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Safety Wars

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Rating
★★★★★
5
from
5 reviews
Categories
Country
United States
This podcast has
451 episodes
Language
English
Publisher
James Poesl
Explicit
Yes
Date created
2021/03/03
Latest episode
2026/09/25
Average duration
56 min.
Release period
4 days

Description

Safety from a point of view that you didn't see coming.

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Safety Wars 9-24-2026 Deadly Drills, Dirty Washes & Liquid Nitrogen
2026/09/25
This episode covers OSHA's citation of a Florida pipeline contractor after a fatal struck-by incident, willful lockout/tagout violations at a New Jersey car wash, and $65 million in community college training grants. Jim shares personal stories about noise survey failures at a warehouse that led to costly settlements, and an indoor air quality audit that debunked a cancer cluster at a law firm. The EPA segment covers glyphosate review, brownfields funding, and wetland grants. The episode closes with the Chemical Safety Board's investigation of the Foundation Food Group liquid nitrogen release that killed six workers, highlighting failures in monitoring, training, and process safety management. Music: Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl
Safety Wars 9-22-2-26 When the Lights Go Out: Energy, EPA, and Emergency Prep
2026/09/23
Jim from Safety Wars covers soaring diesel prices, Trump's UN speech on Iran, and rising tanker insurance in the Strait of Hormuz. EPA updates include $82 million for San Francisco Bay watersheds, lead cleanups in Indiana and Montana, and a Clean Air Act settlement in Puerto Rico. For National Preparedness Month, Jim dives deep into disaster readiness: water storage strategies, emergency food and food safety, reading severe weather, lightning safety, flood preparedness, power outage management with generators and batteries, fuel handling dangers, and building community emergency networks. He shares personal stories from Superstorm Sandy throughout. Music: Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl
Safety Wars 9-17-2026 Methylene Chloride, Muddy Rivers, and Diesel Spikes
2026/09/18
Methylene Chloride, Muddy Rivers, and Diesel Spikes **Summary:** Jim  is back from Vermont where he's working an EPA hazardous waste cleanup near the Beetlejuice filming location. The episode dives into the Fifth Circuit's overturning of EPA's methylene chloride rule, explaining why odor is an unreliable warning for the carcinogenic paint stripper and why air sampling—not your nose—should guide worker protection. Jim also covers a proposed $125M Passaic River Superfund settlement, a Hopewell Precision groundwater cleanup update, OSHA citations against a Chicago construction firm, and H-2A visa program violations. Rounding out the show: a Feature Story News segment on global headlines and a warning about rising diesel prices from refinery outages—possibly cyber-related.www.safetywars.com.  www.jamespoesl.com https://www.nfpa.org/Education-and-Research/Wildfire/Firewise-USA Music: Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl
Safety Wars 9-11-2026 9/11 at 25: Lessons Unlearned in Disaster Preparedness
2026/09/12
On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Jim Poesl of Safety Wars shares his personal experience witnessing the attacks from Hoboken, then examines their lasting safety and policy legacy. He recounts the chaotic Ground Zero recovery, the lack of respirators, and Christine Todd Whitman's EPA assurances that the air was safe—despite warnings from industrial hygienist Jeffrey Olcott. Jim questions accountability, sovereign immunity, and whether lessons were applied to later crises like H1N1 and COVID-19, arguing preparedness capacity keeps eroding. A Feature Story News segment covers current events, including Saudi pipeline attacks, the 25th 9/11 memorial ceremonies, and global diplomacy. The episode closes with an extended discussion of a Guardian article on 9/11's "dark legacy"—covering victims' families, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, bin Laden's mixed legacy, and how post-9/11 fear reshaped American politics. Jim urges honest accountability, unity ("September 12th thinking"), and better individual/community disaster preparedness going forward. www.safetywars.com.  www.jamespoesl.com
Safety Wars 9-9-2026 Star Trek at 60: The Final Frontier Is Us
2026/09/10
Star Trek at 60: The Final Frontier Is Us This episode of Safety Wars opens with Jim reflecting on attending the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga, NY for the franchise's 60th anniversary. He shares a written tribute arguing Star Trek was never really about space — it was about humanity's potential for cooperation over conquest. Drawing on a 2010 fan survey and the show's diverse cast of captains (Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer, Pike, Burnham), he makes the case that Star Trek fandom carries a responsibility: to practice the diversity, courage, and principled leadership the franchise celebrates, and to apply lessons about psychological safety and learning from mistakes to real workplaces and society. The show then shifts into news and commentary segments, covering: - NYC Mayor Mamdani's release of 170,000+ pages of 9/11 health/air-quality records, with Jim's pointed commentary on institutional accountability failures (9/11, COVID-19) and eroding public trust in government (citing an AP-NORC poll) - Brief nuclear proliferation and "safest place in a global catastrophe" segments Two preparedness segments are woven in: building a 72-hour emergency kit and proper water storage/safety practices. www.safetywars.com.  www.jamespoesl.com https://www.nfpa.org/Education-and-Research/Wildfire/Firewise-USA Music: Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl
