PODCAST · society
Me, Myself & Disaster
by Beyond Disaster
From hurricanes to humanitarian disasters, Josh McLaren and Andrew McCullough talk to people who have lived through the unexpected, been impacted by disasters, and managed response and recovery to learn from their experiences. Dive deep to explore resilience, volunteering and other facets of emergency management on Australia's leading disaster podcast - Me, Myself and Disaster.
Episodes
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Michael Rowland: The Story Behind The Story
During the Black Summer bushfires, journalist and former co-host of ABC News Breakfast Michael Rowland spent time on the ground with communities directly impacted by one of Australia’s largest disasters. His experience shaped his perspective about the role of journalism in disasters, the evolving...
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Podcast: Sydney's Hidden Radiation
Ever wondered how we would detect a nuclear disaster in Sydney? Most people don’t realise that the ground beneath our feet is full of invisible radiation. In this episode, Andrew and Josh speak with researchers at the University of Sydney to discuss how groundbreaking research has mapped natural...
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Christian Dimmer: Can we engineer ourselves out of disaster?
https://youtu.be/MOUV0bPDmA8 As a major city, Tokyo faces one of the highest disaster risks in the world with a 70% probability of being struck by a major earthquake in the next 30 years. In pre-modern Japan, disasters were accepted as a force outside of out control, and subsequently residents…
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Melissa Pexton: Empowering Communities Through Recovery
Deputy Commissioner of the WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) Melissa Pexton shares the recovery story of Fitzroy Crossing, a remote community devastated by tropical cyclone Ellie in 2022 / 2023. Located 400 kilometers east of Broome, this region faced unprecedented flooding that...
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How the world empowers informal disaster volunteers
Communities have always played an important role during disasters. Australia’s growing population, exposure to increasingly frequent and impactful severe weather events and evolving trends in volunteerism are transforming how communities respond to disasters. As natural hazards become more…
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Steve Gibson: From War Zone to Humanitarian Work
Veteran of the Royal New Zealand Navy Stephen Gibson joins the show this month to share his experience transitioning out of the military into humanitarian work, including in disaster zones across the Middle East. After 23 years in the Navy where he deployed as a peacekeeper to Yugoslavia and the...
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From Crisis to Candidacy
Community organisations are so critical to disaster recovery efforts, and many organisations emerge during and directly after disasters. Following the destructive Marshall Fire in Colorado, one community member co-founded a community organisation to support disaster survivors. Empowered by her...
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Prof Mo Hamza - Why we can't call them 'Climate Refugees'
As climate change impacts our environment, communities might face a tough choice. Do they stay and accept a lower quality of life, mitigate the effects of climate change, or decide to leave? This episode explores the complex relationship between climate change, disaster risk reduction, and human...
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Brenden Winder - Beyond the Rubble: The Christchurch Earthquake Recovery
When disaster manager Brenden Winder arrived in Christchurch after the earthquake, he found a city with destroyed buildings, chimneys fallen to the ground and windows blown in. The devastation was confronting. As aftershocks continued, rescue crews worked around the clock to pull people from the...
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Dr Debra Parkinson & Steve O'Malley - Addressing Domestic Violence in the Aftermath of Disasters
Research as far back as 1992 indicates a disturbing trend in Australia, with increased violence and aggression from men towards woman after a disaster. Today Josh and Andrew are exploring this hidden disaster – the rise in domestic violence following a disaster, such as a bushfire or flood. What...
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Dr Philip Stone - The Reality of Dark Tourism
Have you ever visited a location impacted by a disaster, such as Chernobyl, Ukraine or Fukushima, Japan? Dark Tourism involves people visiting sites of death or tragedy, where the extraordinary has occurred. In this episode, dark tourism expert Dr Philip Stone joins Andrew and Josh to understand...
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Insights and Highlights from Season 3
Andrew and Josh share the best of Season 3, from guests across the globe.
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Steven Goldfinch - Financing Disaster Resilience - The Asian Development Bank
Money is often said to make the world go round, and targeted investments in strategic projects can indeed wield significant influence, especially when directed towards mitigating disaster risks. In this episode, Andrew and Josh chat with Steven Goldfinch, Senior Disaster Risk Specialist at the...
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Dr Albrecht Beck - Disaster Diplomacy in the Middle East
Dr Albrecht Beck joins Andrew and Josh to discuss his award-winning disaster diplomacy work facilitating emergency management cooperation between Israel, Palestine, and Jordan - one of the world's most complex regions. Albrecht shares the challenges of building trust between the nations and how...
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Peter Baines - When Leadership Matters
Peter Baines shares his leadership experience deployed to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and starting Australian charity Hands Across the Water.
