Disaster Zone

Disaster Zone is hosted by Eric Holdeman , an emergency manager with over 30 years of experience at the federal, state and local levels of government. Disaster Zone is a podcast that focuses on all facets of disasters; the before, during and after of events that are increasingly impacting communities around the world. Podcasts run between 35-45 minutes with a mix of guests covering a range of disasters and issues that flow from them. Story topics and suggestions for people to interview are welcomed. You can contact the host via email.

Disaster Zone is a news podcast hosted by The Readiness Lab, with 251 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

The Readiness Lab hosts Disaster Zone, a news show with 251 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #22

  Rebuilding Safer: A Guide to State and Local Adaptation

  Aug 11, 20261h 2mS6

  In this podcast we review the highlights from a New Natural Resources Defense Council report, Rebuilding Safer: A Guide to State and Local Adaptation The podcast guest is Dakota Fisher a Senior Advocate, Adaptation, Environmental Health with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and he works at the intersection of climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, urban and regional planning, data analytics, and community empowerment. At NRDC, he works with state and local partners to development innovative, people-centered solutions that reduce the growing impacts of more frequent and severe disasters. Before joining NRDC in 2025, Fisher spent 12 years as a public servant, working across local, state, and federal governments. He is proud to bring many practical lessons learned from partnering with communities, agencies, and elected leaders to his NRDC role. Fisher holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of New Orleans. He is accredited by the American Planning Association's American Institute of Certified Planners and the Project Management Institute as a Project Management Professional. He is also a member of the American Society of Adaptation Professionals. Fisher is based in NRDC’s Washington, D.C., office. Please visit our sponsors! L3Harris Technologies' BeOn PPT App. Learn more about this amazing product here: www.l3harris.com Visit The Readiness Lab and learn about our Next Level Emergency Management training! https://www.thereadinesslab.com/ Impulse: Bleeding Control Kits by professionals for professionals: www.dobermanemg.com/impulse Doberman Emergency Management Group provides subject matter experts in planning and training: www.dobermanemg.com Check out how you can use digital twins in your training, exercising, and planning using RSET https://rset.com/ For sponsorship requests, check out our Sponsorship Portfolio here or email us at contact@thereadinesslab.com

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  Episode #21

  World Cup Security Challenges

  Jul 20, 202646 minS6

  The World Cup has presented some unique challenges for a multitude of agencies and jurisdictions spread over three nations. Security is a paramount consideration for hosting these games. In this podcast we discuss the complexity of the situation and the need for better coordination and information between all the partners engaged in hosting these soccer matches. There is an opportunity to build on what has been accomplished in preparing for the games. That opportunity should not be squandered. The podcast guest is Andre McGregor who is the CEO and founder of ForceMetrics , leveraging his background in law enforcement and cybersecurity to improve decision-making in policing. As a retired FBI Special Agent, Andre tackled high-profile cases in cybercrime and counterterrorism, handling hacks and international cyber threats. His early experiences growing up in a marginalized community shaped his commitment to creating safer, more informed interactions between police and the public. With ForceMetrics, he focuses on providing officers with real-time data to enhance situational awareness, de-escalate conflicts and support community-driven law enforcement. Please visit our sponsors! L3Harris Technologies' BeOn PPT App. Learn more about this amazing product here: www.l3harris.com Visit The Readiness Lab and learn about our Next Level Emergency Management training! https://www.thereadinesslab.com/ Impulse: Bleeding Control Kits by professionals for professionals: www.dobermanemg.com/impulse Doberman Emergency Management Group provides subject matter experts in planning and training: www.dobermanemg.com Check out how you can use digital twins in your training, exercising, and planning using RSET https://rset.com/ For sponsorship requests, check out our Sponsorship Portfolio here or email us at contact@thereadinesslab.com

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  Episode #20

  Know Your Route for Disasters

  Jul 9, 202656 minS6

  Chris Stewart is the President and Co-founder of IntelliMass Technologies Inc ., a road- intelligence company based in British Columbia. A strategic and ethically-centered business leader, Chris has spent his career guiding cross-functional teams, developing commercialization pathways, and transforming innovative technical concepts into market-ready products. Driven by the reality that unpaved terrain presents unique, dynamic liabilities during emergencies, Chris leads the commercialization of an emerging platform designed to map and monitor remote infrastructure for the mining, forestry, and rural sectors. His expertise includes navigating unpaved performance technologies, driving organizational growth, and establishing operational systems that allow public and private stakeholders to accurately analyze terrain risks. Previously, Chris served as President and General Manager of KXI Wildertec—a subsidiary of a public transportation tech company—where he directed the commercialization of mechatronic technologies engineered specifically for unpaved terrain performance. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing Management with Distinction from the University of British Columbia, where his award- winning thesis work harnessed early-generation AI for business optimization. Chris and his wife own and operate a small production farm in the Okanagan Valley of BC. Please visit our sponsors! L3Harris Technologies' BeOn PPT App. Learn more about this amazing product here: www.l3harris.com Visit The Readiness Lab and learn about our Next Level Emergency Management training! https://www.thereadinesslab.com/ Impulse: Bleeding Control Kits by professionals for professionals: www.dobermanemg.com/impulse Doberman Emergency Management Group provides subject matter experts in planning and training: www.dobermanemg.com Check out how you can use digital twins in your training, exercising, and planning using RSET https://rset.com/ For sponsorship requests, check out our Sponsorship Portfolio here or email us at contact@thereadinesslab.com

