Chatter: Hurricanes and Governmental Response with Eric Jay Dolin

David Priess, Eric Jay Dolin
Thursday, September 29, 2022, 12:00 PM

David Priess chatted with author Eric Jay Dolin about the history of Atlantic hurricanes, with a special focus on federal government activity related to storms and how we define national security.

Published by The Lawfare Institute
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Every year, the eastern United States faces the prospect--and, too often, the reality--of major hurricanes that cause extensive physical and financial damage. This year is no exception; even as Hurricane Ian leaves devastating damage in its wake, more storms are likely in the coming weeks.

David Priess chatted with author Eric Jay Dolin about the history of Atlantic hurricanes, with a special focus on federal government activity related to storms and how we define national security. They spoke about the devastating 2017 hurricane season, how tropical systems are covered in the media, Ben Franklin's role in hurricane science, the role of Caribbean hurricanes in the American Revolution and the Spanish-American War, the evolution of the federal government's storm forecasting and crisis response efforts, hurricane hunter flights, attempts to use technology to disrupt massive storms, Hurricane Andrew (1992), the effects of climate change on tropical systems and on the impact of those systems, viewing hurricanes as national security threats, how humans assess risk, and films about hurricanes.

Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Among the works mentioned in this episode:

The book A Furious Sky by Eric Jay Dolin

Other books by Eric Jay Dolin

The film The Day After Tomorrow

The film The Perfect Storm

The film Violent Earth: New England's Killer Hurricane of 1938

The film Titanic


David Priess is Director of Intelligence at Bedrock Learning, Inc. and a Senior Fellow at the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security. He served during the Clinton and Bush 43 administrations as a CIA officer and has written two books: “The President’s Book of Secrets,” about the top-secret President’s Daily Brief, and "How To Get Rid of a President," describing the ways American presidents have left office.
Eric Jay Dolin is an author who writes history books, which often focus on maritime topics, wildlife, and the environment, and formerly a Fisheries Policy Analyst at the National Marine Fisheries Service, and a Program Manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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