Dr. Judith Hubbard (BS Caltech 2005, PhD Harvard University 2011) — publications
Dr. Kyle Bradley (BS Caltech 2005, PhD MIT 2012) — publications
Contact: earthquakeinsights@gmail.com
Who are we, and why do we write Earthquake Insights?
“We need good science communication in matters of public concern. You are the best I know for earthquakes.” — Fernando, paid subscriber
Before we started Earthquake Insights, we were faculty: doing research, teaching students, writing grants. We were conducting fieldwork in countries around the world. We were writing papers. We were discovering how earthquakes work. But something was missing...
We saw a huge gap between what we were doing — studying earthquakes — and the people who were impacted by those events. So, we quit our jobs, moved around the world, and started this project: a newsletter aimed at helping people around the world understand why they were feeling shaking.
But we don’t just want to tell people what’s going on — we want to show them. That’s why each of our posts includes brand-new maps, graphs, and 3D models showing how earthquakes work.
We’re also people, spouses, and parents. We met as undergraduates at Caltech in 2001, and have been together ever since — through PhDs at Harvard and MIT, ten years working at the Earth Observatory of Singapore as faculty, and now as visiting scientists at Cornell University. Over the years, we have collaborated on science, public communication, and the raising of three children!
We communicate broadly. We are regularly asked to provide insight on recent earthquakes by major media organizations, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, and National Geographic. You can find an incomplete list of news highlights here.
You can follow Judith on Bluesky (@judithgeology.bsky.social), Mastodon (@judithgeology@mastodon.social), and LinkedIn, and explore Kyle’s 3D geological models on Sketchfab.
Judith is also a member of the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council (NEPEC), and a county legislator.
Why subscribe?
Who subscribes to Earthquake Insights? We have readers from more than 140 countries around the world. Subscribers include earthquake scientists, journalists, teachers, people recently impacted by earthquakes, and interested laypeople. We write our posts to reach all of these audiences — presenting new and exciting results in everyday language.
Subscribe to get regular updates when new posts come out — typically every few days, sometimes longer, depending on what earthquakes have been happening. All of our new posts (<1 month old) are free, because we believe that everyone around the world should have access to the latest information when they are impacted by an earthquake.
Some of our posts contain critical, in-depth analyses of recent earthquake research. These posts are permanently free, in order to allow open discussion within the scientific community.
Why pay to subscribe?
Help us keep the site running by choosing a paid subscription. This Substack is a full-time job; we need paid subscribers to help keep the lights on!
Paid subscribers get full access to the newsletter and website — including our full archive with over 300 posts.
Special subscriptions:
Does one of the following apply to you? Contact us (earthquakeinsights@gmail.com) to discuss your needs.
Academic or corporate subscriptions: Do you need specific paperwork to charge a subscription to a grant or to your company? Let us know.
Group subscriptions: Sign up with a friend and get 20% off.
Institutional subscriptions: Institutional subscriptions give you a specific number of seats (emails); you manage the list. This is a great choice for a university department, a research group, an insurance company, a news organization, or a seismological institute. Special rates available for larger groups.
Teaching subscriptions: Want your students to be able to read all of our posts? We can offer a discounted subscription for your class. In special cases, we may offer Zoom sessions with your students.
Alternative payment method: If you want to opt out of paying Substack, email us.
Non-renewing subscription: Sign up for a year without a recurring payment — we can arrange that through an alternative payment method.
Gift subscription: Is there someone in your life who you think should know more about earthquakes? Sign them up!
Can’t afford to pay full rate?
We offer a sliding scale for annual subscriptions. If you can’t fit an $80 annual charge into your budget, email us and let us know what you can afford! (Minimum $10, please, so that your payment does not all go to fees.)
Student or researcher from a low-income country, or otherwise unable to pay: We do not want finances to be a barrier. Contact us to arrange a free “paid” subscription. We have also in some cases provided custom maps for post-earthquake reconnaissance for students who are unable to pay.
