Ten Across Conversations

This 2025 Ten Across podcast year in review takes a deep dive into the critical issues shaping the future of the Interstate 10 corridor.  We’ve curated a series of interview clips and reflections that will examine contemporary U.S. climate, economic, and governance-related concerns as presented along this transect. From rising risks in insurance markets to the shifting responsibilities for disaster recovery, we’ll examine the urgent need for proactive solutions.  Some of the key questions we tackle include:       Can insurance remain affordable and accessible in an era of escalating climate risks?As disaster recovery moves to state and local levels, do these agencies have the capacity to handle increasing demands?On the twentieth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, what lesson have we learned and how are they shaping our adaptation efforts today?  Tune in for a thought-provoking recap and discussion that offers valuable insights into how we can better prepare for and mitigate the impacts of climate change.  Featured podcasts by order of appearance in this recording:   10X Convergence: The Region’s Experts Convene to Address the Insurability Crisis  The Future of Insurability: New Approaches and Mindsets  Mississippi River Mayors Coalesce to Address Shared Climate RisksWhy the Ten Across Geography Needs FEMA with Dr. Samantha Montano  Extreme Heat Has Only Just Begun: How Prepared is the U.S.?     Katrina’s 20th: Vann R. Newkirk II on What We Owe Climate Disaster Survivors Today  Katrina’s 20th: Jeff Hébert on Community Recovery and Resilience  CreditsHost: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler

Economic and social science research suggests climate risks are beginning to inform where people choose to live, raise families, and invest, foreshadowing the decline of a near 75-year trend of domestic migration to the Southern U.S. This is the focus of urban planner and trusted climate adaptation scholar Jesse M. Keenan’s new book, North: The Future of Post-Climate America.  As the costs of environmental risks to homes, communities and livelihoods become insupportable in the most vulnerable areas of the country, many who are able will gravitate to regions where life can be relatively stable and secure.  North is a comprehensive assessment of trendlines and evidence that suggest how this migration will occur—and how leaders can ensure equity and continuity as American populations shift.  Drawing on his extensive background in climate adaptation research, Keenan offers strategies for locations that will be sending people and those that will receive them. He concludes North with a fictional description of what America could look like near the end of this century, when many climate impacts are expected to mature.   In this episode, Ten Across founder Duke Reiter and author Jesse Keenan discuss implications for the Ten Across geography, which is among the most climate-vulnerable regions in the country.  Relevant Articles and Resources  North: The Future of Post-Climate America  “Zillow deletes climate risk data from listings after complaints it harms sales” (The Guardian, December 2025)  “America’s Home Insurance Affordability Crunch: See What’s Happening Near You.” (The New York Times, November 2025)  “As millions face climate relocation, the nation’s first attempt sparks warnings and regret” (Floodlight, September 2025)  “Snow Belt to Sun Belt Migration: End of an Era?” (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, July 2024)  “Climate-proof Duluth? Why the city is attracting ‘climate migrants’” (MPR News, October 2021)“Want to Escape Global Warming? These Cities Promise Cool Relief” (The New York Times, April 2019)  “The Rise of the Sunbelt” (Edward L. Glaeser and Kristina Tobio, May 2007)  Relevant Ten Across Conversations Podcasts  How the 10X Region Can Plan for Climate Migration with Abrahm Lustgarten  CreditsHost: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: Pearce Roswell, Out To The World, Johan GlössnerResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guestJesse M. Keenan is the Favrot II Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate and Urban Planning and Director of the Center on Climate Change and Urbanism at the School of Architecture and Built Environment at Tulane University. His research spans design, engineering, finance, and policy, with service to U.S. government agencies, international organizations, and major corporations. Widely published and cited, Jesse’s work has shaped climate policy, financial regulation, and concepts like climate gentrification. He is the author of North: The Future of Post-Climate America, which is available in bookstores on December 17.

Despite more than two years of intense negotiations, the Veterans Day deadline to agree on the allotment of reduced water supplies under the Colorado River Compact passed without a consensus. If the seven states divided into the upper and lower basins of the river cannot put forward a joint proposal by February 14, the federal government will institute its own plan—which will likely result in appeals to the Supreme Court.  Since the first federal shortage declaration in 2021, Arizona has volunteered to accept the largest cuts in shares of Colorado River water. Given that a third of its overall water demand has relied on the river’s supply, leaders in the state are anxious to conclude the current negotiations so that their long-term planning for alternatives can proceed.  The Central Arizona Project (CAP) is a 330-mile manmade canal built to transport Arizona’s portion of Colorado River water across the state. Approved for federal funding by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, CAP is an outstanding example of the infrastructural might that has often been required for cities in the Ten Across region to thrive. The urban boom that began in Phoenix and Tucson in the 1980s and 90s would not have been possible without CAP water.  In this episode Duke Reiter and Terry Goddard, CAP Board president and former Phoenix mayor, discuss how the state has weathered uncertainties surrounding growth and water security in the past, and how leaders need to step up to meet the present moment...and the future.  Relevant Articles and Resources  “Former Phoenix mayor: Embrace bad news” (AZ Central, April 2015)  “40 Years of Central Arizona Project Water Use” (Kyl Center for Water Policy, December 2025)  “’Dream’ of desalinating water to boost Arizona’s supplies moves ahead with vote” (AZ Central, November 2025)  “The Peirce Report, Revisited: Greater Phoenix Grows Up” (Greater Phoenix Leadership)  1987 interview with Neal Peirce on PBS Horizon  Relevant Ten Across Conversations Podcasts  Latest Deadpool Projections Inject New Urgency into Colorado River Negotiations  Understanding Groundwater Risks in the Southwest with Jay Famiglietti  Checking in on Tense Colorado River Negotiations with Anne Castle and John Fleck  CreditsHost: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: Gavin Luke and Pearce RoswellResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guest Terry Goddard served as Arizona attorney general from 2003 to 2010, addressing major issues, including the fallout from the mortgage crisis, border security, and consumer and environmental protections. While mayor of Phoenix from 1984 to 1990, Terry conceived and presided over the Phoenix Futures Forum, the largest city visioning process in the U.S., measured by the number of citizen participants and scope. He was also elected president of the National League of Cities in 1988. Today, Terry is serving his third term as president of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District Board, which oversees the Central Arizona Project.

