One Health
Human Health & the Environment
Class Meetings
Dates: 2026-09-03T16:00:00
Optional Material (Dive Deeper)
Podcasts
A Brief History of How PFAS Poisoned the World
Duration: 00:33:46
Released: 2024
Series: Forever Chemicals
PFAS are a large class of chemicals that have been used since the late 1930s. What makes them particularly hazardous is that they are persistent and difficult to break down. That means all the PFAS that have even been created still exist today. In the first episode of this ten-part series, we learned the history of how PFAS was created. In episode two, we get a better understanding of just how dangerous PFAS chemicals are and how a series of lawsuits brought these health hazards to light. Guests featured in this episode: - Arlene Blum, Green Science Policy Institute - Mike Schade, Toxic Free Future - Stefan Posner, textile and polymer chemist - Scott Wilson, Regenesis Environmental Remediation - James Pollock, Marten Law LLP - Philippe Grandjean, environmental epidemiologist If you want to learn more about what PFAS are, where they are found, the proven health effects, how you can limit your exposure, up to date news on PFAS, and how to get involved in PFAS regulatory efforts visit Toxicfreefuture.org Foodandwaterwatch.org Or Pfascentral.org INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/outdoor.minimalist.book/ WEBSITE: https://www.theoutdoorminimalist.com/ YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@theoutdoorminimalist Fund the Forever Chemicals 10-Part Podcast: https://gofund.me/77aac225 — Snaplinc Consulting provided expert fact checking and guidance for the creation of this podcast. Snaplinc Consulting provides corporate sustainability strategies and ESG support across a broad range of industries including apparel, footwear, home furnishings, software, cosmetics, professional services and more. Head to snaplincconsulting.com to learn more and contact the experts to guide you through complex topics like CSRD, PFAS, greenhouse gas assessments, SBTi, CDP, EcoVadis, B Corp and many more compliance and certification frameworks. — Sources Belisle, John. 1978. Central Analytical Laboratory Report 6867. Contributed by Sharon Lerner (The Intercept). Retrieved from https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4575547-1978-PFOS-monkey-study Environmental Working Group. (n.d.). For Decades, Polluters Knew PFAS Chemicals Were Dangerous But Hid Risks From Public. Retrieved from https://www.ewg.org/research/decades-polluters-knew-pfas-chemicals-were-dangerous-hid-risks-public Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. (n.d.). Industrial wastewater treatment technology. Retrieved from https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/gp3-06.pdf The Intercept. (2015, August 11). The Teflon Toxin: DuPont and the Chemistry of Deception. Retrieved from https://theintercept.com/2015/08/11/dupont-chemistry-deception/ Toxic-Free Future. (n.d.). Breast Milk Study. Retrieved from https://toxicfreefuture.org/research/breast-milk-study/
A new approach to fighting malaria
Duration: 00:25:28
Released: 2019
Series: Better Off
Each year, more than 200 million people around the world are infected with malaria and more than 400,000 die. For the past two decades, the most successful method of malaria prevention has involved treating bed nets with long-lasting insecticides that kill mosquitoes. But that progress is being threatened as mosquitoes increasingly grow resistant to the most commonly used insecticides. Now, new Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health research offers a potential fresh approach to fighting malaria: directly target the parasite responsible for the disease. A recent study showed that mosquitoes that landed on surfaces coated with the antimalarial compound atovaquone were completely blocked from developing Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria. The study was led by Flaminia Catteruccia, professor of immunology and infectious diseases and Doug Paton , a research fellow at the Harvard Chan School. In this week’s episode we sit down with Paton to discuss the findings—and how they could be used to make progress in the fight against malaria. Full Transcript: hsph.me/malaria-pod
A New Test for Lyme Disease, Developed by High Schoolers
Duration: 00:11:50
Released: 2026
Series: Public Health On Call
About this episode: A group of students from suburban Atlanta has developed a new method for detecting Lyme disease using the gene-editing tool CRISPR. In this episode: why there’s such a desperate need for a new diagnostic, how the students’ model works, and why it’s so promising for the treatment of Lyme and other diseases. Guest: Nicole Baumgarth, PhD, DVM, is Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and the director of the Lyme and Tickborne Disease Research and Education Institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Sankalp Yeleti is a recent graduate of Lambert High School and a rising freshman at New York University, where he plans to study biomolecular science. Host: Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: Teens may have come up with a new way to detect, treat Lyme disease using CRISPR gene editing—CBS News Lancet—Lambert iGEM 2025 Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @PublicHealthPod on Instagram @JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here’s our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
Acaropathology (TICKS + LYME DISEASE) Updated Mega Encore with Neeta Pardanani Connally & Andrea Swei
Acaropathology (TICKS & LYME DISEASE) Updated Mega Encore with Neeta Pardanani Connally & Andrea Swei
Duration: 02:32:48
Released: 2023
Series: Ologies with Alie Ward
It’s 2-for-1! Ticks AND Lyme: together in one helpful, disgusting, gossipy, empowering episode. This pair of episodes is about tiny, thirsty ticks and the diseases they spit into you is wall to wall wisdom from Dr. Neeta Pardanani Connally of the West Connecticut State University Tick Lab and Dr. Andrea Swei of SFSU’s Swei Lab cover how to remove a tick, if you should spray your yard and with what, how landscaping affects tick exposure, why Lyme Disease is spreading, the Lone Star Tick rolling into town, how to protect your pets and why the CC ruined poppyseed muffins. Also: Powassan virus, meat allergies, paralysis ticks, and twin princesses Borrelia and Babesia. Dr. Neeta Pardanani Connally and Dr. Andrea Swei will charm their way into your heart like a hypostome under your skin.Dr. Neeta Pardanani Connally’s videos, website, Twitter and InstagramFollow Dr. Andrea Swei and her lab SweiLab on TwitterDonations were made to TickEncounter, Union of Concerned Scientists, and 826 ValenciaMore episode sources and linksOther episodes you may enjoy: Opossumology (O/POSSUMS), Scorpiology (SCORPIONS), Epidemiology (DISEASES), Cervidology (DEER), Forest Entomology (CREEPY CRAWLIES), Planariology (VERY COOL WORMS, I PROMISE, Dipterology (FLIES), Kinetic Salticidology (DANCING SPIDERS), Diplopodology (MILLIPEDES & CENTIPEDES), Myrmecology (ANTS), Sparklebuttology (FIREFLIES), Spheksology (WASPS), Lepidopterology (BUTTERFLIES), Melittology (BEES), Entomology (INSECTS), Urban Rodentology (SEWER RATS)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, masks, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter and InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter and InstagramEditing by Steven Ray Morris, Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, and Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam MediaTranscripts by Emily White of The WordaryWebsite by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
An Early Start to West Nile Virus Season?
Duration: 00:15:37
Released: 2026
Series: Public Health On Call
About this episode: West Nile virus is the most common mosquito-borne illness in the U.S., and while most people who contract it won’t even know they’re infected, it can be debilitating for older adults and the immunocompromised. In this episode: an expert in insect-borne diseases gives listeners the essential information on West Nile, offers a forecast on this year’s disease season, and answers the most important question: can we just get rid of mosquitoes? Guest: Douglas Norris, PhD, is a professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology who studies vector-borne diseases. Host: Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: CDC Encourages Americans to Stay Mosquito Bite-Free during America’s 250th Independence Day holiday weekend—CDC Early, intense West Nile season may signal a severe year for the mosquito-borne illness, CDC says—CNN How to Prevent Dengue or “Break-Bone Fever”—Public Health On Call (May 2024) Why Are Some Humans’ Scents More Preferable to Mosquitoes?—Public Health On Call (June 2023) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @PublicHealthPod on Instagram @JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here’s our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
An Ebola Outbreak in Central Africa
Duration: 00:13:49
Released: 2026
Series: Public Health On Call
About this episode: A deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda has been declared a global public health emergency by WHO. In this episode: infectious disease epidemiologist Emily Gurley explains why this outbreak is particularly concerning for a region managing existing crises and how public health systems are working to contain transmission and treat patients. Guest: Emily S. Gurley, PhD, MPH, is a professor in Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she focuses on infectious disease and outbreak investigation. Host: Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. Show links and related content: WHO declares major outbreak of rare Ebola virus species an international emergency—Science US Imposes Ebola Travel Restrictions as CDC Says Risk Remains Low—Newsweek What else to know: The Ebola outbreak in Central Africa will be challenging to control, but decades of experience will help—The Uptake Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @PublicHealthPod on Instagram @JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here’s our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
Animal Diseases and Human Health - The Sloth and Screwworm Episode
Duration: 00:21:48
Released: 2026
Series: Public Health On Call
About this episode: Headlines about sick sloths in Florida and the reemergence of the New World screwworm in the southwest are raising concerns about potential animal-to-human spillover of certain diseases. In this episode: an update on gammaherpesvirus at Sloth World, why experts are concerned about new screwworm cases, and what both of these situations may mean for human health. Guest: Dr. Meghan Davis, PhD, MPH, is a veterinarian and chair of the Master of Public Health program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Host: Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: Mass Sloth Deaths in Florida Are a Warning About Wildlife Trade and Pandemic Risk, Scientists Say—Inside Climate News USDA Confirms Presence of New World Screwworm in the United States—USDA Could One Health Prevent the Next Pandemic?—Public Health On Call (September 2025) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @PublicHealthPod on Instagram @JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here’s our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
Can we end chronic homelessness?
Duration: 00:19:07
Released: 2023
Series: Better Off
It’s estimated that half a million Americans are experiencing homelessness. Even a brief period of housing insecurity can make existing health issues worse, and bring up new physical and mental traumas. Doctors and nurses who help patients navigate these issues have a prescription: More housing, and more services. Is it possible to end chronic homelessness, even as eviction moratoriums end and rents increase? And is a housing-first model the best way to achieve that goal?Guests:Ana Rausch, Vice President of Program Operations at Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris CountyKimberley Richardson, therapistMaggie Sullivan, family nurse practitioner, Boston Health Care for the Homeless and instructor and human rights fellow, FXB Center, Harvard UniversityCredits:Host/producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertThe Better Off team: Kristen Dweck, Elizabeth Gunner, Pamela Reynoso, Stephanie Simon, and Ben WallaceAudio engineering and sound design: Kevin O’ConnellAdditional research: Kate Becker
Clean Energy Transition Progress - Avian Flu In Cattle And Humans Has Scientists Concerned
Clean Energy Transition Progress | Avian Flu In Cattle And Humans Has Scientists Concerned
Duration: 00:25:12
Released: 2024
Series: Science Friday
Global temperature increases are slowing, electric vehicle sales are growing, and renewable energy is now cheaper than some fossil fuels. Also, in a recent outbreak of avian flu, the virus has jumped from birds to cows, and to one dairy worker. A disease ecologist provides context.Progress Toward A Clean Energy TransitionIn honor of Earth Day, we’re highlighting a few positive trends and some promising solutions to the climate crisis. Globally, a clean energy transition is underway. A recent column in cipher, an online news outlet focused on climate solutions, recapped some encouraging progress, including a rise in electric car sales, a drop in the cost of renewable energy, and a slowing of global temperature increases.SciFri’s John Dankosky is joined by Casey Crownhart, climate reporter at MIT Technology Review, to talk through some climate solutions news and other top science stories of the week, including a record year for wind energy, a proposal to swap out power lines to increase grid capacity, and hibernating bumble bees who can live for a week underwater.Why Avian Flu In Cattle And Humans Has Scientists ConcernedDuring the last few weeks, you may have heard about an ongoing outbreak of avian flu in which the virus has jumped from wild birds and poultry to cattle in eight states, and now to one dairy worker. While transmission to cattle and humans is new, avian flu has been spreading and decimating wild bird populations for years, and has led to many farmers to “depopulate” their poultry stock to contain the spread of the deadly virus, with limited success.Guest host Maggie Koerth is joined by Dr. Nichola Hill, assistant professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, to talk about how devastating this virus has been to birds across the world, why the jump from birds to mammals is making virologists anxious, and how concerned the rest of us should be.Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Climate - Fighting Extreme Heat In 2026
Duration: 00:43:17
Released: 2026
Series: 1A
Extreme heat isn’t just an inconvenience. It’s a growing public health threat.More than 40 million people across the U.S. have remained under heat alerts this month. Heat remains the deadliest extreme weather event in the United States. At least 44 people have died as a result of July heatwaves. And in Europe, heatwaves killed more than 10,000 people in June, according to health data published this month.Climate change is making heatwaves hotter and more frequent. And high temps aren’t just being reported in daytime. Nighttime temperatures are higher than ever. And scientists say that’s raising the risk of heat exhaustion and heatstroke – and taking away crucial time for you and the planet to recover.What do you need to know about the effects of heat on your health? And how you can stay safe?Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
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Speaker: 000:00:07
This is one a. I’m Naila Budu in for Jen White. Extreme heat isn’t just an inconvenience. It’s a growing public health threat. More than forty million people across The US have remained under heat alerts this month. Heat remains the deadliest extreme weather event in The United States. And in Europe, heat waves killed more than ten thousand people in June. That’s according to just published health data published from 27 countries. Climate change is making heat waves hotter and more frequent, and high temps aren’t just being reported in the daytime. Nighttime temperatures are higher than ever. And scientists say that’s raising the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke and taking away crucial time for you and the planet to recover. Today, what do you need to know about the effects of heat on your health and how you can stay safe, and what are cities and states doing to fight the heat? We’ll get into all of that, but first, let’s start in one county that is focusing on fighting extreme heat from the top. Joining us now is mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Democratic mayor of Miami Dade County, home to almost 3,000,000 people. Mayor Levine Cava, welcome to one a.
Speaker: 100:01:16
Thank you so much, Nyla.
Speaker: 000:01:17
Let’s start with a chief heat officer role that you created a few years ago. How did that position come to be? Why did you see a need for this? It’s the first one ever created.
Speaker: 100:01:29
I have to give credit to Adrienne Arish, who is a philanthropist and very involved in climate change issues, and she actually brought it to our attention. And we said, absolutely, we need to do that because after all, we are the heat capital in so many ways. So we did appoint the first in the world and we have been a national leader and an international leader since then. I co chair the Climate Mayor’s Extreme Heat Cohort. We’ve created an Extreme Heat Action Plan that has made incredible progress and is modeled across the the city and and the the country and the world. And, we are are moving forward and making great progress in reducing heat related related effects.
Speaker: 000:02:15
So I know that position was launched in 2021. Although it doesn’t exist anymore, it was eliminated as part of budget cuts last year. How is that work being done now?
Speaker: 100:02:26
Yeah. So in actual fact, our chief resilience officer is also our chief chief heat officer. So we haven’t eliminated it, but the founder, Jane Gilbert, did retire. She, again, global leader. And we also, have a dedicated staff person who is our coordinator and who is maintaining our focus,
Speaker: 000:02:49
on this work. What does it mean from a government spending level in Miami Dade County to focus on heat resistance? What does that look like?
Speaker: 100:02:58
Yeah. So we are doing so many things. We created a heat season. We, have cooling centers 60 around the county, so we leave buildings open, during the heat season. We, give our staff access to not just water and breaks and shade, but those who are exposed, we give them electrolytes, so that they can maintain their body healthy while working outdoors. So all of those things do cost money. We, also, have the staffing, as has been described, and we reduce our energy through all kinds of resilience measures. We’ve done so much to make our buildings more efficient, and that is is good for the environment, and it’s good for the budget as well.
Speaker: 000:03:49
We’re talking to mayor Danielle Lavigne Cava, Democratic mayor of Miami Dade County, Florida. Mayor, I wanted to play this voice mail we got from Alex.
Speaker: 200:03:57
I believe trees are some of the best ways we can adapt cities to climate change and mitigate the negative effects of heat. My concern is as we try to make more room for trees, we’re still competing with cars that seem to dominate our cities and have ample parking. I would like to see cities reduce parking and narrow streets to allow more connected green space while reducing the pervious pavement that hold heat well into the night.
