Getting Through It

Episode 35 - 50th Anniversary of the Sylmar/San Fernando Earthquake

In this episode, we share the science, damage, and lasting impact that the first large earthquake in modern Los Angeles had on the city and how we address earthquake risk across the country. What was learned created new laws, funding streams, and approaches to manage earthquake risk. In fact, it's this earthquake on February 9, 1971 that may have put Dr Jones on track to the career she had helping us all get through it.

Episode 34 - Vaccines and Virus Mutation

In this episode, Dr. Jones explains the way the Coronavirus works, how the vaccines work, and how virus mutation could impact the vaccine effectiveness. She talks about when you're most contagious (and it's not when you're sickest!), and she reveals why the name of the Coronavirus also relates to how the vaccine works. And, Dr. Jones explains why the virus is "lazy."

Episode 33 - Earthquake Prediction Part 4 of 4

In this final episode of our four part series on earthquake prediction, we explore what can be predicted for a particular earthquake. In this case, we look at the damage, injuries, death, and disruption from an earthquake on the Newport Inglewood Fault running from Long Beach to Beverly Hills. Dr. Jones will explain who will feel shaking (all of SoCal) and how an earthquake on this fault compares to others. She can't tell you when, but she can tell you what will happen...

Episode 32 - Earthquake Prediction Part 3 of 4

In this, the third of our four part series on earthquake prediction, we explore earthquake early warning and what it means to be notified that earthquake shaking is headed your way momentarily. With an earthquake underway, this system can provide a "prediction" of what you'll feel. Why does this matter? Dr. Jones explains the various benefits, and some may surprise you because it's more than physically protecting yourself in the moment. 

Episode 31 - Earthquake Prediction Part 2 of 4

In part 2 of our 4 part series on earthquake prediction, Dr. Jones explains the idea of how the rate of earthquakes  can be  the piece of information that helps know if another earthquake is more likely.  She explains why people think she can predict earthquakes, when really, she's just explaining the science of what makes an earthquake more likely (hint: earthquakes never happen by themselves!). She helps explain why the San Andreas Fault is different and can be seen as more likely than other earthquakes and when a one day rate might go up around it, where people might think a prediction is being made when triggering is involved. We also reveal the things you should listen for when scientists talk about what's potentially going to happen next.

Episode 30 - Earthquake Prediction Part 1 of 4

This is the first of 4 episodes focused on earthquake prediction. Dr. Jones talks about her personal experience in China and her research into foreshocks and the likelihood of there being something "there" that reveals when an earthquake might occur. And the question is more complicated than just when: where and how big is what we really want to know. Here's the start of what you need to know to understand why earthquake prediction is currently -- and likely forever -- impossible.

Episode 29 - Music and Science for Inspiration and Action

In this episode, Dr. Jones reveals a bit about her process for writing music inspired by climate change data to help make real the issues we will face in the years ahead. She explains how music taps into the emotional shared experience like no other tool or mechanism does, and we talk about the coming year where she'll be convening physical scientists, social scientists, and musicians to work together to help inspire action around climate change through music. Take a listen and know that music can help you get through it!

Episode 28 - What’s a Doctor (and How One Responds to Experts, Expertise, and Things They’re Not Expert in)

In this episode, we look at the origins of the use of "doctor" (it's from western theology, as can be seen in the ceremonial robes still worn today) and the role of skills and knowledge and demonstrating expertise. "Doctor" is at times as shorthand for "come to me for expert information," and for Dr. Jones, it meant recognizing that she had expertise in the 1990s in SoCal when, in comparison to her male colleagues, she was not given the credit of her expertise in the media, being called an "earthquake lady" instead of a scientist. The controversy of the use of the title "doctor" reveals the complicated relationship Americans have with truth and experts. And today, this issue is more important than ever as we all must have the skills to determine the truth we encounter in all forms of media.

Episode 27 - Why the Frequency of Earthquakes Matters to You

In this episode, as we look at the frequency of the energy produced in an earthquake -- the waves of energy emitted from the earthquake -- we'll explore how music and earthquakes are connected. We'll talk about how buildings themselves have a resonant frequency and what it means when a building is "excited" by the earthquake shaking. We explore how big earthquakes and small earthquakes are really quite different in terms of the type of energy they produce, and how even the biggest earthquakes that produce a lot of damage likely won't impact where we live.

Episode 26 - What is an Earthquake, Anyway?

In this fundamental episode, we explore the very basics of what an earthquake is. Dr. Jones explains what causes the shaking we feel, the debate over what causes an earthquake to start and stop, and the ways in which stress is transferred and relieved. We also explore the ideas of microseism and stress drop, and Dr. Jones debunks a few more earthquake myths.