In October, stakeholders representing an unusual combination of sectors — public, private, academic, non-profit and journalism — gathered with insurance industry experts at the 10X Convergence in Jacksonville, Florida, to explore solutions to unsustainable insurance and disaster recovery costs throughout the Interstate 10 region.Insurers continue to cancel homeowners policies across California, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida as exposure to accelerating billion-dollar disasters undermines carriers’ ability to pay out claims while remaining solvent. The industry crisis has begun to spread northward, where a widening Tornado Alley sees growing impacts from property-damaging storms.  This is a complex, all-hands-on-deck issue. Insurance practices and building standards have not adapted to the realities of climate change, and have neglected potential to be of powerful mutual support to one another. On the whole, 10X Convergence participants were clear that viable solutions will require a combination of applied climate and economic research with proactive governance and communications strategies, and that this must be matched by industry willingness to innovate its systems of underwriting and community development.  In this podcast, Ten Across journalists Maya Chari and Taylor Griffith take you through the problems and potential solutions discussed by the diverse group of experts at the 10X Convergence.  Relevant Articles and Resources  VIDEO: 10X Convergence Event Wrap Up  “It’s harder to get home insurance. That’s changing communities across the U.S.” (NPR, November 2025)  “They survived the hurricane. Their insurance company didn’t.” (Grist, November 2025)  “Insurance for Physical Climate Risk Management: Lessons from History” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, August 2025)  “Next to Fall: The Climate-Driven Insurance Crisis is Here—And Getting Worse” (Senate Budget Committee, December 2024)  Relevant Ten Across Conversations Podcasts  The Future of Insurability: New Approaches and Mindsets Carolyn Kousky on Using Insurance Models to Drive Positive Change  Checking in with Dave Jones on California’s Insurance Outlook  CreditsHosts: Maya Chari and Taylor GriffithProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: Out To The World, Marten Moses, Lennon Hutton, and Pearce RoswellResearch and support provided by: Duke Reiter, Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  Guest Bios (in order of appearance):  Steve Bowen is the Chief Science Officer and meteorologist at Gallagher Re.  Adam Reeder is a civil-structural engineer and principal investigator at CDM Smith.  Juliet Rogers is the president of Blue Cottage at CannonDesign.  Laura Phillips-Edgecombe is the duPont Fund principal for public spaces and executive on loan to the City of Jacksonville, Florida.  Clint Noble is a member of the City of Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board and professional geologist with CDM Smith.  Dr. Quinton White is founding executive director of the Marine Science Research Institute and professor emeritus at Jacksonville University.  Alex Harris is the lead climate reporter for the Miami Herald.  Pete Nelson is the communications director for the Gulf Research Program at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.  Dave Hondula is the director of the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation at the City of Phoenix.  Casi Callaway is the founder and president of Activate Build Connect.  Eric Corey Freed is the director of sustainability at CannonDesign.  Sarina Beges is the associate director of philanthropy and social innovation at the Aspen Institute.  Ashantae Green is the sustainability manager for the City of Jacksonville, Florida.

As a prelude to the Ten Across Convergence in Jacksonville coming up on October 22nd—where insurability planning will be a focal topic—we’re sharing a conversation Charlie Sidoti and Stephen Brandt, founders of the nonprofit InnSure. Concerned about the risk protection gap growing with climate change in the U.S., these two have applied their combined decades of insurance industry expertise to form a professional network dedicated to developing insurance products that support—and therefore incentivize—communities’ proactive fight against the risks they face.  Ten Across participants are well-aware of disaster recovery costs soaring in this part of the country. Between 2020 and 2022, State Farm and Allstate dropped a shocking 2.8 million insurance policies in fire-prone areas of California—yet Florida and Louisiana lead the nation with even higher nonrenewal rates. Regulatory reform is struggling to relieve insurers and the insured, and the private market continues to retreat as losses exceed underwriting metrics.  InnSure believes the insurance sector can lead the development of new models that incentivize risk reduction and community-based action—that in fact it must, in order to remain viable as an industry.  In this episode, Charlie Sidoti and Stephen Brandt walk us through the challenges and solutions insurers consider in devising effective products to support climate risk mitigation—a preview to the multi-sector problem-solving work that attendees will undertake at the upcoming 10X Convergence.  Relevant Articles and Resources  Charlie Sidoti: “Running Toward Climate Risk” (InsuranceThoughtLeadership.com, August 2022) “How Shutdown Gridlock Could Impede Disaster Preparedness” (The New York Times, Sept. 2025)  “A Trump Administration Playbook: No Data, No Problem” (The New York Times, Sept. 2025)  REPORT: “Next to Fall: The Climate-Driven Insurance Crisis is Here—And Getting Worse” (Senate Budget Committee, December 2024)  “The risky economics of living without homeowners insurance” (Reuters, March 2024)  Relevant Ten Across Conversations Podcasts  Carolyn Kousky on Using Insurance Models to Drive Positive Change  Checking in with Dave Jones on California’s Insurance Outlook  Urban Expert Bill Fulton’s Perspective of How LA Can Rebuild Following the Fires  2023 Insurance Series on California, Louisiana, and Florida  CreditsHost: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: From Now On and Lennon HuttonResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guests:  Charlie Sidoti is executive director of InnSure, a network of insurance professionals and consultants developing innovative industry tools that contribute to the battle against climate risk. Charlie is also a founding coalition partner of GreenieRE, a reinsurance company with a mission to de-risk and unlock capital for clean energy projects. He has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry.  Stephen Brandt is chief development officer and founding board member of InnSure. Stephen previously served as senior vice president of sales for Vitech Systems Group, a group insurance and pension administration software company. He has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance technology field.

