After The Fact

It’s hurricane season—and extreme weather events are on the rise. Along with the catastrophic losses that families face after the flood is the economic burden on taxpayers through the National Flood Insurance Program. It’s the financial lifeline for those who carry flood insurance and an essential funding source for both disaster preparation and recovery efforts. However, the program is also $25 billion in debt, and more than a quarter of that total is from properties that flood repeatedly. It’s a growing issue affecting more than just coastal cities. Host Dan LeDuc discusses the flood that devastated Nashville, Tennessee, in 2010 with Roger Lindsey, chairman of the Tennessee Association of Floodplain Management and practice leader for Stormwater and Floodplain Management for Nashville’s Metro Water Services, and Laura Lightbody, who directs Pew’s flood-prepared communities work. To learn more >>> pewtrusts.org/afterthefact. Like what we’re doing? Please leave us a quick review >>> http://pew.org/pdcstrvw

The planet is facing increased environmental pressures—from warming oceans to species loss. At the same time, new tools such as satellite monitoring and forensic science continue to support conservation gains around the world. But will technology help save the Earth? In this episode, you’ll hear leading experts discuss and debate this issue. Featuring: Tony Juniper, special advisor to The Prince of Wales’ International Sustainability Unit, president of The Wildlife Trusts, and fellow with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership; Rear Adm. Nick Lambert, ambassador to Satellite Applications Catapult’s Blue Economy Initiative; and Callum Roberts, professor of marine conservation at the University of York’s Environment Department. Pew speakers include Rebecca Rimel, president and CEO; Susan Urahn, executive vice president and chief program officer; and Kerri-Ann Jones, vice president of research and science. Event video is also available >>> pewtrusts.org/afterthefact Like what we’re

Three-quarters of our planet is covered with water—and it’s this water that sustains life as we know it. But our liquid planet, home to half of the world’s known creatures, isn’t getting the care it needs. That’s why leading scientists say that 30 percent of our oceans should be protected—that is, free from overfishing and commercial development. Host Dan LeDuc explores why this 30 percent data point is important with two people devoted to safeguarding the oceans: native Hawaiian Sol Kaho’ohalahala, whose culture and livelihood depend on sustainable seas; and Matt Rand, who directs the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project and has been working with people like Kaho’ohalahala since 2006 to keep our oceans healthy. To learn more, visit pewtrusts.org/afterthefact. 

Technology is transforming our world and our workplaces. With the quick pace of change, the future can be as unsettling as it is exciting. However, in this episode, Brian David Johnson says we can invent the future. As a futurist for major corporations who now teaches at Arizona State University, Johnson talks with host Dan LeDuc about how we can envision our futures and find paths to reach them. It’s a conversation with resonance—especially when considering this data point: 47 percent—that’s the share of jobs that researchers at Oxford University say are at risk of being overtaken by robots in the next two decades. To learn more, visit pewtrusts.org/afterthefact.

More than 331 million visits were made to America’s national parks last year—to hike stunning trails, drive scenic roads, and climb stairs in historic structures. But as the number of visitors has been growing, so have the maintenance needs for those trails, roads, and buildings. In this episode, The Pew Charitable Trusts explores that backlog of maintenance, which now totals more than $11.9 billion. Host Dan LeDuc speaks with Marcia Argust, director of Pew’s campaign to restore America’s parks; Phil Francis, a retired Blue Ridge Parkway superintendent who spent 40 years with the National Park Service (NPS); and Bryan Atchley, mayor of Sevierville, Tennessee, a gateway community to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. To learn more, visit pewtrusts.org/afterthefact. (Sounds of nature recorded by the NPS’ Jennifer Jerrett and Montana State University’s Acoustic Atlas.)

While concern about childhood immunization stirs debate, Pew Research Center finds that the vast majority of Americans—88 percent—believe that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks. In this episode, host Dan LeDuc discusses that data point and more on the study with Cary Funk, associate director of research on science and society at Pew Research Center. She is currently studying public attitudes about various scientific topics at the nonpartisan research organization, a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. To listen and to learn more, visit pewtrusts.org/afterthefact.

States are finding new ways to get smart on crime and, in the process, changing how America views crime and punishment. After decades of rising prison populations, reforms in 33 states have helped cut the national incarceration rate by 13 percent since 2007. That data point drives this episode’s conversation about the new approaches, informed by research-based sentencing and corrections policies, that are slowing prison growth and helping communities become safer. Host Dan LeDuc speaks with Adam Gelb, director of Pew’s public safety performance project, as well as two leaders in South Carolina—state Senator Gerald Malloy (D), who has led his state’s reform efforts; and Bryan Stirling, state corrections director, who is implementing these transformative changes. To listen and to learn more, visit pewtrusts.org/afterthefact.

Struggling to pay bills and set aside savings? You’re in good company: 92 percent of Americans say financial stability is more important to them than moving up the economic ladder. That’s just about everybody, and it makes for a new version of the American Dream.  In this episode, Erin Currier, who researches family financial security for The Pew Charitable Trusts, explains why, even during this time of economic recovery, so many people are still feeling uneasy.  To listen and to learn more about that research, visit pewtrusts.org/afterthefact. It’s about the data and trends shaping your world.

Join experts from The Pew Charitable Trusts and other special guests for the story behind the numbers and trends shaping some of society’s biggest challenges. Whether it’s data on the financial plight of American families or research on how to protect the environment, you’ll hear evidence-based—and nonpartisan—conversations as we go after the facts that can inform, enlighten, and expand your worldview.