Big Thinking Podcast · Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Wildfires: charting the path forward

·34 min·2 clips

Dr. Flanagan says only 3% of fires burn 97% of the area burned.

Big Thinking Podcast frames the episode around one of Canada’s major questions: how to understand wildfire as a scientific, social, and practical problem. Karine Morey introduces the topic by linking wildfire research to climate change, public impact, and the need for different fields to work together. Dr. Mike Flanagan joins as BC Innovation Research Chair in Predictive Services, Emergency Management, and Fire Science. Dr. Shannon Wagner joins as Vice President of Research at Thompson Rivers University. The conversation starts with their paths into wildfire research. Flanagan traces his fascination with fire back to childhood, using a personal story to show how long the interest has stayed with him. Morey then turns toward the disability perspective and the kinds of questions it shapes. The discussion does not stay there for long. It broadens into the challenge of building wildfire research as an academic discipline. Wagner notes that social sciences and humanities have not traditionally been part of wildfire science. That gap comes across as both a shortage and a chance. The episode takes the shortage seriously. It also treats it as an opening to bring in more researchers from social sciences, health, humanities, and Indigenous studies, so the strong base in fire science can be joined by other expertise. The discussion then turns toward knowledge translation. Morey asks how research moves along the continuum from knowledge mobilization to practice. Flanagan answers by reflecting on how the field used to talk about tech transfer. That historical angle helps place the newer language around research uptake. The episode stays attentive to the institutional side of the work. It points to the role of policymakers and other partners who recognize the need to mitigate, respond to, and prevent wildfire impacts. Wagner describes the collaborative energy around TRU Wildfire and the commitment required to build something durable. The show keeps returning to the idea that wildfire is not only a fire science issue. It is also a research and public-interest issue. By the end, the episode has made the case for broader participation in wildfire work without turning that case into a slogan. The tone remains careful, explanatory, and grounded in expert exchange. The result is a clear view of how Canada’s wildfire conversation is widening beyond the usual disciplinary boundaries.

As heard by us

A measured look at wildfire science, and the wider expertise it still needs.

This episode treats wildfire research as a public question as much as a scientific one. It asks how fires are changing in Canada, what climate change has to do with that shift, and why the work needs more than one discipline if it is going to reach people outside the lab.

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Want a grounded guide to wildfire research in Canada, and why it needs more than fire science?

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