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Professor Ben Zaitchik - Heatwaves: the Silent Killer
Parts of the northern hemisphere have been suffering through record high temperatures. Canada has experienced the worst wildfire season on record. The world is becoming warmer and communities are struggling through seemingly endless heatwaves. Heatwaves are the silent killer. The 2003 European...
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Dr Darja Kragt: Decoding Success: Unraveling the Science behind Effective Leadership in Emergency Management
Have you ever worked or volunteered in an organisation where it felt toxic? It's likely a result of poor leadership and culture. Expert leadership scientist Dr Darja Kragt joins the show to discuss leadership and culture in emergency management, and what leadership looks like now and into the...
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A/Prof Roslyn Prinsley - Can we stop disasters before they happen?
Innovation is everywhere - and technology is distrupting our lives faster than ever before. But what happens when we cross innovative technology with the climate crisis and the impact of more intense disasters? In this episode, Andrew and Josh speak with Associate Professor Roslyn Prinsley, Head…
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Dr Blythe McLennan - Is Volunteering Dead? Building the EM Workforce of the Future
The emergency management workforce is rapidly changing. What does the future look like, and how do we attract volunteers in this new world? We ask expert Dr Blythe McLennan.
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Captain Richard de Crespigny - Landing the Black Swan: Resilience Lessons from QF32
Shortly after taking off from Singapore in November 2010, a Qantas A380 suffered a severe engine failure. Engine No. 2 exploded and 400 pieces of shrapnel almost cut the engine off the wing and busted holes in fuel tanks. It took the flight crew an hour and a half to work through the problem…
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Sue Ultmann: A Tsunami in Paradise - The Day Phuket Came Together
The palm trees are swaying gently in the breeze, the water is crystal clear. Phuket, Thailand is picture perfect and an iconic holiday destination for travellers around the world. On Boxing Day 2004, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Northern Sumatra resulting in a tsunami that...
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Richard Halberstadt: Behind the Great Seawall of Japan
On a visit to Ishinomaki Japan. Andrew and Josh speak with the director of a museum on the ruins of a school impacted by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
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FEMA: A National Approach to Resilience
Aaron and Shawn from FEMA share their insights about preparing American communities for future disasters.
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Greg Webb: Building Back Better - the FORTIS House
On New Years Eve 2019, 'apocalyptic' bushfires ripped through the NSW South Coast, destroying 89 properties in Lake Conjola. It was 1030am and local resident Greg Webb was in his office. Within minutes the temperate jumped from 38˚C to 50˚C - which Greg described as same feeling as 'opening an...
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Dr Ayesha Siddiqi: When a River Met a Nation - the Pakistan Floods
As Pakistan faces the impact of compounding flood disasters, Andrew and Josh speak with a leading researcher about the challenges of flood mitigation and recovery in the country
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Dr Robert Glasser: On the Cusp of a Transformation
Driven by the severity and frequency of disasters, Australia is on the cusp of a transformation - according to Dr Robert Glasser. As the former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Robert has travelled extensively and worked with Governments...
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Greg Mullins: Flash Point - the Ignition that Inspired Climate Action
It was 1994 and Greg Mullins was camping with his family, when the weather changed and he smelt smoke in the distance. What followed next were some of the most significant bushfires in the State’s history and a moment when the “penny dropped” for Greg that the climate was changing. There’s no...
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James Davidson: Building Back with Resilience
As communities rebuild following recordi flooding in Australia, leading architect Dr James Davidson joins Andrew & Josh to discuss how to rebuild with resilience.
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Ash Carl: On the Ground in Afghanistan - A Multi-Dimensional Crisis
When the troops left Afghanistan, a crisis continued for the millions of residents who call the country home. 90% of people have lost their income, people can't access adequate heating to survive the freezing winter temperatures and food and water is difficult to find. The country has experienced...
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For better or worse, the impact of social media during disasters
Social media has redefined how we communicate, particularly during a disaster. In this episode Andrew & Josh speak to Colleen Hagerty and Mar Reddy-Hjelmfelt to understand the impact of social media during disasters. During this extended panel episode, we explore the impact of the recent US…
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Simron Singh - the Complexities of Disaster Aid
The significant impact of disasters disproportionately affects poorer nations, fuelling a demand for disaster aid. But does the aid provided by wealthier countries have a net positive impact on impacted communities? This week we delve into the challenges of disaster aid and are joined by…
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Andrew Constance - Road to Recovery from Black Summer
The NSW Minister for Transport, Andrew Constance MP joins Andrew and Josh to talk about the long recovery from the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires, mental health, politics and leadership during disasters.