Speaker: 000:04:20
Mayor Lubinkaba, I wonder how you would respond to Alex’s message there. I would say as a native Miami, and I know how much people love cars across the city. Like, how are you thinking about city infrastructure when it comes to fighting heat in Miami Dade?
Speaker: 100:04:34
Well, first, let’s talk about trees because trees absolutely are essential. They can reduce ambient temperature by as much as 10 degrees. So we have been very aggressively planting trees. Last year alone, we gave away 25,000 trees, so we had regular tree giveaways and particularly in the neighborhoods with lower tree canopy. So, that is a critical part of it. We also, of course, are pushing transit. Transit is much more efficient. It has lower emissions, so it’s overall helping climate as well as traffic.
Speaker: 000:05:11
So those are a few of the the ways that we’re addressing it. I mentioned nearly 3,000,000 people live across the county. We’ve all probably heard of the idea of extreme heat islands. Can you explain how in Miami, some neighborhoods are more unequal than others when it comes to how people are experiencing extreme heat?
Speaker: 100:05:29
Yeah. As I said, you’ve got lower income communities, sadly, are often those with the lower tree canopy. So we’ve been targeting our tree giveaway and our tree maintenance in those neighborhoods and actually providing support for how to take care of those trees. Also, removal of large trees is very much discouraged, and we’ve also started relocating large trees. If infrastructure projects require their removal, we are working hard and have been working with some fantastic vendors to move them so that we do not lose, the overall benefit of that. We also have done a lot to bring more cooling to those neighborhoods. So the cooling centers, I mentioned 60, that are across the county. We also, for example, in our public housing installed 1,700 high efficiency cooling units, through dollars from the infrastructure bill in the previous administration. So we also have shaded now, bus stops. That’s critically important. We want people to use transit, but they’re exposed to the elements, including heat, so we have launched an aggressive campaign to provide shade for for those who have to, wait in in the elements for their buses.
Speaker: 000:06:51
Mary, you mentioned the previous administration. Are you getting the support from the federal government, as well as from Tallahassee and state government for, these different implementations that you would like to have across this the county?
Speaker: 100:07:06
Well, I will say, sadly, the state legislature preempted us from heat standards standards for workers other than our own county employees who we do protect. But fortunately, we’ve been able to raise awareness with our public education campaigns, and we have hundreds of companies that have come to us for training and education and utilizing our tools, how to protect their workers with shade, water, and rest.
Speaker: 000:07:34
We got this text message. I work outdoors at parks in Miami Dade County. Some parks have put out big barrels of cool water with cups for the attendees. Other hosts have made sure lots of coolers full of bottles of water were available. In the past few years, I’ve been at events, and patrons have passed out. EMS has to be called. I passed out once at home. I believe I was experiencing dehydration. I’ve now made a simple concoction of water, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and orange juice, and salt, and sip on that throughout the event. Mayor Lavinkava, when you think about, the culture, particularly around workers and what employers need to do, you mentioned that you have tried to set a standard with county workers. What else have you, what other conversations do you have with major employers, especially as people are working outside to protect them?
Speaker: 100:08:24
Yeah. So definitely, we’ve been very successful with a lot of our employers adopting voluntarily because we’re preempted from mandating the kinds of protections that, this this person has mentioned. But as well, we’re very aggressive with our hydration stations. So water is life is our theme for our water and sewer department. We go with, dispensers of of water from the tap. Right? We’re avoiding water bottles. We don’t need those. We want people to to bring their own containers and, of course, if they’re using bottles to recycle. But I’ll give you an example. World Cup, we just had seven games. And during that time, most of the games were on days of extreme heat. In fact, the first extreme heat day was on the first day of World Cup, June 15. We have been so successful in preventing serious illness from heat, we distributed about enough water in cups to about twenty percent of the game attendees across, the the games, the the whole season, and that, unfortunately, they were not allowed to bring more than a small water bottle, and, of course, it costs money at those stadiums to to purchase. So we were very pleased. We had cooling stations, and people availed themselves of that, and we were able to greatly reduce any injury both at the games and at our fan fest. You know, when you think about South Florida, I think,
Speaker: 000:09:50
hurricanes are sort of the natural disaster that gets encoded into people’s DNA. Tropical storm Bertha is making its way across The Gulf as we speak. How do you think about heat waves as part of your overall natural disaster strategy, and how are you trying to help people recognize this can be a serious problem?
Speaker: 100:10:08
Yeah. We added heat to our trifecta, hurricanes, floods, and heat. So what used to be our annual hurricane season is now all three. And we use that for public education, awareness, prevention, just as you say. We also worked with the National Weather Service to signal extreme heat at a lower temperature given the extreme humid conditions in our environment. So all of this is designed around increasing awareness. Look, when we started this with the first heat officer, people laughed. They thought it was a joke, but they’re not laughing anymore.
Speaker: 000:10:47
That was Daniella Levine Cava, Democratic mayor of Miami Dade County, Florida. Mayor Levine Cava, thank you for being with us. We appreciate it. Thank you. We got this from another listener in Florida. I plant native trees and bushes here in South Florida, and my property stays about 15 degrees cooler most days. I find it pleasant to garden any time of day. If people did not remove trees and did not let developers remove trees, then the land will take care of itself. You can keep the comments coming by emailing 1a@wamu.org. Coming up, the effects of heat on your health, what do you need to know, and how can you stay safe? I’m Nyla Budu. This is one a from WAMU and NPR. I’m Naila Budu. This is one a. We’re talking about extreme heat. Let’s turn to the effects of extreme heat on our bodies and what you can do to stay safe. Joining us now is Amrita Nourisarma. She’s an environmental epidemiologist studying climate change and health, an and assistant professor at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Amrita, welcome. Thank you for having me. And Jiva Lang is also with us. She’s a staff writer at Heatmap News. Jiva, it’s nice to have you as well. Hi. Excited to be here. And we wanna hear from you listening. How are you responding to the heat and staying cool this summer? We just heard from Miami Dade County. What are your city officials doing? Share your tips and experiences. You can email us 1a@wamu.org. Jeva, I was just mentioning we just spoke with the mayor of Miami Dade County. I just wondered your thoughts about what she said about cities, climate resilience, the idea of having someone actually at the county level focusing on this.
Speaker: 400:12:58
Yeah. I think this is really important work, and Miami is such a leader in this area. And, I think there’s other cities too that are doing great work in this area as well. The two that come to mind are, Spokane and Portland, have been pursuing, temperature maximums for renters. Renters tend to have the lowest AC, access of, compared to homeowners, and that’s been a really exciting, method of pursuit for those cities to protect people from the extreme heat. But I think the the big takeaway here is just that we need to be taking heat more seriously, whether that’s protections for people at home or protections, like you were discussing, the heat can or the urban heat effect
Speaker: 000:13:50
and the tree canopy is, protecting people in that way. And, Risha, do we know yet, as we see cities taking more action, if there’s a way to determine if that is leading to fewer heat related emergency room visits?
Speaker: 300:14:04
Yeah. This is a great question. And I think that it’s a little bit challenging because there’s obviously some lag between when the heat wave happens and when we get back information. So we might have to wait for a couple of weeks to know whether or not the strategies were effective, but we are starting to get information quicker and quicker, regarding emergency department visits and hospitalizations associated with heat. We’re also starting to see signals in some of the more nontraditional health outcomes that are associated with extreme heat. So, you might think of heat stress or heat stroke as some of the more obvious directly related pathways, but we’re starting to see things like dehydration illnesses, renal insufficiency. We’re seeing some patterns in terms of changes in the ways that people respond for those health outcomes as well. So I think looking beyond just the traditional health outcomes is a good way that we can start to see those signals sooner as well.
Speaker: 000:14:59
Jeva, it’s been a few weeks since the July 4 weekend, which we saw record breaking heat waves throughout the country. More than 20 cities broke heat records this month. We know temperatures are rising year after year as a result of climate change. What factors are behind this summer’s extreme heat that we need to know about?
Speaker: 400:15:19
Yeah. Great question. June 2026 was the second warmest globally, and it was the hottest ever for Western Europe. I think when you look at the headline number for The United States, it’s the eighteenth warmest June in the Contiguous United States. It just doesn’t sound very extreme. But what we’re seeing is these prolonged severe heat domes. So those highs are really, really high. Like you were saying, there were, I think, 1,300 heat records matched or broken over that fourth of July weekend. And that’s just, again, because the because of greenhouse gas emissions and also, likely a strong El Nino. We’re still figuring out exactly what mechanism is at play for the heat here, but
Speaker: 000:15:58
the greenhouse gas emissions make the entire atmosphere warmer. That means we’re starting at a warmer baseline. So these highs can get really, really high as a as a result of that. Jeva, we should I wonder if you can just help us understand. We’ve used the term extreme heat a few times now. Can you define that for us precisely in how it’s categorized?
Speaker: 400:16:16
Yeah. It’s a it’s a hard question to answer because extreme heat, is so contextual. Extreme heat for people in the South is very different than extreme heat for people in, say, the Pacific Northwest or people in Northern Europe, these places that haven’t seen extreme temperatures before. So there isn’t really, like, a number or a threshold that you have to break in order to be have extreme heat or not. It’s really about, how
Speaker: 000:16:40
how much does this diverge from the historic norms in this area. So, Amrita, you talked about heat related emergency room visits. Around 120,000 were recorded across The US in 2023. That’s according to the CDC. At what temperature and under what temperature conditions with the heat index, does the heat become particularly dangerous for our bodies? And I imagine, of course, there are caveats to people who are much more vulnerable than others.
Speaker: 300:17:10
Yeah. That’s a really good question. And I think, going back to one of the things that Jeeva was saying a few minutes ago, it’s so contextual because extreme heat, it means something different if you’re in the Northern Part of US compared with the Southern Part of US. Some of that is also about adaptation that’s already been implemented in different communities. So, you know, homes in the Southern United States might have air conditioning, for example. So the ambient temperatures might have a less of an impact until the temperature gets much more extreme. But generally speaking, once we see a combination of heat and humidity, that’s above about the ninety fifth percentile of whatever is normal for that area. That’s when we start to see these really sharp increases. And we think of that as a more extreme heat period. And we start to look at comparing increases in some of those severe cases of heat related illness around that threshold. What does the ninety fifth percentile mean? Again, it means something different if you’re in the Southern US compared with New York or Boston, for example.
Speaker: 000:18:15
What are some signs people should look out for that might signal heat exhaustion or heat stroke, and what’s the difference between those two, Amrita?
Speaker: 300:18:24
Yeah. So heat exhaustion is, maybe I could call it a little bit of a less extreme version of heat related illness. It’s where people start to feel tired. Your body is no longer able to sweat, which is one of the primary ways that we kind of cool off when it’s very hot outside. By comparison, heat stroke looks very similar to a regular stroke. It’s dizziness. It’s, kind of loss of speech patterns. It’s, you know, changes in your ability to speak. It’s changes in your ability in your cognitive function. And it is generally something that requires more severe treatment. So, if you have heat exhaustion, you can generally treat that at home with hydration. One of the things that the mayor was mentioning earlier is that water is life. That’s very important. If you’re having a heat stroke, that should be you know, you should be looking out for some of those more severe symptoms, and that should be a good reason to visit an emergency room or an urgent care facility to get your core body temperature cooled down.
Speaker: 000:19:32
Jeva, there are as many as twelve thousand recorded heat deaths in The US each year. How does that how do we account for that? How do we know that people have died because of extreme heat?
Speaker: 400:19:42
It’s a complicated question. There’s about three different ways you can calculate excess or, heat deaths. One is direct and indirect. These are two different categories of looking at deaths. So direct deaths from heat, there’s a diagnostic code. It’s x 30. It’s a medical classification for a death due to excessive natural heat. This is distinct from excessive unnatural heat, such as a tanning bed death, a little bit of morbid trivia through the morning. But the direct deaths are exactly what we’re talking about in terms of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. The the classic what you think of as somebody dying from heat. Then there are excess dust or indirect dust from heat. That’s cardiovascular events, stroke, complications from diabetes, respiratory illness, all the other ways that heat can kill you that’s maybe a little bit more invisible. So if somebody comes into a hospital with a heart attack, the physicians are treating that heart attack. They’re not sitting there being like, is this heart attack from the heat outside right now? So it might not be coded as a direct heat death, but it’s still somebody who died from the heat. And there’s two different ways you can count these excess heat deaths. So one is to look at how many more people died compared to what you would have expected for that period of time. And then for so for an example of this is, in France, there were, twenty one thousand six hundred all cause deaths between June 17 and July 2. That was their heat wave in Europe. Statistical modeling would have expected about fifteen thousand nine hundred and ten deaths based on the previous year, so that gives us an excess of about seven or, five thousand seven hundred. And then the third way of doing this is basically a predictive model. So saying we know when the temperature rises by x amount, this number of people will die and kind of using that model to fit with, the temperatures that were recorded. So there’s a bunch of different ways to record excess deaths, a bunch of different models that need to be peer reviewed. And so this this work is still ongoing for heat events, both in Europe and in North America. But this is why you can see many different numbers for how many people died in a given heat wave.
Speaker: 000:21:50
That’s Jiva Lang, a staff writer at Heatmap News. We’re also talking to Amrita Nourasarmi Nuri Sarma. She’s a environmental epidemiologist studying climate change and health. We’re getting texts and emails from you all. We got this text from one of you. I am medically unable to deal well with heat. Anytime the temps start hitting the upper eighties, I am strictly inside or headed for another air conditioned space. Of course, that means I miss out on all the nice outdoor activities, including the beach. Amrita, can I ask you we also got this text? Is there any data on how COVID is impacting people’s heat tolerances or exacerbating heat effects? I’ve been getting more frequent migraines from the heat. Friends of mine with high blood pressure are reporting suffering. It seems like I’m less able to tolerate it now than I was a couple of years ago.
Speaker: 300:22:40
Yeah. That’s a great question. And I think that there are potentially two things that are happening here. The first one is that, obviously, COVID changed a lot of people’s, ability to be in public spaces. And I think for a long time, people were kind of isolating and staying indoors, avoiding close contact with other people. And as a result, I think there have been some long term impacts on, immune systems across the board. And so I think people have definitely suffered from that long lack of exposure to the outdoors and to other people. And I think that has some, immunological implications for the long term. I think the other thing is that people who have experienced COVID illness, and at this point, we’ve gone through multiple waves of COVID, that might also have an individual level impact, as this person mentioned in their note. So people who have experienced maybe some of the symptoms of long COVID, we do talk about often how one of the most vulnerable groups, to extreme heat is people with preexisting medical conditions. So we do know that people who have underlying, for example, cardiovascular diseases or illnesses, people who have respiratory illnesses, people who have pre existing mental health conditions may be particularly susceptible when it’s very hot outside. And I would say the same is likely true for people who are experiencing the symptoms of long COVID. There might be some individual level vulnerability because of the long term medical impacts that you’re facing after having a period of COVID infection as well.
Speaker: 000:24:16
I wanted to, Jeeva, talk to you about wildfire smoke. This year, along with the heat, we’ve seen wildfire smoke from Canada blanketing the Midwest and East Coast affecting a hundred and fifteen million Americans. What’s the relationship between extreme heat and wildfires? What’s made this year’s wildfire smoke especially bad?
Speaker: 400:24:35
Yeah. So there’s, it’s there there’s a lot of relationships between wildfire smoke and heat. In particular, this year, the the smoke was directed over the most populated areas of The United States by the heat dome, which was raising all of those temperatures. So the temperatures got really hot in, Northern Minnesota and Ontario. There were lightning fires, and, that smoke then rotated around this heat dome that was making extreme temperatures, and blew the smoke into some of the most populated areas of the country. And this is, when we talk about, like, compounding climate crises, this is kind of the classic example of you wanna run your air conditioning, you wanna have your windows open because it’s so hot out, but at the same time, you need to protect yourself from the wildfire smoke. So these two crises really go hand in hand and make a kind of a perfect storm of, like, terrible conditions that you want to avoid.
