The Multi-Hazards Podcast

What if we prepared for humanity to live another 10,000+ years on Earth? What can we store away for future generations? What will benefit our descendants as they survive and thrive in the far future? Listen to "Safekeeping & Humanity's Future - Conversation with Dr. Jean Walton" (Multi-Hazards Podcast S03 E02). Check out the Study Guide, click on the top left "PDF": https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/safekeeping-humanitys-future-conversation-with-dr-jean-walton

Dr. Jean Walton Bio

Dr. Walton is professor of English at the University of Rhode Island, where she teaches modernism, film, and gender studies. She is the author of Fair Sex, Savage Dreams: Race, Psychoanalysis, Sexual Difference (Duke University Press, 2001) and coauthor, with Mary Cappello and James Morrison, of Buffalo Trace: A Threefold Vibration (Spuyten Duyvil Publishing, 2018). She wrote Mudflat Dreaming: Waterfront Battles and the Squatters Who Fought Them in 1970s Vancouver, published by New Star in 2018. This mini-Bio does not do justice to her, so please check out her longer Bio at the University of Rhode Island website: https://web.uri.edu/english/meet/jean-walton/

Tired of the pandemic? Restless? Bored? Listen to Multi-Hazards podcast host Vin Nelsen as he takes a few moments to summarise the 20 episodes of Season 2 and give you a glimpse of what will happen in the new season: Rest Not in Peace - Season 3 Premiere by Vin Nelsen (Multi-Hazards Podcast S03 E01). Check out the Study Guide, click on the top left where it says "Pdf" above the date! https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/rest-not-in-peace-season-3-premiere-by-vin-nelsen

Vin Nelsen's Bio

Vin Nelsen has a passion for protecting communities. While continuing to teach immigrants at Douglas College near Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Canada, he studied a Grad Diploma in Climate Risk Management from the University of Waterloo, a Certificate in Climate Change Policy & Practice from the University of Toronto, courses from Yukon University's Graduate Diploma in Climate Change Policy, as well as a Diploma of Emergency & Security Management, Certificate in Emergency Management and Certificate of Emergency Management Exercise Design from Justice Institute of BC (JIBC), plus courses in First Nations' Studies, meteorology, technical writing and cyber security while volunteering with a local Emergency Preparedness program and Red Cross these last two years. He finished in December 2019, then COVID-19's disruption came in March 2020, so this podcast at least lets him release some of that pent-up steam while seeking ways to contribute to Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). 

He has a Master of Arts in Cross-Cultural-related studies (Trinity), a Bachelor of Arts, double majors of Communication (Media) and French & Certificate of Liberal Arts (Simon Fraser University), a Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (Vancouver Community College), and passed the Real Estate Trading Services Licensing University of British Columbia (UBC). 

His previous work including many years in immigrant helping organisations as program manager, career and job search counsellor and instructor, English language instructor and real estate agent.  He worked six years in Asia and has mainly worked with non-Westerners since his youth.  For the next few decades, he will dedicate himself to protecting communities from extreme weather events, geohazards, security threats and damaging social and political trends.

«Être fort pour être utile.» ("Be strong to be useful")

From Georges Hébert (1875-1957), French Navy officer, pioneer of France's physical education programs and creator of the Natural Method.

Can we adapt to a speedily changing climate with all the extreme weather events challenging our communities in wave after wave?  Beth Gibbons, Executive Director of the American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP) shares her journey & what she & her expert colleagues from far and wide are doing.  Listen to "Collaborating for Climate Adaptation" (Multi-Hazards Podcast S02 E20). Check out the Study Guide, click on the top left "PDF": https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/collaborating-for-climate-adaptation-conversation-with-beth-gibbons

Beth Gibbons is the Executive Director of the American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP). In this role, she is responsible for strengthening the capacities of individual adaptation professionals, adaptation and resilience oriented organizations, and accelerating the evolution of the adaptation field of practice.Beth brings over a decade of experience in sustainable development and climate adaptation to her role. Prior to joining ASAP, Beth directed the University of Michigan's Climate Center and managed NOAA’s Great Lakes Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments Center. Beth served in the Peace Corps in Agodopke, Togo and holds a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Michigan.

