In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, host Kyle King examines how gray zone operations are fundamentally reshaping civilian crisis management across Europe. Kyle walks through Russian drone incursions over Poland, GPS jamming affecting hundreds of thousands of flights, and shadow fleet operations cutting undersea cables to demonstrate why traditional emergency management frameworks can't handle sustained, multi-domain pressure designed to exhaust coordination capacity.

Through real-world examples like Poland's border closure disrupting €25 billion in trade and Denmark's coordination trap, the episode reveals how practitioners are already building informal networks out of necessity because official structures move too slowly. NATO members are invoking Article 4 consultations over civilian incidents. Emergency managers are operating at sustained alert levels for weeks without recovery phases.

Tune in to understand why the transformation from emergency management to security governance isn't optional anymore, and how Crisis Lab's Forum provides the strategic infrastructure for professionals navigating this shift in real time.

Show Highlights

[00:25] Defining the gray zone and why it matters for civilian crisis management

[01:30] September 2025 Russian drone incursions and NATO's first intercept over member territory

[02:15] GPS jamming surge: 700 incidents in 2025 vs 55 in all of 2023

[03:00] Why traditional emergency management assumptions no longer hold

[04:15] How gray zone operations target civilian coordination capacity, not military assets

[05:00] Poland's 12-day border closure and the €25 billion trade route disruption

[06:15] Cascading effects: pharmaceutical supply chains and continental public health coordination

[07:00] The coordination trap: when organizational charts become obstacles

[08:00] Sweden's bureaucratic response to shadow fleet operations

[09:00] What sustained operational capability actually requires

[10:15] Intelligence integration as a civilian function

[10:45] Training for multi-domain pressure and information fog

[11:15] How informal networks are holding when formal structures fail

[12:00] The Forum at Crisis Lab: strategic infrastructure for the security governance transformation

In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, host Kyle King takes a hard look at the internal fractures forming within the emergency management community. Kyle reflects on how recent disasters and public criticism have brought long-standing issues to the surface. This episode challenges the profession to face uncomfortable truths about authority, messaging, and its evolving role in the face of growing demands.

With examples drawn from major events like Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and reactions from both public officials and emergency professionals, Kyle unpacks how misinformation, internal conflict, and a crisis of credibility are reshaping what it means to serve communities during emergencies. He explores how the field's reliance on heroic language has masked a quiet shift toward managing scarcity rather than delivering aid and why the time for honest self-examination is now.

Tune in to hear why emergency management stands at a crossroads and what it must do to rebuild public trust and professional unity in an age of constant crisis.

Show Highlights

[00:25] Why this conversation is difficult but necessary
[01:05] Recent disasters and growing scrutiny
[01:45] Internal divide in emergency management
[02:30] Social media and professional conflict
[03:34] Criticism from within the field
[04:00] Misinformation and coordination challenges
[04:47] Constant disaster demand
[05:40] Overlooked internal tensions
[05:59] Who really represents the profession
[06:47] Impact of influencers vs. traditional roles
[07:34] Messaging clash with public expectations
[08:29] FEMA's response during Hurricane Helene
[09:32] From aid delivery to resource management
[10:51] Institutional honesty and public trust
[11:24] Two directions for the profession
[12:00] Rebuilding credibility through alignment

In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, host Kyle King sits down with emergency preparedness leader Toni Hauser to examine how the future of emergency management is being shaped by shifting influence, community leadership, and professional development. With debates underway about decentralizing FEMA, the discussion highlights why local voices matter and how change in the field often starts from the ground up.

Drawing from her role as co-vice chair of the IAEM 2025 Conference Committee and her experience in public health preparedness, Toni explains how the upcoming IAEM Annual Conference in Louisville is designed as more than a traditional event. She shares how planning adapts to constant change, why flexibility is essential, and how the conference builds resilience through networking, training, and immersive experiences.

Tune in to hear how emergency management professionals can navigate policy shifts, balance a wide range of responsibilities, and find new ways to lead in an environment where adaptability is the key to influence.