The Ten Across Resilience Network convened in Jacksonville, Florida, in April to share strategies from their communities—the hottest in the nation—for mitigating the mortality and economic loss caused by extreme heat, and to identify common obstacles to both long-term planning and immediate response. Representatives from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) joined the exercise to discuss and document the findings.  With co-author Dr. Melissa Guardaro, Senior Global Futures Scientist for ASU’s Global Futures Lab, FAS’s Grace Wickerson has drafted a set of policy recommendations for all levels of government and non-governmental actors, “Framework for a Heat-Ready Nation.” This document draws heavily upon the recommendations, challenges and successes raised by Ten Across participants and outlines a series of steps that can be taken to protect people and their livelihoods from rising temperatures nationwide.  In this episode, Grace walks us through the five high-priority measures defined in the report;  how these points were determined and what it will take to see them carried out. A scientist recognized for their policy advocacy work by last month’s 2025 Grist 50 list, Grace discusses the importance of decisions based on sound science, and how to move forward even as most federal climate policy is rolled back.   Relevant Articles and Resources  Framework for a Heat-Ready Nation (Ten Across/Federation of American Scientists, July 2025)  2025 Heat Policy Agenda (Federation of American Scientists, January 2025)  “As summer ends, Maricopa County is on track to see fewer heat-related deaths than last year” (KJZZ, September 2025)  “Ten Across Joins 60+ Organizations in Supporting Federal Policy Agenda for Tackling Extreme Heat” (Ten Across blog, January 2025)  “Here’s why an Arizona medical examiner is working to track heat-related deaths” (NPR, June 2024)  Relevant Ten Across Conversations Podcasts  ASU Researchers Tackle Extreme Heat Relief as Phoenix Temps Soar  Urban Planners: The Unexpected Champions of the U.S. Heat Resilience Effort  What Some of the Hottest Cities on The 10 Are Doing to Address Deadly Heat  CreditsHost: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: Dew of Light and Lennon HuttonResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guest  Grace Wickerson is senior manager of Climate and Health on the Climate and Environment team at the Federation of American Scientists. Grace leads programmatic work to showcase how a changing climate impacts health outcomes and public health and healthcare systems through emerging threats like extreme heat and wildfire smoke. Grace holds a master’s of science in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University and was named to this year’s Grist 50 list of climate and justice advocates to watch.

The human interventions intended to make Louisiana's coastline habitable and productive over the past century have contributed to the region's most existential threats. Without redress, displaced river sediment, compromised wetlands, and land subsidence will increasingly expose the state to extreme storm surge and sea level rise.  In 2007, following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana adopted its Coastal Master Plan. More than 100 projects have been approved under the plan, including the $3 billion Mid Barataria Sediment Diversion. The largest project of its kind, the diversion was designed to regenerate 40 square miles of barrier wetlands by allowing the leveed river to flood the Barataria Basin. Construction began in 2023, but it was ultimately canceled by Governor Jeff Landry in July of 2025 due to financial and environmental objections.  The arc of this project, from its design through its cancellation, exemplifies how complicated and divisive collective decision-making can become in the age of climate change. Projects scaled to meet major resilience issues are rarely able to serve the conflicting priorities, values, and interests of all stakeholders equally—and trade-offs can bring conflict at every step.  The Water Institute CEO Beaux Jones and award-winning environmental journalist Boyce Upholt both return to the podcast—this time for a joint conversation about the dilemmas in Mississippi River management, conflicting interests and negotiations in coastal resilience, and what it all means for Louisiana’s future.  Relevant Articles and Resources  Subscribe to receive the Southlands Magazine and newsletter here! Learn more about the 10X Convergence and attending  “’It’s a tragedy’: Current, former state officials spar over scuttled coastal project” (The Current LA, August 2025)   “What scrapping a $3 billion coastal project means for Louisiana’s future” (The Washington Post, July 2025)  “Proponents of Mid-Barataria diversion warn against abandoning wetlands” (Louisiana Illuminator, May 2025)  Mississippi River 100 (The Water Institute)  Relevant Ten Across Conversations Podcasts  Past and Future Resilience Along the Mississippi with Boyce Upholt  Want to Understand the Future of U.S. Climate Resilience? Look to the Gulf Coast  Mississippi River Mayors Coalesce to Address Shared Climate Risks  CreditsHost: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: Emanuel Wilde and Johan GlössnerResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guests Beaux Jones is the president and CEO of The Water Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Beaux was environmental section chief of the Louisiana Department of Justice, where he represented the state on a variety of matters ranging from environmental and coastal law to criminal and appellate law. He previously was an environmental and coastal lawyer for the firm Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer. Beaux also served on the BP spill litigation team with the Louisiana State Attorney General.  Boyce Upholt is the founding editor of Southlands Magazine and the author of The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi. His award-winning environmental reporting has appeared in The Atlantic, National Geographic, and The New Republic, among others.

Negotiators representing seven states, 30 tribes, and Mexico are running out of time to agree on new rules to guide sharing of Colorado River water before a federally mandated deadline next fall. Failure to do so would forfeit water allocation authority to the Bureau of Reclamation, and costly state and tribal litigation would be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.  Potable water supply for much of the West is not all that’s at stake in managing demands on the river’s supply. “Deadpool” levels in the reservoirs at Lake Powell and Lake Mead would result in inability of the Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams to generate hydropower. The establishment of new post-2026 operating guidelines among the river’s competing stakeholders is a complex undertaking, consuming much of the region’s attention and effort.  However, an analysis published last week by six leading scholars in the basin warns that immediate, substantial action to conserve water is needed. Their study suggests that if the coming year’s patterns of water supply and use mirror past years, then by the time any hard-won new guidelines are in place, the basin may already be in serious trouble.  In this episode, study author Kathryn Sorensen and water policy expert Sarah Porter provide perspectives on the near-term science, human behavior, and potential solutions relating to conditions around the Colorado River.  Relevant articles and resources  “Analysis of Colorado River Basin Storage Suggests Need for Immediate Action” (Jack Schmidt, Anne Castle, John Fleck, Eric Kuhn, Kathryn Sorensen, Kathrine Tara, September 2025) “As the Colorado River slowly dries up, states angle for influence over future water rights” (The Conversation, August 2025)  “Inside the ‘revolutionary’ new Colorado River proposal” (E&E News by Politico, July 2025)Colorado River Shortage: What This Means for Arizona & What Comes Next (Arizona Water Blueprint)  “The Colorado River needs some ‘shared pain’ to break a deadlock, water experts say” (KUNC, May 2025)  “Floating Pools & Grand Bargains” (Kyl Center for Water Policy at Morrison Institute, April 2025)   Relevant Ten Across Conversations podcasts  Checking in on Tense Colorado River Negotiations with Anne Castle and John Fleck  Understanding Groundwater Risks in the Southwest with Jay Famiglietti  Experts Share Insights on the Ongoing Colorado River Negotiations  Why Everyone Should Care About the Colorado River with Rhett Larson  Getting Honest About the Colorado River Crisis with Anne Castle & John Fleck  The Future of Water is Here: Are We Ready?  CreditsHost: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: Johan Glössner and Daniel GunnarssonResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guestsSarah Porter is the director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, and professor of practice in ASU’s College of Global Futures. Sarah previously served as the Arizona state director of the National Audubon Society and led their Western Rivers Project. She also serves on Governor Katie Hobbs’ Water Policy Council, the City of Phoenix’s Environmental Quality and Sustainability Commission, and several other community boards. In 2023, she was named to the Arizona Capitol Times Powerlist as an “Unsung Hero,” in recognition of her work on Arizona water policy.  Kathryn Sorensen is director of research at the Kyl Center for Water Policy and a Senior Global Futures Scientist at Arizona State University’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory. Kathryn is also a member of the Colorado River Research Group and board member on the Water & Health Advisory Council. Kathryn previously served as director of City of Phoenix Water Services and director of the Water Resources Department at the City of Mesa.

Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast from Florida to Louisiana in 2005 and is still the costliest disaster in U.S. history. New Orleans, a city resting below sea level, is uniquely dependent on engineering for its safety. On August 29th, nearly every defense seemed to fail, allowing storm surge to flood 80% of the city.  As terrible as the storm itself, arguably, were the human failures that contributed to what happened to New Orleans during and after Katrina—flaws in planning, infrastructure, governance, and social equity.  Yet change is possible. And in the intervening years, New Orleans has become known globally as a leader in preparedness, adaptation and recovery knowledge.  New Orleanians are weary of being praised for their resilience. In the past five years alone, the metro area has faced 17 federally declared national disasters—four times the national average. And the challenge of long-term adaptation can be especially overwhelming, especially at a time when consensus seems nearly impossible. But there is no substitute for New Orleans. Its people, environment, culture, and history add up to an inimitable home worth sustaining.  In this episode, longtime friend of Ten Across Jeff Hébert joins us to talk about the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina—the recovery process and the lessons in it that continue to resonate for the future of all our communities. Today, Jeff is chief executive officer for HR&A Advisors. In the years after Katrina, as a New Orleans native and urban planner, he served as a director with the Louisiana Recovery Authority and as a senior official in Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration. He was also among the first chief resilience officers appointed under The Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities program.  Ten Across founder Duke Reiter talks with Jeff about how his experiences with the long game of adaptation and recovery in New Orleans and beyond have shaped his perspective and his work.  Relevant articles and resources  “Trump’s former FEMA chief opens up — and says administration is ‘delaying’ aid” (Politico, August 2025)   “20 years after Katrina, New Orleans’ levees are sinking and short on money” (Grist, August 2025)   “Coastal communities restoring marshes, dunes, reefs to protect against rising seas and storm surges” (AP News, August 2025)   “Government to keep sharing key satellite data for hurricane forecasting despite planned cutoff” (AP News, July 2025)   “Forced to Move: An Analysis of Hurricane Katrina Movers” (U.S. Census Bureau, June 2011)   “Race, socioeconomic status, and return migration to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina” (Population and Environment, December 2009)  Related Ten Across Conversations podcasts   Katrina’s 20th: Vann R. Newkirk II on What We Owe Climate Disaster Survivors Today Governing Through Times of Crisis and Opportunity with Mayor Mitch Landrieu — Part One Governing Through Times of Crisis and Opportunity with Mayor Mitch Landrieu — Part Two   Investing in New Orleans’ Future with GNOF CEO Andy Kopplin  CreditsHost: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor Griffith Music by: Hanna Lindgren, Lupus Nocte, Hushed Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Maya Chari, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guest  Jeff Hébert is chief executive officer and partner at HR&A Advisors, an urban development consulting firm with offices across the U.S., whose mission is to ensure their clients succeed in creating equitable and resilient communities. Prior to joining HR&A, Jeff served as Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the City of New Orleans’ first deputy mayor, chief administrative officer, and chief resilience officer. He also served as executive director of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, Vice President of Adaptation and Resilience for The Water Institute, and director of community planning for the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

Twenty years ago this week, Hurricane Katrina—still the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history—made landfall in New Orleans. Many mark the storm as the transition point to a new age of extreme weather impacts. The Federal Emergency Management Agency more than tripled the size of its Disaster Relief Fund going forward as a result of Katrina and two other major hurricanes in 2005.  Yet two decades later, disasters of this scale have become so common that FEMA has been on track to run out of its Disaster Relief Fund for the second year in a row, unless Congress issues an emergency aid package.  And in this anniversary week, more than 180 FEMA employees have endorsed a letter submitted to members of Congress, urging their defense of the agency's continued operations in spite of the President's stated intent to eliminate or severely curtail its funding. The 36 co-signers that opted to use their names have been placed on administrative leave until further notice, The New York Times reports.  This is the context for today’s conversation with the host and co-creator of the Peabody Award-winning podcast miniseries “Floodlines”, Vann R. Newkirk II.  Vann traces the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina as a demonstration of the ways a community's risk exposure and recovery assistance are often determined by race and class.  These disparities became nationally visible both in the immediacy of the disaster and long after, as some New Orleanians were able to return and recover their homes and livelihoods, while for many others such recovery still remains out of reach.    Duke and Vann also look at Hurricane Katrina’s invigoration of a national and federal movement for environmental justice. Now that this work is being targeted and dismantled, they discuss how to maintain focus in the face of such dramatic reversals and the implications for the next major storm.   Be sure to tune in again next week when we look further into the post-Katrina recovery period with one of its primary leaders, HR&A President and CEO Jeff Hébert, who formerly served as first deputy mayor for the City of New Orleans, executive director of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, and as one of the first chief resilience officers appointed under Rockefeller’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative.  Relevant content from Vann R. Newkirk II Listen to the “Floodlines” podcast series, including “Part 9: Rebirth”, released five years later  “Why the EPA Backed Down” (The Atlantic, September 2024)  “What America Owes the Planet” (The Atlantic, June 2024)  “The Coronavirus’s Unique Threat to the South” (The Atlantic, April 2020)  “Climate Change is Already Damaging American Democracy” (The Atlantic, October, 2018)   Relevant articles and resources  “Banks accounts for $20B climate program frozen amid Trump administration scrutiny” (The HillI, February 2025)  “The Color of Coronavirus: COVID-19 Deaths By Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.” (APM Research Lab, October 2023)  “An Exodus Unlike Any Other: Why Half the People in This Community Moved Away After Hurricane Katrina” (ProPublica, December 2022)  “Flooding Disproportionately Harms Black Neighborhoods” (Scientific American, June 2020)  “Hurricane Flooding and Environmental Inequality: Do Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Have Lower Elevations?” (Socius, 2017)  “Remembering Katrina: Wide racial divide over government’s response” (Pew Research Center,  August 2015)  Related Ten Across Conversations podcasts  Catherine Coleman Flowers: A National Voice for Rural and Unincorporated America  Financing Our Future: Justice40’s Legacy Beyond November  Envisioning a Just Future for All with Dr. Robert Bullard  Credits:Host: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: Hanna Lindgren, Lupus Nocte, HushedResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Maya Chari, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guest:Vann R. Newkirk II is a senior editor at The Atlantic and is host and co-creator of the 2021 Peabody Award-winning podcast miniseries “Floodlines,” which documented Hurricane Katrina, and of the 2023 podcast miniseries “Holy Week”. He is an ASU Future Security Senior Fellow, Fellow of the New America Political Reform Program, and 2022 Andrew Carnegie Fellow. In 2024, Vann was named Journalist of the Year by the Washington Association of Black Journalists.

