What did you do during the COVID-19 social distancing era? Some of us learned to make sourdough, some of us perfected a viral whipped coffee, plenty of us did a whole lot of nothing- but this NYC subculture was busy taking notes.

Anna Bounds, a Professor of Sociology at Queens College, has felt called to teach, write, and tell stories for a long time. She's particularly passionate about urban policies that make cities better, stronger and more vibrant.

As a sociologist–but also as a New Yorker–she began attending meetings of NYC's "prepper" community: a group of people dedicated to preparing for disasters the government may not be equipped to help with, whether it's a pandemic, terrorist attack or natural disaster.

Anna clarifies: they aren't preparing for the end of the world- just whatever kind of day tomorrow might be. She's spent years (including before the pandemic) researching these groups while also learning countless skills for emergency preparation and response.

"All sorts of interesting people [were] coming together to figure out how to help each other in crisis- and it paid off."

So forget viral food trends! This episode pairs best with assembling your emergency kit (and yes, Anna has suggestions for it).

Anna's Haiku* ("A Love Letter to the City"):
Smoke clings to the sky
Hands meet through sirens and headlines
Love that doesn't flinch

(*With special thanks to Anna's 7th grade teacher)


Links:
Anna's book, Urban Preppers and the Pandemic in New York City: Class, Resilience, and Sheltering in Place: https://www.annamariabounds.org/urban-preppers
Anna's first book, Bracing for the Apocalypse: An Ethnographic Study of New York City's Urban Prepper Subculture: https://www.annamariabounds.org/book/apocalypse

California relies on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as a hub for water, biodiversity, agriculture, recreation, and more. How can we make sure that management actions are working as intended?

Returning guest Stephen Elser is a Senior Environmental Scientist with the Delta Stewardship Council, which works to advance California's coequal goals: a more reliable water supply and a resilient Delta ecosystem. Broadly, Stephen's team is tasked with supporting the use of adaptive management to enhance conservation and sustainable use of the Delta.

Adaptive management is a flexible approach to managing natural resources that allows for continuous learning, resulting in management decisions based on what was learned rather than simply implementing without regard for scientific feedback or monitoring. Management actions can be viewed as hypotheses to be tested, with the goal of continuous improvement while reducing uncertainty.

Stephen explains the process of adaptive management, and why it's so important in complex ecosystems like the Delta.

Stephen's Haiku:

Uncertain futures

But we know a lot, let's act

Learning as we go

-Read more about the Delta Stewardship Council at their website.

-Follow this link to learn more about the Council's adaptive management work, and to find resources on developing adaptive management plans.

-The 2025 Adaptive Management Forum will be held on October 14-15! Follow this link to learn more about this free event and to register to attend either in-person or online.

Have you ever asked your garbage truck where it's going?

Sybil Derrible is a professor of civil engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago, focusing on urban engineering- studying large systems of power and movement inspired by the tiny island he calls his hometown. Living in a tight community (and with parents that owned a hardware store), Sybil grew up knowing where his water and energy came from- and now, he wants you to learn about yours too.

In this episode, Sybil joins us to discuss his new book, aptly titled The Infrastructure Book. He chose to write this book because he felt that his work needed to be communicated to the public. He feels that people need to understand how their infrastructure works: not just roads and bridges, but the energy systems, water distribution, telecommunications, waste disposal and more that happen behind the scenes.

Sybil's Haiku:
It breathes not, but lives
It makes it all possible
Infrastructure rocks!

Links:
Check out The Infrastructure Book here: https://csun.uic.edu/the-infrastructure-book/
Learn more about Sybil's work: https://sybilderrible.com/