In Part 1 of A New Revolution: How AI is Transforming Disaster Resilience, host Rachael Penton Gauthier sat down with IBHS Director of AI Research Dr. Hesam Fallahian to trace the sweeping history of artificial intelligence—from its roots in science fiction and pop culture to its emergence as a real-world force reshaping how humans live and work. The episode explored the major technological revolutions—agricultural, industrial, and information—and how AI is poised to become the next game‑changer. The conversation followed the evolution of AI, from early concepts and landmark breakthroughs to the rapid rise of generative AI and large language models like ChatGPT.

In Part 2, Dr. Fallahian returns to dive into the real-world impact of artificial intelligence on disaster resilience, exploring how AI is transforming weather forecasting, risk assessment, and insurance—making communities safer and smarter. This episode also highlights cutting-edge research at IBHS, the rise of AI agents and behavioral models, and the challenges and risks that come with these powerful new tools. Plus, listeners get a glimpse of what’s ahead for the future of AI.

Artificial intelligence isn’t just the next big tech trend—it’s the newest revolution reshaping how we understand, prepare for, and respond to disasters. In this two‑part episode of Disaster Discussions, we trace AI’s evolution from science fiction and pop‑culture icon to a real‑world force transforming weather forecasting, insurance, and community resilience. Host Rachael Gauthier sits down with Dr. Hesam Fallahian, Director of AI Research at IBHS, to unpack everything from generative models and AI agents to behavioral models, computer vision, and the surprising risks and misconceptions surrounding today’s systems. Whether you’re curious about how AI is changing storm prediction, modernizing risk assessment, or helping communities stay safer before disaster strikes, this episode pulls back the curtain on one of the most transformative technologies of our time.

As we wrap up another year of Disaster Discussions, we’re taking a moment to look back at the conversations that shaped 2025. From wildfire resilience and severe weather preparedness to the latest research on building standards, this season brought together experts and stories that matter for safer communities. Join us as we revisit key insights, highlight memorable moments, and celebrate the guests who helped make this year impactful.

This episode features interviews from experts at IBHS, UC Berkeley, James Cook University Cyclone Testing Station, KB Home, ICECHIP, Geotrek, Alabama Department of Insurance, University of Alabama Center for Risk and Insurance Research, and McRoof Roofing and Insurance Experts.

In this episode of Disaster Discussions, we journey to the heart of tornado alley—to Oklahoma, where tornadoes and hailstorms are a way of life and homeowners face some of the highest insurance rates in the nation. This episode explores how the FORTIFIED Roof program and the Strengthen Oklahoma Homes initiative are transforming resilience, offering grants and insurance discounts to help families weather the storm. With insights from Fortified contractor and Master Haag Certified Inspector Scott McCollum Sr., we’ll unpack the mindsets of consumers, contractors, adjusters, and insurers, and examine the real-world impact of incentives, awareness, and lived experience on the adoption of stronger, safer roofs. Discover what’s working, what’s not, and what the future holds for building a more resilient Oklahoma—one roof at a time.

Today, nearly 50 million Americans live in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)—zones where wildfire meets suburbia, and ordinary wildfires can escalate into full-blown conflagrations. In these extreme events, homes and their contents become fuel, driving structure-to-structure fire spread and releasing a toxic mix of chemicals far more hazardous than those from natural biomass burns. Heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other pollutants are propelled into the air via contaminated ash and smoke, posing serious health risks to first responders and residents alike.

In this episode of Disaster Discussions, we spotlight a groundbreaking research initiative led by IBHS collaborators from UC Berkeley and funded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). For the first time, scientists are quantifying the emissions produced during large-scale conflagrations—work that’s reshaping our understanding of air pollution, public health, and climate resilience.

This month's guests include: Dr. Nathan Kreisberg, Senior Research Scientist for Aerosol Dynamics Inc, Dr. Allen Goldstein, Professor for the Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Dept of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management, and Michael Milazzo, Graduate Student Researcher & PHD Candidate, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.

Wildland-Urban Interface fires are among the most destructive wildfire events, transforming into conflagration scenarios that result in catastrophic losses of homes, infrastructure, and lives. This episode of Disaster Discussions dives into cutting-edge work with research partners at UC Berkeley based on findings from the IBHS Structure-to-Structure Fire Spread experiment. The discussion focuses on looking at how wildfires spread into urban communities, exploring how the researchers are improving fire modeling and gathering real-world data to help improve fire modeling tools that can help predict and prevent these urban fire disasters.

This episode's guests are Dr. Michael Gollner, UC Berkeley Associate Professor and Deb Faculty Fellow from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Dr. Wuquan Cui, Postdoc at UC Berkeley.

In this episode of Disaster Discussions, host Rachael Penton Gauthier explores KB Home’s groundbreaking Dixon Trail development in Escondido, CA—the first neighborhood in the U.S. to receive a provisional Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood™ designation, with every home in the development constructed to the Wildfire Prepared Home Plus level-IBHS's most rigorous wildfire resilience standard. KB Home’s President and Regional General Manager Steve Ruffner shares the bold design choices and strategic cost trade-offs that made this resilience possible, as well as feedback from residents who have made this neighborhood their home and saved on insurance in the process. The episode also dives into the policy, planning, and insurability hurdles builders face and outlines KB Home’s forward-looking commitment to wildfire-resilient construction.

What happens when a storm meets smart construction choices? Mark Fowler from the Alabama Department of Insurance and Dr. Lawrence Powell from the University of Alabama's Center for Risk and Insurance Research join Disaster Discussions to unpack a groundbreaking new report on IBHS FORTIFIED Home construction performance during Hurricane Sally- a strong category two storm that struck the highest concentration of FORTIFIED homes in the nation. This episode dives into how homes built or retrofitted to FORTIFIED standards significantly outperformed both traditional construction homes and those built to municipal building codes—sustaining less damage and saving homeowners and insurers millions of dollars.