Recent Ten Across Conversations episodes have considered how current changes in staffing, research, and responsibilities within federal agencies like FEMA and NOAA may affect disaster readiness and response at the local level. Many cities find themselves pressed to rethink how their own limited resources might secure the information and support necessary to address the growing risks they face.  Collaborative regional networks are proving to be one way to achieve much greater returns on investments of local time and funds. The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) has become an outstanding example of this type of work. Formed in 2012, this innovative coalition of 105 mayors from cities along the main stem of the Mississippi has spearheaded programs in vital policy areas including clean water, sustainable economies, and climate resilience.  Among their most interesting efforts from a Ten Across perspective is the pilot parametric insurance policy MRCTI is developing with global reinsurer Munich Re. When realized, this program would allow member cities to opt in to a customized, shared insurance pool that could rapidly fund local emergency response based on predefined environmental trigger events.  Listen in as City of Gretna Mayor and MRCTI Louisiana Chair Belinda Constant joins MRCTI’s executive director, Colin Wellenkamp, and Ten Across founder Duke Reiter to discuss how collaboration can help defend against more frequent and costly risks.  Relevant articles and resources  “Trump moves to end NASA missions measuring carbon dioxide and planet health” (PBS, August 2025)  “Trump, who called FEMA ‘slow,’ is making people wait months for help” (E&E News by Politico, May 2025)  “As Mississippi River towns experience whiplash between drought and flood, mayors look to new insurance model” (The Lens, November 2024)  Relevant Ten Across Conversations podcasts  Why the Ten Across Geography Needs FEMA with Dr. Samantha Montano  Beyond the Forecast: TV Meteorologists Weight in on Climate Challenges  Past and Future Resilience Along the Mississippi with Boyce Upholt  Want to Understand the Future of Climate Resilience? Look to the Gulf Coast  Credits:Host: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor Griffith Music by: Jakob Ahlbom and Lennon HuttonResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine ButlerAbout our guestsRep. Colin Wellenkamp is the executive director of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative and an elected member of the Missouri House of Representatives.  His extensive career in the legal and policy fields has been focused on advocating and advancing public interests through improving local government functions and the activity of the business world. Colin has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Saint Louis University, a J.D. from Creighton University School of Law, and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Sustainable Development Law from George Washington University Law School.    Mayor Belinda Constant is the mayor of the City of Gretna, Louisiana and the first woman elected to the city council or mayorship. Elected as mayor in 2013, she has led a variety of resilience initiatives for the city, including the Gretna 2030 plan and Stormwater Master Plan. She became a member of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative shortly after it was formed in 2012 and has served as co-chair and current Louisiana Chair of the organization.

Local broadcast meteorologists have become more vocal about the evidence of climate change in their communities’ weather in recent years. While some have encountered dramatic pushback, others have found audiences that are eager to understand the causes of recent record-breaking disturbances in familiar weather patterns.  In Phoenix, meteorologist Amber Sullins—formerly a climate skeptic, herself—uses her role to inform an increasingly concerned audience about not only the risks but the climate change factors contributing to the unprecedented extreme heat they experience.  And far to the other end of the Ten Across region in Miami, Michael Lowry is putting his background in meteorology and emergency management to work on multiple platforms, explaining both the immediate dangers and the greater, complex drivers of worsening tropical storms.  But even as more meteorologists like Amber and Michael embrace their unique ability to use the immediacy of local weather to connect the public to the larger context of climate change, there is growing concern about loss of critical federal weather and climate data on which their forecasts are based.  Severe cuts are being made at federal agencies—particularly within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the sources of nearly all U.S. weather information. A proposed budget change for 2026 would reduce resources even further.  Listen in as Amber, Michael, and Ten Across founder Duke Reiter discuss these changes and the implications for both forecast accuracy and public safety as the climate continues to warm.  Relevant links and resources:  Read Michael’s column in the New York Times  2017 Bloomberg video report on Amber's climate coverage"After DOGE cuts, National Weather Service gets OK to fill up to 450 jobs" (The LA Times, August 2025)“US Weather Boss During ‘Sharpiegate’ Nears Return to a Shrinking Agency” (Bloomberg, August 2025)  “After 7 Decades of Measurements From a Peak in Hawaii, Trump’s Budget Would End Them” (The New York Times, July 2025)   “Nearly half of National Weather Service offices are crticially understaffed, experts warn” (PBS News, April 2025)  “Woking Paper: The Value of Improving Hurricane Forecasts” (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 2024)  “One sent tsunami alerts. Another flew with ‘hurricane hunters.’ Both were just fired from NOAA” (NBC News, April 2025)  Relevant Ten Across Conversations podcast episodes:  Past, Present, and Future Climate Reporting with NPR’s Sadie Babits  AI Series: AI-Powered Extreme Weather Modeling is on the Horizon  NOAA Meteorologists Reflect on This Year’s Historic Atlantic Hurricane Season  Credits: Host: Duke Reiter Producer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: Jakob Ahlbom and Helmut SchenkerNews clip played in the introduction courtesy of ABC15 Arizona and Amber SullinsHeadline image courtesy of WPLG Local 10 and Michael LowryResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guestsAmber Sullins is chief meteorologist at ABC15 Arizona and anchors the nightly forecast. She is also vice chairman of the University of Arizona Hydrology and Atmospheric Science Board, a six-time Emmy-winner, and guest anchor on Good Morning America. Amber began her career as a broadcast meteorologist with KVIA-TV in El Paso.  Michael Lowry is the hurricane specialist and storm surge expert for WPLG-TV in Miami, Florida. He previously held roles at the National Hurricane Center as a senior scientist leading the development of groundbreaking new storm surge forecasts and warnings, and at the Federal Emergency Management Agency as disaster planning chief responsible for overhauling the master hurricane response plan after the deadly 2017 season. You can follow his in-depth forecasts and coverage on the “Eye on the Tropics” Substack.

