Justice Talks: COVID-19 and Court Systems

In the first episode of our new occasional series, Justice Talks, Vivian Elliott sits down with Brad Berry the District Attorney for Yamhill County, Oregon. They discuss how prosecutors' offices are adapting to the new normal, under COVID-19. Vivian Elliott is the Assistant Director of CNA's Center for Justice Research and Innovation.

Tracking the Pandemic in Prisons

On this episode of CNA Talks, CNA analysts James "Chip" Coldren and Yee San Su sit down with Guy Bosch the warden of the correctional facility in Stillwater, MN. They discuss Safer-C, a simulation and planning model which helps correctional leaders make prisons safer, by tracking the spread of COVID-19 among prisoners and staff.

COVID-19: The First 100 Days

Dawn Thomas and Eric Trabert discuss the U.S. response to the Coronavirus in the 100 days since the outbreak. Including what we've done well, what we've done poorly and what we are likely to see in the next 100 days. Eric Trabert serves as Director and Chief Scientist of the Center for Public Health Preparedness and Resilience. He is an expert in all-hazards preparedness with a focus on medical surge and mass casualty incident response. Dawn Thomas is the Co-Director of CNA's Center for Emergency Management Operations. In 14 years at CNA, Thomas has worked with a large array of emergency preparedness issues, helping state, local, regional, and federal entities prepare for and respond to public health outbreaks (human and animal).

From AIDS to Covid-19: Disease and Disinformation

Special Guest Doug Selvage of the Humboldt University in Berlin and returning guest Kasey Stricklin, join Bill to discuss the how the Soviet Union and Russian Federation craft disinformation campaigns around pandemics. Douglas Selvage is a Senior Research Associate (wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter) at the Institute of History of the Philosophical Faculty of the Humboldt University in Berlin. Kasey Stricklin is a research analyst with CNA's Adversary Analytics team, where she is a member of the Russia Studies Program. Her research specialization is the psychological side of information warfare, including disinformation and propaganda.

COVID-19: After Social Distancing

CNA experts Joel Silverman, Dawn Thomas and Eric Trabert discuss two areas of the COVID-19 recovery. How organizations can prepare for employees headed back to work and what guidance should be provided about the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19. Eric Trabert serves as Director and Chief Scientist of the Center for Public Health Preparedness and Resilience. He is an expert in all-hazards preparedness with a focus on medical surge and mass casualty incident response. Dawn Thomas is the Co-Director of CNA’s Center for Emergency Management Operations. In 14 years at CNA, Thomas has worked with a large array of emergency preparedness issues, helping state, local, regional, and federal entities prepare for and respond to public health outbreaks. Joel Silverman is a Senior Research Scientist for CNA’s Center for Critical Incident Analysis. Dr. Silverman has designed, facilitated, and/or evaluated over 60 emergency preparedness exercises in the fields of public health and medical operations, climate change, and animal disease response.

Lessons from History: Pandemics on Ships

Following the spread of COVID-19 on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, CNA Naval Historian Steve Wills joins Josh Tallis to discuss the history of disease on navy vessels. Joshua Tallis is a Research Scientist specializing in maritime security, irregular threats, and issues of naval and national security strategy. Josh also served as the CNA field representative to Carrier Strike Group EIGHT during the Navy's first instantiation of Dynamic Force Employment in the High North. Lt. Cdr. Steven Wills served 20 years as an active duty U.S. Navy officer, Wills served on a variety of small and medium surface combatants, including an assignment as the executive officer of a mine countermeasures ship.

COVID-19: Lessons from Past Outbreaks

Eric Trabert and Amanda Kerrigan sit down to discuss lessons from past outbreaks like Ebola and H1N1 that can help us counter COVID-19. Eric Trabert serves as Director and Chief Scientist of the Center for Public Health Preparedness and Resilience. He is an expert in all-hazards preparedness with a focus on medical surge and mass casualty incident response. Amanda Kerrigan is a Research Analyst at CNA in the China Studies division. She has over a decade of China-related experience, living four of those years between Mainland China and Taiwan.

