How to Disaster

A home can be rebuilt after wildfire and still be hard to keep if insurance becomes unaffordable or unavailable. Jennifer Gray Thompson talks with Jen Goodlin of Rebuild Paradise Foundation and Valerie Brown, an insurance and disaster recovery expert, about the long, complicated work of helping people get all the way home.

Together, they look at one of the biggest barriers in recovery: insurance, including why prepared homes are not always recognized by insurers and how communities can create practical pathways toward safer, more affordable rebuilding. Jen shares what Paradise has learned since the Camp Fire, from defensible space grants to rebuilding an entire town with a different understanding of risk. Valerie brings nearly two decades of disaster recovery experience, offering a clear view of how insurance, preparedness, and local leadership shape what recovery actually looks like on the ground.

The conversation also challenges the way recovery is often measured. Instead of reducing communities to housing percentages or comparisons between disasters, Jen and Valerie ask what it means to come back safer, more resilient, and more connected to the people and places being rebuilt.

Resources:

• How to Disaster
• Learn more about After the Fire USA
• After the Fire USA Resource Library
• LA Rising Podcast with Kim Marshall
• Watch Duty App
• Community Brigade Malibu
• Connect with Jennifer Gray Thompson on LinkedIn

Produced by NOVA

Cecelia Girr is Director of Cultural Strategy at Backslash, the cultural intelligence unit of Omnicom Advertising, and the author of Ready Is the New Well, a landmark report for the Global Wellness Institute on preparedness as a cultural movement. Kim Marshall is the host of LA Rising: Stories of Healing, Help, and Hope, a podcast born from the LA fires.

In this special double-hosted episode, Cecelia joins Jennifer Gray Thompson and Kim Marshall to talk about what the data actually shows: why extreme weather is no longer extreme, why the 2030s will be defined by resilience, and how preparedness has moved from the fringes of doomsday prepper culture into the mainstream.

They cover fear-based messaging and why it drives paralysis rather than action, Yale research showing that small acts of preparedness reduce anxiety and depression, the role of technology in democratising disaster readiness, the rise of disaster-literate social media creators and brands designing for emergencies, and why social connection turns out to be the strongest predictor of survival after a disaster. Jennifer also talks about the Watch Duty app, block captains, and the third way between paralysis and denial.

This is a conversation about culture, data, and what it actually looks like when a society decides to get ready.

Resources:

• How to Disaster
• Learn more about After the Fire USA
• After the Fire USA Resource Library
• Ready Is the New Well - Global Wellness Institute
• Backslash at Omnicom Advertising
• LA Rising Podcast with Kim Marshall
• Watch Duty App
• Community Brigade Malibu
• Connect with Jennifer Gray Thompson on LinkedIn

Produced by NOVA

Jennifer Gray Thompson speaks with Eaton Fire survivor, journalist, and PostFire co-founder iO Wright about what happens when a person loses their home and is suddenly forced to navigate a recovery system that is confusing, fragmented, and often hard to access. iO shares how he and his partner, Patty, turned their own experience of loss into PostFire, a revolutionary survivor-centered platform designed to offer clear, fact-checked, trauma-informed guidance for people rebuilding after fire.

Their conversation looks at the gaps survivors face around insurance, housing, FEMA, debris removal, donations, rebuilding costs, and information overload. It also explores why dignity, choice, and trusted communication matter so much after disaster, especially when people are exhausted and trying to make decisions that will shape the next several years of their lives.

At its heart, this episode is about what becomes possible when survivors are listened to, supported, and trusted as experts in their own recovery.

Resources:

• How to Disaster
• Learn more about After the Fire USA
• After the Fire USA Resource Library
• PostFire
• iO Wright
• PostFire on Instagram
• Connect with Jennifer Gray Thompson on LinkedIn

Produced by NOVA

Joel Pollak is a journalist, opinion editor at the California Post, and a Palisades Fire survivor, devoted husband and father of four whose home survived the fire but was badly smoke-damaged, and with four children, he and his wife had to fight the insurance company. They are still not home.

In this episode, Joel joins Jennifer Gray Thompson to talk about what it actually means to have a standing smoke damaged home, why it is in many ways harder to navigate than a total loss, and what the past year of fighting his insurance company has looked like from the inside.

They cover the moment Joel drove back into the fire zone with a press pass and found his house still standing, the neighbor he never identified who stretched the hose across his lawn and tried to save it on his behalf, the insurance company’s opening offer of $5,000 for the contents of a family home, the public adjuster who changed everything, the lead and arsenic in the soil that had to be trucked to Arizona, and the 35 day threat that nearly forced him to sell. 

They also talk about what it took to bridge a significant political divide, why disaster recovery needs people from every side of the aisle, and what Joel saw when he visited Coffee Park in Santa Rosa and felt, for the first time, something like hope.