The global climate has undoubtedly changed. Earlier this year, Copernicus, one of the most trusted weather models in the world, calculated that global average temperatures have increased by 1.4°C (2.5°F) since the start of the Industrial Revolution. This seemingly slight increase has had an outsized effect on weather patterns, challenging our ability to predict and prevent disasters resulting from more extreme weather.  Most Americans are at least somewhat concerned about global warming, the documented solution to which is greenhouse gas reduction. Yet just this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to rescind its central scientific basis for climate-related regulation.  And with so much competing for our attention, it is easy to imagine that relatively few people will take note of such a policy decision—let alone clearly understand the larger implications and how to respond.  In this episode, NPR's Sadie Babits discusses her new book Hot Takes: Every Journalist’s Guide to Covering Climate Change, written to equip all of us (journalists or not) to take part in critical public discourse about climate science and policy.  Listen in as Sadie and Ten Across founder Duke Reiter talk about the development of this book, and how journalists can and must rise to the challenges present in the political and media landscape today.  The video format of this discussion will be released 8.7.25. Subscribe to the Ten Across newsletter at 10across.org/subscribe/ to receive it as soon as it is available. Related links:  “Funding cuts will hit rural areas hard. One station manager explains how” (All Things Considered, July 2025)  “Congress rolls back $9 billion in public media funding and foreign aid” (NPR, July 2025)   “Trump EPA moves to repeal landmark ‘endangerment finding’ that allows climate regulation” (Associated Press, July 2025)  “There’s a Race to Power the Future. China is Pulling Away” (The New York Times, June 2025)  Relevant Ten Across Conversations podcast episodes:  Getting Personal About Climate Change with Sammy Roth  Reporting on Climate Change When it’s at Your Doorstep with Allison Agsten 10X Heat Series: Covering Climate Change as It Unfolds with Jeff Goodell  Journalists and Writers on Breaking the Existential Story of Our Lives—Climate Change    Credits: Host: Duke Reiter Producer and editor: Taylor GriffithStudio support and video crew: Louie Duran and Utkarsh ByahutMusic by: Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler    About our guest Sadie Babits is the senior supervising climate editor for National Public Radio and author of “Hot Takes: Every Journalist’s Guide to Covering Climate Change.” She was previously professor of practice and the sustainability director for the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. Sadie was a freelance journalist, editor, and consultant for many years and is a former board president of the Society of Environmental Journalists.

This episode deals with some mature topics. Listener discretion is advised.  This week, we’re bringing you the second half of our discussion with author E.A. (Elizabeth) Hanks about her new book, The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. Elizabeth undertook her journey along the iconic Interstate 10 transect to better understand herself and the nation we inhabit—and her experience is a perfect subject for a Ten Across conversation.  In part two, Ten Across founder Duke Reiter and Elizabeth pick up where they left off at the end of the first installment, crossing from Texas into Louisiana on her way to her favorite stop of all—New Orleans. Tracing the length of the Gulf Coast to her destination in Florida, they explore what this diverse set of places revealed along the way about family, country, and culture.  Relevant Ten Across Conversations podcast episodes and other links:  A Road Trip Along Interstate 10 with Author E.A. Hanks - Part One  Governing Through Times of Crisis and Opportunity with Mayor Mitch Landrieu - Part One and Part Two  A Fight for Better Air Quality in CA’s Inland Empire Reveals a Need for American Innovation  Catherine Coleman Flowers: A National Voice for Rural and Unincorporated America  Fewer Roads Could Mean More Freedom with Megan Kimble  Envisioning a Just Future for All with Dr. Robert Bullard   thewhoweareproject.org  “Trump Told Park Works to Report Displays That ‘Disparage’ Americans. Here’s What They Flagged” (The New York Times, July 2025)  “The Costs of the Confederacy” (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018)  Listen to The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road on Spotify or other audiobook servicesCredits: Host: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: RaminResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guest:E.A. Hanks is the author of The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. She is a former editorial assistant for Vanity Fair and news editor for The Huffington Post. Her culture reporting has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Time Magazine, and The Awl, among others.

Earlier this year, E.A. Hanks—also known as Elizabeth—made her literary debut The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. Considering its framing, it is no surprise that the book was recommended to Ten Across by many. The 10 documents Elizabeth's re-creation of a fraught childhood road trip taken with her mother in 1996, traveling Interstate 10 from end to end. In retracing her mother’s path, she reflects on the diverse nature of the region itself and its influence on events both large and small.  What results is, in significant part, a series of provocative questions about identity—personal, political, and place-based. For example, what makes Texas and California so different, and at the same time so equally vivid in the American imagination? Why do people around the world recognize so much of this singular transect? Is New Orleans the American city? How long can Phoenix exist as it has? How do we define a border? Finally, and most importantly, how do such places inform our future—as individuals and as a nation?  In this special two-part interview, Elizabeth Hanks and Ten Across founder Duke Reiter attempt to answer all the above and find many new questions and revelations along the way. Keep an eye out for part two, which will be released wherever you get your podcasts on July 24.  Relevant Ten Across Conversations podcasts:  “Addressing Historical Inequities in Our National Infrastructure, Then and Now”  “Asking the Right Question: What Texas and Arizona Can Tell Us About the Country”  “Why Phoenix is the ‘Most American City’ with George Packer”  Listen to “The 10” on Spotify, or other audiobook servicesCredits:Host: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: American Legion  Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich and Sabine ButlerAbout our guest:E.A. Hanks is the author of The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. She is a former editorial assistant for Vanity Fair and news editor for The Huffington Post. Her culture reporting has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Time Magazine, and The Awl, among others.

