Earthquakes can happen almost anywhere, but they have to happen on a fault. To explain when it is important to note on which fault an earthquake occurred, Dr Jones defines what a fault is, the difference between active and inactive faults, and how Paleoseismology can reveal the history of a fault. 

Science is a process, not a result, to discern reality. And while there are accepted theories that few people argue, there are new models and datasets that may challenge what we know based on this process. In this episode, Dr. Jones explains the process and how she approaches new scientific information.

In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses the basics of hurricanes, how they get categorized, and their impacts on communities around the country. She explains the fundamentals of where and how they form, as well as what we can expect in the future from these potentially devastating events.

Human activity has changed wildfire ecology across the globe. Wildfires are natural processes that are fundamental to many ecosystems, but their rate, intensity, and impact are being altered by human-caused climate change. In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses fire suppression, ignition sources, and what you can do to slow the rate we are damaging our forests.

The large earthquake in Haiti on August 14th, 2021 reminds us how much we really know about the next disaster. And the answer is: a lot.  Why are disasters such a shock, then? Science gives us the tools and the knowledge for better response, improving survival and recovery time.

We cannot stop natural processes like earthquakes from occurring, but we can plan to manage them and protect our communities. Having insurance is a form of this community protection: you build funds by withstanding the smaller, more likely events and share the risk for the rarer, worse events. In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses the flaws in our current disaster insurance system and how a federal natural hazards insurance program could protect us from the natural disasters we all face.

The foundation for building resilience is understanding and applying the science to natural hazards with and for your community. The culture of “rugged individualism” in the US has contributed to its citizens limiting their actions in service of the community good. In a pandemic, earthquakes, and other disasters, we all can be safer from individual action done for the community as a whole. 

Nearly all the people getting infected now with COVID-19 are not vaccinated, but there are still fully vaccinated people getting infected. This episode explores why, statistically, this is happening and why we shouldn’t see being vaccinated as perfect, but as our chance to decrease our risk. As Dr. Jones says, in response to earthquakes, wildfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic, it is both with and for the community that we need to take resilience-building actions.

Floods used to be one of the biggest risks people would face. While there have been major engineering improvements to dams and drainage to prevent the impacts of flooding, there is always a flood that will overwhelm the flood controls. Further, climate change is driving disasters like flooding to increase in both intensity and quantity. In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses flood perception and prediction, and how our disaster planning can be improved. 

In this episode, Dr. Jones defines what foreshocks are, describes their variability, and explains how to manage "what comes next." She tells the story of her first papers characterizing what foreshocks are, and what we need to know about the likelihood something bigger will follow. This primer includes all the basics you need to understand foreshocks.