Amanda Ripley Author of The Unthinkable

The Unthinkable is the thinking person's manual for getting out alive.
NPR, National Public Radio


“Engrossing and lucid … An absorbing study of the psychology and physiology of panic, heroism, and trauma … Facing the truth about the human capacity for risk and disaster turns out to be a lot less scary than staying in the dark.”

O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE
 

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Children in Plane Crashes

I’ve heard from a few people today who are wondering what to make of the child survivor of the Yemeni plane crash in the Indian Ocean.

It’s not yet clear how old the child is (early reports said the child was 5--and male; more recent reports point to a 14-year-old girl), and This child is now said to be a 14-year-old girl, but we know little else at the moment. Still, it seems like a good excuse to talk about how children fare in plane crashes in general.

The answer: not well,…

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The Unstoppable Eleanor

It’s nice to take a break from the mayhem of the moment and reflect on the mayhem of days gone by. I have a piece in this week’s issue of TIME about Eleanor Roosevelt--a First Lady ahead of her time (and ours). I was struck by what she managed to get away with--close friendships with pacifists, lesbians and men half her age, an apartment in the Village, a role shaping U.S. policy on segregation, the military and education, among other things.

I’m not saying it was easy; the…

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What If?

If you happened to check Twitter this week you probably saw many reactions to Monday’s red line metrorail crash here in DC. Commuters were instantly “tweeting” about the crash, the horrific commute that night and the following day, and their experiences with WMATA. Couple that with a wide range of responses from all over the country, and Twitter revealed an interesting look at people’s reactions.

Some Twitter users posted the traditional responses: 

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Secrets & Lies on the DC Metro

Accidents happen. One way to compound the damage is to keep important information from the public--the very people who need the information most. You end up with what happened last night in DC--hundreds of passengers stranded without any idea what was happening. Passengers stuck in trains and stations for hours, hearing regular announcements about a “train experiencing mechanical difficulties” up ahead--not hearing what CNN and the Washington Post were reporting at the same time, about a massive collision that paralyzed the entire Metro system.

A revealing chronology of alerts in the Washington Post today.…

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DC Train Crash

Horrific story from the evening commute here in DC. One Red Line Metrorail train slammed into another, plowing into it from behind with enough force to launch it up on top of the other train. The Washington Post is reporting at least 6 deaths and an estimated 70 injuries. The collision happened between two stations just south of the border between DC and Maryland. No idea yet what caused the accident.

But it’s already clear that as in most sizeable emergencies, regular people did the hardest work…

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About Amanda Ripley

Author of
The Unthinkable
& contributor to Time.

Amanda Ripley, a longtime TIME Magazine contributor, has traveled the world studying disasters, natural and manmade. Her book, The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes — and Why, is the first major book to explain how the brain works in disasters — and how we can learn to do better. It is being published in 15 countries.

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Disaster Alert Map

Disasters are becoming more frequent and more destructive, mostly because of the way we live. This mesmerizing, real-time map of world disasters is brought to you by RSOE EDIS in Budapest, Hungary
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