Previous episodes in our AI series have focused on the evolving features of artificial intelligence itself: its potential to democratize education and to improve city planning and weather forecasting. In this final installment, we examine its costs: the accelerating resource demands of AI and other data-intensive technologies.  Maya Chari, this year’s Ten Across + APM Research Lab data journalism fellow, recently investigated the true water and energy costs associated with data center facilities in the Phoenix metro area— now on track to become the second largest market in the U.S. Though granular industrial data can be difficult to come by, Maya located a report submitted by Microsoft to City of Goodyear officials, stating that one of their proposed data centers would use as much potable water each year as 670 homes. Amplified across the 140 other data centers currently dotting the state of Arizona alone, the scale of such consumption becomes clearer.  As data centers rapidly multiply in response to market demand around the world—often preferring arid places like the water-stressed U.S. Southwest—critical questions are pressed about whether and how such development can be sustained.    In back-to-back conversations in this episode, we’ll hear from experts involved in managing and reducing the impact of the physical infrastructure behind our digitized lives. Bobby Olsen, chief planning, strategy, and sustainability executive at the Arizona electric and water utility Salt River Project, describes planning to meet staggering levels of projected energy demand. And Dr. Kerri Hickenbottom, principal investigator at University of Arizona’s Hickenbottom Environmental Research Lab, discusses working in concert with the public and private sectors to improve water reuse strategies and overall efficiency of data center operations.  To support our I-10 neighbors' disaster recovery in Central Texas this week:  Kerr County Flood Relief Fund  Related articles and resources:  “At Amazon’s Biggest Data Center, Everything is Supersized for A.I.” (The New York Times, June 2025)  “Are Data Centers Depleting the Southwest’s Water and Energy Resources?” (American Public Media Research Lab, February 2025) “Thirst for power and water, AI-crunching data centers sprout across the West” (Stanford University, April 2025)  “’I can’t drink the water’ —life next to a US data center” (BBC, July 2025)  “Meta is building a new data center in Louisiana—and this Senate committee wants to know why it’s being powered by gas (exclusive)” (Fast Company, May 2025)  “Phoenix ranks as the second-largest data center market in the U.S.” (AZ Big Media, March 2024)  Credits:  Host: Duke Reiter  Producer and editor: Taylor Griffith  Music by: Curved Mirror, Hushed, and From Now On  Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guests:Bobby Olsen is associate general manager and chief planning, strategy and sustainability executive at the Salt River Project, a public power and water utility in Arizona. Bobby has more than 20 years’ experience in energy planning. He also serves on the board of Arizona Forward, a non-profit leading the charge for sustainability in Arizona.  Kerri Hickenbottom is an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Arizona and is principal investigator in the Hickenbottom Environmental Research Lab. Her research focuses on investigating the technical, environmental, and economic potential of novel, engineered systems for resource recovery and reclamation of waste streams.

Over the course of a calendar year ending in May 2025, the United States absorbed nearly $1 trillion in damages due to extreme weather. This amount, representing 3% of U.S. gross domestic product, was driven by rising insurance costs and a series of disasters primarily concentrated in the Ten Across geography, such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the fires in Los Angeles.  More than ever before, timely and detailed forecasts are needed to properly prepare—and in some cases to evacuate—communities ahead of such extreme events. Leaders across sectors are further in need of advanced weather modeling to support larger-scale mitigation and adaptation efforts.  The data that influence such public and private decision-making mainly stem from the National Weather Service’s six billion daily weather observations. The NWS recently shed 600 of its 4,000 positions, prompting a public warning from five former agency directors that understaffing could undermine the quality and delivery of forecasts, potentially putting many Americans at greater risk.  At the same time, advanced artificial intelligence capabilities are contributing to a trend toward increased commercial ownership of U.S. weather forecasting. However, today's guest, Dr. Amy McGovern, points out that while today's AI can create and curate efficient weather models better than a conventional supercomputer, its monitoring capabilities are not comparable to the collective experience and proficiency of NWS scientists.  Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter and Dr. McGovern, an expert in the integration of AI in meteorological science, explore the current forecasting landscape and how the emergence of private sector AI-powered modeling is influencing its evolution.  Related articles and resources:  Read about Brightband’s Extreme Weather Bench, led by Amy McGovern  NOAA stops tracking cost of extreme weather and climate disasters (UtilityDive, May 2025)  Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds (NPR, May 2025)Former Weather Service Leaders Warn Staffing Cuts Could Lead to ‘Loss of Life’ (The New York Times, May 2025)  Stabilizing ‘operations,’ the National Weather Service hires again after Trump cuts (NPR, June 2025)  Lawmakers revive bipartisan forecasting bill (E&E News by Politico, June 2025)  Credits:Host: Duke Reiter Producer and editor: Taylor Griffith  Music by: Parallax Deep  Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guest:  Amy McGovern is the director and principal investigator for the NSF Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography. She is also a Lloyd G. and Joyce Austin Presidential Professor in the University of Oklahoma’s School of Meteorology and leader of the Interaction, Discovery, Exploration, and Adaptation (IDEA) lab, and lead AI and meteorology strategist for the AI-powered customized weather forecasting startup, Brightband.

