Burning Man and the Tardigrade: When the Bad Thing Happens | Unhack the Podcast with Sarah Richardson

September 22, 2026: Sarah Richardson sits down with Drex DeFord for a special UnHack. No CISO guest this month. Drex is 24 hours off the Black Rock Desert and into the New Orleans regional staff roundtable, where three people told him they were there for the Burning Man stories. He answers how the city actually works. Then the picture he sent Sarah: a tardigrade on the playa. Heather Costa made that microscopic survivor the mascot for healthcare IT resilience. Same question the RSR afternoon is built on: what do you do when the bad thing happens, so patients, families, and staff still get care.

Key Points:

• 00:06 A Special UnHack

• 02:56 Fortified Health

• 03:30 How the City Works

• 08:38 Art, the Man, and the Temple

• 12:42 The Tardigrade

• 15:03 When the Bad Thing Happens

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