Happy New Year from the LSU NCBRT Preparedness Podcast! In our first episode of 2025, we talk to LSU NCBRT/ACE instructors and subject matter experts Roy Bethge and Debi Price to discuss the importance of feedback as a leader or instructor. They discuss how expectations for feedback in the job have evolved over time, using feedback as a positive tool. The next episode in this three-part series will air on Tuesday, January 21.

Welcome to the last episode of the LSU NCBRT Preparedness Podcast of 2024! In this episode, host Ashley Markle and project coordinator/producer Sean LaBorde reflect on the year and discuss what the podcast will look like in 2025. They talk about their favorite series over the year, topics they want to cover or revisit next year, the future of emergency response training, and goals for next year

This is the third and final episode in our “The Call That Changed Me” series with guests LSU NCBRT/ACE instructor and former Austin PD Commander Sam Shurley. In this episode, he looks back at the hostage response that critically wounded one of his officers and fatally wounded another and reflects on the personal and professional impacts that situation had on him and his team, as well as the lessons learned from the incident.

This is the second episode in our “The Call That Changed Me” series with guests LSU NCBRT/ACE instructor and former Austin PD Commander Sam Shurley. In this episode, he describes the aftermath of losing one of his officers in a hostage response, including what happened after the threat was neutralized and how he led his team immediately following the incident.

The final episode with Sam will air on Tuesday, December 10th.

Today we are starting a new series called “The Call That Changed Me.” In this series, guests will share experiences that affected them personally and professionally. Today’s podcast is the first of three episodes with LSU NCBRT/ACE instructor and former Austin PD Commander Sam Shurley. In this episode, he describes an active hostage situation and response that happened in 2023 that changed him.

This podcast is the second in our two-part roundtable discussion with LSU NCBRT/ACE instructors Mark DuPont, Andrew Rateaver, and Maggie Varela. In this episode, we discuss solutions to some of the challenges we talked about in part one. Topics include skills and approaches to navigating challenges in the responder community, the importance of communication across different groups, adapting training to meet current needs, mentorship, and more.

Today on the podcast, we are starting a two-part roundtable discussion on leadership with some of our past guests and NCBRT instructors. In this episode, Mark DuPont, Andrew Rateaver, and Maggie Varela discuss challenges facing leaders in public safety today, including recruitment and retention, mental health and wellbeing, and communicating with colleagues and the broader community.

The next episode in this series will air on Tuesday, November 12th.

With Election Day 2024 just one week away, we are catching up with our guests from our previous election safety and security series to see how law enforcement and election workers are preparing. Guests Tina Barton and Sheriff Justin Smith from the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections discuss the latest threats to election workers, offices, and polling places; initiatives and resources that have been implemented to ensure election safety; unique challenges for law enforcement; and more.

Listen to the first two episodes of our previous election safety and security series: -

Election Safety and Security: The Problem

Election Safety and Security: The Impact

Today on the podcast, we are finishing our three-part series on the 2018 Austin serial bombings with Sam Shurley, LSU NCBRT/ACE subject matter expert and former commander for the Austin Police Department. In this episode, we debrief the incident by looking at frictions or failures in the investigation; successful collaboration between local, state, and federal agencies; the complications of the case itself; and what investigators learned after the suspect was killed.

Today’s podcast is the second in our three-part series on the 2018 Austin serial bombings with guest and former Austin PD lieutenant Sam Shurley. In this episode, Sam breaks down the process of tracking down and apprehending the bombing suspect, including the surveillance, the partnerships between law enforcement agencies, and what happened when police ultimately stopped the suspect in his car.

The final episode in this series will air Tuesday, October 22nd.