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  Episode #19

  Trust Factor During Disasters

  Jun 25, 20261h 18mS6

  Trust is a basic ingredient in every relationship. This applies to individuals, marriages, business partners, nations and the relationship of governments to individuals. Trust is the topic we are going to explore today and how it applies to emergency management and disasters. Kehinde Bolu Adesina, also known as Kenny, is a PhD researcher in Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College. His work focuses on the intersection of crisis communication, disaster communication, public trust, and misinformation. He studies how institutions, government agencies, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations communicate during high-risk events, and why those communication systems often fail even when the people inside them are working hard and acting in good faith. He is a contributor to a major NSF-funded disaster resilience project at OU, where he conducts research on how organizations share critical knowledge during emergencies, analyze misinformation patterns on social media, and support cross-sector preparedness workshops involving emergency managers, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and public health communicators. His research builds toward a framework called the “Crisis Meaning-Making Model,” which examines how communities interpret events through emotion, identity, and social context, not just official information. Originally from Nigeria, he completed his bachelor’s degree in Communication at Beijing Normal University in China and his master’s degree in Communication at the University of Illinois Springfield. Before beginning his doctoral work, he served as an Illini Science Policy Fellow and Media Production Coordinator at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, supporting communication on conservation and climate resilience. Kenny is multilingual, speaking English, Yoruba, French, and Mandarin, and brings a distinctly cross-cultural lens to questions of trust, public risk, and institutional credibility. He has a newsletter, Making Sense of Uncertainty, translating crisis communication research into practical guidance for leaders working in emergency management, public health, and organizational communication. Please visit our sponsors! L3Harris Technologies' BeOn PPT App. Learn more about this amazing product here: www.l3harris.com Visit The Readiness Lab and learn about our Next Level Emergency Management training! https://www.thereadinesslab.com/ Impulse: Bleeding Control Kits by professionals for professionals: www.dobermanemg.com/impulse Doberman Emergency Management Group provides subject matter experts in planning and training: www.dobermanemg.com Check out how you can use digital twins in your training, exercising, and planning using RSET https://rset.com/ For sponsorship requests, check out our Sponsorship Portfolio here or email us at contact@thereadinesslab.com

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  Episode #18

  The Gap Between Federal Flood Maps and Real Risk

  Jun 10, 202652 minS6

  Flooding continues to be the number on hazard when it comes to disasters. Knowing what area is subject to flooding before a flood, the extent of what that flood impact might be, and then knowing the status of an ongoing flood is critically important. This is the subject of this podcast. David Tobias the podcast guest serves as the Chief Product Officer at Nearmap Previously, he co-founded Betterview, the leading Property Intelligence Platform for property and casualty insurers, which was acquired by Nearmap in December 2023. David plays a pivotal role in driving the market strategy for Nearmap, enabling users to effectively identify and mitigate risk, enhance operational efficiency, and build a more transparent customer experience. Before founding Betterview, David was instrumental in scaling Research Specialist Incorporated, an insurance loss control company. Under his leadership, the company expanded to conduct over 30,000 inspections annually with a network of more than 500 inspectors across the United States. Research Specialist Incorporated was later acquired by Alpine Intel. A veteran of the insurance and property intelligence industry, Tobias is focused on finding actionable, usable solutions to complex geospatial challenges. Please visit our sponsors! L3Harris Technologies' BeOn PPT App. Learn more about this amazing product here: www.l3harris.com Visit The Readiness Lab and learn about our Next Level Emergency Management training! https://www.thereadinesslab.com/ Impulse: Bleeding Control Kits by professionals for professionals: www.dobermanemg.com/impulse Doberman Emergency Management Group provides subject matter experts in planning and training: www.dobermanemg.com Check out how you can use digital twins in your training, exercising, and planning using RSET https://rset.com/ For sponsorship requests, check out our Sponsorship Portfolio here or email us at contact@thereadinesslab.com

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