When Should Agencies Start Reviewing Their Response to COVID-19? The Answer is Now

By Monica Giovachino

Conducting after-action reviews of the response to incidents and emergencies is a common preparedness activity and a key component of the National Preparedness System. Agencies at all levels of government routinely assess their responses to all types of threats and hazards, including hurricanes, wildfires, transportation accidents, civil unrest, and mass shootings. These assessments typically occur soon after an incident is over—or has moved to the recovery phase. Prolonged pandemics, such as the outbreak of COVID-19, pose a particular dilemma as agencies decide when to conduct an after-action review.

U.S. Forces are Weathering the COVID-19 Crisis — So Far

By Jerry Meyerle

Though the pandemic has upended organizations of all sizes across the globe, the U.S. military and its supporting agencies have proven surprisingly resilient. Many have returned to normal operations or at least found ways to get the job done, five months after the crisis first hit the armed services.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Military Recruiting

By Kyle Neering and Ray Wang

Military recruiting traditionally relies on crowded events like career fairs and prolonged, face-to-face interactions. How has the military recruited, shipped, and trained when traditional methods are no longer deemed safe by public health experts?

Thirteen COVID-19 Resources that Use Artificial Intelligence

By Andy Ilachinski

Andy Ilachinski and David Broyles, co-hosts of AI with AI, CNA’s popular podcast on artificial intelligence, have compiled a timely, annotated list of AI developments and resources related to COVID-19.

Law Enforcement Innovates for the New Normal

By Elliot Harkavy

Agencies have moved quickly to implement a wide range of practices to protect personnel and the public during this pandemic. Some of these are stopgap measures that will have to be eased as the country eventually returns to normal, or at least a "new normal."

Cooperation of Consequence: Lessons from the 2004 Tsunami Response in the Era of COVID-19:

By Nilanthi Samaranayake

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun organized a conference call with close allies and partners to discuss the crisis and ways to coordinate their responses.

COVID-19's Maximum Pressure Campaign on North Korea:

By Chris Steinitz

The spread of COVID-19 across the world is redefining the political and economic realities of every country on the planet. Every day sees scores of articles detailing how governments and populations are coping with the challenge. Yet when it comes to COVID-19 in North Korea, the Hermit Kingdom remains as difficult to read as ever.

Revisiting CNA's Pandemic Conference of 2006 — The View from 2020:

By David M. Finkelstein

In February 2006, CNA convened a conference of public health and government officials, medical experts and regional specialists to discuss the science and politics of pandemics, particularly as pertains to Asia. Two public health crises tied to Asia provided the impetus for hosting the event.

Russia's Coronavirus Messaging and Disinformation:

As the new coronavirus continues its march across the world, journalists and researchers have already debunked a number of false stories, but many more are likely to appear as the battle against the virus rages on. The term “infodemic” has caught on as a reference to the whirlwind of disinformation around COVID-19. While these stories have come from a variety of sources, Russian media and online trolls have been some of the most pernicious propagators.

Symbolism and Capacity: Hospital Ships in the COVID-19 Response:

On Wednesday, March 18, President Trump announced that Military Sealift Command's two hospital ships, USNS Comfort and Mercy, would join the response to COVID-19 by deploying to the West Coast and to New York City, respectively. The ships, emblazoned with large red crosses, vividly represent an accelerating mobilization against the ongoing pandemic. Moreover, even as public trust in institutions declines, the ships' deployments visibly connect one of the country's most well respected institutions — the military — to a contingency response that has struggled to soothe national anxieties.

To Halt the 2019-nCoV Coronavirus, Think Globally, Coordinate Locally:

An international effort is underway to halt the spread of a novel coronavirus, known as 2019-nCoV. The World Health Organization, Chinese health authorities, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are all critical to this effort. However, CNA's Center for Public Health Preparedness and Resilience has also learned from 20 years of experience evaluating responses to public health emergencies that in addition to thinking globally, it is essential to coordinate locally.