Getting Through It

Episode 85 - An Earthquake Felt 300 Years Later

This week marks the anniversary of the Cascadia Earthquake in the Pacific Northwest on January 26, 1700, the largest known earthquake in the continental U.S. In this episode, Dr. Jones explains how we know the exact date (and time!) of this earthquake and how sometimes an earthquake's ramifications can be felt three centuries later as we plan for what might be coming.

Episode 84 - A Blast Heard around the World

What is considered the largest volcanic explosion in three decades, the global impact of the underwater volcanic eruption near the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga on January 15, 2022 raises more questions than answers. To clarify some common questions, Dr. Jones discusses pressure waves, VEI categorization, and tsunami warnings.

Episode 83 - Will We Have a Big Earthquake in 2022?

As Dr. Jones always says, what has happened, will happen again. How do we know what earthquakes will happen in 2022? In this episode, Dr. Jones discusses the likelihood of a big earthquake in 2022 and how we can manage that risk.

Episode 82 - Don’t Look Down

In this episode, Dr. Jones looks at the recent Netflix movie, Don't Look Up, and explains what would happen when an asteroid of that size hits the earth. She shares how it has happened in the past, and how we're likely to survive (or not).

Episode 81 - Surviving Omicron

In this episode, Dr. Jones breaks down how COVID-19 variants form, how Omicron might play out, and her approach to managing an increase risk of getting infected.

Episode 80 - Our Dubious Distinction: U.S. is #1 in Tornadoes

In the central part of the U.S., there are about ten times as many tornadoes as anywhere else in the world. But even if you don’t live in this “tornado alley”, a tornado can still form — even in Los Angeles! This week, with the reminder of how devastating tornadoes can be, Dr. Jones explains how tornadoes form and the impact of climate change on tornado "outbreaks".

Episode 79 - What is Risk?

We tend to think of risk as an objective quantity, but actually risk is a human construct. It can help us make decisions and manage any danger we face. In this episode, Dr. Jones assesses risk as emotions, risk as analysis, and risk as politics— and we need all three to take action!

Episode 78 - The Earthquake Weather Fallacy

“Earthquake weather” is one of the oldest and most pervasive earthquake myths. Even though surface weather and earthquakes are not related, they are constantly put in the same mental category. In this episode, we travel back in time to explore the origins of this misconception, from Aristotle's theory about the Earth’s structure, to The Great Lisbon Earthquake and more.

Episode 77 - Why Be Thankful 2021

This week, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, we take a look at what we can be thankful for in the face of calamity and uncertainty in the last year. And some of it might surprise you!

Episode 76 - California’s Other Big One (Part 4)

We have lost the collective memory of what major floods can do to California and so flood risk is always underestimated. In this final episode of our four part series on the impacts of rain, flooding, and cascading disasters that come from it, Dr. Jones explains our normalization bias and how we should be thinking about upcoming storm events influenced by climate change.