IEM Unscripted: DisasterSmiths

The award letter arrives. The headlines hit. The community exhales. Your agency has been allocated CDBG-DR funds. Now what?
In this boots-on-the-ground episode, we sit down with Chuck Lane, Director of Disaster Recovery Resources for Pasco County, Florida, recently awarded its CDBG-DR allocation, alongside IEM leader and subject matter expert Tim Lagudi. Together, they unpack what happens after the celebration fades: navigating public outreach, untangling the regulatory maze, managing expectations, and building compliant programs that serve real people in real time. They also share how strategic planning, data analysis, partnerships, and capacity building before the award became the blueprint for success after the award.
Because the myth is that funding solves the problem. The truth? Funding exposes your readiness. If your community has received—or hopes to receive—CDBG-DR dollars, this conversation is your roadmap for what comes next. Less theory. More reality. Fewer assumptions. More strategy. The money is just the beginning.

As Season 2 of the DisasterSmiths™ comes to a close, we sit down with IEM leadership to reflect on a defining year for emergency management. In 2025, shifting federal priorities, expanding responsibilities, heightened accountability, and accelerated expectations tested the sector at every level – federal, state, local, and territorial – forcing the profession to adapt while continuing to deliver results amid the demands of disaster recovery.

Looking ahead to 2026, our conversation turns to the future. IEM leaders share how emergency management is evolving and where the focus must be next: integration, implementation, stabilization, and optimization. This season finale offers a clear-eyed look at where the profession has been and what it will take to meet the moment ahead.

As a pre–New Year’s gift to our DisasterSmiths listeners—and as fans of Netflix’s Stranger Things ourselves—we’re heading straight into the Upside Down to tackle a question no one in Hawkins seems to ask: who would run their Incident Command? (Spoiler warning: we assume you’ve made it past Season 1.)
In this special episode, we put a fun (and slightly chaotic) spin on real Incident Command System (ICS) principles, blending our love of the show with our emergency management instincts as we assign Stranger Things characters to key ICS roles. From Chief Hopper in Command, to Joyce leading Safety, Dustin in Logistics, and maybe even Eleven as a very unconventional tactical resource, we build out a Hawkins ICS capable of managing interdimensional threats, missing persons, government secrecy, and one very persistent gate to the Upside Down.
Because when strange lights appear, communications fail, federal agencies show up uninvited, and monsters start roaming Main Street, someone still must establish command, set objectives, and keep the incident from spiraling completely out of control.
Consider this another end-of-year thank-you for listening, and a little professional fun from fellow ST fans. Light spoilers ahead—nothing from the Upside Down you can’t handle.

As a small holiday gift to our DisasterSmiths listeners, we are serving up a special episode that tackles the most important emergency management question of the season: who would run the Incident Command Structure (ICS) at the North Pole?
With a festive spin on real emergency management concepts, we blend holiday chaos, questionable staffing choices, and plenty of seasonal cheer as we build Santa’s ICS using some of our most beloved — and notorious — holiday characters.
From Mr. or Mrs. Clause 🤶 as Incident Commander, to The Grinch handling Logistics, Scrooge overseeing Finance, and maybe even Rudolph or Sam the Snowman ☃️ serving as PIO, we assemble the ultimate North Pole Incident Command Structure. Because when the weather turns icy, the toy supply chain is under pressure, and the sleigh must launch on time, someone has to keep Christmas operational. So consider this our holiday thank you! And a little end-of-year fun… who would you trust to keep Christmas on track within the ICS? 🎄

When severe weather threatens, information isn’t just data—it’s a lifeline. In this episode of DisasterSmiths, we delve into the behind-the-scenes partnership that transforms forecasts into life-saving action. Meteorologists translate the science, emergency managers translate the risk, and together they deliver the clarity communities need to make informed decisions quickly. Our guests break down how this collaboration works in real time: how they share information, bridge uncertainty, and communicate threats with precision and trust. Local broadcasters play a pivotal role in that chain, serving as the steady, familiar voices that residents rely on to understand what’s coming and what to do next.
From the broadcast studio to the emergency operations center, discover why the meteorologist–EM partnership is one of the most essential and trusted links in public safety, and how it keeps communities calm, informed, and prepared when every minute counts.