Speaker: 000:25:34
Yeah. Emerta, a study published in February by the journal Scientific Advance shows that wildfire smoke inhalation caused twenty four thousand deaths each year from 2006 to 2020. What effect does wildfire smoke have on our bodies?
Speaker: 300:25:53
Well, we know that there are a lot of impacts from just overall air pollution exposure. There’s a pretty direct relationship between how much particulate matter you’re inhaling, especially the finer particulate matter that’s smaller in size, which can descend deeper into the lungs and cross the blood brain barrier and lead to a whole host of different health outcomes. And we know that that happens even at very low levels. So once we get into particulate matter that’s much of much higher in concentration, such as the, PM that we see from wildfires, we can see a lot of different health impacts from that. We see respiratory illnesses. We see cardiovascular illnesses. We see increases in stroke. There are a lot of different health impacts from, exposure to that high level of particulate matter. The other thing that I think is really important is, you know, in addition to people not being used to those very high levels, you know, in The United States, because PM 2.5 has historically since the Clean Air Act, been pretty heavily regulated, we’ve seen, pretty low concentrations on a regular basis of particulate matter. But when we have a wildfire where trees are burning or maybe urban areas are burning, we’ll see these huge spikes in the levels of PM 2.5, and people just aren’t used to it. People are experiencing these extreme levels, that that they haven’t been experiencing historically at baseline.
Speaker: 000:27:18
Jeva, in a headline this month, heat map calls wildfire smoke the East Coast’s new forever problem. Are there federal guidelines that exist around wildfire smoke the way we’ve been talking about cities trying to deal with extreme heat? From a policy standpoint, are we doing enough to deal with this persistent problem?
Speaker: 400:27:38
I don’t think so. This is such a new problem in parts of the country that there aren’t really standards for dealing with it. I think a really good example of this actually is that heat and air quality alerts are not typically considered together. These are two separate metrics and two separate alert systems. And, really, they should not be triggered independently. They should be considered together. Again, as you were talking about, they go hand in hand. And I think we’re just seeing the way that cities are kind of on their back foot with dealing with wildfire smoke when it comes to everything from deciding at what point we should cancel sporting events or outdoor events. There’s not really an AQI threshold that people talk about yet. And I think, yeah, it’s just an area that there’s a lot of opportunity to make decisions now before it gets worse.
Speaker: 000:28:30
That’s Jiva Lang, a staff writer with Heatmap News. We’re discussing street extreme heat as well with Amruta Nuri Sarma. She’s an assistant professor of environmental health and population sciences at Harvard. Still to come, what are the long term effects of heat exposure on your health, and what responsibility do local and national governments have to protect you? And you can join the conversation. We got this text. I live in Dallas, and the temperature yesterday went up to 111 degrees. I make sure I have lots of water, leave my car windows open when I park, and I park my car in the shade. I’m trying to stay in shaded areas as much as possible. We’re gonna be talking about shade coming up. You can keep the questions or comments coming to 1a@wamu.org. I’m Nyla Voodoo. This is one a. Let’s get back to our conversation on extreme heat with Amruta Nuri Sarma. She’s an assistant professor of environmental health and population sciences at Harvard, and Jeeva Lang, a staff writer at Heatmap News. Jiva, I wanted to go back to Europe for a moment. We’ve talked about the fifty seven hundred heat related deaths in June that France recorded, thirty six percent more than the average year. That’s the most since February heat wave. Jiva, I hear from my family in Europe a lot about how different it is compared to America experiencing heat waves. You were in Europe in June. What was it like?
Speaker: 400:30:30
Yeah. I was in Europe in June, and I was there specifically with my nine month old baby and my father who both fall into these vulnerable populations, a very young person and older person. And it was really scary. I mean, we were privileged enough to be on vacation. We were staying hotels that had great AC, but I really feel for people who didn’t have that ability to get out of the heat very easily. One of our kind of scary experiences was actually in Paris the first day of the heat wave where we were out with our baby in a backpack, and she got way too hot. She was slumped over. We actually were trying to find a place that had AC to get her to cool down. And it was very difficult to find AC. It’s just not as widely available as it is in The United States. So I think both culturally, there’s not the same, emphasis on putting an AC unit in your building as there is in The United States. And then also just these aren’t places that have historically had to deal with extreme heat. And as a result, the buildings, the airflows, all of the infrastructure there is just not set up for,
Speaker: 000:31:34
these triple digit temperatures that they’re seeing now. We got this text from James. I spend most of my day in my living room because it’s the only air conditioned room in my 100 year old home. Having just returned from The UK, I appreciate the amount of air conditioning we have in The US. I’ve also been taking cold showers to cool off. As for others in my area, I know in the past that the city has used the old train Depot as a cooling center as we do have a significant number of unhoused people. Jiva, when we talk about air conditioning, that’s 90% of American households who have it. In Europe, that’s about 20% to what you’re discussing. I wanted to ask you, there’s a pilot program in New York City that’s giving renters power banks to try to alleviate the strain on the power grid for their, air conditionings from everyone turning on their AC at once. It’s just a small program right now, but giving away renter friendly generators. The company that’s giving away these renter friendly generators hopes to roll it out in other cities. How important is air conditioning to this conversation, especially as we factor in the electrical grid as well as the fossil fuel consumption that happens as we’re using AC?
Speaker: 400:32:47
Yeah. AC is life giving at this moment in The United States. We really rely on it. And I think that there is a danger in over relying on air conditioning. There are scenarios that have been run specifically looking at what would happen in Phoenix if there was a heat wave, and the numbers up there are pretty scary. I think it’s like a third of the city could end up hospitalized if there was a multi day heat wave where there was a blackout at the same time. And so while AC is important and critical and especially access to AC, again, this is also an affordability issue, of course, or people who can’t afford to run their AC all summer. We need to be finding other ways to keep our cities cool as well.
Speaker: 000:33:31
We got this text from Diane. Houston is hot, muggy, and feels like temperatures of a 105 and up. It’s best to stay inside and only go outside if necessary. Even dog walking has to be curtailed and shifted off sidewalks and roads to shaded area. My biggest fear is that the electrical grid can’t handle the load and power outages result. Dheeva, how have we seen the grid handling things this summer? Pretty well, it seems.
Speaker: 400:33:55
Yeah. So far, it’s been okay. And I think that’s a relief. We’ve also seen these record pulls on the grid, especially in the New York City area, I believe. And so it’s holding up okay. But, again, this is always a thing that operators are worried about in the summer is the potential for because the heat doesn’t just stress people’s bodies. It stresses the infrastructure too, the electrical grid’s infrastructure. So, at the same time, our bodies are getting exhausted. The infrastructure is getting exhausted.
Speaker: 000:34:27
Emerta, do we need to be considering AC as a public health matter, access to air conditioning?
Speaker: 300:34:34
Absolutely. And it’s one of the strategies that I think has been mentioned consistently throughout the last, you know, few minutes of the conversation, you know, opening up cooling centers as a public health intervention, air conditioned spaces for public access. And I think that, you know, we need to, as you said, balance the pros and cons of additional reliance on, air conditioning, especially as we start to see more and more number of days where we’re hitting these extreme temperatures and longer and longer periods where we need those types of interventions or some sort of alternative
Speaker: 000:35:08
for public health. Can I ask you about Diane’s text, Ruta, where she says that it’s best to stay inside and only go outside? Dog walking even has to be curtailed. What are we seeing with extreme heat? I know it’s really affected my exercise routine this summer. As someone who likes to exercise outdoors, how how are we seeing extreme heat affecting people’s health in that way?
Speaker: 300:35:31
Yeah. I think it makes it more challenging to do some of those outdoor activities that you might enjoy. I think that, you know, one of the things we could do is we could ask people to shift the timings when they’re going outside for their activities or for their exercise. So instead of, you know, going in the middle of the day, maybe focusing on early morning periods where the temperatures might be slightly cooler, of course, that only works when we don’t see the extended periods of extreme heat that lasts into the night. And there might be other options such as, you know, trying to work out in an air conditioned space or in a gym or something along those lines. But I do think it does have impacts for people who usually prefer to exercise outdoors.
Speaker: 000:36:10
Let’s talk about air conditioning, cooling centers. I wanted to play a little bit of New York City mayor Zoran Mondami before the fourth of July holiday earlier this month talking about mitigating the effects of heat exposure.
Speaker: 500:36:23
These are extremely dangerous conditions, and they will affect every part of our city. To prepare, I have activated the city’s heat emergency plan. Since last week, our city agencies have been proactively coordinating to keep New Yorkers and tourists safe. We will also issue targeted alerts through our city’s advanced warning system to protect our most vulnerable neighbors, like older New Yorkers and those with chronic illnesses. Beginning tomorrow, the city will open hundreds of cooling centers across the five boroughs.
Speaker: 000:36:57
Amruta, aside from cooling centers and vans that the New York City mayor announced, what else is important to be, you can do to stay cool in record heat, especially if you’re not able to access those facilities?
Speaker: 300:37:12
Yeah. We’ve done a lot of work, especially in the Greater Boston area to try and understand what the, factors are that encourage people to use public spaces for cooling activities and also what some of the barriers might be. I think a couple of things that are really important is that people who would use those facilities want active cooling or active opportunities to become cooler in places that they’re already going. So I think one of the things that the mayor mentioned earlier was providing drinking water in those high important component, rather than having another place that people have to go to get protection from the heat. Other things are looking for other types of cooling. So public splash pads, public pools, places where people could use water based activities. We know that those are really protective during extreme heat waves as well. And then finally making drinking water widely available, shaded spaces widely available. Maybe those aren’t as effective as air conditioned spaces, but in an opportunity to have shade versus direct sunlight, I think the shade will often be preferable,
Speaker: 000:38:28
to reduce some of those health impacts as well. I do wanna talk about shade, but first, can I just ask you about the water breaks, especially for outdoor workers? We heard Miami Dade mayor Danielle LaVine Cava talk about the fact that they tried to pass legislation in Miami that was overturned, by the governor. The same and the similar things we’ve seen in Texas in 2023. Republican Texas governor Greg Abbott approved a law eliminating ten minute water breaks for construction workers arguing that it bogs down businesses. As we’re seeing some states move to take away these protections from different municipalities, what can people who work outdoors or have to be outdoors for prolonged periods of time do to stay safe?
Speaker: 300:39:13
It’s a good question. And I think, you know, carrying water on their person so that they can continue to take sips of water throughout the day, it’s really important to stay hydrated. That’s the only way that we’re going to see, you know, less of these extreme health outcomes. And one of the things that I would argue from a public health perspective is that, yes, it could be disruptive to have a ten minute water break, but it would also be disruptive to have a worker who experiences heat stress or heat exhaustion or heat stroke and has to have a more severe medical intervention as a result. So I think it’s important for businesses to take those different trade offs into consideration. Do I give my workers a ten minute water breaks in order to ensure that I’m not they’re not experiencing a larger health event down the line? So, you know, I think I think it’s really important to make sure that people can have access to hydration, access to breaks, access to shaded spaces if they’re working outdoors.
Speaker: 000:40:08
As we’re talking about shade, last summer during another heat wave in Europe, we spent an hour talking about the value of shade and staying cool and why most cities in The US don’t have enough of it. Here’s V. Kelly Turner, a professor of planning at UCLA.
Speaker: 300:40:23
Shade fundamentally changes the equation about how much energy your body needs to expend when it’s hot. All else equal, a person standing in the shade can be up to 30 degrees Celsius cooler than someone just a few feet away standing in the sunlight.
Speaker: 000:40:40
You can find that conversation online at the 1a.org. Emerita, this morning, I will say it was a wonderful, amazing 68 degrees in DC. I was so excited. I had a wonderful few minutes outside before I came into the station. I feel like I’ve been trapped inside for so long. As someone who’s researched the effects of heat on mental health as well, what do we need to know about that?
Speaker: 300:41:02
Yeah. We know that heat has really severe impacts on people’s physical health and what’s starting to become more apparent is that people’s mental health is really impacted as well. We’ve seen in some recent work that my team has done looking at emergency department visits associated with all different types of mental health causes, increases in emergency department visits as summertime temperatures increase. So this is for things like substance use disorders, schizophrenia, self harm, mood disorders, anxiety, stress disorders. There are a whole host of different mental illnesses that present and get exacerbated
Speaker: 000:41:36
during periods of extreme heat. We got this email from Jordan. Amrita, I wonder if you can just answer it quickly. Jordan says, I’ve heard that those who take SSRI medications for anxiety or depression have a more difficult time regulating body temperature and wind up suffering a bit more in excessive heat. Is there any truth to this?
Speaker: 300:41:55
Yes. This is actually, a documented pathway. SSRIs can cause heat intolerance because they interfere with the hypothalamus, which is the temperature regulator in the brain. This also, can increase the risk of things like dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. I think SSRIs also have been shown to, interfere with sweat production as well. So, you know, taking SSRIs can impair your body’s cooling ability. They can also disrupt the thirst mechanism. So they can make it harder to know when your body is actually getting thirsty, which is a signal that starts the pathway of dehydration. So again, all of the same things that we’ve been talking about previously, just making sure that you’re staying hydrated, important for folks who have underlying medical conditions that require treatment with SSRIs.
Speaker: 000:42:45
Jibo, I just wanna shift the conversation back to the idea of federal policy, federal funding. The Trump administration is proposing a $1,700,000,000 or about 27% cut to NOAA as part of the 2027 fiscal splint spending plan. How will these cuts affect forecasting, if at all?
Speaker: 400:43:04
Yeah. This is a really important point, and there’s a lot of things that worry me about this, but the most relevant to our conversation is that staff cuts would mean things like weather balloon launches and sensor maintenance are no longer happening. Weather balloon launches, happen regularly. They help us measure wind, temperature, humidity, pressure, and make those severe weather forecasts. And the administration has said that they want to pivot to AI, that they think that this is a way forward in forecasting, but artificial intelligence is only as strong as the data that’s being input. And if we’re not getting that robust data from the field, which takes takes boots on the ground, takes people out there launching the balloons themselves or fixing sensors at sea, then we’re just not the quality of our forecast is going to be severely degraded.
Speaker: 000:43:51
We just have about a minute or two left. I just wanna ask you, Amrutha, if we talk about climate change making it hotter each year and this is our new normal, what should we be thinking about or doing as individuals or at the community level?
Speaker: 300:44:04
We we have a lot of, individual level protective factors. One of the ones that I like to mention is, social networks, reliance on social networks to help us to stay safe during times of extreme weather, including extreme heat. You know, David mentioned earlier, some of the vulnerable populations, including the elderly, making sure that friends are checking in on friends, neighbors are checking in on neighbors or if you know that your loved one has a medication that they’re taking that they might, that might impact their ability to regulate during heat waves, that they have access to the resources that they need. I think there are a lot of other resources that are available, that we’ve been talking about over the course of the last little bit. And, one of the best ways that we can make sure that especially those folks who are vulnerable know about the resources that are available within your community is also through those social networks as well.
Speaker: 000:44:59
That was Emerita Nuri Sarma. She’s an environmental epidemiologist and assistant professor of environmental health and population sciences at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. I wanna thank Jeeva Lang as well for joining us, a staff writer at Heatmap News. Remember, the one a podcast is a great way to catch up on anything you might have missed. It’s where you’ll find our best guests and stories every day. Today’s producers were Arfy Geddie and Thomas Lu. This program comes to you from WAMU, part of American University in Washington, distributed by NPR. I’m Nyla Budou in for Jen White. Jen’s out for a few weeks. Join me tomorrow for the Friday news roundup. This is one a.
