Monday Sep 02, 2019
S1E14 - Empire
Disasters: Deconstructed Podcast
Reflecting on human society from diverse disciplinary and ideological perspectives to understand the root causes of disasters.
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Episodes
Episodes
Monday Aug 26, 2019
Monday Aug 26, 2019
This week Ilan Kelman joins us to talk about climate change and the link to disaster risk. Ilan is a Reader in Risk, Resilience and Global Health at UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction and UCL Institute for Global Health, UK, and a researcher at the University of Agder, Norway.
We discuss whether climate change is to blame for disasters, and how we should talk about the issue. As is the case in many of our conversations so far, we discuss how disasters are not natural and why language and communication is so important.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DisastersDecon
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Further information:
Visit Ilan's incredibly interesting website and find out more about his work.
A sample of his academic work - Climate Change’s Role in Disaster Risk Reduction’s Future: Beyond Vulnerability and Resilience
A popular science article about climate change and disasters for the Conversation.
Our guests:
Ilan Kelman (@IlanKelman)
Music this week from "Hiemal" by Charlie Ryan.
Monday Aug 19, 2019
Monday Aug 19, 2019
This week we are joined by Dr Samantha Montano to talk about disaster myths. Samantha is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Management & Disaster Science at University of Nebraska Omaha.
In this episode we discuss what it is to be a "disasterologist" and what kind of myths and other destructive disaster narratives that she has dealt with in her work across research, emergency management practice and grassroots community activism.
Of course, the idea that disasters are "natural" features, as you might expect!
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DisastersDecon
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Further information:
Visit Samantha's website and check out her amazing blog archive!
5 myths about floods - Samantha writes in the Washington Post
Our guests:
Samantha Montano (@SamLMontano)
Music this week from "New Land" by Ian Post
Monday Aug 12, 2019
Monday Aug 12, 2019
In the second part of our discussion with Anthony Oliver-Smith, we discuss how society constructs risk using the example of Florida. He talks to us about his background as an anthropologist and how this field has become more critical in its study of disasters. We also discuss language, politics and the media in relation to root causes of disasters.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DisastersDecon
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Further information:
Tony's website links to much of his collection of work
Anthropology and the Political Ecology of Disasters
Our guests:
Anthony Oliver-Smith
Music this week from "Lioness" by Valkyrie
Monday Aug 05, 2019
Monday Aug 05, 2019
Today we are delighted to be bringing you the first part of a conversation about "root causes" with Anthony Oliver-Smith. Tony is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Florida and has been a great inspiration to both of us.
In this first part (of two) we discuss what root causes are and why it is so important to look beneath the symptoms, when we analyze disaster impacts. Tony gives us some wonderful examples from his expansive career that illustrate how disaster are anything but natural.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DisastersDecon
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Further information:
Tony's website links to much of his collection of work
Anthropology and the Political Ecology of Disasters
Our guests:
Anthony Oliver-Smith
Music this week from "Lioness" by Valkyrie
Monday Jul 29, 2019
Monday Jul 29, 2019
This week we spend some time around the table with Emmanuel Raju and Giuseppe Forino, our i-Rec Conference Co-Chairs, to discuss the field of disaster studies and whether any claim to being radical holds water!
We discuss some of the barriers to critical scholarship and the reluctance of those with power to allow a discourse that is based on a rigorous critique of the status quo. We talk about the political-economic-social factors underpinning risk creation and the injustice of the systems that dominate our world.
Where do we go from here?
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DisastersDecon
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Further information:
Power, Prestige & Forgotten Values: A Disaster Studies Manifesto
Our guests:
Giuseppe Forino - @G_leipheimer
Emmanuel Raju - @EmmanuelRaju7
Music this week from "Stand Down" by Luminar
Monday Jul 22, 2019
Monday Jul 22, 2019
This is the second part of our discussion with Dr JC Gaillard about capacities. Please listen to the previous Episode (S1E7) first if you haven't yet!
Today we dig deeper into the role of power in determining responsibility for vulnerability reduction or capacity enhancement. What about cultural contexts where we are outsiders? Can we presume to be acting ethically?
Also, Jason has some spare time to monologue ;)
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DisastersDecon
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Further information:
Anderson & Woodrow 1989 - Rising from the Ashes: Development Strategies in Times of Disaster https://www.amazon.com/Rising-Ashes-Development-Strategies-Disaster/dp/1555878008
Gaillard et al. 2018 - People’s capacities in facing hazards and disasters: an overview https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11069-018-3519-1
Gaillard 2010 - Vulnerability, capacity and resilience: perspectives for climate and development policy https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jid.1675
WCDRR: How do homeless people deal with hazards and disasters?, JC Gaillard - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja2zzksjjZk
Our guest this week:
Follow Dr JC Gaillard on Twitter @jcgaillard_uoa
His academic profile is hhttp://www.env.auckland.ac.nz/people/jc-gaillard
Personal Website https://jcgaillard.wordpress.com/
Music this week from "Impavid" by Charlie Ryan.
