Resilient Futures Podcast

Future Cities
  • 4.8 (24)
  • Life Sciences
  • Updated Monthly

Resilient Futures is a monthly podcast on all things resilience! The show examines this topic by discussing ongoing research, highlighting current efforts, and sharing stories of resilience in diverse contexts across the world! By exploring a wide variety of perspectives, the show digs deep into understanding the many dimensions of resilience. New episodes will be released at the start of every month. If you have questions about things we've discussed or have suggestions for future episodes, please e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or send us a message on Twitter @RFuturesPod. (This podcast was previously named Future Cities.)

  1. 4d ago

    From Restaurant to Reef: Building Resilient Coasts and Recycling (Oyster) Roasts

    This month, we're welcoming the team from Shell to Shore, an Athens-based oyster shell recycling initiative that works with restaurants across the state of Georgia to rebuild shorelines. Oysters -- the same kind you slurp down as an appetizer at that restaurant downtown -- have incredible potential for fighting sea level rise. In the wild, oysters build reefs together, with baby oysters settling on the old shells of bivalves past and offering a tough breakwater to stabilize shorelines and slow waves hitting the beach. With the help of Shell to Shore, those restaurant oyster shells don't go in the trash -- instead, they get taken back to the coast to help restore coastal ecosystems. With a little help from their engineering friends, the Shell to Shore team is now developing restoration projects with community members at locations like Sapelo Island, Georgia. This episode is all about lessons learned, how to scale up from starting at home, and of course, plenty of oyster fun facts. Featuring: Brock Woodson, co-director of IRIS and UGA professor of engineering Tyler Leslie, Executive Director and co-founder of Shell to Shore Nik Heynen, UGA professor of geography and Director of Education for Shell to Shore Hunt Revell, environmental attorney and President and co-founder of Shell to Shore Brock's Haiku: Oysters depleted once abundant, soon restored protecting our shores Learn more about S2S at https://www.shelltoshore.com/ Donate here: https://givebutter.com/S2Sdonate Get in touch: https://www.shelltoshore.com/contact-us

  2. Jul 2

    Community Resilience: How National Laboratories Use Interdisciplinary Expertise to Support Healthy Energy Systems

    The energy sector is continually complicated by aging power infrastructure, changing technology and competing needs from communities and industry. The Critical Infrastructure Resilience Group is here to help make sense of this complex landscape. The CIRG, a unit of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, works on national research-based solutions for maintaining energy systems and national security. Thomaz Carvalhaes and Hillary Fishler, R&D Staff Scientists at Oak Ridge, join host Alysha to discuss how they combine interdisciplinary expertise to help communities by supporting infrastructure planning, interdependencies, partnerships and governance, and risk assessment. Some of the topics in this episode include the group's Technical Assistance for States and Tribes Initiative: Grid Resilience Investment Decision-making (TASTI-GRID), the Outage Data Initiative Nationwide (ODIN), and the Enhancing Distribution Grid Anticipatory Resilience (EDGAR). Haiku: Storms test the network new systems reshape the grid adapt and evolve Links: Learn more about the Lab: https://www.ornl.gov/group/critical-infrastructure-resilience Get in touch with Thomaz: www.linkedin.com/in/tcarvalh

  3. Jun 1

    Let It Burn: How Fire Makes Forests More Resilient

    After a decade working across the Southeast, Jordan Youngmann is seeing his hometown in upstate New York through fresh eyes–and his work is just warming up. Pre-European colonization, forests looked very different: while many people think of this world as a "pristine" landscape, forest systems across North American were highly regulated by Indigenous groups. Today, these systems are largely fragmented by urban and agricultural spaces, but historically, they were managed by harnessing a force of nature: fire. Many forest species are not only tolerant of burning, they're built for it. If these systems go too long without a cleansing fire, substances like dry leaf litter can build up, providing fuel to a much bigger fire. As a wildlife biologist with the New York State Department of Wildlife Conservation, Youngmann is working to reintroduce prescribed fire for these ecosystems, helping protect the species that inhabit them. It's not just a path to conservation–it's a way for us to have a direct relationship with the land that supports us. Jordan's Haiku: Fire healing the land old ways leading us forward reciprocity Links: Jordan's bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-youngmann-49727b8b/ Savage State painting, Thomas Cole, 1834: https://explorethomascole.org/project/the-savage-state/ NYDEC Sustainability and Green Infrastructure Grant Proposals: https://dec.ny.gov/get-involved/grant-applications/wqip-program

  4. May 1

    Dawg Days: A Flood Risk Assessment for the University of Georgia

    This podcast comes to you from the University of Georgia, a campus that has stretched across the hills of Athens, Georgia since 1785. UGA is situated between the Upper and Middle Oconee Rivers, with tributary creeks flowing all across campus- even right under our football stadium! This month, hosts Alysha and Todd are joined by fellow UGA colleague Zak Ruehman, Director of Engineering Services here at the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems. Zak's team recently wrapped up an exciting cross-campus collaboration: a flood risk assessment across UGA's campus that shows the places and buildings most at risk. Keeping the Dawg Walk from becoming... a Doggie Paddle? Zak's Haiku: Preparation first Absorb the punch gracefully Ready to adapt Links:  Learn more about the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure's work: https://iris.uga.edu/

