LSU NCBRT/ACE is excited to mark the one-year anniversary of the Preparedness Podcast. The podcast, which was launched in April 2020 at the beginning of world-wide lock downs amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic, was an avenue for LSU NCBRT /ACE to be able to provide information rapidly and address issues associated with the crisis. To date, 32 episodes of the podcast have been broadcast covering a wide variety of public safety topics.
Early episodes focused on COVID-19 through different emergency response lenses, including large and small jurisdictions and higher education safety during the pandemic. In Episode 1 for example, top law enforcement officials shared their insights on dealing with the crisis in Washington State and offered advice on how other states could be proactive in their responses to the pandemic. The informative discussion covered employee wellness, resource management, workforce capacity planning and court closures, among other issues.
Another episode, Law Enforcement Workforce Challenges, dealt with how the coronavirus is affecting emergency responders’ internal operations. Law enforcement officials discussed what plans should be in place if an officer tests positive for coronavirus, how emergency response agencies should take precautions to ensure safety on the job, and how service calls are changing in the face of a pandemic and social distancing.
The podcast has now expanded to include discussions about policing and social justice, food safety, responder wellness, mental health and suicide prevention. A recent three-part series covered food safety, supply chain disruptions, food insecurity, and other impacts of the pandemic on agriculture. An upcoming series focusing on Tribal Nations will explore the history of Tribal Emergency Management and the challenges Tribes face securing funding and resources.
Currently, one informative episode of the podcast has even qualified as a source for continuing education credits. The episode Pandemic Response: LE Leadership Challenges & Solutions in Washington State was recently approved by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training in Oklahoma for continuing education credit in that state.
Jerry Monier, Associate Director of Research and Development for LSU NCBRT/ACE, said the podcast captures expert perspective on dealing with COVID-19 response and other topics and gives the experience to listeners as a learning opportunity.
“We have a responsibility to provide the broadest view of a subject,” Monier said. “We explore what is going on in the social, economic and public health and safety aspects of the pandemic and other issues that have occurred since March of 2020. All of the episodes chronicle the history of what the year 2020 looked like. It captures everything we have experienced in the past months. It’s also grown to an outstanding product. We are really excited about future opportunities.”
Monier points to the entire team of professionals involved in the creation of the podcast as an example of the LSU NCBRT/ACE commitment to expanding the agency’s digital reach and getting vital information on multiple topics out to the public. The team says response to the podcast has been excellent from both guests and listeners. The podcast has been downloaded and listened to more than 5,000 times. Listeners tuned in from Ireland, Ukraine, Canada, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Germany, South Africa, Mexico, the Philippines and more.
Dr. David Dyjack, Executive Director at the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), was a guest on the recent podcast episode, Environmental Health: Introduction to the Role of Environmental Health in Local Communities. Dr. Dyjack shared his expertise on the subject of environmental health and how COVID-19 has impacted his profession and environmental health practitioners’ jobs.
“Just-in-time information is critically important in a landscape full of content,” Dyjack explained. “NCBRT’s speakers can take conversations in a direction that shine a light on issues that normally get glossed over. The entire process was extremely well organized, from the inception of the idea, preliminary planning, execution of the actual program and post-production follow-up. NCBRT is my standard of excellence.”
That standard of excellence has been a goal of the LSU NCBRT/ACE team that worked on the project from the beginning. The production team of Brett Bodin, Kerry Villnuve, and Liam Catchings created and edited the video and audio portions of the podcast, as well as the musical opening.
Ashley Markle hosts the podcast and works with Martina Malone who schedules and prepares all of the guests to generate the content. The team has been able to create first rate audio and video using state- of-the art equipment and has enjoyed working together to create each episode.
“Although you only hear me on the podcast week to week,” Markle said, “the wheels would fall off without these incredibly talented people.”
“We’ve got everything that we need to do a professional job,” said Bodin, the post-production and video editor of the Preparedness Podcast. “It has enabled us to fulfill our potential and expand our abilities.”
The podcast has become an excellent way to introduce LSU NCBRT/ACE and its areas of expertise to a wider audience through an informative yet engaging medium. It utilizes the agency’s vast network of subject matter experts and provides interesting perspectives for issues in today’s world. It also provides useful information for first responders and emergency professionals which includes law enforcement, public health officials, emergency managers, state agencies, employees and more.
To learn more about the LSU NCBRT/ACE Preparedness Podcast or listen to any of the episodes please visit https://anchor.fm/lsu-ncbrt.
About LSU NCBRT/ACE
LSU NCBRT/ACE is a nationally recognized center for emergency preparedness and response training located at Louisiana State University’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We provide mobile training to both the national and international emergency response community. LSU NCBRT/ACE has expertise in research, development and delivery of training in the areas of specialized law enforcement operations; biological incident response; food and agriculture safety and security; school safety; and instructional design and technique. For more information on LSU NCBRT/ACE’s courses and resources, please visit https://ncbrt.lsu.edu/index.php .
