PreAccident Investigation Podcast

Jay Allen interviews Todd Conklin about his new book, The Stability Trap, exploring why even safe, stable organizations can fail. They discuss the "drive to zero," complacency, pressures on middle management, wearables and data, and lessons from aviation and the pandemic.

The episode also covers how AI was used to reorganize the book’s ideas and help craft its ending, and offers practical reframes: treat safety as a capacity, see w...

Host Todd introduces his new book, The Stability Trap, and shares a sneak peek episode created with an AI-generated interview. The episode explores why organizations that appear safe can still experience accidents and how success itself can erode safety capacity.

The discussion outlines the core ideas: safety as the presence of capacity, the three R's (redefine safety, reframe the worker, relearn investigation), and a five-stage p...

In this episode Todd Conklin joins Jowanza Joseph to explore modern safety thinking: why human error is normal, how context shapes behavior, and why leadership response and system recoverability matter more than blame.

They draw on examples from Los Alamos, AWS outages, SpaceX and everyday technology to show how organizations can design systems that tolerate failure and learn from it.

Listeners will get practical insights into the ...

Todd Conklin joins the Brisbane Safety Differently Book Lab in Auckland for a lively discussion about leadership, accountability, and learning from everyday work. The group explores why safety is the presence of control, how leaders should respond after incidents, and why learning is the new currency of safety.

Todd shares stories about writing his books, engaging with workers, and practical steps leaders can take to build confide...

Part two of the RaDonda Vaught story examines what emerged after the event: investigation details, system design flaws, communication breakdowns, and the tiny timing error that mattered. RaDonda Vaught recounts how normalized overrides, software defaults, and organizational assumptions created conditions for failure.

The episode explores the chilling effects of criminalizing mistakes, the human cost across patients and providers, a...

In this episode, nurse RaDonda Vaught tells the detailed, context-rich story of a medication error at Vanderbilt that led to criminal charges. She walks through the events, system issues (including a recent EHR rollout and medication-dispensing delays), distractions, and decision points that contributed to the mistake.

RaDonda describes how workarounds, unclear documentation in radiology, drug supply changes, and interruptions comb...

Episode: an extended open Q&A from the Pre-Accident Investigation Conference in Santa Fe covering big-picture safety topics.

Speakers discuss the limits of traditional metrics, the power of real-time monitoring, shifting focus from managing risk to maintaining control, validating controls in the field, learning teams, contractor relationships, and prioritizing high-information events. Anecdotes and practical guidance illustrat...

Todd Conklin and Brent Sutton discuss the short-term future of safety thinking—covering the rise and fall of lean/TQM, how commodification can slow innovation, and why fear, FOMO and complacency shape which ideas stick. They explore leaders' responsibility, weak signals, and the need for small 'safe-to-fail' experiments to keep systems resilient.

Set in Santa Fe with lighthearted moments (including breakfast burritos and a cheese ...

Recorded live at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, this episode features a wide-ranging conversation between Todd and Andy Baker about learning, safety culture, and leadership influence.

They dig into HOP and related safety approaches, debate top-down versus middle-out change, discuss the importance of language and unlearning, and explore how to turn belief into practical skill and behavior.

The episode offers real-world insights on pilotin...

This episode examines the growing problem of children accidentally left in hot cars, explains why memory failures can happen to anyone, and argues that punishment is not the solution.

It summarizes practical approaches—accepting the risk, assuming "when, not if," using technology and visual reminders, and responding with understanding rather than judgment—to create system-level changes that improve recoverability and prevent futur...

Todd talks with Lauren Mooney about her book High Reliability in Action and how to translate HRO concepts into practical behaviors. They cover the rise of HRO, the 'Speaking In' approach, nine guiding questions, and the animal avatars that represent attitudes like humility, courage, and curiosity.

The episode emphasizes leadership’s role, DIY team practices for recognizing risk, responding early, and adapting effectively across in...

This episode of the Pre-Accident Investigation Podcast features patient safety leader Lisa Zegan, host of Tales from the Sharp End, in a candid conversation with Todd about the 2017 Vanderbilt medication error and what it reveals about healthcare systems.

They explore why criminalizing mistakes harms learning, how design and billing pressures shape medication cabinets and workflows, the limits of “zero harm,” and the case for recov...

Join Todd as he delves into a captivating discussion with Tom Krause, founder of Behavioral Science Technology, on the Pre-Accident Investigation Podcast. This episode unravels the evolution of safety protocols from traditional behavioral-based approaches to modern leadership-driven strategies.

Krause shares his journey from pioneering behavioral-based safety techniques to exploring the pivotal role leaders play in mitigating cata...

Welcome to an engaging episode of the Pre-Accident Investigation Podcast with your host Todd Conklin. In this episode, Todd delves into a thought-provoking discussion about the evolving role of AI in our workplaces and lives with guest expert Dox Brown, also known as Drew. Together, they explore the intricacies of artificial intelligence beyond surveillance products, focusing on its positive potential as a strategic partner in unde...

Welcome to the latest episode of the Pre-Accident Investigation Podcast, hosted by Todd Conklin. In this engaging discussion, Todd chats with Jennifer Long about their unexpected journey in writing "Workers Are the Solution, Not the Problem: A Guidebook for Leading Differently." The conversation delves into the transformative insights they discovered about leadership, accountability, and how the evolving workforce requires fresh ap...

Join Todd Conklin in the final episode of the Pre-Extended Investigation Podcast as he hosts an insightful conversation with Shane Bush and Professor David Woods. This concluding episode offers a compelling discussion on the evolution of safety practices across industries, the impact of leadership on organizational sustainability, and the challenges faced by modern safety paradigms.

Dive into the nuances of human and organizationa...

Join Todd Conklin and Rob Fisher on the Pre-Accident Investigation Podcast as they delve into their experiences and reflections from past podcast episodes, discussing the art of leadership and the significance of effective communication with senior leaders. With anecdotes from previous recordings, they explore the value of predictions made unknowingly and how iteration and experience shape success.

Rob shares insights into transiti...