Interested in more:
Republish our content: Interested in republishing a post, or figures from a post? Reach out to us with details. We do allow free republishing of figures in teaching materials, as long as credit is provided and the use is not-for-profit. Feel free to drop us a note if you do this; it is always great to hear about new ways our work is useful!
Consulting: Yes! We do consulting work related to earthquake hazards — for instance:
validation of earthquake content
presentations and discussions to get up to speed on recent earthquakes
training on how to rapidly assess earthquakes
commissioned maps, figures, and 3D models
Reach out to us with questions or for more details!
Other ways to help:
Sponsor our free subscription program: Contact us if you would like to help make full subscriptions available to people who cannot afford them.
Sponsor a post: If there a specific post that you would like to have remain publicly available? Let us know. Your organization’s name will be credited at the top of the post.
Sponsor this Substack: We welcome any help we can get! Depending on your needs, we may be able to include sponsorship messages in future posts.
Share Earthquake Insights. When you use the referral link below, or the “Share” button on any post, you'll get credit for any new subscribers. Simply send the link in a text, email, or share it on social media with friends. You can earn special benefits: a 1 month comp for 3 referrals, 3 month comp for 5 referrals, or 6 month comp for 25 referrals.
Spread the word! Tell your friends and colleagues about our results; use our maps for teaching; think about us when you’re asked to submit names for awards; casually name-drop our content in cocktail parties. Every little bit helps.
And: add a testimonial in the comments!
Testimonials:
“I am from Antakya but living abroad. You were the only person I could get the right information at the right time during the Türkiye-Syria earthquake on 6th of February. You are still the only credible source of information for me, while I am planning to rebuild my and my relatives destroyed houses.”
“Earthquake Insights by Drs. Judith Hubbard and Kyle Bradley is consistently well-written, well-researched, and accessible to everyone from experts to the scientifically interested public (no small feat)! Worth subscribing.” — Dr. Wendy Bohon, Branch Chief of Seismic Hazards & Earthquake Engineering for the California Geological Survey
“I am the director of the Institute of Seismology, University of Helsinki in Finland. Your earthquake insights are a valuable source for us when we quickly need to find reliable background information for media interviews.” - Dr. Suvi Heinonen, University of Helsinki
“Your work is fascinating, up-to-date, accurate and relevant to the real world.” — Dr. Walter Mooney, USGS
“I really love the narrative, the story, the personal connection you put behind the summaries of these seismic events. Your writing reaches me, a geoscience instructor at a 2-year college, in a way that I can easily share the significance of events with students in my courses.” - Karen Yip, Houston Community College
“Former geologist and current journalist here. I absolutely love your work, it’s one of my favorite inbox reads. Thanks and keep it up!” - Michael Reilly, former Executive Editor of MIT Technology Review
“You are doing an important and otherwise largely unfulfilled service to earthquake science, and you are doing it honorably, ethically, and rapidly.” - Dr. Ross Stein, CEO of Temblor
“I’m an early career earthquake researcher who benefits greatly from having well-researched context available for major earthquakes rapidly. Thanks Judith and Kyle!” — Zoe
“Earthquake Insights is a fantastic resource for those who want to explain earthquakes - journalists, scientists, teachers. Subscribe and make this possible, Judith and Kyle are walking encyclopaedias and provide reliable information!” — Dr. Douwe Van Hinsbergen, Full Professor Chair in Global Tectonics and Paleogeography, Utrecht University
“I’ve been very impressed with the quality of your reports. I’m a global seismologist. Keep up the good work!” — Dr. Eric Bergman
“I’m a retired architect. I led the capital program at a major health sciences university on the west coast of the US, and was deeply involved in planning and carrying out the seismic upgrade of university facilities. I am eager to learn more about the geophysics behind earthquakes, and about disaster planning and management from the perspective of geophysicists. Keep up the good work!” — Michael Bade
“Kyle and Judith are top-notch, hard-working geoscientists who do their homework. I support Earthquake Insights because I know I will find critically researched information and I think this is a valuable resource for both colleagues and the general public. Thanks for doing this!” — LiLi
Thank you for supporting Earthquake Insights!
