Seismic Airwaves

We pose a set of questions about resilience and local government to Sarah Iannarone, who is running in the November 2020 election for Mayor of Portland. Check out the other material for this episode to hear other candidates for Portland City Council answer the same set of questions.

Technical Level: 2/5

Fear Factor: 1/5

We pose a set of questions about resilience and local government to Portland City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, whose seat is up for election November 2020. Check out the main episode to hear Mingus Mapps, who is running against Commissioner Eudaly, answer the same set of questions.

November 2020 is approaching and bringing with it important elections at many scales. With this episode we introduce candidates for local office in Portland, OR to share their views on issues of emergency management and to more generally paint a picture of how local government is involved in the process. This episode is an interview with Mingus Mapps, running for City Council. Check out Episode 19 Bonus material for more!

Technical Level: 3/5

Fear Factor: 1/5

Chad Tucker steps into the hosting seat for this episode alongside his 9-year-old son, Rowan, who came up with this episode idea: Asteroid impacts and emergency preparedness! Today, we will be talking to Victoria P. Andrews who recently retired from the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA about the work they do. We also will be discussing what asteroids are, how they are different from comets, and even highlight some ways that these celestial travelers have entered into our stories and culture. We also interviewed David G. Lewis, PhD, a researcher and ethnohistorian at Oregon State University and member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to learn more about the Willamette Meteorite, or Tomanowos, which is a meteorite that has long been held sacred by local tribes of the Pacific Northwest.

Technical Level: 3/5

Fear Factor: 1/5

A university can act as a model or microcosm of a city. What lessons can be learned from how a university manages crises on and off campus? This episode features conversations with  Dr. Mary Ferris, former Executive Director of Student Health, and Jim Caesar, Campus Emergency Manager, both of University of California Santa Barbara. They discuss the hazards faced by the university over their tenures including earthquake risk, wildfires, and an infectious disease outbreak of Meningitis B. 

Technical Level: 3/5 

Fear Factor: 2/5

Summer of 2020 is seeing “pandemics” centered in the public eye -- a coronavirus and structural racism pervading life and politics in the US. The impacts of structural dynamics such as racism, sexism, and poverty are repetitive and ongoing, while crises caused by illness and natural hazards can be more acute. Meghan O'Connor, therapist and Professor of Counseling Psychology, joins to discuss differences and similarities of trauma caused by these different impacts, and healing from both systemic and acute crises.

These crises present opportunities to question the approach of pathologizing people separate from the systems they are in. Instead of asking, what’s wrong with this person? We can ask, what’s wrong with this “normal”?

Technical Level: 3/5 

Fear Factor: 3/5

*This episode contains some swear words*

This bonus content accompanies the main interview with Mariola Sullivan of Magnum Opus Engineering. Here, Mariola provides an overview of impact historical events leading up to the building codes we have today in the US, such as the Codes of Hammurabi and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires. 

What does an earthquake actually do to a building, and what makes it safer for those inside? Mariola Sullivan, PE, joins for this episode to answer these questions from a civil engineering perspective: lateral forces and joints! Mariola takes us behind the codebooks to trace regulations used to control development and mitigate hazards in Portland from 1851 through the 1970s to today.

The COVID-19 pandemic is leaving few aspects of society untouched. Because seismic safety standards are lower for residential buildings than for commercial buildings, people spending more time at home could mean higher risk of injury when an earthquake hits. Mariola discusses these risks and how we got here.

Technical Level: 5/5

Fear Factor: 2/5

Candidates for Portland City Council must consider many issues: a housing crisis, police reform, a changing economy, and the list goes on. But have you wondered how candidates are considering disaster resiliency for all of Portland’s different communities? Chad Tucker sits down (remotely!) with Dan Ryan, candidate for City Council in the upcoming runoff election on August 11, 2020, to hear Dan’s views on emergency management and equitable inclusion. We also spoke with Jonna Papaefthimiliou at the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management (PBEM) to get a better idea of local government’s role in disaster response and preparation.

Technical Level: 2/5 

Fear Factor: 1/5

Music credits:

12 Months by Patchworker f.k.a. [friendzoned] | https://soundcloud.com/patchworker

Làm thế nào để đối phó với đại dịch COVID-19 ở Việt Nam so với Mỹ? Bryan Nguyen, một nhà nghiên cứu sinh viên Fulbright, đã đến Việt Nam vào đầu tháng 1 năm 2020 khi đại dịch đang ở giai đoạn đầu. Cuối cùng, anh đã chọn ở lại Đà Nẵng khi Bộ Ngoại giao Hoa Kỳ đưa ra cảnh báo du lịch của mình lên Giai đoạn 4, yêu cầu người Mỹ di tản khỏi nước sở tại của họ và trở về nhà.

Anh nói chuyện với hai cư dân trẻ Đà Nẵng, Thiện Minh Hoang và Xuân Hà Vu Nguyen - một sinh viên tốt nghiệp ngành nghiên cứu môi trường và một nhà họa sĩ kiêm quản lý một doanh nghiệp nhỏ, về phản ứng của họ và quan điểm của họ về cuộc chiến COVID-19 tại Việt Nam. Điều này dẫn đến việc nói chuyện về đại dịch COVID-19 đã ảnh hưởng đến cuộc sống của họ như thế nào về mặt học tập và kinh doanh. Ngoài ra, họ trò chuyện về những nỗ lực của cộng đồng Việt Nam đối với COVID-19 so với phần còn lại của thế giới và cách Việt Nam được công nhận như là một câu chuyện thành công trong cuộc chiến chống lại đại dịch toàn cầu đang phát triển này.