How to Live in a World of Catastrophes

How to Live in a World of Catastrophes

A Guide to Dealing With Disasters
October 30, 2022
Season 11
Featuring:
Juliette Kayyem
Homeland Security Expert

A national leader in America’s homeland security efforts. Juliette Kayyem shares her government, academic, journalism, and private sector experience to help us chart our path through our unstable shared future.

Moderated by: Michael Winship

In our unpredictable future, we know that each of us will face disasters. Whether caused by man (e.g., the repeated crashes of the 737 MAX airliner), by governments (e.g., conflict induced regional famines) or by nature (e.g., more frequent and devastating hurricane and wildfires), getting ready to live through a catastrophe has become an invaluable life skill.

How do we survive? What can we do individually and collectively to prepare ourselves, our families and our communities to endure?

Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem brings her years of experience leading responses to disasters to help us better prepare for our future. In a discussion moderated by Michael Winship, Ms. Kayyem offers us a new framework to anticipate the “devil’s” inevitable return, highlighting the leadership deficiencies we need to overcome and the forward thinking we need to harness. It’s no longer about preventing a disaster from occurring, but learning how to use the tools at our disposal to minimize the consequences when it does.

Moderated by: Michael Winship

In our unpredictable future, we know that each of us will face disasters. Whether caused by man (e.g., the repeated crashes of the 737 MAX airliner), by governments (e.g., conflict induced regional famines) or by nature (e.g., more frequent and devastating hurricane and wildfires), getting ready to live through a catastrophe has become an invaluable life skill.

How do we survive? What can we do individually and collectively to prepare ourselves, our families and our communities to endure?

Homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem brings her years of experience leading responses to disasters to help us better prepare for our future. In a discussion moderated by Michael Winship, Ms. Kayyem offers us a new framework to anticipate the “devil’s” inevitable return, highlighting the leadership deficiencies we need to overcome and the forward thinking we need to harness. It’s no longer about preventing a disaster from occurring, but learning how to use the tools at our disposal to minimize the consequences when it does.

About Juliette Kayyem:

The Robert and Renee Belfer Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Juliette Kayyem is Faculty Director of the Homeland Security Project and the Security and Global Health Project.

She presently serves as CEO of Grip Mobility, a technology company looking to provide transparency in the rideshare industry. She has spent over 15 years managing complex policy initiatives and organizing government responses to major crises in both state and federal government.

She served for President Obama as Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. She has spent over 15 years in senior positions in state and federal government, including as Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s homeland security advisor and a legal advisor to US Attorney General Janet Reno. Ms. Kayyem is the author of numerous books and articles on counterterrorism and national security, and her column is distributed worldwide by the New York Times wire. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

To learn more about Juliette Kayyem:

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