This is the second episode in our limited series about artificial intelligence trends shaping life in the I-10 corridor and beyond. In this episode we chat with experts from the Ten Across cities of Phoenix, Houston and Jacksonville on the power of digital twins to more seamlessly convene stakeholders around shared goals.    As virtual representations of actual places and systems, digital twins at their most advanced can incorporate detailed, live data feeds to model real-time conditions—and their potential. These dynamic tools can produce highly accessible visualizations of data and three-dimensional spaces to enhance users' monitoring, scenario planning, and decision making, thanks to advances in computing power and machine learning.  Listen in as guests Devney Majerle, Satish Tripathi, and Jeffrey Carney discuss the goals behind their respective digital twin initiatives and the current capabilities of the models. Devney explains how a twin is helping Downtown Phoenix leaders and community members coalesce around a strategic development plan. Satish is in the process of developing a digital twin for Houston’s vast water system. And Jeff discusses the twins he has helped build for Jacksonville and the State of Florida to scope future-oriented resilience efforts.  Related articles and resources:   Listen to the first episode in our AI Series  Explore the JaxTwin  Read about Downtown Phoenix Inc.’s launch of their twin  Learn about Houston’s journey to develop a digital twin of its water system  Credits:  Host: Duke Reiter  Producer and editor: Taylor Griffith  Music by: Helmut Schenker and Lennon Hutton  Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler  About our guests:  Jeffrey Carney is a professor in the University of Florida School of Architecture and director of the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER). Jeff is also spearheading the GulfSouth Studio initiative and co-leading the JaxTwin and Florida Digital Twin initiatives to support decision making in the City of Jacksonville and State of Florida. Jeff previously served as director of the Louisiana State University Coastal Sustainability Studio and initiated the Inland from the Coast project which examined flood impacts in Baton Rouge, LA.   Devney Majerle is president and chief executive officer of Downtown Phoenix Inc. She is formerly executive director of the Phoenix Community Alliance, vice president of activation and special events for the Arizona Organizing Committee, and senior director of marketing partnerships activation for the Phoenix Suns. Devney serves on several advisory boards for local businesses and nonprofits in the Phoenix region.  Satish Tripathi is lead water planning engineer for the City of Houston, where he has worked for over 12 years. Prior to his work with the city, Satish was a hydropower engineer for the Government of Nepal. Satish has over 17 years of experience leading major water infrastructure planning efforts and his current work focuses on integrating digital twins, advanced water quality modeling, and artificial intelligence in optimizing utility operations.

As we were publishing this episode, news from The New York Times broke that Jeremy Greenberg, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) disaster command center has left his post, a day after President Trump said he would wind down the federal agency by November. CBS reported that Tony Robinson, regional administrator of FEMA Region 6, which includes Ten Across states New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana, also intends to step down this week.  Since January, President Trump has talked about his intent to eliminate or severely diminish the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, relegating disaster response and recovery to the states. On Tuesday, he reiterated this goal and stated that no major changes would be made until after this year’s hurricane season.  The administration's first six months, however, have already brought significant disruption to the agency's operations. One-third of its total staff has been laid off, an acting administrator was abruptly replaced after expressing support for the agency’s existence, and nearly all climate resilience grants and training programs directed at state and local preparation have been canceled. While criticism of the agency and calls for its reform are not new, FEMA has been central to U.S. emergency management for decades. Now, at the onset of the 2025 hurricane season, emergency management experts throughout the country are widely reporting concern about the nation’s readiness for disaster response.  To help us make sense of these real and proposed changes in this episode, ‘disasterologist’ Dr. Samantha Montano returns to the podcast. Samantha will explain the origins of FEMA, valid areas for potential reform, and the issues inherent in turning its responsibilities over to the states— as environmental risks to lives and property in the Ten Across region become more difficult to insure.  Relevant articles and resources:   Listen to our first episode with Samantha  More on the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and related misinformation  “Trumps says his administration wants to ‘wean’ states off FEMA aid after hurricane season” (CBS News, June 2025)  “The dangers of a weakened FEMA ahead of an active hurricane season” (NPR, June 2025)  “FEMA Is Not Prepared” (The Atlantic, June 2025)  “FEMA leader fired after breaking with Trump administration on eliminating agency” (CBS News, May 2025)  “States denied disaster aid as FEMA safety net begins to shrink” (KUOW, May 2025)  Credits:  Host: Duke Reiter  Producer and editor: Taylor Griffith  Music by: Rand Aldo and Lennon Hutton  Research and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich and Sabine Butler  About our guest: Samantha Montano is an assistant professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and author of Disasterology: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis. Her research tracks the evolution of emergency management policy and practice, as well as perceptions of emergency management. You can follow her newsletter, Disasterology, here.

Last week, news broke that the depletion of groundwater across the Colorado River Basin has been quietly, rapidly outpacing the more visible decline of the river itself. Even as the seven basin states negotiate reduced consumption of river water—inevitably driving dependence toward local aquifers instead—this newly published research shows that the majority ofmost of the water lost throughout the basin in recent years has been underground. In the Lower Colorado River Basin alone, groundwater has accounted for 71% of total water supply loss.  Jay Famiglietti, a longtime contributor to Ten Across, specializes in the use of satellite data to monitor the world's groundwater mass. His team's new findings focus on the U.S. Southwest—a region at the forefront of the nation's water supply challenges and the complex balances between resource limitations and economic growth.  As states and cities in the Colorado River Basin and elsewhere develop water management strategies to sustain themselves through future constraints, a growing understanding of groundwater supply is key to effective proactive policy. It is increasingly clear that time is of the essence for this uniquely finite resource.   Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter and Jay Famiglietti discuss the concrete findings in this report, the immediate and long-term implications for agriculture in the Southwest, and Jay’s motivations for raising awareness of groundwater usage in the Ten Across region and beyond.  Relevant articles and resources:  Read the open access study: “Declining Freshwater Availability in the Colorado River Basin Threatens Sustainability of Its Critical Groundwater Supplies”  Read The Washington Post’s analysis  More analysis from The Guardian and Inside Climate News  Catch up on the Colorado River negotiations  Listen to Jay’s first podcast appearance  Related headlines:   “ADWR Director Briefs UA Water Resources Research Center Conference on Colorado River Negotiations” (azwater.gov, June 2025)  “It’s not just big alfalfa farms. La Paz residents fear groundwater grab by big cities” (Arizona Republic, June 2025)  “Arizona wants this city to cut its groundwater use. Residents want flexibility” (Arizona Republic, May 2025)  “Even in wet years, wells are still dry. Why replenishing California’s groundwater is painfully slow” (Cal Matters, February 2025)  “Opinion: Will We Have to Pump the Great Lakes to California to Feed the Nation?” (The New York Times, August 2024)  Credits:Host: Duke ReiterProducer and editor: Taylor GriffithMusic by: Lupus Nocte and TellsonicResearch and support provided by: Kate Carefoot, Rae Ulrich, and Sabine Butler