In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, Kyle King challenges the core assumptions of American emergency management. He contrasts FEMA’s focus on efficiency with Europe’s emphasis on survival, revealing why traditional measures like response time and coordination no longer reflect the realities of modern disasters. Drawing on examples such as the Texas floods, Hurricane Maria, and the Texas winter storm, Kyle explains why it's time to measure how long communities can function without help, not how fast help can arrive.

Tune in for a critical look at outdated preparedness models, a fresh perspective from European strategies, and a path forward that prioritizes resilience over speed.

Show Highlights
[01:38] Why it is urgent to rethink how we measure disaster preparedness
[02:05] A look at the performance metrics in American emergency management
[03:05] The assumptions built into current disaster response strategies
[03:32] How Europe’s wartime mindset shapes crisis preparedness for survival
[05:27] Real-world failures from Texas floods to Hurricane Maria
[09:13] What the U.S. can learn from Europe’s focus on self-sufficiency and resilience
[12:40] A call to shift American emergency management from efficiency to endurance
[14:38] Reflections on building readiness for disasters when help may not come

In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, Kyle King shows how growing disaster aid has weakened emergency management. He traces FEMA’s move from a coordination role to a relief fund handler, points out the costs of grant-driven processes, and makes the case for rebuilding from first principles.

Tune in for a close look at institutional hurdles, a proposal to separate relief and response, and a roadmap to restore true surge capacity—so communities are ready long before the next disaster hits.

Show Highlights
[00:19] FEMA’s shift from civil defense to all-hazards management
[01:18] How coordination gave way to relief-focused work
[02:54] The downsides of relying on post-disaster aid
[03:40] Key events that reshaped emergency management
[05:11] How relief priorities hollowed out coordination skills
[09:10] Bringing back rapid national mobilization
[10:59] Structural changes to balance readiness and relief
[15:58] Putting coordination back at the center of emergency response

In this episode of the Crisis Lab Podcast, host Kyle King challenges us to rethink everything we thought we knew about emergency management. Rather than layering on new frameworks after each disaster, Kyle argues for the courage to admit we don’t have all the answers—and to start over from first principles. He explores how institutional inertia traps us in “adding machine” thinking, why true innovation often comes from outside the field, and how we can design a system where response is truly a last resort.

Tune in for a bold vision of embedded resilience and the tools we need to build inherently safer, more adaptive communities.

Show Highlights

[01:08] Challenges to internal reform amid institutional inertia and failure of imagination

[02:15] Applying first-principles thinking to break free from outdated emergency management models

[03:25] Innovations emerging from outside the field to drive adaptive resilience

[05:56] Reimagining the system through community-centered, anticipatory approaches

[08:55] Outlining the path forward for building resilient communities