Safety Wars 9-3-2026 When We Fail to Watch Out for Each Other
2026/09/04
Safety Wars 9-3-2026 When We Fail to Watch Out for Each Other Jim opens Safety Wars discussing the Lindsay Clancy postpartum mental health trial, arguing society readily condemns individual mental health crises while ignoring the ~5,000 annual workplace deaths caused by negligent leaders. He connects this to broader failures in caring for coworkers, wives, and family. News segments cover an Iran-US missile strike investigation, El Niño's persistence, Indonesian wildfires, and NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Telescope launch. Department of Labor updates include a $733,000 wage recovery for Florida restaurant workers and weekly unemployment claims data. The show's core disaster-preparedness segment covers emergency action plans, evacuation routes, accountability logs, and backup communication methods (radios, maps, emergency contacts) when phones and cell networks fail, as during 9/11 and Superstorm Sandy. Jim closes with personal stories about workplace fatalities, safety leadership, and the importance of showing coworkers and family they matter — tying back to mental health resources like 988 for anyone needing help. www.safetywars.com.  www.jamespoesl.com https://www.nfpa.org/Education-and-Research/Wildfire/Firewise-USA Music: Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl
September 2, 2026 Safety Wars – Disaster Preparedness, Deadly Horseplay, and the Push for National Resilience
2026/09/03
This episode of Safety Wars opens with disaster preparedness tips for National Preparedness Month, covering assessing hazards, building emergency plans, and stocking 72–96 hours of supplies at home and work. A quick news roundup follows, touching on US-Iran tensions, the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong's guilty plea, Nepal's landslide death toll, and NASA's newly launched Roman Space Telescope. The core segment examines a tragic Minnesota case: a tree-trimming worker was criminally charged with manslaughter after fatally crushing a coworker's head while "playing" with a hydraulic grapple's shadow, mimicking shadow puppets. The host uses this to unpack Minnesota's culpable negligence standard and stresses that horseplay involving industrial machinery can cross into criminal liability, not just OSHA violations. He outlines employer responsibilities: enforcing zero-tolerance horseplay policies, establishing exclusion zones, requiring positive visual control, verifying operator competence, empowering stop-work authority, and investigating near misses seriously. The episode closes by reading a White House proclamation on National Preparedness Month and Executive Order 14239 on localized disaster preparedness, plus a note on FEMA's National Risk Index as the closest US equivalent to the UK's national risk register. www.safetywars.com.  www.jamespoesl.com https://www.nfpa.org/Education-and-Research/Wildfire/Firewise-USA Music: Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl
Safety Wars 8-27-2026 Sabotage or Safety? How Bureaucracy Quietly Wrecks Your Workplace
2026/08/28
Safety Wars – August 26, 2026 (Simple Sabotage Edition): How Saboteurs Hide in Plain Sight at Work
2026/08/27
Safety Wars – August 26, 2026 (Simple Sabotage Edition): How Saboteurs Hide in Plain Sight at Work Jim Poesl opens with FSN Radio News: Meta's $18B child-safety settlement with 29 states, Canada's retaliatory tariffs on the US, Prince Harry and Meghan's return to Britain, and new US sanctions on Iran. He then digs into RFK Jr.'s public clash with PA Governor Shapiro over measles deaths and vaccine misinformation, questioning whether 2026's rising measles case counts reflect real trends or reporting shifts. OSHA news follows: a Pennsylvania brick manufacturer faces ~$500K in fines for willfully exposing workers to silica dust, and new federal guidance addresses workplace wellness/tobacco-surcharge programs. The core segment covers the WWII-era "Simple Sabotage Field Manual," a declassified OSS guide on disrupting enemies through faulty decisions, endless meetings, deliberate inefficiency, and small acts of workplace disruption. Jim draws parallels to modern workplaces — bad hiring/vetting, bureaucratic obstruction, poor maintenance, and morale-killing tactics — asking listeners whether these sabotage patterns are quietly happening in their own organizations, sometimes unintentionally. www.safetywars.com.  www.jamespoesl.com https://www.nfpa.org/Education-and-Research/Wildfire/Firewise-USA Music: Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl
Safety Wars 8-25-2026 Dolly's Legacy, OSHA's and EPA Updates
2026/08/26
