EP 94: Designing for Disaster | Sheri Fink

How might we better prepare for disasters? What role did deadly
design play in Hurricane Katrina? How does the concept of triage
during a crisis reflect our values? Sheri Fink is a Pulitzer
Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated television producer and
the author of the New York Times bestselling nonfiction book Five
Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital about
choices made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She is a
producer of the Five Days at Memorial limited series on Apple
TV+.  Fink’s work has often explored the impact of crises on
health care and is informed by her background as an MD and former
relief worker in disaster and conflict zones (she also holds a PhD
in neuroscience). Five Days at Memorial, the recipient of eight
book awards, was based on an article investigating patient deaths
at Memorial Medical Center. Co-published by ProPublica and the New
York Times Magazine, the article won both a Pulitzer Prize and
National Magazine Award. As a news reporter, Fink extensively
covered the Covid pandemic and, earlier, the Ebola outbreak in West
Africa, sharing Pulitzer Prizes in 2021 and 2015 with New York
Times colleagues. Fink’s investigation into how the Ebola epidemic
began in Sierra Leone and why it wasn’t stopped in time for the PBS
Frontline episode Outbreak received an Emmy nomination for
outstanding research in 2016. Fink often lectures on topics ranging
from emergency preparedness to journalism and is an adjunct
associate professor at the Tulane School of Public Health and
Tropical Medicine. She is at work on a book about the global Covid
pandemic. Episode Links and Mentions: http://www.sherifink.net/
Article on the book via NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/04/books/five-days-at-memorial-by-sheri-fink.html
Article about the new show via Entertainment Weekly:
https://ew.com/tv/tv-reviews/five-days-at-memorial-review-apple-tv-plus/
Follow Sheri: Twitter | Facebook | Insta Episode
Website/Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/designlabpod/sherifink More
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Production by Robert Pugliese Edit by Fernando Queiroz Cover Design
by Eden Lew Theme song by Emmanuel Houston Indexed in the Library
of Congress: ISSN 2833-2032