Shows / The Alerting Authority
The Alerting Authority
The Alerting Authority is a podcast dedicated to improving how we warn the public when seconds matter. Hosted by Jeanette Sutton, a leading researcher in public alerts and warnings, and Eddie Bertola, an expert in emergency communications technology, the show brings together practitioners, policymakers, technologists, and thought leaders shaping the future of public alerting.
Each episode dives deep into real-world challenges behind creating, issuing, and delivering life-saving alerts. From…
Episodes
- The Alerting Authority
Nextdoor Is Changing Emergency Alerts — Here's What Public Safety Agencies Need to Know
This episode is sponsored by Nextdoor What if your next emergency alert could reach thousands of residents who aren't following your agency on social media or…
- The Alerting Authority
When Emergency Alerts Fail: What Seattle Is Changing
What happens when an emergency alert takes too long to reach the people who need it most? In this episode of The Alerting Authority, host Eddie Bertola joins…
- The Alerting Authority
The Cost of Getting Emergency Alerts Wrong — Lessons from Oregon
What happens when an emergency alert goes to the wrong people—or never reaches the people who need it most? On this episode of The Alerting Authority, host…
- The Alerting Authority
Why Some Emergency Alerts Fail — New Research Explains What’s Missing - Part II Discussion
What makes an emergency alert actually work — and what happens when critical information is left out? On this episode of The Alerting Authority, Jeannette…
- The Alerting Authority
Your Emergency Alerts Aren’t Good Enough — Here’s Why - Reality Check
Emergency alerts are supposed to help people make fast, potentially life-saving decisions. But what happens when the alert itself is vague, incomplete, or…
- The Alerting Authority
Why People Ignore Emergency Warnings — Even When They Understand Them
Why do people make the wrong decision during an emergency — even when they understand the warning? On this episode of The Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton…
- The Alerting Authority
Why We Keep Making the Same Mistakes After Weather Disasters
What happens after a devastating weather disaster — and who makes sure we actually learn from it? On this episode of The Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton…
- The Alerting Authority
We’re Using AMBER Alerts WRONG: The Alerting Authority Reality Check
In this Alerting Authority Reality Check, Eddie Bertola tackles a controversial question: Should AMBER Alerts really be sent statewide? Wireless Emergency…
- The Alerting Authority
How Do We Know If an Emergency Alert Actually Works? | The Science of Warning Messages
How do we actually know whether an emergency alert works? In Part 1 of this special two-part episode of The Alerting Authority, Dr. Jeannette Sutton and Eddie…
- The Alerting Authority
Earthquake Warning: The Seconds That Could Save Your Life
Earthquakes can strike without warning—but new technology can give you precious seconds to react. In this episode archived of The Alerting Authority, Jeannette…
- The Alerting Authority
AI Is Changing Emergency Alerts — Are We Ready? | Dr. Jessica Jensen
Artificial intelligence is already changing emergency management — but are we ready to trust it with alerts and warnings? On this episode of The Alerting…
- The Alerting Authority
Wildfire Evacuations: Why Your Emergency Plan Might FAIL
Wildfire evacuations can turn chaotic in minutes. So how do emergency managers know when to issue an evacuation order, who should leave first, and whether the…
- The Alerting Authority
CAPCOG 2026 Recap: The Biggest Alerting & Warning Lessons from Texas
What happens when emergency managers, public safety leaders, universities, public health officials, law enforcement, and alerting authorities from across Texas…
- The Alerting Authority
Crisis Communication, AI, and Public Trust: What Alerting Authorities Can Learn from Dr. Tim Coombs
What happens when emergency alerts fail, misinformation spreads, or organizations lose public trust during a crisis? In this episode of The Alerting Authority…
- The Alerting Authority
Wireless Emergency Alerts Explained with Rob Dale
What emergency managers see when they send an alert isn't always what the public receives. In this episode of Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton, Eddie…
- The Alerting Authority
AI Taking Over? How AI is Changing the World of Alerting
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing the way emergency managers, public information officers, and alerting authorities communicate with the public. But…
- The Alerting Authority
How Better Translations Could Save Lives During Disasters
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Dr. Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a leading researcher in multilingual…
