Normally on the Disaster Zone podcast, I interview subject matter experts on a particular topic. In this case, however, I turned that around and interviewed a novice on the topic of “Disaster Readiness in the Pacific Northwest.”
Experts are always defending their actions or policies. If they are associated with a particular agency or jurisdiction, they won’t be totally forthcoming on the status of their programs, in order to stay out of trouble. In this case, it is an interview with a University of Chicago master’s degree student (I misspoke when I introduced him at the beginning — he is not with the University of Washington). Brian Landon is not some “wet behind the ears” four-year grad getting his master’s right after finishing his bachelor’s degree. He actually already has a law degree.
I think he had some good observations about what he has learned to date. We also compared his life experiences of living in different countries to that of the United States, and I think you will see that perspective when we compare community values here to those in Japan.
