Natural Disasters Episodes
Sept. 2, 2026
1197: Building Public Health Infrastructure for the Next Emergency
Brannon Traxler, acting director of the South Carolina Department of Public Health, and an ASTHO member, shares about the state's public health and environmental laboratory, which was recently built in response to the demands of COVID-19 testing and modern laboratory equipment.
Guest: Brannon Traxler, MD, MPH
March 11, 2026
1084: Building Resilient Food Systems: Why States Must Plan for the Next Disruption
On today's episode, Cornell University's Elsie Moore breaks down food system resilience and why it's more than just food supply maintenance.
Guest: Elsie Moore, PhD, MPH
428
Nov. 10, 2025
1026: Best of PHRME: Public Health Data, Noise Exposure, and Community Resilience
On today’s Best Of PHRME episode, we revisit an interview with ASTHO's Jennifer Layden, senior vice president for population health and innovation, who discusses how states are advancing data modernization and building creative partnerships to strengthen public health.
Guests: Jennifer Layden, MD, PhD , Rick Neitzel PHD MS
418
Oct. 17, 2025
1013: Preparedness Peer Network, State Health Scorecards
Francesca Provenzano, public health section chief of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, discusses themes and insights from her term as chair of ASTHO’s Director of Public Health Preparedness Peer Network; Dr. Sara Collins, senior scholar for expanding coverage and access and tracking health system performance at The Commonwealth Fund, walks through some of the trends...
Guests: Francesca Provenzano MPH , Sara Collins PhD
388
Sept. 4, 2025
983: Accessible Public Health Data; Disaster Preparedness
Former ASTHO president Dr. Anne Zink, senior clinical fellow at Yale University and practicing emergency medicine physician, shares how PopHIVE, a database of de-identified, population-level health data, draws data from various sources, allowing public health providers to find patterns and make informed decisions; Nicholas Porter, director for environmental health at ASTHO, discusses...
Guests: Anne Zink, MD, FACEP , Nicholas Porter MPH
476
March 21, 2025
868: States Address Sepsis, CR Continues Funding PH
Erin Laird, ASTHO director of emerging infections, explains how states are taking action against sepsis; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO senior director for government affairs, tells us how the recently signed continuing resolution affects funding for public...
Guests: Jeffrey Ekoma, MBA, MS , Erin Laird MPH
772
Oct. 3, 2024
763: Reframing National Preparedness Month, ASTHO Management Vendor Showcase
Dr. John Anderton, associate director for communication science at the CDC's Office of Readiness and Response, tells us how the CDC has changed their approach to National Preparedness Month; Brian Lentes, senior director for Public Health...
Guests: Brian Lentes, MPA , John P. Anderton PhD, MPA
138
Oct. 19, 2023
527: Disaster Exercise Toolkit, Healthy Brain Resources
Jennifer Lynch, Emergency Management Specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says the frequency and intensity of natural disasters is changing the way planners think about emergency response; Nathan Wormington, Emergency Program...
112
Sept. 12, 2023
501: Prepping for Cyber Attacks, Suicide Awareness and Data
Adrianna Evans, ASTHO’s Director of Preparedness and Disability Integration, says cybersecurity is an emerging topic in preparedness planning; Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan, explains that suicide...
Guests: Annie Evans, MPH , Natasha Bagdasarian, MD, MPH
98
Aug. 22, 2023
487: AI in Public Health, Hurricane Environmental Health Surveillance
Dr. Kris Mork, Director of Public Health Informatics at Guidehouse, says the development of AI needs to be inclusive; Heidi Bojes, Director of the Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registry at the Texas Department of State Health Services,...
Guests: Kris Mork PhD , Heidi Bojes PhD
42
May 31, 2023
431: Harmful Nicotine Formulas, Wildfire Smoke Bloggers
Neil Charvat, Director of the North Dakota Health And Human Services Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, explains the challenges of reducing the use of nicotine and tobacco products with so many options on the market; Kaitlyn Kelly, Air Quality...
18
April 26, 2023
407: Disaster Response Getting Better, Leadership Diversity
Maggie Nilz, ASTHO’s Senior Analyst of Preparedness and Disability Integration, says preparedness is important to public health; the annual Preparedness Summit is ongoing in Atlanta; Dr. Kandi Fredere, Upstate Regional Health Director for the South...
Guests: Maggie Nilz, MPH, CPH , Kandi Fredere PhD
208
Dec. 16, 2022
325: America’s Alarming Preterm Birth Rate
Dr. Kathryn Mishkin, Head of the Office of Data Science and Mission Strategy with the March of Dimes, discusses the rise in preterm birth in the United States; Emma Carlson, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Environmental Health, says mold and mosquitos are...
Guests: Emma Carlson MPH , Kathryn Mishkin DrPH MPH
162
Oct. 7, 2022
279: Stretching to Improve Equity
Alicia Justice, ASTHO’s Senior Director for Programmatic Health Equity Initiatives and Strategy, talks about the Strategies to Repair Equity and Transform Community Health project, also known as STRETCH; Danny Staley, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President...
Guests: Alicia Justice, MPH , Danny Staley, MS
102
Jan. 21, 2022
102: Recalling COVID-19’s First Case Part 2
Dr. John Wiesman, the former Secretary of Health in Washington state, gives his assessment of the nation's pandemic response since the first COVID-19 case was discovered in his state two years ago this week. He discusses what has worked, what remains...
Guests: John Wiesman DrPH MPH , Katey Redmond MPH CPH
86
Dec. 16, 2021
86: Power Outage Preparedness
Eric Cote, an expert in emergency power preparedness, tells us why it’s important to know who relies on electricity for their medical devices when power is lost in a community; Stephen Heck, an ASTHO Disability and Preparedness Specialist working in...
Guests: Eric Cote , Steven Stack, MD