Date TBD, 2026
London School of Economics, London UK
7:00 PM
It turns out that the measures a community takes to defend itself against climate-system collapse also turn out to be a pretty sound set of arrangements, if what you need to do instead is get through a period of heavy-handed authoritarian rule.
The same room that might cool elderly neighbors during a heat dome can host a legal briefing. A kitchen capable of turning bulk food into hundreds of meals after a flood can feed families afraid to leave their homes during an immigration sweep. A neighborhood communications network built against grid failure can remain up when official channels become unreliable, or outright hostile. A closet stocked with first-aid supplies remains a closet stocked with first-aid supplies, regardless of who or what inflicted the injury requiring their use. The principle in both cases is what the jargon of professional emergency managers calls “all-hazards preparedness” — simply grounded in the understanding that some hazards have badges.
In this free talk, we’ll explore how we might build on this understanding, develop our collective capacity to respond to crisis whatever its origin, and imagine how we might give that capacity some durable (counter)institutional form.
Free, but registration required.