  5. Apr 1

    The Gospel of Grass: Patrick Keyser Speaks to the Resilience of Native Grasslands

    Patrick Keyser knows the grass may not always be greener--but there's still a lot to learn from it. Since long before European colonization, grasslands have a rich history as one of North America's most diverse, resilient, and iconic landscapes. These  ecosystems are the epicenters of agriculture in the US, but native grass species are disappearing as introduced plants take over and land uses change. As a University of Tennessee professor and Director of the Center for Native Grasslands Management, Patrick spreads the gospel of grass. This month, Patrick joins hosts Alysha and Todd to discuss the history of grasslands, explain the threats they're facing, and dispel some myths about whether you should add native grasses to your yard. Links: Patrick's book, Native Grass Forages for the Eastern US (get tips about implementing native grasses in your lawn!): https://nativegrasses.tennessee.edu/native-grass-forages/ Patrick's bio: https://utia.tennessee.edu/person/?id=6343 University of Tennessee Center for Native Grasslands Management: https://nativegrasses.tennessee.edu/

  6. Mar 2

    Making Sense of SETS: Our Host Alysha on Complex Infrastructure Systems

    This month, Alysha Helmrich is our host and guest! This short episode discusses social-ecological-technological systems and sensemaking. She explores urban systems as SETS, positions SETS thinking for sensemaking, and identifies four modes of SETS to build requisite variety. To learn more, follow the links below! Links: Foundational reading on SETS: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2018EF000926 Main perspective discussed regarding SETS and sensemaking: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00120-1 SETS in Phoenix, AZ: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s43065-023-00085-6 Alysha's Haiku: City not alone Small decisions ripple wide For the next design

  7. Feb 2

    ASCE’s Resilient Future: the World’s Oldest Engineering Society Brings New Voices to the Table

    In the face of immense global and national change, the world’s oldest engineering society is staying flexible. The American Society for Civil Engineers President, Marsha Bomar, joins our host Alysha Helmrich to speak to the power of diverse perspectives in building the future’s infrastructure and the need for interdisciplinary teams in solving great challenges. Alysha and Marsha also discuss the workforce shortage in the field of engineering, and how bright minds from all walks of life should consider stepping up to fill the gap. Finally, they cover the history of the ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, a data-driven report that the society delivers to each state on an annual basis, grading the state’s infrastructure on its current condition, future needs, operation and maintenance, public safety and resilience and innovation. Tune in to learn more about ASCE’s bright, resilient future and ways to get involved! Marsha's Haiku: Trains race on steel tracks Tires trace the open road Water flows for life Learn more about ASCE: https://www.asce.org/ Check out all the ways you can be a part of ASCE: https://www.asce.org/membership Check out Cities of the Future in IMAX: https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/article/2024/02/16/a-cities-of-the-future-primer-everything-you-need-to-know-about-asces-new-movie ASCE 2027: https://experience.asce.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23353598541&gbraid=0AAAAADhKo5K2trfb3rawiirtIdOXU3Pe4&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8p_v-oC0kgMV3DYIBR1xkTSnEAAYASAAEgJKpvD_BwE

  8. 12/01/2025

    Insuring The Future: The Role of Insurance in Disaster Risk Reduction

    Disasters are affecting more people and property than ever before. Since 1980, the U.S. has experienced 400+ weather-related "billion dollar" disasters, $3 trillion in economic impacts, and thousands of lives and livelihoods. In the effort to build our disaster resilience as a society, what's the role of insurance? In this episode, our hosts are joined by Carolyn Kousky, Insurance for Good, and Marc Ragin, University of Georgia Terry College of Business. This month's guests discuss a question at the heart of disaster insurance: what's the best way to incentivize risk reduction for both insurance companies and customers? If you're curious about how disaster insurance works, options for making insurance better suited for new risks, or why premiums are getting so darn high, this is the episode for you. Marc's Haiku: High insurance rates We need collective action Take your vitamins Carolyn's Haiku, written by Matsuo Bashō (translated from Japanese): As they begin to rise again Chrysanthemums faintly smell after the flooding rain Learn more about UGA and Duke's CIRCAD partnership: https://circad.org/ Carolyn's book: https://islandpress.org/books/understanding-disaster-insurance#desc Carolyn's nonprofit, Insurance for Good: https://www.insuranceforgood.org/

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About

Resilient Futures is a monthly podcast on all things resilience! The show examines this topic by discussing ongoing research, highlighting current efforts, and sharing stories of resilience in diverse contexts across the world! By exploring a wide variety of perspectives, the show digs deep into understanding the many dimensions of resilience. New episodes will be released at the start of every month. If you have questions about things we've discussed or have suggestions for future episodes, please e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or send us a message on Twitter @RFuturesPod. (This podcast was previously named Future Cities.)

Information

  • Creator
    Future Cities
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    112
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Resilient Futures Podcast
  • Show Website
    Resilient Futures Podcast

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