Threat modeling is a key to securing businesses, governments and individuals in a hacker-happy world. Its principles can be applied to disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change adaptation (CCA) & other fields. Listen to Cybersecurity expert Adam Shostack in "Cybersecurity, Threat Modeling & in an Up & Down World" (Multi-Hazards Podcast S02 E19). Check out the Study Guide, click on the top left "PDF": https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/cybersecurity-threat-modeling-in-an-up-down-world-conversation-with-adam-shostack

Adam Shostack Bio

Adam Shostack is a leading expert on threat modeling, and a consultant, entrepreneur, technologist, author and game designer. He's a member of the BlackHat Review Board, and helped create the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system and many other things. He currently helps many organisations improve their security via Shostack & Associates, and advises startups including as a Mach37 Star Mentor. While at Microsoft, he drove the Autorun fix into Windows Update, was the lead designer of the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) Threat Modeling Tool v3 and created the "Elevation of Privilege" game. Adam is the author of Threat Modeling: Designing for Security, and the co-author of The New School of Information Security.

If you'd like help threat modeling, or engineering more secure systems in general, take a look at his consulting pages at https://adam.shostack.org.

With climate change speeding like a runaway train and the oil and gas industry (O&G) digging in its heels, electric vehicles (EVs) can be a game changer.  Why not come out of this COVID-19 pandemic leaner & greener and build a sustainable economy where we can all survive?   Listen to EV expert John Stonier in "Electric Vehicles Can Help Save the World" (Multi-Hazards Podcast S02 E18). Check out the Study Guide, click on the top left "PDF": https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/electric-vehicles-can-help-save-the-world-conversation-with-john-stonier

John Stonier Bio

John Stonier is an electric mobility entrepreneur, enthusiast and advocate. He's also a professional Chartered Accountant, senior financial executive and experienced technology and company builder for a sustainable economy.  He's the President of the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association (VEVA) in Canada's City of Vancouver on the West Coast.  For many years he's been an electric vehicle advocate, builder, expert and enthusiast, as well as leader, conference speaker and panelist.  Link: https://www.f6s.com/johnstoniercpaca

Baby Boomers are blamed for all the troubles in the world, Gen Z is ready for a fight, Millennials are miffed and Gen X wonders where they fit in. The multi-generational strife we see today mirrors the chaos and hopes of a planet still wondering whether humans are a burden or blessing. If you were a visiting alien, what would you conclude? Find out more: Boomers, Gen Z & the Rest of Us - Conversation with Dorothy Woodend (Multi-Hazards S02 E17). On Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc. With Study Guide: click on the top right PDF here: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/boomers-gen-z-the-rest-of-us-conversation-with-dorothy-woodend

BIO - Dorothy Woodend

Dorothy Woodend is the culture editor for The Tyee. Born in Vancouver, Dorothy was raised on the East Shore of Kootenay Lake, where nothing ever happened. She and her twin sister hightailed to Vancouver after graduating, where they lived on bags of frozen french-fries and worked a series of crappy jobs.

Dorothy holds degrees in English from Simon Fraser University and Film Animation from Emily Carr University. She has worked in many different cultural disciplines, including producing contemporary dance and new music concerts, running a small press, and writing for newspapers and magazines across Canada and the U.S.

In 2004, Dorothy became The Tyee’s film critic. She has worked with the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Whistler Film Festival and the National Film Board of Canada. She is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, The Vancouver Film Critics Circle, and the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. Dorothy is also the senior festival advisor for DOXA Documentary Film Festival in Vancouver.

Link: https://thetyee.ca/Bios/Dorothy_Woodend/

COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on the way we do things. There is no longer a "normal", just a "new abnormal". What happens with COVID-19 when wildfires, floods, heat waves or other events occur? We call this a "multi-hazard scenario." To face off against this, the Future Cell team has come up with a framework to assist Emergency Management in planning for multi-hazard events in a COVID-19 environment. Check out: COVID-19 & Multi-Hazards in a Future Cell Framework: Conversation with the Future Cell Team (Multi-Hazards Podcast S02 E16). On Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc.  Check out the Study Guide, click on the top left "PDF": https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/covid-19-multi-hazards-in-a-future-cell-framework-conversation-with-the-future-cell-team

Purple Compass

As the Founder and Chief Strategist in Foresight & Design for Purple Compass, Donna Dupont brings skills and insights developed over 20 years working with leaders in emergency management, government public policy, strategic planning and program design. Purple Compass helps organizations navigate today’s complexity and uncertainty, anticipate future changes, and create innovative solutions. A unique B2B company, with a niche focus on strategic foresight and design services for disaster risk management and sustainability. Our approach to strategic planning is holistic, inclusive and collaborative, and combines traditional methods with foresight and design methodologies. Purple Compass also hosts the Emergency Management Futures Lab, a lab designed to support anticipatory and adaptive leadership capabilities for resilience. 

