The Alerting Authority

In this episode of The Alerting Authority , hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Steve Torrance , Director of Emergency Management for Marin County, California , to explore how one of the nation’s most complex communities handles emergency alerts and warnings . Marin County faces a unique mix of risks — including earthquakes, wildfires, floods, tsunamis, power outages, and infras...

What happens when an emergency alert is sent without enough information—or with the wrong information altogether? In this episode of The Alerting Authority , Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola break down a real-world emergency alert involving a reported firearm and examine how incomplete messaging, vague locations, unclear protective actions, and inconsistent follow-up alerts can confuse the publi...

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 episode, emergency management practitioners, researchers, and alerting authorities come together to break down a landmark RAND Corporation study examining the real-world performance of the Wireless Emergency Alert system following the October 4, 20...

In this episode of The Alerting Authority , hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola are joined by Nick Crossley , Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security for Hamilton County, Ohio , to explore what it truly takes to build and sustain an effective, public-facing alert and warning program. Nick shares how Hamilton County manages emergency communications across 49 jurisdictions , incl...

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 recent ShakeAlert activation in California and Nevada that ultimately turned out to be a false alert. Using this real-world example, they explore how earthquake early warnings work, why they are fundamentally different from prediction systems, a...

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 a clear, actionable notification turned into a case study in how alerts fail the public. In this episode of The Alerting Authority , Jeannette and Eddie break down the real-world Amber Alert issued in Georgia: what the Wireless Emergency Ale...

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 warning systems: Dr. Michele Wood . As a core member of the team that developed the original Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) — now known as WEA (Wireless Emergency Alerts) — Dr. Wood brings unparalleled insight into how alerts are crea...

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 public warning behavior: Dr. John Sorensen . With decades of research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory—including studies on Three Mile Island, nuclear emergencies, chemical stockpile response, reverse 911 systems, and major wildfire evacuatio...

In this compelling episode, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola take listeners behind the scenes of real-world Wireless Emergency Alerts — including a recent missing teen case in Pea Ridge, Arkansas — to show how evidence-based message design can directly support effective public safety outcomes. Together, they break down:  • The difference training makes in high-stakes alert messaging  • Why...

In this premiere episode of The Alerting Authority , hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola welcome former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate for a powerful, no-nonsense conversation about the real challenges facing emergency alerting in the U.S. Fugate breaks down why alert failures usually come from people, not technology —and why emergency managers must be trained, confident, and ready to issue...