- The Alerting Authority
From Disney to Disaster Response | The Story of Eddie Bertola
Who is Eddie Bertola? In this special episode of The Alerting Authority Podcast, Dr. Jeannette Sutton turns the tables and interviews co-host Eddie Bertola…
- The Alerting Authority
Right Message, Right Time: Martin Ritchey on Emergency Alerts, Texas Floods, IPAWS and Everbridge
How do emergency managers make sure the right people get the right message at the right time? In this episode of The Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton and…
- The Alerting Authority
Walking Across England: 210 Miles on the Coast to Coast Trail | Travel, Hiking & Emergency Preparedness
What is it really like to walk across England? In this special episode of Alerting Authority, Dr. Jeannette Sutton shares the incredible story of hiking 210…
- The Alerting Authority
Alerts, Cats, and Ice Cream: Getting to Know Jeannette Sutton
Who is Dr. Jeannette Sutton, and how did she become one of the most influential voices in emergency alerting and warning research? In this special episode of…
- The Alerting Authority
Alert Fails and Successes: Lessons from Hawaii, Texas Blue Alerts, Amber Alerts, and Wildfire Evacuations | Alerting Authority Podcast
What makes an emergency alert effective—and what causes public confusion, panic, or frustration? In this episode of The Alerting Authority, emergency…
- The Alerting Authority
What Every Emergency Manager Needs to Know About Alerting and Warnings
What separates good emergency alerts from life-saving emergency alerts? In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Dr. Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola…
- The Alerting Authority
5 Essential Elements Every Emergency Management Agency Needs
Emergency alerts and warnings can save lives—but only when organizations have clear, effective policies guiding their decisions. In this episode of The…
- The Alerting Authority
How Colleges Handle Emergency Alerts for 60,000+ People | Campus Safety & Crisis Communication
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Stuart Moffatt, Director of Emergency Management at the…
- The Alerting Authority
AMBER Alerts Explained: How They Work, Why They Matter, and How Better Messaging Saves Lives
In this powerful and deeply informative episode of Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola break down everything you need to know about…
- The Alerting Authority
The Truth About False Alarms & Emergency Warnings | Alerting Authority Podcast
What happens when people stop trusting emergency alerts? Do “false alarms” actually make communities less safe—or is the problem more complicated than we…
- The Alerting Authority
From 9/11 to FEMA IPAWS: Jen Meyers on Emergency Alerts, Alert Fatigue & Public Trust in Crisis
In this powerful episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with emergency communications expert Jen Meyers to…
- The Alerting Authority
Why Emergency Alerts Fail: Craig Fugate on Public Warning Mistakes - Alerting Authority Rewind
This episode is a rewind from our very first premiere of The Alerting Authority. In this debut conversation, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down…
- The Alerting Authority
Inside New York’s Missing Persons Alert Overhaul with Tim Williams
How do you write a missing persons alert that actually gets the public to respond? In this episode of The Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton and Eddie…
- The Alerting Authority
Animals and Emergencies: Real-Life Chaos, Companion Pets, and Disaster Preparedness
What happens when emergencies involve your pets or animals? In this lively and unfiltered episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Eddie Bertola and Jeannette…
- The Alerting Authority
Missing Persons Alerts Explained: AMBER, Ashanti & WEA—What Works, What Fails, and What Saves Lives | Sponsored by Everbridge
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with veteran alerting leader Carri Gordon to break down the…
- The Alerting Authority
Do Alerts Really Work? RAND Study Part II | Who Gets Missed, Opt-Outs, & Alert Fatigue Explained
In Part II of our deep dive into the groundbreaking RAND national alerting study, we go beyond the headline stat that 91% of Americans received the Wireless…
- The Alerting Authority
When the Mountain Burned: Inside the Ruidoso Wildfires and the Alert That Saved a Town
In this gripping episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Eric Queller, Emergency Manager for the mountain…
- The Alerting Authority
Training 190 Alert Senders, Preventing WEA Mistakes & Reaching Every Community: Inside San Diego’s Alerting System
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Dan Vasquez, former Alert & Warning Coordinator for the San…