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Disasters the disease of the 21st century – politics, disasters and the free market
As the head of FEMA, Craig Fugate led the nation's response to several super storms and hurricanes. Craig talks with Josh and Andrew about politics, the role of the private sector and emergency management challenges.
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Climate change or choice? What causes disasters?
During the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires in Australia, debate raged as to whether the 'worst fires in Australia's history' were a result of hazardous conditions caused by climate change, the severe drought or poor mitigation. Josh and Andrew speak with leading disaster researcher and Professor…
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Rod Mena - Trenches & Tragedy: Reducing Disaster Risk in Conflict Zones
When we think about places like Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria, the first thing that probably comes to mind is war. 70% of areas impacted by conflict are affected by disasters, and 30% of disasters trigged by natural hazards occur in countries affected by conflict. Rod Mena joins the show today to...
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Season 2: Recovery, Resilience and Community
Season 2 is here and the Disaster Bros (Andrew and Josh) get ready to explore the the emerging trends in disaster management with new and interesting guests.
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Singapore Civil Defence Force - Developing a Nation of Lifesavers
When an emergency happens, the first responders on scene are almost always bystanders who render first aid and call for assistance. What if those bystanders had the training and skills to save a person's life? This week we were joined by Assistant Commissioner Yazid Abdullah, Director of…
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Cristóbal Mena - The Chilean Approach to Reducing Disaster Risk
Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami, landslides, bushfires and floods - Chile is one of the most disaster prone areas in the world. Today on the show Andrew and Josh speak with Deputy Director of the Chilean National Emergency Office Cristóbal Mena about the many hazards facing Chile and the level of...
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A New Approach to Preparing Communities in Wellington
How do you support a community during a disaster, while encouraging residents to become active decision makers and coordinators in the local response? Josh and Andrew headed down to Wellington recently to find out!
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Twisted truths – conspiracy theories and disasters
From FEMA camps to chemtrails designed to start bushfires - conspiracy theories are everywhere. We speak with Jo Uscinski to learn about the links between disasters and conspiracy theories.
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Disasters & #FakeNews – How the Media is Evolving in the Disaster Landscape
How do emergency managers work effectively with the media and interact with social media groups? We discuss trust and transparency, the evolving media environment, preparedness movements, what happens when disaster related community Facebook groups turn on themselves, and how to manage disaster...
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There’s no such thing as a ‘natural’ disaster
We speak with Kevin Blanchard, researcher and founder of the #NoNaturalDisasters twitter campaign. Kevin shares his experience and explains why there's no such thing as a natural disaster: "Nature doesn't cause disasters. It's our own failure as a species in terms of planning and policy that's...
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Responding in Tornado Alley
In 2011 the city of Joplin, Missouri was severely impacted by a EF5 tornado - one of the deadliest in US history with 158 people killed. Following the disaster, volunteers from across America travelled to Joplin to assist. In nearby Christian County, Director of Emergency Management, Phil…
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The Strength of the Female Perspective in Disasters
Part two of our conversation with Amanda Lamont explores how we can better create an environment to attract and engage women in disaster roles. We also speak about Amanda's role establishing the Australasian Women in Emergencies Network. Amanda Lamont is the co-founder of the Australasian Women…
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The road back from Australia's black summer - Amanda Lamont
Amanda Lamont started as a corporate lawyer working in Adelaide and discovered her passion for helping others after spending a year travelling and working in South America. After a catastrophic bushfire season, Amanda joins us to discuss the unprecedented bushfire season and what this means in...
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Quake action: Christchurch Student Volunteer Army - Antz Rohan
In the first episode of the Me, Myself and Disaster, Josh and Andrew speak with Anthony (Antz) Rohan who volunteered with the Student Volunteer Army following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Thousands of properties were damaged or destroyed, and spontaneous volunteers were key to the…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
From hurricanes to humanitarian disasters, Josh McLaren and Andrew McCullough talk to people who have lived through the unexpected, been impacted by disasters, and managed response and recovery to learn from their experiences. Dive deep to explore resilience, volunteering and other facets of emergency management on Australia's leading disaster podcast - Me, Myself and Disaster.
HOSTED BY
Beyond Disaster
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Me, Myself & Disaster have?
Me, Myself & Disaster currently has 46 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Me, Myself & Disaster about?
From hurricanes to humanitarian disasters, Josh McLaren and Andrew McCullough talk to people who have lived through the unexpected, been impacted by disasters, and managed response and recovery to learn from their experiences. Dive deep to explore resilience, volunteering and other facets of...
How often does Me, Myself & Disaster release new episodes?
Me, Myself & Disaster has 46 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Me, Myself & Disaster?
You can listen to Me, Myself & Disaster on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Me, Myself & Disaster?
Me, Myself & Disaster is created and hosted by Beyond Disaster.
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