CRISPR Mosquitoes
Duration: 00:54:21
Released: 2026
Series: Big Picture Science
The powerful gene editing tool CRISPR is already being tested on animal and plant cells. It has even been used on humans. How might this revolutionary tool change our lives? On the one hand, it could cure inherited diseases and rid the world of malaria-spreading mosquitoes. On the other hand, scientists using it are accelerating evolution and introducing novel genetic combinations that could transform our biological landscape in unforeseen ways. We explore the ramifications of this revolutionary technology. Guests: Nathan Rose – Molecular biologist and head of malaria programs at U.K. based biotech company, Oxitec. Hank Greely – Law professor and director of the Center for Law in the Biosciences at Stanford University and author of “CRISPR People: The Science and Ethics of Editing Humans.” Antonio Regalado – Senior Editor for Biomedicine, MIT Technology Review. originally posted April 17, 2023 Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science. You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Cyclospora - Explosive Diarrhea Everywhere
Duration: 00:54:38
Released: 2026
Series: This Podcast Will Kill You
You’ve seen the headlines: a food-borne parasite is infecting people across the US, leaving them chained to the toilet sometimes for weeks on end, as they are ravaged by wave after wave of gastrointestinal upset. What the heck is cyclosporiasis and where did it come from? How scared should we be of our raspberries or lettuce or cilantro? To dish out the answers as fast we could, we put together this fact-filled episode about the biology of Cyclospora cayetanensis, how this parasite makes you sick, when we first learned about it (more recently than you might think), and what we know about this current outbreak (or outbreaks). We also probe how recent changes to foodborne pathogen surveillance on a national scale are contributing to the challenges in understanding the scope and origin of outbreaks such as this. You don’t want to miss this one! Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAuSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Disease Ecology (LYME + TICK-BORNE ILLNESSES) with Andrea Swei
Disease Ecology (LYME/TICK-BORNE ILLNESSES) with Andrea Swei
Duration: 01:12:54
Released: 2019
Series: Ologies with Alie Ward
Lyme Disease! Powassan virus! That Lonestar tick meat allergy! Paralysis ticks! Acarology taught us all about the eight-legged villains that aim for our crevices, but Disease Ecologist Dr. Andrea Swei offers a deep dive under the skin to learn more about what nasties a tick can give us. We chat a whole bunch about Lyme Disease: its prevalence, testing, treatment, which animals carry it, “chronic Lyme” vs. post-treatment Lyme. We also cover how lizards might harbor a helpful protein, two Ukrainian princesses by the names of Borrelia and Babesia, why you’ll want chickens and possums hanging out at your barbecues, Lyme vaccines, pet care, symptoms, prevention and what scares her most. This one’s a wonderful episode on its own, but is even better as a follow up to Acarology: the nightmare lesson of how ticks work. Listen to the Acarology (TICKS) episode: alieward.com/ologies/acarologyFollow Dr. Swei on Twitter @Andeswei or @SweiLab Donations went to: Union of Concerned Scientists, and 826 ValenciaSponsor links: “You” podcast by Okta; Kiwico.com/Ologies; HelixSleep.com/Ologies; thegreatcoursesplus.com/ologiesMore links at alieward.com/ologies/diseaseecologyBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month: www.Patreon.com/ologiesOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!Follow twitter.com/ologies or instagram.com/ologiesFollow twitter.com/AlieWard or instagram.com/AlieWardSound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray MorrisTheme song by Nick ThorburnSupport the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Does It Feel Like Mosquitoes Are Getting Worse?
Duration: 00:13:19
Released: 2025
Series: Short Wave
Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on the planet, and some of them may be on the rise. At least in listener Abigail Krich-Starr’s area, that’s due to warmer, wetter weather — which, yes, is linked to climate change. But it doesn’t stop there: Ecologists and entomologists say increased heat could also alter mosquito behavior, shift their natural habitat, and even change how pathogens incubate and spread inside their bodies.So how do you protect yourself against the (mosquito) masses? Our experts suggested several things:- Assess your risk by checking local mosquito surveillance efforts, like this one for the state of Massachusetts- Consider rescheduling outdoor events happening between dusk and dawn, which is peak biting time for multiple mosquito species- Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, weather-permitting, to limit exposed skin- Use an EPA-approved DEET repellent, and/or a permethrin spray for clothing and outdoor gearThis episode is part of Nature Quest, a monthly Short Wave segment that answers listener questions about the local environment.Got a question about changes in your local environment? Send a voice memo to shortwave@npr.org with your name, where you live and your question. We might make it into our next Nature Quest episode! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Environmental Toxicology (POISONS + TRAIN DERAILMENT) with Kimberly K Garrett
Environmental Toxicology (POISONS + TRAIN DERAILMENT) with Kimberly K. Garrett
Duration: 01:19:15
Released: 2023
Series: Ologies with Alie Ward
Chemical spills, historical disasters, water quality, airborne toxic events, clear gasses, White Noise, dead fish, dark clouds, chemistry tests, trench coats, PFAS, phthalates, and the Ohio train derailment that plumed vinyl chloride into the skies of a small Ohio town. The lovely and informative Environmental Toxicologist Dr. Kimberly K. Garrett works at the intersection of chemical safety, public health and environmental justice — and she has cool science tattoos. Also: should I burn incense all the time? Visit Dr. Kimberly K. Garrett’s website and follow her on TwitterA donation went to Group Against Smog & Pollution (GASP)Follow GASP on TwitterMore episode sources and linksOther episodes you may enjoy: Conservation Technology (EARTH SAVING), Forensic Ecology (NATURE DETECTIVE), Oceanology (OCEANS), Meteorology (WEATHER & CLIMATE), Melaninology (SKIN/HAIR PIGMENT), Environmental Microbiology (TESTING WASTEWATER), Secrets, Advice + AMA (LANTERNS, ETC.)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, masks, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter and InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter and InstagramEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam MediaTranscripts by Emily White of The WordaryWebsite by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Epidemiology (DISEASES) with ‘This Podcast Will Kill You’s’ Erins Welsh & Allmann-Updyke
Duration: 01:30:28
Released: 2018
Series: Ologies with Alie Ward
TWO epidemiologists-named-Erin – and hosts of the stellar This Podcast Will Kill You – chat with Alie about historical horror stories, THE plague, cholera cocktails, flu shots, tick bombs, milkmaids, witch trials and more as they share their infectious enthusiasm for disease ecology. How much should you wash your hands? What’s the best way to flirt with a stranger on a bus? Why are people scared of vaccines? What conspiracy theory enthralls Alie? So many questions with uncomfy, but fascinating, answers.Listen to This Podcast Will Kill YouFollow TPWKY on TwitterMore episode sources & linksBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter and InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter and InstagramSound editing by Steven Ray MorrisTheme song by Nick Thorburn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
From Hot Take - Yes, We Still Need to Talk About Climate
=# From Hot Take: Yes, We Still Need to Talk About Climate
Duration: 00:28:19
Released: 2020
Series: Drilled: The Propagandist
Amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, some climate activists have been saying “now’s not the time to talk about climate.” On Hot Take, Mary Annaise Hegler and Amy Westervelt discuss the idea that climate and racial justice are connected and influence one another. Find Hot Take here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hantavirus - The Real Rat Race
Duration: 01:03:54
Released: 2019
Series: This Podcast Will Kill You
What do Korea, Slovenia, Finland, and the southwestern US all have in common? If you guessed Hantaviruses, you’d be quite correct. Today we bring you all the details on hantaviruses, from the deadly and terrifying hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, to the less lethal but still horrifying hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. From its long road to discovery, through the infamous 1993 outbreak and up to the present day, you’ll never look at an adorable little deer mouse the same way again. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hantavirus - the risks, the science and what you need to know
Duration: 00:12:57
Released: 2026
Series: Short Wave
On May 2, the World Health Organization got an alarming report: People aboard a ship in the Atlantic Ocean were falling ill. The culprit is now confirmed as hantavirus, a pathogen that some rodents carry that can infect humans in rare, but often deadly, instances. Multiple passengers have died, and more people are showing symptoms. So, we’re talking to Emily Abdoler, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Michigan, about the news – how common is hantavirus in humans, what are the consequences of getting it, and how can at-risk people protect themselves from it? If you found this episode interesting, listen to our episode on Rocky Mountain spotted fever.Interested in more science in the news? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Health - Searching For The Source Of Cyclospora
Duration: 00:43:30
Released: 2026
Series: 1A
You may have heard of a parasite that’s causing some gastrointestinal distress.Cyclospora has sickened thousands of people across 34 states this summer – more than six times the number reported at this point last year. The CDC has linked a major cluster to shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell in some states. And Taylor Farms de Mexico has now pulled all of its iceberg lettuce from the U.S. market despite an FDA finding that reports that its product contained the parasite were a false positive.We answer your questions about what cyclosporiasis is, how you get it, and why investigators have had such a hard time finding the source.Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Health - The DRC Ebola Outbreak Is Spreading At A Rapid Pace. Why?
Duration: 00:45:54
Released: 2026
Series: 1A
The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the deadliest in the country’s history.With over 2,500 deaths and more than 5,000 confirmed cases, it’s now the second largest ever worldwide. And it’s spreading at record speed. It’s even outpacing the West Africa outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people between 2014 and 2016.What do we know about why this outbreak is moving so quickly?Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
How Do You Kill a Mosquito?
Duration: 00:36:25
Released: 2026
Series: Are We Doomed?
Mosquitoes are little jerks. They suck your blood to make more mosquitoes, spread deadly diseases like malaria and dengue, and have killed more humans than any other creature in the history of Earth. But now, we can fight back. Gene-editing technology (CRISPR, gene drives) could temporarily wipe out disease-carrying mosquitoes in whole regions — potentially saving millions of lives. A miracle, but with an unsettling question of its own: Who gets to decide when humanity rewrites nature?Also: radiation-blasted flies, Australian rabbit smoothies, and … Mosquito Jurassic Park.Support Are We Doomed?, get bonus episodes, and more: https://doompod.com/support/ To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
How One Company Secretly Poisoned The Planet
Duration: 00:52:13
Released: 2025
Series: Veritasium
The history of Teflon and exposing the biggest chemical cover up in history - that has polluted the entire global water system and led to potentially dangerous forever chemicals being found in the entire US population. ▀▀▀You’ll find our full back catalogue of hundreds of videos on YouTube . For early access videos, bonus content, and to support the channel, join us on Patreon. ▀▀▀0:00 Killed by Fridges5:27 Teflon and The Manhattan Project7:59 Teflon is Tricky11:37 The Teflon Revolution13:27 Earl Tennant’s Farm17:34 Inside DuPont20:28 Fluoride In Drinking Water 25:00 It’s bigger than that29:23 What is PFAS?35:56 What is in Derek’s blood?37:56 How forever chemicals get into your blood46:18 Removing PFAS from water49:30 Can you lower your PFAS levels?
How PFAS From A Military Base Has Sickened Nearby Residents
Duration: 00:12:44
Released: 2025
Series: Science Friday
For decades, residents of the small city of Newburgh, New York, were unknowingly drinking water contaminated with toxic PFAS—also known as forever chemicals. The source turned out to be firefighting foam used on a nearby air base that had seeped into streams and creeks, and ultimately the city’s main drinking water reservoir.Now, Newburgh is one of 10 sites that are part of a CDC-led study investigating the health effects of PFAS exposure. Early data out of Newburgh links PFAS with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Host Flora Lichtman discusses the research with environmental epidemiologist Erin Bell and reporter Shantal Riley.Read our full story about what PFAS contamination has meant for Newburgh in English and in Spanish.Guests: Shantal Riley is an award-winning journalist and science writer, focused on environmental health.Dr. Erin Bell is an environmental epidemiologist at the University at Albany in New York.Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Inside The Race To Save Honeybees From Parasitic Mites
Duration: 00:18:09
Released: 2024
Series: Science Friday
Last year, almost half of the honeybee colonies in the U.S. died, making it the second deadliest year for honeybees on record. The main culprit wasn’t climate change, starvation, or even pesticides, but a parasite: Varroa destructor.“The name for this parasite is a very Transformer-y sounding name, but … these Varroa destructor mites have earned this name. It’s not melodramatic by any means. [They are] incredibly destructive organisms,” says Dr. Sammy Ramsey, entomologist at the University of Colorado Boulder.These tiny mites feed on the bees and make them susceptible to other threats like diseases and pesticides. They’re also highly contagious: They arrived in the US in 1987, and now they live in almost every honeybee colony in the country. Honeybees pollinate many important crops, like apples, peaches, and berries, and their pollinator services add up to billions of dollars.Ramsey and his lab are trying to put an end to the varroa mites’ spree. Part of their research includes spying on baby bees and their accompanying mites to learn how the parasites feed on the bees and whether there’s a way to disrupt that process.In Boulder, Colorado, SciFri producer Rasha Aridi speaks with Dr. Ramsey and fellow entomologist Dr. Madison Sankovitz about how the varroa mites terrorize bees so effectively, and what it would take to get ahead of them.Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
John Green & Everything Is Tuberculosis
Duration: 00:56:46
Released: 2025
Series: This Podcast Will Kill You
Tuberculosis, or consumption as it was once known, might conjure up images of huge sanitoriums or writers and artists from the late 1800s (Moulin Rouge, anyone?). But this deadly disease is far from an illness of the past. In many parts of the world, tuberculosis remains an insidious killer, despite the fact that we’ve had effective drugs to treat the infection for decades. In this week’s TPWKY book club episode, we’re thrilled to be joined by the one-and-only John Green to chat about his latest book, Everything Is Tuberculosis. Tune in for a fascinating conversation that tours the past, present, and uncertain future of this devastating illness. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAuSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kevin Patterson on Indigenous communities’ heavy metal exposure
Duration: 00:39:54
Released: 2023
Series: Agents of Change in Environmental Justice
Kevin Patterson joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss uranium exposure science, and his own family’s personal experience with the toxic metal.
Land use and zoonoses, California’s earthquake risk and the Tuatara genome
Duration: 00:27:59
Released: 2020
Series: BBC Inside Science
COVID19 is a chilling reminder of how pathogens from animals can jump into humans. But it’s not the first time. SARS, Ebola, West Nile virus and bubonic plague are all serious infectious diseases that sat in a host species before crossing to us. But what causes this to happen? Individual case studies suggest that we are partly to blame in the way we use the land, either through urbanisation or agriculture. But how widespread is this, and do our global patterns of land use systematically put us at risk? Adam talks to environmental biologist David Redding from the Zoological Society of London, and his team, whose new study suggests they do.Jessica Bradford, the Keeper of Collection Engagement at the Science Museum, asks for your help with another mystery object that they’ve uncovered during their recent collection move. Roland Pease reports on the chain of interconnected faults which has stimulated Los Angeles’ preparation for “the big one”, after southern California was hit by one of the biggest earthquakes in the area for decades.Adam also asks Neil Gemmell from the University of Otago in New Zealand about the weird and wonderful Tuatara, whose colossal genome he’s just sequenced.Presenter: Adam Rutherford Producer: Beth Eastwood
More food and money, less disease: Senegal’s surprising eco-experiment
Duration: 00:13:30
Released: 2026
Series: Short Wave
In Senegal, rice farmers are trying to kill three birds with one stone – er, fish. Rice and fish are already a natural combination; they’re even the main ingredients of thieboudienne, the delicious national dish. But could that combination also reduce a debilitating disease, boost food security AND help farmers make more money? A team of researchers are conducting an ambitious experiment to see whether growing rice and fish together can be a win-win-win for Senegal, and NPR’s Jonathan Lambert came along for the ride.Interested in more science-based biological solutions? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. It includes perks like bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Nsilo Berry on making buildings healthier
Duration: 00:45:57
Released: 2023
Series: Agents of Change in Environmental Justice
Nsilo Berry joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss hidden toxics lurking in buildings and what sustainable construction looks like.
Transcript
Brian Bienkowski
All right, I am super happy to be joined by Nsilo Berry. Nsilo, how you doing today?
Nsilo Berry
I’m chillin’, man. Really good outside Portland here in Oregon’s pretty decent right now. And I don’t think it’s raining right now at the moment, i might say so. So, but the last few weeks have been kind of pouring. So I like the rain. So I’m kind of disappointed it’s not raining, actually.
