Disaster Tough Podcast

John Scardena

contact@thereadinesslab.com

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Booking Overview

A practitioner-led emergency management show where the host and field experts break down disaster readiness across the full disaster lifecycle. It’s especially useful for PR professionals who cover emergency preparedness, public safety communications, and resilience—offering practical, lessons-learned guidance with an approachable tone (including unexpected humor).

Metrics

Episodes: 268

Frequency: Weekly

Rating: 4.8/5.0

Estimated listeners: 1k-10k

Gender skew: Male

Location: USA

Instagram: 3.4k followers

Contact Information

contact@thereadinesslab.com

For verified host and producer emails, sign up to view.

Host

John Scardena - Former Federal Emergency Response official with Type 1 response experience; he leads Doberman Emergency Management, which delivers customized emergency plans, hazard mitigation, training, and emerg...

Booking Intelligence

Booking Requirements

medium
Typical Credentials:  
Field experts from emergency management and adjacent disciplines (public safety, emergency operations, disaster resilience, public health, crisis leadership/communications). Leadership roles and/or recognized thought leadership in readiness and disaster lifecycle practice.
Required Achievements:  
Co-founded or led emergency management/resilience organizations (e.g., Logista), Published or widely shared emergency management content/insights (e.g., influential public-facing work), Demonstrated operational leadership supporting large-scale events, readiness programs, or multi-agency coordination, Experience translating data/training into actionable readiness frameworks

Recent Guest Discussions

Drew Downing - Readiness And Resilience Measurement; Credibility And Burnout In Emergency Management; Prevention Vs. Response; Leadership And Communication; Community Self-sustainability

Recent Topics

Emergency Management, Preparedness, Resilience, Public Safety, Risk Management

Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on
Disaster Tough Podcast
:

2026 FIFA World Cup Final Prep

May 28, 2026

As the FIFA World Cup 2026 approaches, emergency managers, stadium operators, law enforcement, hospitals, transportation agencies, airports, and public safety leaders are entering a critical final phase of readiness. In this episode of the Disaster Tough Podcast, John Scardena breaks down the six core pillars of Dynamic Population (DyPop) emergency management planning and response that every host city, venue, and public safety organization should be focusing on before major global events.Draw...

Drew Downing: Choosing the Right Hard, Gratitude & Building Trust

May 26, 2026

In this episode of the Disaster Tough Podcast, host John Scardena sits down with emergency management thought leader and Logista co-founder Drew Downing for a candid discussion on the future of emergency management, readiness, and disaster resilience. Known for his influential social media content and honest takes on the profession, Downing explores why the field struggles with credibility, burnout, and measuring true readiness. The conversation dives into prevention versus response, the limi...

Erin Scardena: Business Partner, Designer and Emergency “Momager”

May 19, 2026

Check out more DTP content here: www.thereadinesslab.com/dtplinksIn this special Mother’s Day edition of the Disaster Tough Podcast, host John Scardena welcomes his wife, business partner, and creative force behind the brand, Erin Scardena, for an authentic conversation on leadership, marriage, communication, and entrepreneurship. Dubbed the unofficial Emergency “Momager” episode, the discussion explores the realities of building a business while raising a family, balancing creativity with op...

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