Show Highlights

[02:55] Overview of the IAEM 2025 Annual Conference in Louisville

[03:16] Debate on FEMA decentralization and shifting influence

[06:08] Planning, logistics, and adapting to change

[09:20] Gathering feedback and creating meaningful experiences

[11:16 ] Inside the IAEM Expo and networking opportunities

[14:02] Trends in conference submissions and session topics

[15:51] The role of virtual conferences and accessibility

[18:50] Speaker liaison roles and supporting presenters

[20:40] Challenges of breadth and context switching in emergency management

[24:18] Advice for first-time attendees and volunteer opportunities

[26:15] Registration details and final thoughts

Connect with Toni Hauser 
- LinkedIn

Check out the IAEM 2025 Annual Conference in Louisville, November 14–20, for the latest trends, tools, and networking opportunities in emergency management: https://www.iaem.org/Events/Event-Info/sessionaltcd/AC25

In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, host Kyle King breaks down the professional development paradox in emergency management.

As challenges grow more complex and interdependent, senior leaders are often stuck between outdated training models and increasing demands. Many find that after 15 years, professional growth slows, leaving them intellectually stranded.

Kyle highlights the false choice between tactical training and generic leadership courses, and argues for a third path: intellectual infrastructure that connects seasoned professionals across fields. Drawing from research and real-world conversations, he challenges listeners to rethink how expertise evolves and why staying curious is essential.

Show Highlights

[00:53] Training cycles vs fast-moving demands
[01:40] Fundamentals and cross-sector challenges
[02:05] After-action reviews and slow adaptation
[03:14] Climate, cyber, and supply chain risks
[03:40] Generalist or tactical: a false choice
[04:09] Two categories of development, and the gap
[05:11] Burnout, low pay, and lack of strategy
[06:20] The silo trap of deep expertise
[07:33] Routine vs adaptive expertise
[09:42] Why leadership programs fall short
[11:06] The convergence of complexity and missing support
[12:02] What intellectual infrastructure should provide
[14:23] The Forum as a new model
[16:00] When were you last curious about your field?

If that question made you pause, you are not alone. Many experienced professionals are facing complex challenges with training models that no longer fit the realities they work in.

The Forum at Crisis Lab was created to give senior leaders a space to learn with peers, test new ideas, and stay sharp in a changing environment.

🔗 Apply now at crisislab.io/theforum

In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, host Kyle King sits down with maritime operations expert James Merten to explore how global trade depends on a fragile and often invisible system: ocean shipping. From cargo delays and cyberattacks to major port shutdowns, disruptions in this sector have far-reaching effects—touching everything from factory supply chains to your local grocery store.

James draws from his experience with the U.S. Coast Guard and academic research in port resilience to unpack the real challenges of keeping maritime systems running. They discuss why maritime coordination is so complex, how ports prepare for storms and peak shipping seasons, and what new risks are emerging as the industry goes digital and adopts clean energy.

Tune in to learn what really happens behind the scenes when maritime systems break down—and what it takes to build them back stronger.

Show Highlights
[02:28] How everyday goods depend on global shipping routes
[04:31] What actually counts as a major maritime disruption
[06:48] Inside the tangled web of port governance and response
[10:05] The real-world gap between plans and emergencies
[11:56] Balancing global supply chains with local recovery needs
[13:52] How ports plan for hurricanes, holidays, and heavy cargo flows
[16:34] Why digitized ports are vulnerable to cyberattacks
[18:38] What port recovery looks like beyond reopening
[20:06] A new training course for maritime professionals
[21:55] What’s ahead: wind farms, automation, and changing risks

Connect with James:

In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, host Kyle King introduces the “velocity of crisis”—a powerful yet overlooked concept in emergency management. As disasters escalate faster and ripple through interconnected systems, our current response models are falling behind.

Kyle explores how predictive analytics, anticipatory positioning, and automation can help us stay ahead. Featuring real-world examples like the 2021 European floods and innovations like California’s Alert program, this episode unpacks how we can shift from reactive to proactive crisis management—and build systems ready for the speed of modern emergencies.

Tune in to discover how understanding crisis velocity could reshape how we protect our communities.