- The Alerting Authority
Frozen Iguanas, Winter Storm Alerts, WEA Messaging & Emergency Communication Best Practices
In this episode of the Alerting Authority Podcast, Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola discuss winter storm alerts, Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), and…
- The Alerting Authority
Inside the FEMA National Alert: Deanne Criswell on Sending the U.S. Emergency Alert
Former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell joins The Alerting Authority, sponsored by HQE Systems, to discuss what it was really like to send the nationwide…
- The Alerting Authority
Engagement Before Emergency: Building Buy-In Before Disaster Strikes
This episode of The Alerting Authority features emergency manager Ashley Morris, whose journey from childhood storm enthusiast in New Mexico to…
- The Alerting Authority
Inclusive Emergency Alerting & Access Needs in Disasters with Vance Taylor | Cal OES & Whole Community Leadership
How can emergency alerts truly reach everyone, especially people with disabilities and access/ functional needs? In this powerful episode, we welcome Vance…
- The Alerting Authority
Are We Over-Alerting? Arkansas Winter Storm WEA Strategy & Building Community Trust
When severe winter weather hit Arkansas, only one county issued multiple Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs). Was it over-alerting or a powerful example of…
- The Alerting Authority
Emergency Alerting at the World’s Busiest Airport: How Atlanta Airport Manages Crisis Communication at Scale
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, emergency management and communications leaders from Atlanta International Airport (ATL) take listeners inside the…
- The Alerting Authority
Inside the Tsunami Warning System: What Really Happened During the 2024 West Coast Alert—and How Emergency Alerts Must Evolve
In December 2024, millions of people across California, Oregon, and the San Francisco Bay Area received a sudden Wireless Emergency Alert warning of a possible…
- The Alerting Authority
Saving Lives Under Pressure: Pete Gaynor on Alerts, Leadership, FEMA, and the Future of Disaster Recovery
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Pete Gaynor, former FEMA Administrator and current President…
- The Alerting Authority
Emergency Alerts Explained: Marin County’s Approach to Tsunami Warnings, WEA, and Public Safety Communication
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Steve Torrance, Director of Emergency Management for Marin…
- The Alerting Authority
Clear Alerts Save Lives—Confusing Ones Create Chaos
What happens when an emergency alert is sent without enough information—or with the wrong information altogether? In this episode of The Alerting Authority…
- The Alerting Authority
Do Wireless Emergency Alerts Really Reach the Public? Inside the RAND Study on WEA Coverage, Opt-Outs, and Alert Fatigue
Do Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) actually reach the people they are intended to warn? And what happens after the alert hits a phone? In this in-depth…
- The Alerting Authority
Nick Crossley on Building an Effective Alert and Warning Program
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola are joined by Nick Crossley, Director of Emergency Management and Homeland…
- The Alerting Authority
Seconds Matter: Earthquake Early Warnings, False Alerts, and the Critical Need for Post-Alert Communication
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola take a deep dive into earthquake early warning systems, focusing on a…
- The Alerting Authority
Amber Alerts, Jargon, and Missed Opportunities: Lessons from Atlanta
During a family trip to Atlanta, Eddie’s phone — along with thousands of others — blared an Amber Alert inside the Coca-Cola Museum. But what should have been…
- The Alerting Authority
How Wireless Emergency Alerts Really Work | Dr. Michele Wood on The Alerting Authority
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola speak with one of the most influential researchers in the field of public…
- The Alerting Authority
How People React to Alerts: Dr. John Sorensen Breaks Down Warning Behavior
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola welcome one of the world’s leading experts in disaster communication and…
- The Alerting Authority
From Weak Alerts to Strong Warnings: The Message Design Dashboard in Action
In this compelling episode, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola take listeners behind the scenes of real-world Wireless Emergency Alerts — including a…
- The Alerting Authority
Craig Fugate on Why Emergency Managers Fail at Warning the Public | The Alerting Authority
In this premiere episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola welcome former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate for a powerful…