Resources:

• How to Disaster
• Learn more about After the Fire USA
• After the Fire USA Resource Library
• Eaton Fire Survivors Network
• Three Homeless Guys Podcast
• Connect with Jennifer Gray Thompson on LinkedIn

Produced by NOVA

Ralph Bloemers is an environmental law attorney, filmmaker, and storyteller whose work has taken him from burn landscapes in eastern Oregon to the halls of Congress and the screens of PBS. He is the co-creator, with filmmaker Trip Jennings, of Elemental and Weathered, two landmark films on fire, forests, and the communities living with both. In this episode, Ralph joins Jennifer Gray Thompson for a wide-ranging conversation about why fire is not the enemy, what it actually takes to protect a home, and how we change a culture that still doesn’t fully understand what it’s up against.

They cover the suppression era that set the West up for mega fires, the indigenous fire practices that were criminalized for generations and are only now being restored, the physics of ember storms and what mesh on your vents can actually do, why community-level ignition resistance matters more than any single home, the storytelling innovations, from reggae music videos to a cartoon of a house in a psychiatrist’s chair, that Ralph is using to make the prepare message actually land, and the policy and insurance battles that Jennifer and Ralph have fought side by side on behalf of fire survivors.

Ralph is one of the most original thinkers working in this space. This is a conversation worth your time.

Resources:

• How to Disaster
• Learn more about After the Fire USA
• After the Fire USA Resource Library
• Green Oregon 
• Watch Elemental
• Watch Weathered on PBS
• Cultural Fire Management Council - Margot Robbins
• CAER Earth - mycoremediation for Fire-Affected Soils
• Foothill Catalog Foundation 
• Connect with Jennifer Gray Thompson on LinkedIn

Produced by NOVA

John Mills is the co-founder and CEO of Watch Duty, a nonprofit emergency alerting app that gives civilians real-time wildfire intelligence drawn directly from first responder radio traffic. In this episode, John joins Jennifer Gray Thompson to talk about how Watch Duty was built, why it was necessary, and where it is headed.

They cover the problem Watch Duty was created to solve, how it scaled from a single county in Sonoma to all 50 US states, the harrowing experience of staying live and accurate during the LA fires, and what it means to build something disruptive in a space that does not always welcome disruption. John also speaks to the future of Watch Duty as it prepares to expand beyond wildfire into flooding and other natural disasters.

Resources:

• How to Disaster 
• Download the Watch Duty app
• Learn more about After the Fire USA
• After the Fire USA Resource Library
• Connect with Jennifer Gray Thompson on LinkedIn

Produced by NOVA

In this relaunch episode, Jennifer Gray Thompson explains why How to Disaster is returning now and what the show is here to offer people living through disaster and recovery. 

She shares how After the Fire began, what the organization has learned from years of walking alongside fire-affected communities, and why recovery works better when people do not try to carry it alone. The episode also introduces the show’s larger mission: helping listeners feel less isolated, more informed, and better able to face what comes next.

Resources:

• How to Disaster 
• Learn more about After the Fire USA
• After the Fire USA Resource Library
• Connect with Jennifer Gray Thompson on LinkedIn

Produced by NOVA

In this heartfelt closing session of the Wildfire Leadership Summit, Jennifer Gray Thompson reflects on the journey from disaster to recovery. She shares the powerful story of how communities across California, Oregon, and Hawaii have rebuilt after devastating wildfires—from Santa Rosa and Paradise to Greenville and Lahaina. With gratitude for her dedicated team, partners, and community leaders, Jennifer honors the progress made, the resilience of survivors, and the unbreakable spirit that drives recovery. A moving reminder that rebuilding is possible—together.

Connect with After The Fire USA: 

• Website: https://afterthefireusa.org/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfterTheFireUSA

• X: https://twitter.com/AfterTheFireUSA

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afterthefireusa/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atf3r

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuTefxZgWUJkDVoZGZQpxgQ

A heartfelt address on Maui's wildfire recovery, community resilience, and rebuilding efforts, delivered by a local leader. The speaker reflects on the importance of community-led recovery, cultural preservation, emergency preparedness, and housing stability. Highlights include progress on rebuilding Lahaina, strengthening emergency management, and ensuring residents can return home. The talk closes with a personal ukulele performance celebrating Haleakalā, Maui's iconic mountain.

Connect with After The Fire USA: 

• Website: https://afterthefireusa.org/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfterTheFireUSA

• X: https://twitter.com/AfterTheFireUSA

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afterthefireusa/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atf3r

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuTefxZgWUJkDVoZGZQpxgQ

Join moderator Reva Feldman and an expert panel as they explore the role of technology in disaster response and recovery. Panelists include iO Wright, co-founder of Post Fire; John Mills CEO, Watch Duty; and Adrienne Heinz,Clinical Research Psychologist, VA National Center for PTSD and Stanford University School of Medicine. Learn how innovative tools like Watch Duty and Post Fire are helping communities access timely information, navigate recovery, and support mental health in the wake of disasters. The discussion highlights the importance of human-centered technology, partnerships, and equitable recovery for all survivors.

Connect with After The Fire USA: 

• Website: https://afterthefireusa.org/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfterTheFireUSA

• X: https://twitter.com/AfterTheFireUSA

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afterthefireusa/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atf3r

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuTefxZgWUJkDVoZGZQpxgQ