Brian Bienkowski
Well, I drove home in in a snowstorm yesterday from west of where I live. And I’m the same I’m strange and that I like the bad weather. There’s something about it that does something to the mood. Well, speaking of, speaking of place, let’s let’s go way back to the beginning. So you’re not originally from Portland, you grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. So tell me about your upbringing and how you think it shaped you
Nsilo Berry
Yeah, great question. My parents, my mother specifically was in the military. So I did a lot of moving around. One of the other senior fellows, Lariah, she had a similar experience in her podcast talking about that. So for me, I kind of connected with that as well. So for me moving around, seeing different, a bunch of different places living with a bunch of different family, extended family in particular. But we started in St. Louis around 2000s, my mom got out of the military, if she had my brother in the late 90s, she took a job as a flight attendant. And so we kind of settled down there, it’s kind of being like our home base. So growing up in St. Louis was a really, really unique situation for me a really fun time kind of growing up African American middle class family. And so for us, it was really important about just kind of experience different things growing up. I was in Boy Scouts, became an Eagle Scout, went to public school, went the private school, had a chance to to be part of different liberal organizations grown up throughout the community. And so for me, St. Louis is really kind of the foundation for who I am today. A lot of my great friends still live there today. Fell in love with sports there too. And so for me, St. Louis has a special place in my heart. But really, you know, when I became a teen, I felt like I just kind of outgrew the place because in that in a way it is kind of small. And so once you kind of do everything there, I was looking out to the world and so living next to the airport was kind of this always “my head in the clouds” in a way type of thing, because I saw plants come and go. And so I was like, “you know, I’m gonna be on the next plane out of here when I have an opportunity to see the world for myself.”
Brian Bienkowski
I want to hear more about Eagle Scouts. Was this something that was just something that was part of your family did other people go through this and and did it open your eyes at all to the environment and nature?
Nsilo Berry
Yeah, my father he was in he was in Boy Scouts when he was growing up. But he had a bad train accident when he was little and he lost his legs. And so now he’s permanently disabled. But for him being part of just kind of that environment. And at the time, it was kind of just the young boys growing up together. So for me, Boy Scouts was a way to just experience the space around me and my community, but also to nature. So camping was a big part of that. So having a chance to go into different cabin reservations, explore the campsite, keeping them clean, of course, but also respecting the space in nature around you and also having an understanding of kind of like animals and environment and ecosystem too, also while learning different skills. Like for example, I remember through Boy Scouts, I had a chance to ride a horse. I don’t think I would have ever done that if it would have been for Boy Scouts or something like that, right? starting a fire, surviving, putting tents together. And for me Eagle Scouts is the highest rank of that too. And so that was just an opportunity for me to go grow outside of myself, but also challenging myself and also do with some of my great friends. They recently just had, I think the Eagle Scout organization just had their 50th anniversary. And so I had a chance in a book to talk about my experience, I got a book back from that. And one thing that was unique about kind of where I grew up is that all my closest friends, like three of my closest friends, all Black, all Eagle Scouts, which is really unique for that scenario, and the situation at the time in St. Louis. So thank you, my troop, troop 531. And then the leaders at the time to help me shape that and also my friends was incredibly invaluable experience I still talk about to the to this day that people ask about my resume, you know, when I bring it up, or when I talk about it.
Brian Bienkowski
That’s so cool. And I think I mistakenly call that Eagle Scout. So it’s Boy Scouts, but Eagle Scout is something that you reach
Nsilo Berry
Yeah, it’s that it’s the highest rank in Boy Scouts. So it’s like through all kinds of your merit badge collection, camping, being in leadership positions, but also kind of culminating in an Eagle Scout project. And so that project is then kind of encapsulate, encapsulate all the work that you’ve done over kind of the period of your scouting career. And then you do that project, you get it approved, then you talk about certain things. And so you got to do that before your 18s, like when you age out. And so I was able to do that, got my Eagle Scout, and then graduated high school, and then you know, went on to college, and so on and so forth.
Brian Bienkowski
I promise I’ll move on from this, but I’m fascinated. What was your project?
Nsilo Berry
yeah, it was a I worked at. So we have a there’s an eagle bird sanctuary in Missouri. And so they do a bunch of different projects with scouting, scouts and stuff like that. So I chose a project related to honeysuckle kind of extermination. Honeysuckle in Missouri at the time is an invasive species. So it sucks up the nutrients of local kind of ecology and wildlife in the area. And it makes it hard for other animals like deer to kind of eat the native plants that are responsible for it, and they can’t eat it fast enough, then fashion grows. And so honeysuckle getting to suck the nutrients out of all local plant life. And so for me, I chose that –I have this weird kind of masochistic thing where I got to do the hardest thing and challenge myself– And what’s all about layering, I guess, when it comes to sports and stuff like that. So I said, they said, Hey, we have this problem, honeysuckle, can you help us get rid of it? I said no problem. So I got a bunch of pals together, my friends and I people, my troop troop mates, we went together started pulling the honeysuckle out, put them on the palette. So they they they can be exterminator take it to another place, an exterminator burned, whatever the case may be. So we put all those out. And after that, they came back, I think there was another project that kind of ran concurrently with mine. And that was replaced with other more natural life species, plant-like species that were able to be then eaten and maintained by the local plant life and animal life there too. Another one, my friends build the bird cage at the bird sanctuary. So we have a lot of people that kind of just like involve ourselves within that space. And so super thankful to that organization and the people there at the bird sanctuary. And I’m really thankful for the opportunity too. I think I have like a plaque somewhere on a tree over there. But I haven’t been back in so long. I haven’t really like confirmed or anything like that, too. But really unique experience for that.
Brian Bienkowski
Yeah, that’s so cool. Thanks so much for sharing that. And it sounds like there was a lot of a lot of engagement with the environment and nature here. But this kind of leads into my next question is where did kind of science in the environment come into play during those early years?
Nsilo Berry
Yeah, like, and I don’t know, if you remember this, I don’t know if this is the St. Louis thing. But in the summer, this is back when West Nile virus was like a huge thing, right. And so they used to have these trucks, they used to go around spraying these chemicals throughout the neighborhoods. And it was to help maintain mosquito birth and help decline and helps prevent that from happening. But it always smells so nasty all the time. You knew when they were coming out, you didn’t want to be outside with your friends, when the vehicle come out. The vehicle didn’t care, they would just drive by you probably wave out I’m not thinking twice about because the same person doing the work every single day. But it had this really bad smell to it. And so I always thought about like, what does that like that can’t be good for you know, people coming inside, I know, my parents would tell me to come inside when that pressure would come outside. So I had this weird kind of, this weird kind of relationship with things like that happening in our neighborhood and thinking about these type of things. But the most I was growing up I knew about mold obviously, I knew about lead in water those type of things. But for me, that was kind of where that that fascination with the environment in the things came apart. My family has always been into respecting the where you where you go, where you come from, and leaving places better than where you found them, which also has to be a scout slogan, too, as well, we’re talking about the environment as well. And so those type of things kind of just reinforced kind of personal behaviors of mine. And when I think about the world, animals, and the environment around us when it comes to to care about these things that then extended through my education, and then ultimately into where we are now when we talk about environmental justice and housing and other sorts and also toxic materials, too. So that’s kind of where all those foundation things, the initial curiosity came into play but then, you know, formalized with, you know, formal education practice and also experiences and talking to people and so on and so forth.
Brian Bienkowski
Yeah, and you’ve been able to take these these early values and make a career out of it, which is very cool. And before we get to that, which we’re going to I want to know what is the defining moment or event that shaped your identity up to this point?
Nsilo Berry
Yeah, it’s it’s a big one. And I think that it kind of leads into the question we talked about, some of the work I did in Africa. And for me, that’s the biggest one. I had an opportunity when I was in college, undergraduate at Drexel University in Philadelphia, to travel to the Gambia, Western Africa, very small country in Africa. And so I had opportunity to work as a kind of biomedical engineer and in a program there through their Drexel University. And for me, you know, as an, as an African American person growing up in America, obviously, there’s you have the understanding of kind of like, think about it like point z, which is obviously being in America. So obviously, knowing that I’m an American here at this point. But point A being what is the beginning point of that? We know it’s historically Africa. But we but we don’t have any kind of like formal connection to that as as Black people here unless you kind of trace your lineage back through slavery, and so on, and so forth. And so for me having the opportunity to really go back to Africa and reconnect with kind of that part, knowing that, not necessarily specifically knowing what maybe what tribe or what kind of country that I emanate from, my family came from, but really just having this, this influence of understanding of some part of me feels connected to this continent in a certain way. And that will be one thing that, you know, for anybody who, who goes back to a place that they know that their family comes from, but especially a Black person going back to the continent, I think having the opportunity to really immerse yourself in the culture and the people around you is, was the biggest shapeshifting thing. I had a person tell me, he said, Hey, Nsilo, you look, I can show you a picture, you look just like one of my cousins here, right? And that’s me, I’ve, that’s the crazy thing I’ve ever heard, right? I’ve never, I’ve never really got that in the United States. But having somebody saying that, to me was just like this opportunity. Like you have people here that there is some lineage here of you that, you know, comes from this place here. And that, to me is the biggest, I think one of the biggest shapeshifting opportunities for myself, I turned 21 there. So it was a coming-of-age thing for me personally, to experience that in Africa. And so that has, to me, is the ultimately the biggest Shapeshifter when it comes to my identity, and thinking about Africa and talking about and supporting the economy, even to this day.
Brian Bienkowski
That’s so cool. And I know at the time you were working at the intersection of engineering, public health and environmental justice while you were down there. So can you tell us about the actual work while you were there, and any challenges working in a different country, and also any victories, any good things that came with the work?
Nsilo Berry
Yeah, a lot of the work involved, I worked with a group called Power Gambia and they’re a solar kind of working group. And they work with kind of with renewable energies. And so they have a claim that they invested in down there, where they have solar energy, really, to the clinic, because a lot of sun when it comes to kind of petrol fuel sources, they’re unreliable, they’re hard to get. And at the hospital, they can go to anytime. And so in a hospital, you obviously need functioning things in order to help with kind of the patients in in different things in the moment, so. So for me, they have these things called solar suitcases, and these are kind of like, like a smaller miniature version of solar power systems, where you can then connect them to different clinics. And so I had the opportunity with me, and another another woman named Mary, she was a journalist, but also did some nursing stuff down there, too. And so we traveled throughout these different clinics here and installed the solar suitcases in these different clinics. And throughout all different parts of Gambia traveled the whole, the whole country there. And for that, for that reason, there were people, doctors delivering children with kind of thing about like an old Nokia phone, with a flashlight in their mouth, delivering the child, you know, in the dark, right. And so these are kind of things that where they have the opportunity now to have the solar system where if the child did come at, you know, a inconvenient time like children do, especially when they’re being born, obviously, they had opportunities now to have the adequate equipment, the lighting sources to have say, hey, we can deliver shot in a safe environment, where we can then have the right tools to do what we have to do but also if you have to escalate the issue to another clinic, we have the ability to make that communication and say, Hey, we need to go to the bigger clinic in a closer neighborhood or closer community, so we can get the children what they need. So a lot of that work on that development type of things. And also just kind of fixing, you know, equipment throughout these different hospitals, a lot of people would ask you to do certain things for them. So leaving things again, better than what I found them, but also investing in these clinics for long term so that they can have things that they need, because it is hard to get these places. Like if you don’t have the proper four-by-four vehicle, a lot of places are hard to get to a lot of people use donkey cart, which is very, you know, when we’re talking about an emergency, just not economical and not viable. Or people use transportation, which is hard to get to as well. And then after that significant walking obviously, because the distances are just so vast on the continent, especially in Gambia too, even as a small place, a small country. So that’s what much of my work centered around that. I had a whole hospital also an opportunity to travel to different parts of the country, especially during the holidays and stuff like that, too. So, but again, very, very important. The victories part of that world, having just opportunity to meet different people, to get some of this equipment up as equipment was, is hand-me-down equipment, so things that hospitals don’t need anymore, they pass to the clinic, and a lot of times they’re broken, they’re not very viable. So I had to fix them and then had to send the information to the other people that are addresses, that are there, so they know how to fix it when I’m gone. And so those are type of things that I think for me ultimately the most frustrating thing because you know if you want to be you want to see people succeed, you give them the best chance to, that’s what, I think that’s what a great coach will always told me so you know when you’re good giving bad equipment and people coming to you don’t really see them, you don’t want to see them succeed. It’s just something that you know how no longer have to pay for, to maintain, so you’re passing that along with somebody else to deal with that, which to me, I think is completely unfair if you’re talking about kind of like helping people and giving people the best opportunity to be kind of successful in their own environment. So that’s the biggest challenge. But you know, everybody else around it knows kind of their situation. And they’re constantly working to better their situation, which is always, to me, the most kind of respect I have for the group and the people that work in those environments in those places.
Brian Bienkowski
And maybe this is hard to answer. But I’m wondering, how you’ve carried that forward, that feeling that you had of having been there and having met people? And that sense of place? How was that? How have you carried that forward?
Nsilo Berry
Yeah, that’s a great question. I think for me, when I got there as a 20 year old initially, there’s this kind of feeling like, um I, what I’m the stuff am I doing isn’t impactful enough, there was a moment in in when I was working there, where I was walking to kind of my office, and you see some there was somebody on a morgue, they were covered up, and I mean, on a gurney, they’re covered up deceased, and there’ll be taken to the morgue. And so it’s free, that’s a real moment of kind of understanding, of really understanding that, you know, this is people’s lives are on the line here, like, and the work that I’m doing has impact on people’s lives. And so that responsibility weighed on me in a way where it didn’t feel like a burden, or something that you would fall but felt like a responsibility and a moment of opportunity to be your best version of yourself through the combination of work and training that you got up to this very moment here. And so I took that kind of that, that motivation, and carried that with me, but also with that, but also with the support of the people in the clinic who trusted I knew that I knew what I was doing there, right, that would in middle night would call me to come fix the oxygen concentrator for somebody that was you know, that needed it, that would come in and say, hey, great job on this great job in this facility, we need your we need you to go to this clinic in this part of the Gambia. And so I took that, that that motivation and courage and that support. And that’s something that’s been stuck with me throughout this moment in time, everywhere I’ve gone. And it’s always this kind of this, this idea that wherever where I am in that moment, I’m supposed to be there. Because the work that I put in, prove that I’m supposed to be there. I had a moment in college and I forget this was kind of like, I was in a lecture hall, giant lecture hall, and we’re talking about, you know, electronic stuff about, the teacher’s laying out their expectations and what to expect from you. And I remember coming on to lecture hall, just got because like 18 or so. And I felt like at the moment in time, the stage was too bright for me, like metaphorically speaking, like, I don’t know if I can handle this., I remember I called my mom from the lunchroom at Drexel. I was like, You know what, I’m gonna transfer, I’m gonna get into something else. Like, in that moment, I really want to run away from that thing. And my mom said something that was just the simplest thing, but she said “Nsilo, you know, where you are? I’m like, I’m at school, and she said,”the job of the teachers there is to also to teach you those things, too, right?” And I said, You know what, that makes a ton of sense. So that all that anxiety I had pent up about I should know these things already. What didn’t make any sense in that moment? Because I’m getting to a place where they’re supposed to teach me how to how to put these connections together, how to solder this, how to do that, what is the capacitor? What is that, whatever. I said, You know what, okay, I’ll do that. And from then on, I take in the moment, like, when I’m jumping into something new, this is the first moment where I’m gonna be the least kind of knowledgeable on the situation, and then you build upon that day each and every single day doesn’t mean they’re not gonna be harder days later. But this is the moment in time where you’re gonna just be the most lack of you’re gonna have the most lack of knowledge in the moment. And that you can build upon that moving forward. And so I’ve always kind of taken that mindset. And then really, from there jumping in things with both feet, and then figure them out as you go in that thing, with the support of others in your team and people around you too.