Show Highlights
[00:00] What is the “velocity of crisis” and why it matters
[01:23] The dangerous speed gap in emergency response
[02:09] How modern disasters cascade through systems
[03:00] Spain & Portugal blackout: a case of systemic failure
[05:03] Why warnings failed during the 2021 European floods
[06:02] Tech solutions that anticipate crises, not chase them
[07:06] Three principles to interrupt crisis escalation
[09:19] Matching crisis velocity with automation and AI
[10:20] Rethinking emergency management for today’s risks

In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, Kyle King unpacks the “Resilience Paradox”—why we expect people to be self-reliant during emergencies while tolerating fragile infrastructure. Triggered by the mass blackout across Spain and Portugal, Kyle examines the deeper disconnect between how cities are planned and how they perform under stress. He makes the case for embedding resilience into the design of power, water, and communication systems—so communities can function even when external support fails.

Tune in to rethink how we design for disruption, not just efficiency.

Show Highlights
[00:00] Examining the massive power outage that paralyzed Spain and Portugal
[00:27] Introducing the concept of the Resilience Paradox in modern urban systems
[01:29] Unpacking the contradiction between citizen preparedness and fragile infrastructure
[02:27] Revealing the professional disconnect in how communities are designed and protected
[04:11] Rethinking infrastructure resilience through real-world examples and failures
[07:00] Outlining integration pathways to build inherently resilient communities
[07:21] Emphasizing the urgent need for governance reform and cross-disciplinary education
[07:58] Highlighting the importance of measuring and incentivizing resilience alongside sustainability

In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, Kyle King challenges the core assumptions of American emergency management. He contrasts FEMA’s focus on efficiency with Europe’s emphasis on survival, revealing why traditional measures like response time and coordination no longer reflect the realities of modern disasters. Drawing on examples such as the Texas floods, Hurricane Maria, and the Texas winter storm, Kyle explains why it's time to measure how long communities can function without help, not how fast help can arrive.

Tune in for a critical look at outdated preparedness models, a fresh perspective from European strategies, and a path forward that prioritizes resilience over speed.

Show Highlights
[01:38] Why it is urgent to rethink how we measure disaster preparedness
[02:05] A look at the performance metrics in American emergency management
[03:05] The assumptions built into current disaster response strategies
[03:32] How Europe’s wartime mindset shapes crisis preparedness for survival
[05:27] Real-world failures from Texas floods to Hurricane Maria
[09:13] What the U.S. can learn from Europe’s focus on self-sufficiency and resilience
[12:40] A call to shift American emergency management from efficiency to endurance
[14:38] Reflections on building readiness for disasters when help may not come

In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, Kyle King shows how growing disaster aid has weakened emergency management. He traces FEMA’s move from a coordination role to a relief fund handler, points out the costs of grant-driven processes, and makes the case for rebuilding from first principles.

Tune in for a close look at institutional hurdles, a proposal to separate relief and response, and a roadmap to restore true surge capacity—so communities are ready long before the next disaster hits.

Show Highlights
[00:19] FEMA’s shift from civil defense to all-hazards management
[01:18] How coordination gave way to relief-focused work
[02:54] The downsides of relying on post-disaster aid
[03:40] Key events that reshaped emergency management
[05:11] How relief priorities hollowed out coordination skills
[09:10] Bringing back rapid national mobilization
[10:59] Structural changes to balance readiness and relief
[15:58] Putting coordination back at the center of emergency response

In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, host Kyle King challenges us to rethink everything we thought we knew about emergency management. Rather than layering on new frameworks after each disaster, Kyle argues for the courage to admit we don’t have all the answers—and to start over from first principles. He explores how institutional inertia traps us in “adding machine” thinking, why true innovation often comes from outside the field, and how we can design a system where response is truly a last resort.

Tune in for a bold vision of embedded resilience and the tools we need to build inherently safer, more adaptive communities.

Show Highlights

[01:08] Challenges to internal reform amid institutional inertia and failure of imagination

[02:15] Applying first-principles thinking to break free from outdated emergency management models

[03:25] Innovations emerging from outside the field to drive adaptive resilience

[05:56] Reimagining the system through community-centered, anticipatory approaches

[08:55] Outlining the path forward for building resilient communities