Safety Wars 8-25-2026 Dolly's Legacy, OSHA's Deadly Kettle Fines This episode of Safety Words opens with a tribute to Dolly Parton, who passed away at 80, highlighting her advocacy for literacy and education. The show then covers international news: US Treasury sanctions targeting entities tied to Iranian oil smuggling and nuclear procurement, Pakistan's efforts to broker US-Iran peace talks, and China-India border negotiations. A segment on the Democratic Socialists of America examines the movement's growing influence within Democratic politics. The host shifts to health and workplace safety topics, including a study linking a common erectile dysfunction drug to increased glaucoma risk. Labor news dominates the second half: a USMCA labor dispute resolution with a Mexican auto parts manufacturer, a Wisconsin food manufacturer fined after three worker deaths from industrial kettle explosions, and multiple child labor violations at restaurants in Tennessee and South Carolina involving minors operating hazardous equipment and working illegal hours. The host discusses employer liability, exempt vs. non-exempt employee classifications, and the importance of documenting management authority to avoid personal liability. The episode closes with EPA updates: new lead-in-drinking-water guidance, a gasoline supply waiver to lower prices before midterms, PCB sampling in Montana rivers, and the deletion of multiple Superfund sites from the National Priorities List following successful cleanups. www.safetywars.com.  www.jamespoesl.com https://www.nfpa.org/Education-and-Research/Wildfire/Firewise-USA Music: Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl
Safety Wars August 19, 2026 AI Data Centers, Flock Cameras, and the War on Common Sense
2026/08/20
Safety Wars 8-19-2026 AI Data Centers, Flock Cameras, and the War on Common Sense Summary: This episode of Safety Wars covers a wide-ranging mix of safety culture, tech policy, and current events. Jim opens with disclaimers and housekeeping before discussing how to handle difficult or psychopathic personalities in the workplace—stressing immediate, professional responses rather than escalating to HR. The show moves into news headlines: Iran weighing strikes on U.S. assets in Europe, Harry and Meghan's return to the UK, a Meta whistleblower alleging child safety was deprioritized, and a breakthrough personalized cancer vaccine from Moderna and Merck. Jim then pivots to AI's societal impact—warning that AI erodes critical thinking and writing skills, citing an MIT study on reduced brain activity among AI-assisted writers. He critiques tech companies' community "buy-in" campaigns for data centers, drawing a skeptical parallel to Atlantic City's failed casino jobs promises, questioning whether local Georgia residents actually have the skills for promised AI jobs, and predicting AI will ultimately replace many jobs, including his own field of safety. The episode closes with an investigation into Flock Safety's AI-powered surveillance cameras, controversial for tracking individuals beyond license plates, and a call for public transparency and reciprocal oversight of police. He wraps with news on a former Fauci aide's guilty plea and a new FDA commissioner nominee. d www.safetywars.com.  www.jamespoesl.com https://www.nfpa.org/Education-and-Research/Wildfire/Firewise-USA Music: Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl
Safety Wars 8-18-26 Don't Rock the Safety Boat: Confronting Bullies, Big Fines, and the AI Confidence Gap
2026/08/20
**Summary:** This episode of Safety Wars opens with a call to speak up—both in society and on the job—before diving into news headlines covering Iran-U.S. tensions, the Meta youth mental health trial, and Ukraine's drone strikes on Moscow. The host then shifts to the core theme: safety professionals often become "victims of their own success," letting bullying or intimidation from workers go unaddressed because past professionals stayed silent. Through personal anecdotes—including turning a complainer's own NFPA objections back on him and confronting a job-site intimidator named John—the host argues problems must be handled immediately, not deferred, and that AI shouldn't replace the human skill of thinking on your feet. The episode closes with a rundown of major OSHA enforcement actions: a $3.5 million chemical spill case in Texas, a fatal crawl-space excavation death, confined space and fall protection violations, a fatal tanker asphyxiation, and a Maine pulp mill fire that killed two workers with hydrogen sulfide exposure, plus a new OSHA–Coast Guard maritime safety agreement. The throughline: proactive confrontation and real safety management beat paperwork and after-the-fact fines. www.safetywars.com.  www.jamespoesl.com https://www.nfpa.org/Education-and-Research/Wildfire/Firewise-USA Music: Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl
August 11, 2026 Trump's Executive Order on Vaccines
2026/08/12