Brian Bienkowski
those things are so common among successful people, I think. Both learning humility, I think is really important. But also, there’s something and I see it with people in this program all the time, is people who are really hard on themselves, you know, feel like you should know all these things. But learning to rely on others is so important. So I want to fast forward to your work that you’re doing now, which ehn.org is very familiar with, because we’ve we’ve worked with, worked with you folks a little bit. So you are at the Healthy Building Network. And I don’t think most people think of buildings when they think of toxic chemicals. So first off, what are the concerns there? And how do these materials impact people’s health?
Nsilo Berry
And that’s a great question, Brian, for me, think about it like this. I want everybody who listened to the podcast, think about how much time you spent within the building, whether it’s your home, whether it’s a place of worship, whether it’s your work, whether it’s a school, right? think about what that really means and compare that to the time you spend outside, right, I’m not talking about like cracking a window from inside your home, but really spending time outside. I think people will be hard pressed to think that they spent a lot of their time inside, taking in kind of all the fumes and the materials that they build from, either from furniture or from carpet or for whatever the case may be or from maybe paint that they maybe they painted a new room in their home or something like that. Um, so when it comes to toxic materials, we’re talking about things that, you know, manufacturers put into their their products to make them more viable, to last longer on the shelves. But oftentimes these things have detriments on kind of our development human beings. Rather, it’s kind of things related to carcinogens, things related to kind of developmental toxics, it’s for individuals who are pregnant, or things that just don’t go away what you call PBTS, a persistent biochemical bioaccumulative, toxic, it’s things that just don’t go away, they’re mad annoying, trust me, right. And so when we talk about these, these chemicals, and the impact of these, these are some things that if I go into a room for like an hour or so and then leave, okay, and I never go back in the room, that’s one thing. But we’re sleeping in these, we’re staying in these, we’re building our lives in these. And so that’s where kind of the, the systems of these chemicals begin to infiltrate into ourselves, in our body. And our body begins to kind of be impacted on these in a way where we see more cases of higher asthma in poor housing, right? we see higher incidence of carcinogens and people who work in PVC locations or PVC factories, right? we see these things where individuals are becoming contracted with the disease at a higher rate, right, where it just doesn’t make sense compared to the rest of the population, right. And then you start looking at kind of the digest of materials when it comes to building homes. And places that have affordable housing are built with legacy systems, poor materials that that needs to be replaced, that haven’t been replace compared to maybe a suburban home, that has the most green places, is the most green kind of facility or home management, whatever you want to say, that has just a much more healthy kind of one, functional way to it, but also scientifically, a lot healthier compared to the individuals who live in the community housing that you might see in more urban areas. So think about, think about the impact of that. And think about kind of what that means for you long term, what that means for your kids. And what that means kind of for individuals who might find themselves kind of immuno-compromised, but also develop conditions, you think that would just don’t make quite much sense when you compare it to either your cohort, the people who live next to you or the people who live in different communities that you see just lower incidences of these type of things like asthma, like the development of cancer in particular. So that’s kind of where those those kinds of two fields intersect. It’s one of the type of things that if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’re not going to find it, you don’t think it’s just a home I’m coming into. But people have an idea when they see these type of things about, I don’t feel safe in this home, this home feels kind of like a kind of maybe like a prison, I don’t feel healthy in this place. I want to get out of this place. We have this intuition as human beings. So I think it’s very interesting to, to think about too, when it comes to kind of the place that we live and where we, you know, make our lives and so on and so forth.
Brian Bienkowski
I think the bringing up the idea that low-income housing is often more saddled with these things is really important. Because when I talk to people about the work that we do on toxic chemicals, is you okay, yes, it’s bad, you’re exposed to something that could harm you. It’s bad, but then you think about the downstream impacts. So you have a family who’s already low income, now is saddled with health problems and their children are, so is their health care available? they probably don’t have adequate access to health care or aren’t offered from their jobs if they’re low income. So it’s the cycle, you know, and then the kids are growing up in an environment that makes them sick more, and then they stay in low income housing and the cycle continues. So I think it’s important to think about these kinds of generational impacts. And it’s just kind of a system keeping the foot on the throat of certain, certain groups of people. So I think that work, the work that you’re doing is very important. And where does kind of Healthy Building Network fit into this? Is it just on kind of the advocacy of safer materials and trying to get these bad actors out of building materials?
Nsilo Berry
Yeah, as a we, we kind of ourselves as a research organization. And that’s where we are. So a lot of the work that we’re doing, we put together, we look into research. So we’re looking at a bunch of safety data sheets, and harmful product declarations, what are in these chemicals? How do we get rid of them, but also how we manage them too. Another part of our work is kind of managing our Pharos database, which is a database full of different chemicals that come together from different lists and regulatory lists throughout the world. So we have lists from Japan, we have lists from America, we have lists from Canada, Europe, that list where these kinds of chemicals fall on these different registrar’s and what they mean for kind of the the human impact, but also environmental impact too, where they’re talking about ozone depletion in particular, as well, but also kind of where these chemicals fall among kind of the toxic spaces and, and kind of how do we get the information out to people so they know, architects know, building owners know, developers know, “hey, I’m putting this type of paint that has these type of chemicals in it, just so you know, this chemicals are associated with these types of hazards. So you got to make better decisions here.” Right and also part of our work is creating these kind of this product guidance or these how to spectra that shows you kind of ranking these things from like a stoplight system like saying hey, Green has the least toxics in it, where Red is kind of the worst type of thing you want to avoid these type of things and really, you know a lot of our guys is kind of staying out of this kind of orange zone and moving away from the red and and making the the easy wins and the easy victory so to speak, when it comes to kind of developing your home and putting kind of the best things in your home for the right reason, so to speak. So that’s where we fall on it. We’re a small organization. So we have to know our limitations. So when it comes to the advocacy side, Brian of it, a lot of it is working with groups like coming clean, for example, health organizations like that, who have the kind of the bandwidth to kind of do the more kind of vocal stuff or working with kind of more grassroots things related to that maybe like the NAACP, they have a great CSBs sustainable equity, and the sustainable building sector. That’s the kind of their side organization is related to building. So working groups like that, when it comes to the activist side of it to help kind of push that message out, helps with kind of our work so that we’re not overextending ourselves, too. Because I think as researchers, I think that one thing we have to kind of do is focus on our thing, but find the ways where we can work with other people in a team to impact the space more kind of effectively.
Brian Bienkowski
And are there examples of whether it’s companies, building practices, projects that you’re seeing that are doing this construction in a healthy, sustainable way?
Nsilo Berry
Yeah, there’s two that come into mind. We worked with a group called Sara architects, I believe they were started in Portland, but they have offices in California. It was a demonstration project that we work with them about a new project they’re building in California for individuals who are low income, low income housing. And for them, they’re really I really want to champion them as an organization because they care about healthy materials, and building them and making them part of their mission there too. So they came to us, we talked about the project and they said, “Hey, we’re building these prizes with these so many units here. What are the ways that we can improve this project to make sure we can make it the healthiest as possible as viable within a kind of our constraints, our budget, so on and so forth.” So we have the opportunity to go back and forth with them. So my colleagues… we did a great job at kind of telling us, okay, this is a victory. This is a point here, you can do choose better paint here. What about the drywall here? What about the carpet here? Making just better decisions throughout that so people don’t have to think about that, because you mentioned that earlier, Brian, people saddled with all these issues here. And I think part of our work is it’s kind of take that burden off of them. So they can focus on the things within their lives, rather than thinking about, hey, can you replace these pipes, can you places drywall, can you replace this paint for me, like those things should already be taken care for. If you care about the people early on, that’s something that people shouldn’t have to worry about. They should be trusting that coming into a home, they’re getting a safe product, like almost like ordering some food, they’re getting a safe, healthy, you know, dish that they’re getting here, it hasn’t been tainted with this, and it has good, you know, products in it, ingredients in it, so to speak. And the same thing should be with your home too. When you’re coming into your house, you space, those things should also be healthy too. I don’t care if the person is low income, I don’t care if the person is a veteran, that has no impact on those type of things. In comparison, we’re talking about individuals who are higher income, who are more privileged, right, those things should be the same for both people. And so that group is a group that gets that we’ve worked with them previously, we do a bunch of webinars with them. And so that’s something that they care about, too, as well. Another group is United Interest for Justice, a community grassroots organization based in Minnesota. And they did a great job at working with different groups and helping getting people away from abusive landlords. And doing so they take over the the kind of the, the the tenant to take over the apartment complex. And in doing so they have the opportunity now, to redefine what’s important to us, what are the things that matter to us, more building these apartment complexes out, right. So a lot of it is retroactive birchbark, and get these old materials out that didn’t replace, we’re getting this old paint out, they didn’t replace, we’re getting this old drywall out, they didn’t replace so working with kind of the local banks and getting the loans that they need, but also working with us to say, Hey, if you’re going to replace your place, think about this paint that you should be using because this paint doesn’t have XY and Z in it. Right to help with kind of long term impacts we’re talking about. We’re talking about furniture, look with furniture that doesn’t have halogenated flame retardants in it. Right? So working with a group like that, who’s taken the opportunity to say, hey, we’re at the foundation, we need to start building a foundation properly. So how do we how do we reach out to Who do you work with so those are two groups that I believe that, you know, when they’re talking about a foundation, they know kind of who to get involved early with. And so when it comes to health materials start early, it is a lot easier and a lot cheaper for you in the long run to put the stuff in at the beginning. Rather than try to come come back in later or try to redefine processes later, where you kind of have the systematic approach to something already, it is a lot harder to redefine behavior that you learn especially bad habits, rather than starting a good habit and building upon good habits moving forward. That’s a lot more. And that’s I think that’s a lot more fundamental, fundamentally viable for your organization moving forward, but also for the people who occupy your space that you build, moving forward to as well. So start with good habits early, build on good habits later and maintain those in the present. That’s what helps impact healthy materials, you know, on a systematic level.
Brian Bienkowski
It’s a great point. I mean, the most obvious example of that is lead paint, right? I mean, we use lead paint for years and to try to get rid of it in houses now create sometimes creates more problems because you’re just kicking up dust. So that points well taken. So in your Agency of Change essay you talked about inadequate affordable housing in the US and ways to do it better. So you’ve talked about the links between toxics in the home and low income housing, but this essay was more about just being able to afford a home. I mean, you talked a little bit about healthy materials, but it was more about just having homes that are affordable and something you can be proud of. Can you explain why this too is a health issue and how this fits into your Healthy Buildings work?
Nsilo Berry
Yeah, that’s a great question I mentioned at the end of it, starting with kind of the fundamentals and the foundation, which I kind of ended my essay with come to that point, too, as well. And the point is that is that we’re talking about healthy materials. Think about it like this. It’s a it’s it’s a part of the umbrella that you go way down in the chain it but it’s not the biggest part that covers the entire kind of encapsulation of affordable housing. Like for me, you have to begin with the foundation part of it, which is affordable housing and wheeling starting with those those positive systematic impacts. If you cannot do that, then when you get to healthy materials, you’re just not going to have the time or the space or the opportunity to say, hey, we need to get this lead paint out of here, right? The lead paint being in those in those homes. That is a systematic that people did way back when that people now have to live with today till today. So getting those out, and it’s going to cost even more money, it’s going to be a retroactive issue that builds up over time, like, and so we’re talking about groups like NYCHA, for example, who I was critical of in the essay, it’s not that because people in there don’t care about that they don’t have the opportunity or the space to care about these type of things. Because they’re, they don’t have a lot of individuals who are committed as far as just kind of having the the power, the employee power to do what they have to do. But it becomes an increasingly expensive issue when your organization is lacking the funding either from state or from a federal sense to make the change that you need required, right, it’s a lot more, it’s a lot easier to have just a plot of land and build up and have everything that’s just clean and green, and so on and so forth, rather than having these old decrepit buildings, tearing them down, building them back up doing this doing that getting construction in there, it all becomes a logistical nightmare, because these are in urban areas with surrounding businesses, and you have to get permits, and it becomes just a thing where at this point, why are we even talking about the materials at this point? there are so many other issues that linger throughout this place that healthy materials is not even like, you just listen to me like, like five minutes in like a community hearing just because you have to, you know, do have the time or whatever the case may be so. So when it comes to healthy materials, you know, I like to advocate for solution that when it becomes really sensible and viable to do so just saying, hey, we need to do these things. That’s great. Right? But you have to understand the concept of what you’re asking people to do what you’re asking for folks, right? If people get to them, say, hey, we can we can talk about health materials law, like United Interest for Justice, right? That’s a great opportunity talk about that moment, after they secured the new apartments after they secured after the move away from the landlords, after they secured the funding, rather than trying to talk to them as they’re going through this kind of this logist this kind of legislative nightmare to try and beat the landlord, the abusive landlord from you know, getting separating them from their the current apartment complexes, right. So you have to have this opportunity to understanding when to do these things, and get to people early, but be smart about and recognize kind of what’s on their plate, and not just pile more stuff on there. Because if you’re piling a bunch of solutions that aren’t, that aren’t, that people cannot hold together, it’s all just going to fall apart. You’ve seen that before in a bunch of different spaces where people try to do too much. You have to do enough in the moment and be forceful in those moments, to then push things forward at the next moment, if that makes sense, right?
Brian Bienkowski
It does make sense and your point about almost making it for people who are doing the building and making those decisions, making it an economic win for them, you’re not going to have to go in and redo things and constantly be changing things do it right from the beginning, and then you save money in the long run. Unfortunately, we don’t we don’t often think like that. What are people that are making decisions don’t. So before I switch gears a little bit and get into some fun stuff I’d like to ask folks some of this work can be can be heavy, although it sounds like you guys have had some some significant victories along the way. But what makes you optimistic in this space?
Nsilo Berry
And it’s a great question. I think for me, the big part of is that I’m I’m meeting different people every day that that that are that one wants to have the conversation, but how can materials which is important in anything, but are saying hey, let’s do a project together. Let’s do these things together. So they’re reaching out to us or to other organizations about the materials. They want to know more about them, and maintaining a relationship and moments like that. So we can build upon kind of a new culture of healthy materials. That’s what makes me the most optimistic about it today. I think that a lot of kind of in in having it being a small organization that we are as HBN we have a lot of influence and a lot of different space from either connections and people knowing us. And so we’re, we get constantly invited to talk about things to do about to do these things. But I think something that we’re now asking people to is that if you’re going to ask them do these things. What are you being committed to after this conference, right? Don’t just take this this weekend here in June or July just to have us here. But let’s build upon something moving forward. You know, how are you building these practices into your architecture firm? How are you building these things into local legislation? if you’re part of kind of like statewide legislation that comes to housing, these things are things that people are excited to do, and we brainstorm and we have this conversation with them about. So I think for me, that’s the most optimistic part about this. And I think people are getting to the moment where we’re understanding that, that you know, as the dawdling can’t continue to go on, because that means that the people who are most saddled with this, as you mentioned, Brian, continue to still be in that situation, we don’t have time to dot all this, we know what the issues are, we know what the problems are, it is now to start building things, you know, correctly moving forward. And course correcting kind of that work that we that was done previous before us a proof of work jumped into these positions, up position until today. So a lot of that is, I think, for me, where my optimism lies in this kind of work. And I’m really excited about the the people that I’ve met, and the people that I’ve continued to meet, that are doing this work, and it seems like you’re just meeting different people in different spaces in different kind of, you know, you know, positions that you don’t have the influence to say, hey, you know, we’re gonna start doing this now moving forward. And to me, that’s a big victory, because that’s gonna mean something to that family that moves into that development two years from now, right. And that’s gonna be something to you know, that generation, family, and so on, and so forth. So and that community, so to speak. So that, to me is where my I think my optimism lies the most.
Brian Bienkowski
That’s excellent. And I mean, those kinds of collaborations in my work to you, when you start realizing that a lot of people are rowing in the same direction, and you can kind of combine your power is, it really is a bright spot in a lot of this environmental work. So you mentioned earlier, taking the hardest path and being a masochist. And maybe in sports. Well, I’m a Detroit Lions fan. So I, I think I may be when the masochism on that front. But I want to talk about sports, we had a chance in person to talk about this. And I know, we’re both sports fans. So what’s, what role do they play in your life? And who are some of your must-see teams?
