Disasters like hurricanes, hailstorms, tornadoes, and wildfires can be devastating and frightening. They displace families, drive financial loss, and destroy communities. Join us as we sit down with science, insurance, and building industry professionals who will help us explore the intersection of these hazards with the built environment and steps being taken to prevent future devastation.
Publisher
Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)
S5E13: Building the Future: Inside ICON's 3D-Printed Homes
3D-printed homes are moving from an innovative idea to a new way of thinking about how homes can be built for the future. In this episode of Disaster Discussions, host Rachael Penton Gauthier talks with Bungane Mehlomakulu, Senior Director of Building + Construction Science at ICON, about the engineering behind the company’s 3D-printed homes. They explore how ICON’s robotic construction system works to print wall assemblies with a proprietary, concrete-like formula, and how the technology is tested for hazards including wind, wind-driven rain, and fire. The conversation also looks at the broader challenge of resilience: how a new construction method moves from an innovative concept to something that can demonstrate durability, meet building-code requirements, and earn confidence over decades of use. They also dig into the practical questions that come with an entirely different way of building—from repairs and remodeling to long-term durability and insurability—and look at what it would take for 3D-printed construction to reshape residential housing at scale.
9 Sept 2026
S5E12: Where Wildland Meets Neighborhood: Lessons From the Spokane Area Fires
When the Old Trails Fire moved from the wildland into neighborhoods near Spokane, Washington, it left behind a complex pattern of destruction—and important clues about how wildfire spreads through communities. In this episode of Disaster Discussions, host Rachael Penton Gauthier is joined by IBHS Senior Wildfire Fellow Mark Novak to discuss IBHS’s post-fire investigation of the Old Trails Fire. Drawing on his experience as both a firefighter in the West and a wildland fire investigator, Mark explains what the team observed on the ground, how fire behavior and suppression shaped the outcome, and what physical evidence can reveal about the fire’s path. The conversation explores structure spacing, combustible fencing, vegetation, vehicles and other connective fuels, as well as the role firefighters played in saving homes. Together, Rachael and Mark look at what the homes that burned—and the ones that survived—can teach us about reducing wildfire risk and giving communities and first responders a better chance when the next fire comes.
5 Aug 2026
S5E11: Not All Hail is Created Equal: The journey to understanding hail damage
When it comes to hail damage, size is only part of the story. Two hailstones of the same size can produce very different outcomes depending on the roofing material, its age and condition, and the strength and structure of the hailstones themselves.In this episode of Disaster Discussions, IBHS Managing Director of Atmospheric Science Dr. Ian Giammanco, Research Project Scientist Jake Sorber, and Central Michigan University Ph.D. student and IBHS Summer Fellow Sabrina Servey recap the 2026 IBHS hail field deployment across the Plains. They discuss the partnership behind the research, the challenges of chasing hail during a drought-affected season, and what the team learned from 10 intensive operating periods.The conversation explores new field capabilities- from deployable trailers and roofing-panel exposures to hailstone strength testing and impact video- and how these observations help connect controlled laboratory testing with the complex conditions of real storms. Hear what researchers are learning about hailstone characteristics, hail concentration, and the performance of asphalt and composite roofing materials- and the questions that remain as IBHS works toward more realistic, actionable understanding of hail damage and how it impacts both roofing materials and the building envelope.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 36 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
45
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
68
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