Summary: This Safety Wars episode covers Trump's executive order overhauling childhood vaccine recommendations, splitting the MMR shot into three doses and cutting recommended vaccines from 18 to 11. Only six vaccines retain full recommendations. Critics like Senator Bill Cassidy call the order unscientific and dangerous, while the White House cites comparisons to peer nations. The host revisits a December 2025 hepatitis B deep dive, since ACIP recently ended universal birth-dose vaccination for infants of hepatitis B-negative mothers, shifting to individual decision-making. He reviews hepatitis B basics, declining infection rates since 1991, and CDC's rationale. He also presents a strongly-worded counterargument from Jake Scott (Genetic Literacy Project), warning that screening gaps, missed diagnoses, and administrative friction could cause thousands of new pediatric infections, cancers, and deaths, especially among underserved families. The episode closes questioning whether declining trust in public health institutions—accelerated since COVID—is worsening amid these controversial policy shifts, encouraging listeners to consult their own healthcare providers rather than take a firm stance.\ For all your safety needs give us a call at 845-269-5772 or [email protected].  www.safetywars.com. www.jamespoesl.com Music: Love is a Safe Workplace (c) Jim Poesl Don’t Rock the Safety Boat (c) Jim Poesl Front Page Pulse, Jim Poesl, 6a19097bb3e919218f59a681 (c) Jim Poesl Safety Professionals, Get Off Your Knees!, Jim Poesl 695f0b5368eab6e0057ca0d6 (c) Jim Poesl I Can’t Drive 55, (c)2025 Jim Poesl The Kiss of Safety, (c) 2026 Jim Poesl Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl
Safety Wars August 3, 2026 Who Enforced the Pandemic
2026/08/04
Title: Who Enforced the Pandemic? COVID-19 Accountability and the Safety Professionals Left Behind Summary: Jim Poesl examines Dr. Fauci's Senate hearing on COVID-19, where he invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times despite a federal pardon. Rather than pursuing "pain for pain," Jim argues real accountability requires harder questions about evidence, authority, and decision-making. He critiques how "face coverings" were promoted instead of proper NIOSH-rated respirators, sidestepping OSHA's respiratory protection standards and creating dangerous confusion between masks, filtration, and fit. He also examines school closures, inconsistent vaccine messaging, and oversight failures in NIH/EcoHealth funding of Wuhan research. Central to his argument: safety professionals were forced to enforce policies they didn't create, absorbing anger from both workers and management, then abandoned when guidance changed. His core framework—capacity, resilience, and accountability—calls for building real preparedness (equipment, training, data, authority) rather than assigning blame. The call to action: document what happened, learn from it, and demand safety professionals have a voice in future emergency policy, ensuring accountability reaches everyone who authorized and enforced decisions, not just the person who delivered them. For all your safety needs give us a call at 845-269-5772 or [email protected].  www.safetywars.com. www.jamespoesl.com Music: Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl #randpaul #joshhawley #BernieMoreno #Joniernst #JohnFetterman #AshleyMoody #ronjohnson #jameslankford
Safety Wars July 30, 2026 Dr. Fauci's Testimony and the Accountability Gap
2026/07/31
Summary: In this special live episode, Jimmy Poesl reacts to Dr. Fauci's Senate testimony, where Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment despite having immunity and a pardon. Poesl argues safety professionals were unfairly blamed for enforcing pandemic policies they didn't create, damaging trust between workers and safety staff. He critiques how COVID communication ignored established respiratory protection science (NIOSH standards, mask filtration mechanisms) in favor of unproven mandates, and how "zero" safety goals replaced honest messaging about capacity and resilience. Drawing parallels to behavior-based safety failures, he says workers were blamed instead of addressing systemic issues, and perverse incentives discouraged honest COVID reporting on job sites. He contrasts Fauci's evasive hearing with strong crisis communication examples like the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse response. Poesl calls for real accountability—reaching beyond frontline enforcers to those who created and authorized policies—and positions Safety Wars as a platform for honest safety leadership going forward. For all your safety needs give us a call at 845-269-5772 or [email protected].  www.safetywars.com. www.jamespoesl.com Music: Love is a Safe Workplace (c) Jim Poesl Don’t Rock the Safety Boat (c) Jim Poesl Front Page Pulse, Jim Poesl, 6a19097bb3e919218f59a681 (c) Jim Poesl Safety Professionals, Get Off Your Knees!, Jim Poesl 695f0b5368eab6e0057ca0d6 (c) Jim Poesl I Can’t Drive 55, (c)2025 Jim Poesl The Kiss of Safety, (c) 2026 Jim Poesl Pond5.com Licenses Falling, 25821615, Eric B. USA National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner Use), 155546928 Supernova Music Matrix, 166797566, Encomia Music:  Safety Warriors, The Music of Safety Wars Volume 1 (c) copyright 2026 James Poesl #randpaul #joshhawley #BernieMoreno #Joniernst #JohnFetterman #AshleyMoody #ronjohnson #jameslankford

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5 out of 5
5 reviews
★★★★★
afozark 2023/02/18
Commendation and suggestion
I discovered you from Coast to Coast with George Noory. Suggestion: put topics of discussion on the episode titles
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