Risk InSight

When Culverts Fail: A Case Study of Infrastructure Resilience in Rural Massachussets

What happens when a small piece of infrastructure fails? Researchers from UMass Amherst and an engineering firm discuss their study on culvert failures in the Deerfield W

Density, Not DUI | What's Really Driving Spring Break Traffic Crashes

Most people assume the holidays are the deadliest time to drive. The data says otherwise. In this episode of Risk InSight, host Anya Grondalski talks with Professor Mic

How We Can Keep Biotech in Check with Dr. Kate Sixt of USDA

What happens when cutting-edge biotechnology meets artificial intelligence, and who's responsible for governing it? Kate Sixt, Executive Director of the Office of the C

What's in Your Water?

Every time you turn on the tap, you're trusting a complex system to keep you safe — but what happens when that system faces threats we're still learning to understand? In

The Case for Honest PFAS Communication

"Forever chemicals" have been in headlines for years, but are people actually getting the information they need to protect themselves? In this episode, we sit down with L

Words that work: talking climate change with the public

When we think about communicating risk, we often focus on the evidence: the data, the models, the science. But what if the words we choose to frame that risk are just as

Inside the Supply Chain Trust Game

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Zachary Collier, assistant professor at Radford University and longtime member of the Society for Risk Analysis, to explore a hidden

With Access Interrupted, How Do We Rebuild?

When disaster strikes, how do we rebuild...and do we do it differently? The answer might start with something simpler than we think: listening to the people already livin

Crowdsourcing the Federal Institutional Comeback

Two veteran risk analysts reflect on how scientists, academics, and federal employees (both former and current) are planning for the day agencies can be rebuilt. Adam Fin

When AI Meets Biology: The Race Between Innovation and Oversight

Biotechnology is advancing faster than ever before, and the stakes have never been higher. In this episode, Dr. Christopher Cummings, lead for the Center for Health Engin

How Can We Build Institutional Resilience?

In this episode of Let's Talk Risk, we're diving into a conversation with two leaders in global development: Abhilash Panda from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Narrowing in on Nanotechnology

Khara Grieger, assistant professor of environmental health and risk assessment at NC State University, joins Dr. Sandra Alday to discuss emerging nanotechnologies and the

Going Beyond the Ballot: Interplay Risks of Technology and Humans in Electoral Systems

How do we keep elections secure in a world of evolving technology and human error? In this episode, Dr. Sandra Alday sits down with Dr. Natalie Scala, professor and resea

Messengers and Messages: Demystifying Misinformation in the Modern Age

Dr. Dominic Balog-Way and Dr. Katherine McComas of Cornell University join Sandra Alday for a compelling episode on their paper titled "Unpacking the Risk of Misinformati

Rethinking Risk Education Through Object-Based Learning and the Arts

In this latest episode, Dr. Sandra Alday is joined by two guests from the University of Melbourne: Dr. Anna Kosovac and Dr. Olivia Meehan. Together, they've created a cou

How Collective Action Increases Community Resilience

Dr. Sandra Alday is joined by Manomita Das of the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey University. Together, they discuss what motivates people's behaviors before

Exploring the Dimensions of Risk Perception

Dr. Sandra Alday is joined by professor of risk analysis and decision science, Robyn Wilson, to discuss how we perceive risks and make decisions.  

What Happened in Kerr County, Texas? Understanding Flooding in Today's Climate

In the early hours of July 4, 2025, a torrent of 100 billion gallons of rain fell on Kerr County, Texas causing the Guadalupe River to rise meters in minutes. This traged

A Yardstick for Danger: Developing a Flexible and Sensitive Measure of Risk Perception

On this episode of Let's Talk Risk, Robyn Wilson, Professor of Risk Analysis and Decision Science and Acting Associate Director of Research and Graduate Education, joins

Risk of Mass Shooting in Public Settings

On this episode of Let's Talk Risk, Cameron MacKenzie, Associate Professor at the IMSE Department at Iowa State University, joins us to talk about the risks of mass shoot