Monday Jul 15, 2019
Monday Jul 15, 2019
The knowledge, skills and resources that people can draw on and share to help deal with hazards and disasters - their capacities -must be central to any coherent strategy.
Could it be smarter to put efforts into building capacities rather than reducing vulnerabilities?
Today we talk to Dr JC Gaillard in the first of 2 episodes on capacity/capacities.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DisastersDecon
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Further information:
Anderson & Woodrow 1989 - Rising from the Ashes: Development Strategies in Times of Disaster https://www.amazon.com/Rising-Ashes-Development-Strategies-Disaster/dp/1555878008
Gaillard et al. 2018 - People’s capacities in facing hazards and disasters: an overview https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11069-018-3519-1
Gaillard 2010 - Vulnerability, capacity and resilience: perspectives for climate and development policy https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jid.1675
Our guest this week:
Follow Dr JC Gaillard on Twitter @jcgaillard_uoa
His academic profile is hhttp://www.env.auckland.ac.nz/people/jc-gaillard
Personal Website https://jcgaillard.wordpress.com/
Music this week from "Impavid" by Charlie Ryan.
Monday Jul 08, 2019
Monday Jul 08, 2019
In part 3 of "Disaster Ingredients" we are talking exposure with Ksenia's colleague Dr Lee Bosher from Loughborough University.
Living in a location prone to disaster is not only something that is forced on the most marginalized. In many cases, those with the MOST resources in society choose to live in a place that will probably experience hazards. But, as we discuss with Lee, this does not mean that major disasters affect everyone the same way. Tune in for a really interesting chat!
Looking ahead, next week we will be joined by Dr JC Gaillard for a yarn about another critical concept in disaster studies; CAPACITY.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DisastersDecon
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Further information:
UNDRR on exposure htthttps://www.preventionweb.net/terminology/view/7822
Our guest this week:
Follow Dr Lee Bosher on Twitter @leebosher
His academic profile is at https://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/abce/staff/lee-bosher/
Music this week from "Bring to Light" by Max H.
Monday Jul 01, 2019
Monday Jul 01, 2019
Welcome to part 2 of "Disaster Ingredients"! Today we are discussing vulnerability with Dr Joanne Jordan from the Institute for Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester in the UK.
We talk about her efforts as an environmental social scientist working at the interface of climate change, poverty and complex notions of risk, mostly in Bangladesh. The vulnerability concept entails much more than a word synonymous with weakness - check out this episode to find out more!
Next week we will be back with Dr Lee Bosher to investigate exposure!
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DisastersDecon
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Further information:
UNDRR on vulnerability https://www.preventionweb.net/risk/vulnerability
Our guest this week:
Dr Joanne Jordan - check out her website http://www.joannejordan.org/
'The lived experience of climate change' project - https://bit.ly/GDIpotgan - All of the project documentary films, teaching resources, blogs, project impact report etc can be accessed there.
A paper mentioned in the episode 'Deconstructing resilience: why gender and power matter in responding to climate stress in Bangladesh' - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17565529.2018.1442790
Finally follow her on Twitter @JoanneCJordan
Music this week from "Still Holding On" by Tristan Barton.
Monday Jun 24, 2019
Monday Jun 24, 2019
Today we kick off a 3 part series that we call "Disaster Ingredients". Over the next few weeks we will explore the "risk triangle" of hazards x vulnerability x exposure.
Helping us to explore natural hazards is Historical and Social Volcanologist Jazmin Scarlett, from the University of Hull in the UK. She recounts stories of societies living with hazards from her PhD field work, and we talk about the importance of risk communication and a deep understanding of social and political context.
Next week we will be back to talk about vulnerability with Dr Joanne Jordan - don't miss it!
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DisastersDecon
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
Further information:
To dive into the topic of disaster risk, check out the just published Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction https://gar.unisdr.org/report-2019
As mentioned in the episode, Ksenia and Jason (with Lee Bosher) wrote an article for GAR 2019, "Language matters: Dangers of the “natural disaster” misnomer" You can download it here https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/65974
Our guests this week:
Jazmin Scarlett - check out her blog phdvolcanology.wordpress.com and hot off the press paper "The Dark Geocultural Heritage of Volcanoes: Combining Cultural
and Geoheritage Perspectives for Mutual Benefit". Finally follow her on Twitter @scarlett_jazmin
Music this week from "Minor Changes" by Maya Isac.
About Disasters: Deconstructed
Jason and Ksenia bring you regular content reflecting on human society from diverse disciplinary and ideological perspectives to understand why disasters really happen.
There is no other podcast centering the most marginalized in disasters-a “people’s” story; recurring themes are structural violence, inequality, injustice, resistance and organizing.