Nsilo Berry
Yeah, absolutely. I think sports for me is a big part of kind of what I think about today, I watched less kind of the sport debate shows just because I think they’re so dramatic and really corny at times, but, but I’m always down to have a sports conversation with people that I work with, and things like that. But for me, sports is has been a big part of kind of my development as a person. I think it helps me kind of understand this, this understanding of, you know, when you make a decision, you have to understand a few things associated with that. One, you have to make the choice. So kind of the courage and bravery to do so. The second part is understanding sacrifice, and other part is consequence. So those are those three type of things. I think I learned that from playing sports and understanding that these things all play a role in the space here, especially in a team sport, right? There’s gonna be people next to you, you don’t know how hard in the offseason they’re working to do their, their their game, right. But if they put on that same jersey, as you, they’re your teammate in this moment, and you gotta live with whatever happens in that moment, whether you make this a mistake, whether they make a mistake, it’s, it is what it is, but you have to live with that. And that’s something that you accept when you put that jersey on, right. So that’s the decision you have to make. I think for me understanding consequence and sacrifice, I think about those things when I make decisions today even kind of in my in my work, but also kind of in in my personal life too, as well. And I think it helped me understand that you know, anything worth having, you have to make a certain sacrifice for it. And I think that when we talk about certain things, and we discuss things, maybe on a more kind of political and societal level, I think we, the patterns that we run into, are individuals unable to understand that they have to make the sacrifice, or they don’t want to make a sacrifice, because they want to have it all. And you really can’t have it all. If you want to see the changes that you want to see as a society, we’re gonna have to make a sacrifice on this particular issue. It’s going to be certain consequences, you might get a certain backlash from your group or constituents. But there’s some things that you have to do. We’ve seen that when, when we talked about kind of January 6, and the attack on the Capitol, you saw the Republicans who said, Hey, I think we should have a committee, and you saw the backlash they got from their other constituents on that, right. So those type of things were, that’s the kind of a sacrifice and you get frozen out from that. And you might have just killed your own political career, because you went against the grain of everybody else associated with you, right. And so that’s just one example. But that’s kind of how we talked about it on the bigger scale, and we tried to have it all but you really can’t have it all. You have to make a decision. And I think and I think having that helps me understand, face disappointment, helps me helps me kind of understand success, and helps me how to build upon the next day too. Because that moment doesn’t signify everything for you. You also have the opportunity in the next moment to be better than you were in this previous moment. Whether that whether that was a victory or a loss in that current moment, you can still build upon the next one. And so we’ll be talking about kind of like my favorite teams watch obviously being from me, I should say, obviously, I’m a huge Eagles fan. So watching that stuff, obviously tough loss in the Super Bowl. I don’t want to talk about it – I blame Rihanna dammit, you know, that halftime show. I’m just kidding, just kidding, she was sensational, sensational image, even if she was pregnant she was sensational in that half-time show, really. But somebody like Patrick Mahomes is it’s must-see TV. Like, if you want to lose to somebody, you want to somebody who might be one of the greatest ever do it. Like, he might be those people like you know, we’ve talked about great players he prevented a lot of other great players win winning championships because he was so damn good. That to me is incredible and but also seems more like Andy Reid in it, it takes the pain away less. I did cry dude, after I was mad because I spent so much money on food. I My, People came over, I sent them home, I think I closed my door and I think I just went to sleep. I maybe cried. I think I woke up I saw some tears my pillows. But the point is that but people like that it’s just people you have to, you have to respect people like that. Those people who go through it, who fought he was having a bad ankle, he fought through it, still was able to a way to get through it. Even Jalen Hurts, our own quarterback, bad fumble comes back brings the team back, he was going toe to toe with him, with Patrick Mahomes. And so someone like that is someone you’re incredibly proud of as Eagles fan to see that. So, for me, it’s always going to be the Eagles, Mercy TV. And now so I’m Patty. So Dallas is my must-see TV two, because they’re going to disappoint you, when you need the most to do it. They’re gonna disappoint you too. So there must-see TV too, for me as well. So, but no, I think that’s sports, for me is an incredible moment and something that I think about even to this day, and I love of course, the competition of it, there’s some competition, I think is is very beneficial for your growth. People understand it’s not about the person you’re facing on the field or wherever you are, that person is a physical manifestation of an impediment in that moment, because I personally want to change next week when you come to a different type of game, right? So it’s not the person, that’s important, right? It’s that moment, and how do you overcome that moment, and that’s the preparation to your teamwork, to the sacrifice, to the consequence, all those decision making. That’s what’s important in that space. And I love that part of sports so much.
Brian Bienkowski
I do too. And I think you put it really well, all the lessons you draw from playing sports and, and watching it to a large extent too and learning from the people that that that put up all that sacrifice. There’s a couple other things I’d add, and maybe they’re not as important, but I feel like sports is a real connector for me. I mean, the first time I met you, I mean, we talked about it I when I when I don’t see my uncle’s who maybe I disagree with on all kinds of other things. It’s something it’s common, it’s just common ground. It’s something that we connect with. And the other thing is it’s it’s relatively light. Like I could listen to podcasts on sports throughout the day and not feel the existential crises of the work that we engage in. So I like that about it a lot too. Awesome. Well, the sale this has been a lot of fun. I have a few more questions here. And this is just rapid fire three questions where you can just answer with one word, or a phrase. So if I could vacation, anywhere it would be
Nsilo Berry
I’d be in a submarine or on a boat, traveling the seas for an extended period of time that I would do something like that, something involving the water
Brian Bienkowski
I like that. My first concert was
Nsilo Berry
My mom took me to, when I was little, KC and the Sunshine Band. They were on tour somewhere I think in Virginia, something like that. So I went to one of their concerts,
Brian Bienkowski
Man, that is a that is a really good one. If I could have dinner with one person living or deceased, it would be
Nsilo Berry
Baseball opening day’s around the corner, Jackie Robinson. I would love to talk to him.
Brian Bienkowski
Another great one. Well Nsilo, what is the last book you read for fun and you don’t have to confine yourself to one word or phrase here.
Nsilo Berry
I did The Little Prince and check this pronunciation now: by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. You see, I didn’t practice it, practice that right before the podcast everybody. I’m just kidding. I practiced that right before the podcast, I was practicing in the greenroom. But no, I think the Little Prince is it’s essentially just about a pilot who crashes lands on a planet. And meets this Little Prince, and they just have a conversation about life and talk about these different things like this. And so it’s a really interesting journey about kind of just finding your own growth in your own space. Something similar too. if you’ve ever had the collection of short stories of The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling. It’s not the kind of thing about that when Mowgli is kind of going through his own his own kind of transition where he kind of missed the jungle. But he gets to a point where Bagheera the Panther tells him say, hey, Mowgli, like you’re of age, you’re your of age now and the people that you, you know that we will always love you. But that’s not who you are. You have to go be with your people. And you have to go can experience life on your own and on your own terms. And that’s something that I think about a lot too, especially growing up in from St. Louis, like, you move away from those people that are your best friends and all your childhood friends. And you have to grow and experience the world that the way that you know for what’s best for you. And that’s always a I think it’s always a tough intersection to overcome. And think about, but books like that always helped me kind of just think about kind of similarities in those tough choices we think about kind of in life today and so on, so forth.
Brian Bienkowski
Awesome. Well, thank you so much. It’s been really great to hear more about your work and your personal story. Nsilo, thanks so much for doing this.
Oropouche Virus - More than a smidge worrisome
Duration: 01:12:38
Released: 2026
Series: This Podcast Will Kill You
Though discovered relatively recently, Oropouche virus has been making headlines as an emerging vector-borne infectious disease on the rise. Not transmitted by the usual suspects (like ticks and mosquitoes), this virus is instead spread through the bites of midges or no-see-ums. Since these arthropods are already widely distributed and their range is growing thanks to climate change, this is a recipe for potential disaster. In this episode, we take you through the story of Oropouche virus, from how it makes us sick to what the construction of a highway has to do with its discovery, from surprising prevalence statistics to the history of One Health. Tune in for the full scoop on this midge and the virus it carries. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAuSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our tick nightmare
Duration: 00:28:42
Released: 2026
Series: Today, Explained
Ticks are exponentially expanding their territory, using us for their next blood meal. We must fight back. This episode was produced by Danielle Hewitt, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. The common wood tick, which can transmit Borrelia and TBE viruses to humans and animals. Photo by Patrick Pleul/dpa/Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
**SEAN RAMESWARAM (host): Every summer we accept that we’re gonna get bit by mosquitoes.
SEAN: We bleed. We scratch. We kill. We complain. But in the end, we laugh it off and we head towards winter.
SEAN: But ticks are a much more serious concern.
SCORING IN – IMPENDING GLOOM - BMC (lol)
SEAN: Lemme just remind you how many tick-bourne diseases there are?
Lyme, you know. Shoutouts Connecticut. Then there’s Alpha-gal syndrome, which can make you allergic to red meat for the rest of your life. Also dairy.
But there’s so much more! Should we go alphabetical? And I apologies in advance for my pronunciation here:
SEAN: Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Bourbon virus, Colorado tick fever, Ehrlichiosis, hard tick relapsing fever, Heartland virus, Powassan virus, Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Soft tick relapsing fever, STARI, Tularemia, 364D rickettsiosis.
SEAN: Symptoms of all these range from nausea, vomiting and bleeding to seizures, organ failure, facial paralysis, and of course, our old friend, death.
And for those of you who are like NBD – that’s just a Northeast thing. Well, not anymore!
Our national tick nightmare, on Today, Explained from Vox.
[THEME]
SEAN: Sean Rameswaram. Today, Explained covered ticks and Lyme disease on the show way back in 2018 when the word on the trail was this was getting much worse. We asked science writer Jonathan Mingle, who recently wrote about ticks for the New York Times newspaper, how much worse this has gotten since then.
JONATHAN MINGLE (science journalist): You know some experts I talk to use the word exponential.
SCORING IN - Discretion
JONATHAN: So what’s happening is that some of these tick species are spreading into areas where people aren’t familiar with them, doctors aren’t familiar with them.
<CLIP> YOUTUBE CBS BOSTON
In the last 15 years, the Lonestar tick has gone from non-existent on the island to fully abundant and everywhere.
<CLIP> YOUTUBE NBC NEWS
The tick is present in at least 21 states and is rapidly spreading across the eastern US.
<CLIP> YOUTUBE CBS MORNINGS
Emergency room visits for bites are the highest in nearly a decade as ticks spread into new parts of the country.
JONATHAN: Thanks to warmer winters, climate change. Ticks are expanding their hunting season. You may have a day that’s like 40 degrees in January, ticks are out looking for you, waiting for you to walk by and grab on and grab a meal.
<CLIP> YOUTUBE NBC 10
A newborn baby is suspected of contracting a rare tick borne virus. It’s called Powassan virus.
<CLIP> YOUTUBE NBC 10
Lyme’s disease has been an ongoing fight on this island. I’ve had it.
<CLIP> YOUTUBE 6 ABC
This morning, a New Jersey man is the first known person to die after a tick bite triggered a severe meat allergy.
JONATHAN: So in 2024 a pilot named Brian Weitzel, father of three in northern New Jersey, he had a hamburger, at a barbecue, went home to mow his lawn, and a few hours later was unresponsive on the floor and he died that night. And his family, you know, was left in shock, of course, you know, trying to figure out why he had died. And it turned out that he had likely been bitten by the lone star tick, and had developed an allergy to red meat. And so this is referred to as Alpha-gal syndrome. And Alpha-gal syndrome is just the latest entrant into the files of all the many ways in which tick bites can make us sick. and the most familiar one, of course, is Lyme disease. Each year about half a million people are treated for Lyme disease. It’s the fastest growing vector-borne disease in the US. cases have more than doubled over the past decade. And those cases are mostly as a result of getting bitten by the black legged tick or the deer tick. And the thing is both of these ticks and many other ticks that are also marching northward and westward and just, you know, expanding their empires rapidly across North America, they can deliver all kinds of pathogens.
SCORING OUT
JONATHAN: They’re claiming more and more of the map and they’re claiming more and more of our psychic map right? It’s like one of the results of reporting this piece is that I now have phantom tick crawling sensations at all hours of the day.
SEAN: Oh, man.
JONATHAN:I tell people I’m not a tick expert, although I talked to a bunch of them for this story, but I’ve become a tick expert in the sense that I am very familiar with tick paranoia and how it can keep you from venturing out into the places you love you know, hiking paths or picnic grounds or parks. And so that was part of the story I wanted to write about, too, is: Why are we letting the ticks keep us, if not out of these places that we need and love, why aren’t we fighting back?
SEAN: And why is it? Are we not fighting back against the ticks?
JONATHAN: Not really. I mean, this is one of the surprising takeaways from my reporting is that we’re barely even trying. And one way of understanding that, you could think about two numbers. So one number is 90%. 90% of vector-borne disease cases in the US are from ticks, right?
SEAN: 90%?
JONATHAN: Yeah. And yet despite the fact that 90% of cases of vector-borne illness come from tick bites, if you look at what local city, county health agencies do in terms of vector control, 80% of what they do is mosquito control and about 10 or 11% of these local health agencies around the country do any kind of tick control. So why is that? It’s a familiar story in the public health world. It’s not enough funding or policy support for trying out, testing, deploying new approaches to controlling ticks.
SEAN: Even though people are dying?
JONATHAN: We’re just kind of taking for granted that, ‘Oh, well, what can you do? You just tuck your pants in and spray some insecticide on your boots and that’s all you can do.’ It’s like, well, actually we have a long history of going to war
SEAN: Mm!
JONATHAN: Before there was tick control, there was mosquito control. And the CDC was founded with the sole mandate in 1946 of wiping out malaria and fighting mosquitoes.
<CLIP> C-SPAN THE FIGHT AGAINST COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
Scientific information on the subject is discussed and analyzed. Decisions are made and one of these is to design more effective equipment to combat the dreaded mosquito.
SEAN: I did not know that.
JONATHAN: Yeah, I didn’t know it either.
SEAN: It feels like they lost that fight because in my neighborhood …
JONATHAN: Yeah.
SEAN: … you can’t go out between the hours of seven and nine o’clock.
JONATHAN: Yeah. The mosquitoes haven’t gone away, but malaria did for the most part. You know, in talking to experts today, they told me that, including folks at the CDC, there’s a suite of tools we could be using if we wanted to get serious about fighting ticks. As one veteran tick expert at the CDC told me, if you want to make a dent in this problem, you have to get to the deer. So the deer are the engine driving a lot of these tick species spread.
SEAN: Mm.
JONATHAN: And we just have way more deer than we did decades ago, especially in the Eastern US and suburban parts of America. So how do you get to the deer? I had people in the comments section of my piece saying the clear answer is just we should all be hunting deer.
SEAN: Mm-hm.
JONATHAN: But in talking to the experts, they’ll tell you it’s not really a feasible solution. You would have to knock deer populations way down to make a dent in the tick populations. What is more promising is kind of a combined approach of stuff like vaccines. There are people developing vaccines that you could deliver to deer or to rodents, which are another important host for these ticks so that when the tick bites them, they’ll die. That I learned from talking to folks who do this kind of research for a living is a more promising avenue for controlling ticks than all of us picking up crossbows and becoming deer hunters.
SFX
JONATHAN: You know, what I heard from experts is that we’re not even funding this research in a serious way. We do this stuff for mosquitoes. People don’t realize it, but your local county health agency, they go out and they find where the mosquito breeding grounds are and stagnant pools the water and they treat it. And it takes this sustained quiet effort. It’s like we saw the consequences of not doing that recently. This is a bit tangential, but screwworm. You know, screwworm was this flesh eating larval pest that devastates cattle herds. And it was eradicated in the US in 1966 and it was kept at bay by the vigilance of people at USDA and USAID who ran these programs to release millions of sterile screwworm males out of airplanes. And it created this wall that kept it from coming into Southern US and now they’re here.
