a special segment, we look at Jack's own experiences coordinating mental health relief after 9/11. Plus, we answer Scott North's questions! All on Dukes of Hazards: The Emergency Management Podcast. Plus: Mitch is like 3/10s funny, it turns out.

Mitch's old (er, youthful) compadre Mark O'Neill comes on the show to discuss the historic Florida hurricane season of 2004. Plus, megacyclone Pam hits Vanuatu, the iWatch tracks us all, you have to believe in climate change to get FEMA money (no word on whether humans had to cause it), and it turns out sometimes you CAN take an elevator in a fire. Who knew? Plus, we tease a future tease of a Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson movie.