The Foresight Studio

The Foresight Studio is a boutique strategic foresight and experience futures advisory group engaged in tip-of-the-spear futures thinking, motivated to observe and understand the dynamics of change, and navigate the challenges it presents in a methodical, honest and artful manner.

Co-founded by Richard Thomas and Sady Ducros, the duo has been working together as lifelong collaborators for the past 15 years. Having first met as industrial design students at OCAD University, the pair went on to work at the Universities first research think tank, The Beal Institute for Strategic Creativity under the guidance of their mentor and founder Alexander Manu, where they explored the future of IOT through the lens of Strategic Foresight. The pair have been working together ever since. 

Did you know unprecedented numbers of people searched for prayer during the COVID-19 pandemic's early months?  So, what role does religion play in disasters?  Does it help or is religion a distraction from reality?  Check out: COVID-19, Disasters & Religion: Conversation with Dr Jeanet Bentzen (Multi-Hazards Podcast S02 E15)  On Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc.  Check out the Study Guide, click on the top left "PDF": https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/covid-19-disasters-religion-conversation-with-dr-jeanet-bentzen

Dr. Jeanet Sinding Bentzen is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Copenhagen. Her research focuses on economic approaches to decision-making and culture, and includes topics related to religion, institutions, economic growth, economic history, and geographic confounders. Most of her recent work is within the Economics of Religion field. Methodologically, she uses econometric techniques to test theories from psychology, sociology, theology, and anthropology empirically. Her methodology involves broad datasets spanning the globe, allowing testing of the generalisability of the various theories.

She's helped us make sense of the COVID-19 crisis.  In June 2020, she wrote a column called "Rising religiosity as a global response to COVID-19 fear". Before that, in May 2020, she wrote "In Crisis We Pray" paper, one in the Centre for Economic Policy (CEPR) COVID Economics series. In Apr 2020, with Gunes Gokmen she wrote a Discussion Paper called "Power of Religion". Before all this, in Feb 2020, she published with Lena Sperling a CEPR paper called "God Politics".  In Dec 2019, she became the new Executive Director of Association of Economics, Religion, and Culture (ASREC). 

With social injustices and scandals breaking out left, right and centre, amidst a pandemic, climate change and an unpredictable future, many are finding hope in faith. Not the ordinary, business-as-usual faith, but one that challenges systems and champions with weak over the strong, the poor over the rich. Join us for a deep dive: Liberation Theology & Social Justice: Conversation with Damon Garcia (Multi-Hazards Podcast S02 E14). On Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc. With Study Guide, click on the top left: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/liberation-theology-social-justice-conversation-with-damon-garcia

BIO - Damon Garcia

Damon Garcia describes himself as a minister and promoter of Liberation Theology. You can find more about him in this episode when he tells us his story.

How can a major urban centre adapt to the brutal realities of climate change risks? How can communities unite together to prepare for, respond to and recover from increasing extreme weather events, while dealing with systemic discrimination and a major pandemic at the same time? How is Detroit leading the way? Find out here: Urban Adaptation to Climate Risks: Conversation with Dr. Jalonne L White-Newsome.  On Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc. With Study Guide, click where it says PDF on the top left: https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/rban-adaptation-to-climate-risks-conversation-with-dr-jalonne-l-white-newsome

BIO - Dr. Jalonne L White-Newsome

Dr. Jalonne L White-Newsome is CEO/Founder of Empowering a Green Environment and Economy, delivering people-centred solutions to transform communities (check out the website at www.empower4people.com). Before this, she was senior program officer at The Kresge Foundation, responsible for the Environment Program's grant portfolio on Climate Resilient and Equitable Water Systems (CREWS). Jalonne was also a core team member of Kresge's Climate Change, Health and Equity Initiative, supporting grantmaking across the public health sector.

Before this, Jalonne served as director of federal policy at West Harlem Environmental Action Inc. (WE ACT), where she led national campaigns to ensure that the concerns of low-income communities of color were integrated into federal policy, particularly on issues of clean air, climate change and health. She is an adjunct professor at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. As a researcher on climate, health and equity, Jalonne was a lead author for the human health chapter of the Fourth National Climate Assessment. She provides leadership on various boards, including the National Academy of Sciences Board on Environmental Change and Society, the US Climate Action Network, Health Environmental Funder’s Network Steering Committee and the Urban Water Funder’s Group.

A native of Detroit, Jalonne earned a Ph.D. in environmental health sciences from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University. Jalonne has recently been recognized by Who’s Who in America, The Environmental Management Association’s Environmental Achievement Award, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters and is a 2017 PLACES Fellow alum with The Funders Network.