<CLIP> YOUTUBE CBS LA
But since the beginning of June, at least a dozen animal infections have been confirmed in Texas and New Mexico, putting California and the rest of the nation on alert.
<CLIP> YOUTUBE MS NOW
His Department of Government Efficiency run by Elon Musk decided to cut the funding that was specifically dedicated to monitoring and containing the screw worm in Central America.
JONATHAN: And probably if we stopped doing the mosquito control at a local scale, we’d see more cases of dengue fever, West Nile virus, all these other rare but serious illnesses that climate change is making more of a threat here in the US.
SCORING IN
SEAN: Jonathan Mingle wrote “We’re Living in a Tick Nightmare. It’s Time to Go to War.” for the New York Times.
The guy with the power to go to war is named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And one of the kinda curious things about him is he’s kinda obsessed with Lyme disease.
More on that mmm puzzle? When Today, Explained continues.
[BREAK]
AVISHAY ARTSY (producer): Today, Explained.
MEG TIRRELL: Hi, I’m Meg Tirrell. I am a medical correspondent at CNN.
SEAN: Okay, we just spent half the show talking about Lyme disease and how the government’s not doing enough to combat it, but earlier this year, our Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy the Second…
MEG:
SEAN: …pledged to fight Lyme disease. What is RFK Junior’s relationship to Lyme?
MEG: Oh wow, RFK Jr.’s Lyme story goes way back
SEAN: Woah!
SCORING IN - On a Straight Down Train Car
MEG: Well, I mean, it’s a really RFK Jr-y kind of disease because he’s a falconer. He talks a lot about his work with birds of prey. He goes into the woods a lot, he posts lots of photos of himself in nature. And when you start to pay attention to RFK Jr. And Lyme disease, which I have been doing, he starts to tell the same story a few times.
SEAN: Huh.
MEG: It involves him in a bathtub in the 1980s…
<CLIP> INSTAGRAM – SECRETARY ROBERT F KENNEDY: I remember one day in 1987 when I stood in my bathtub and picked 29 ticks off myself.
MEG: He says he did at one point get Lyme disease. He got the classic bullseye rash on his forearm. He says he took antibiotics and it was cured, but he also describes most of his children have had Lyme disease, some with pretty severe effects of Lyme disease. So he’s very focused on it. It also ticks like some other RFK Junior boxes where there is this community of people who feels like they’ve been neglected and ignored and in his words gaslit, particularly by the federal government. and those are people who have like chronic Lyme disease or long Lyme disease. So this is Lyme disease that hasn’t been cured by antibiotics. And that people have been living with these symptoms for a really long period of time. And so he’s trying to address that population of people. He had a round table discussion with a lot of those patients, patient advocates, as well as doctors and people who are trying to work on this space.
<CLIP> YOUTUBE – SECRETARY ROBERT F KENNEDY: It is an invisible illness. For many years, this agency had a deliberate policy to refuse to engage with the Lyme community.
MEG: And so he’s really speaking to that group of people, but at the same time, Lyme disease is a growing problem …
SEAN: Right!
MEG: … for anybody who lives in a tick-infested area, which is so many of us.
SCORING OUT
SEAN: So it sounds like people who have Lyme disease have an ally …
MEG: Mm-hm.
SEAN: … in the Secretary of Health and Human Services. And of course RFK Jr. Is known to spin up conspiracy theories, pedal falsehoods …
<CLIP> NYPOST
SECRETARY ROBERT F KENNEDY JR: COVID-19 is targeted to attack caucasians and Black people
<CLIP> YOUTUBE JOE ROGAN PODCAST
SECRETARY ROBERT F KENNEDY JR: Wi-Fi radiation opens up your blood brain barrier and so all these toxics that are in your body can now go into your brain.
SEAN: … not a fan of vaccines. Does any of that get into the Lyme disease mix?
MEG: Well, I mean, so he convened this round table and it had doctors, it had lawmakers. And so you had these folks speaking around the table about different things that you could do.
<CLIP> YOUTUBE: The Lyme Clinical Trials Network is designed to build evidence for repurposing medicines and other treatments so we can improve the lives of people suffering now
MEG: And one of the things that RFK Jr.’s really focused on is improving diagnostics and improving treatment.
<CLIP> YOUTUBE: There’s investments we’ve made in identifying new antibiotics that potentially could have a longer, better effects, as well as potentially protective monoclonal antibodies that can be used as a treatment strategy
MEG: What you don’t hear him talk about is a vaccine for Lyme disease. And he talks about things like we’ve got to make it safer for kids to go back in the woods. Vaccine could be one way of doing that. And we actually have a vaccine now that is approaching the regulatory approval process from Pfizer. They reported phase three results. They said they were going to take this to regulatory agencies. And so that was earlier this year. I became interested in, okay, well, RFK Jr. Is a big proponent of solutions for Lyme disease. Is he going to be supportive of this vaccine? Will this be the vaccine that RFK Jr. Sort of wins him over?
SEAN: Tell us a bit more about the history of Lyme disease vaccines because they’ve been trying for some time to my recollection.
MEG: So there actually was an approved Lyme disease vaccine. It was called Lymerix. It was brought to market by GSK, the huge British drug maker. This was about 25-ish years ago. And it worked. It was something like 70 or 80% effective at reducing your risk of getting Lyme disease. But it had kind of this tepid endorsement from the federal vaccine agencies. So the FDA kind of gave it a… It wasn’t like the most extreme endorsement, I guess you could say, the way people described it to me. They noted it was just for specific age groups. And then the CDC’s group of vaccine advisors, they essentially recommended it for people who might have exposure to ticks. You might consider this. So it wasn’t like a strong endorsement that everybody should get this vaccine. And so what we saw was that when it hit the market, the sales were really tepid.
And then some people thought that the vaccine was actually giving them arthritis.
SEAN: Ohh.
MEG: And so this is the kind of thing you’re trying to prevent you from getting Lyme disease. You’re trying to prevent getting arthritis. The FDA looked into this extensively. Researchers looked at this. The signal did not play out from the conversations I’ve had with experts about it, but there were lawsuits that were filed. Ultimately GSK just decided to pull the vaccine off the market.
SEAN: Huh.
MEG: So now you have like 20 years later, Pfizer coming back with this vaccine. So this is approaching regulatory agencies. We might get this Lyme disease vaccine and have to see how RFK Jr’s HHS would receive that.
SEAN: What’s the vibe from HHS and RFK Jr? I mean, he cares about Lyme disease. He thinks there’s this forgotten population of people with chronic Lyme disease. He’s in charge. He’s got an incredible amount of power to do something about it. And here’s this vaccine that could be the easy solution. Is it like a match made in tick heaven?
MEG: Well, tick hell.
SEAN: Tick Hell.
MEG: Preventing the ticks from being able to give us Lyme disease. Although I don’t think they care if they give us Lyme disease, they just want to drink our blood. But you know, Kennedy was asked during his confirmation hearing by Susan Collins, because Maine of course is very hard hit by Lyme disease, whether he would support a Lyme disease vaccine. And he told her, quote:
<CLIP> YOUTUBE PBS NEWS HOUR – SECRETARY ROBERT KENNEDY: There’s nobody who will fight harder to find a vaccine or a treatment for Lyme disease than me.
MEG: Now I reached back out to HHS when I wrote this story back in March about Pfizer’s Lyme vaccine application. And a spokesperson for HHS told me HHS supports rigorous gold standard science to better understand, prevent, and treat Lyme disease. So I wrote back, “Does that include a vaccine?” And they just didn’t respond.
SEAN: Why? Why are they being cagey about this vaccine? It feels like a golden opportunity for them.
MEG: You would think, and it’s interesting. I’ve reached out to other folks who are sort of in this realm and most of them are very supportive of a vaccine. It’s something that they would like to have as part of the toolkit. I will say there is one population that is skeptical of a vaccine and that is certain folks who have this chronic Lyme who live with long Lyme disease, they feel like they were burned by the first vaccine. They still believe that there were safety problems with that vaccine, at least some portion of this group who I spoke with. And so they’re nervous about it, but other people really want a vaccine.
SEAN: Where does it leave us ultimately, you think? Is this a time to feel hopeful that there are solutions that are, solutions incoming here as these ticks become more and more just like a concern every summer across this country? Or is it a time to feel ultimately fearful?
MEG: Well, I mean, it definitely feels like we’re in a time with this, like, massive upsurge in ticks. They’re all around, they’re spreading new, newly discovered pathogens. So it definitely doesn’t feel like we’re on the downtrend of that by any means. And the government has put out a plan to try to at least address Lyme disease and to an extent alpha gal, but it’s not perceived from people I’ve spoken with to be enough. It’s not a moonshot by any means to address these kinds of things.
SEAN: What’s the plan?
MEG: Yeah. So this came out in May. They call it a sweeping plan to combat Lyme disease and advanced treatment. So you might expect huge amounts of money being poured into this big research consortiums working with the industry. The details are less sort of powerful than that from what we see in the release that HHS put out. They say the actions include a multimillion dollar pilot program focused on tick control up to two and a half million dollars in innovation challenges, funding for NIH researchers to combat alpha gal syndrome and a public-private collaboration to help patients connect with experienced providers.
SEAN: Huh.
MEG: So I think people are glad that there is focus on this, but yeah, whether it’s the moonshot that is needed especially…
SEAN: Mm.
MEG: …with the backdrop of broader cuts to science funding. I think experts in this space think it leaves something to be desired.
SCORING IN - Hot Plate
SEAN: Bummer! But in the meantime, what do you do if you’re going camping this weekend? Jonathan?
JONATHAN: Doing tick checks. And we do it in my household pretty much daily when you come home, do a thorough tick check, throw your clothes in the dryer. Ticks hate heat. And some people like to use permethrin, spray this insecticide that’s designed to kill ticks on your boots or your pants when you go out for a hike. So there are things that, I mean, for decades, researchers have known these things are really effective if you keep doing them, if you stay vigilant. Right? And all it takes is that one time, that one time you go out for a hike and you come back and you forget to do the tick check. So we need those kinds of personal measures of vigilance and protection, but we still need to kind of push for a bigger public health response to this….
SCORING BUMP
JONATHAN: Because the ticks are going to keep, they’re going to keep spreading into the calendar too in the sense that as winters get warmer, more and more days of the year when you’re outdoors, you’re going to encounter ticks who are hungry and they’re looking for you.
SCORING BUMP
SEAN: Thanks, Jonathan! And thanks Meg! And thanks Danielle Hewitt, for producing the show today. Amina Al-Sadi for editing. Gabriel Dunatov for fact checking. And Patrick Boyd for flying solo.
Be careful out there, friends!**
Patient Zero
Duration: 01:16:29
Released: 2011
Series: Radiolab
The greatest mysteries have a shadowy figure at the center—someone who sets things in motion and holds the key to how the story unfolds. In epidemiology, this central character is known as Patient Zero—the case at the heart of an outbreak. This hour, Radiolab hunts for Patient Zeroes from all over the map. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript
Patient Zero
SOREN WHEELER: Hey, this is Radiolab. I’m Soren Wheeler, and I have a show for you today that I want to play for a couple reasons. First of all, it’s one of my favorites of all time. And secondly, despite the fact that we produced his story back in 2011, it is weirdly—and unfortunately—perennially relevant. Like, every year. Like, if you’re in the US right now, that would be because of the Cyclospora situation, which is the explosive diarrhea outbreak. But thinking back to COVID or monkeypox or even the most recent Ebola outbreak, anytime one of these diseases makes its way into us humans, the first question is always: How did it start? Like, where did this come from? Or sometimes, like, who did it come from? And that is what this show that I’m gonna play for you today is all about. We produced this one back in 2011. It’s got mysterious, shadowy figures, it’s got a very high-stakes story of a man hunting a chimp in Cameroon, and a probably futile attempt to get to the bottom—or rather the beginning—of the most famous celebratory gesture in human history. So here it is.
[RADIOLAB INTRO]
LYNN LEVY: So have we said where we are on tape yet?
JAD ABUMRAD: Starting us off today are our producers Lynn Levy and Sean Cole.
SEAN COLE: Very pretty day to be on an abandoned island where victims of contagious disease were quarantined. And one in particular who lived here, died here, never believing that she was, in fact, sick and dangerous.
ROBERT KRULWICH: So this is a story that begins when?
SEAN: It—well actually, it starts in 1906. And it doesn’t start on the island, it starts in Oyster Bay.
ROBERT: Oh, nice neighborhood!
SEAN: Very nice. And there was this one rich family on vacation there.
JUDY LEVITT: And their daughter gets sick. She gets sick first.
SEAN: This is Judy Levitt.
JUDY LEVITT: I am a professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin.
SEAN: And she wrote a book about this story. So basically, the girl, the daughter, has a fever. Then her sister comes down with it, and then her mom, and a maid.
JUDY LEVITT: About six out of eleven in the family gets sick.
SEAN: And with this disease, the fever’s just the first part of it.
JUDY LEVITT: Both diarrhea or constipation are reported. So it can go either way, I guess.
JAD: What is it?
SEAN: Typhoid.
ROBERT: Hmm.
JUDY LEVITT: And they couldn’t figure out what had caused the disease, so they called in this sanitary engineer named George Soper.
SEAN: With the Public Health Department. He was the go-to guy for outbreaks like this. Back then, the Department of Public Health was thinking, you know, you’d get sick because of something dirty near you.
ROBERT: In the well or in the pipes.
SEAN: Yeah. So he looks into all of that.
JUDY LEVITT: Did a whole test on the house and the water and everything. Couldn’t find anything, and so…
SEAN: He starts talking to the family.
JUDY LEVITT: And he started quizzing them all, and they…
SEAN: Eventually, he builds up this whole picture of several outbreaks going back years.
[ARCHIVE CLIP: 1900. Mamaroneck. A New York family had a house for the summer…]
[ARCHIVE CLIP: 1902. Dark Harbor, Maine.]
[ARCHIVE CLIP: 1904. Seven cases.]
[ARCHIVE CLIP: Sands Point, New York.]
[ARCHIVE CLIP: Autumn, 1906.]
[ARCHIVE CLIP: Winter, 1907. New York City]
SEAN: All these cases. And they all had one thing in common.
ROBERT: What?
SEAN: Each of these families had employed the same cook.
JAD: Really?
ROBERT: Really?
SEAN: Which is funny, because when you cook food you kill the bacteria in the food.
JAD: Yeah!
ROBERT: So it couldn’t be the cook then.
SEAN: But this cook…
JUDY LEVITT: Her most famous dish was Peach Melba, which is ice cream and fresh peaches.
SEAN: Fresh peaches. Raw fruit.
JUDY LEVITT: It was a perfect medium.
SEAN: And the cook’s name was Mary Mallon.
JAD: Mary Mallon. Wait a second, Sean Cole.
ROBERT: Typhoid…
JAD: Typhoid Mary is who we’re talking about.
ROBERT: Oh, so we know this story.
SEAN: No, you don’t know this story.
ROBERT: What do you mean?
SEAN: Everybody thinks they know this story. I thought I knew this story. And then when I looked into it, I realized I didn’t know the first thing about it. And when you look into the details, they tell us some very difficult things about who we were and who we still are in a lot of ways. It’s all in the details, all of the juice and problem.
JAD: Like the peach juice.
ROBERT: The peach juice.
SEAN: Just like the peach juice. Still dealing with…
ROBERT: Wait! I’m Robert Krulwich.
JAD: [laughs]
ROBERT: Go ahead. Go ahead, do your part!
JAD: I’m Jad Abumrad.
ROBERT: This is Radiolab. And in this hour…
JAD: A series of stories that all hew to that delicious story archetype we call…
ROBERT: Patient Zero. The first cause.
JAD: We’ll try to trace ideas and trends and massive social traumas like pandemics back to that one person.
ROBERT: Or one critter. Or the other way you could call it is called the “but for.” If you didn’t have this thing, but for this thing, you wouldn’t have the rest of the story.
JAD: I like the but for.
ROBERT: The but for.
JAD: But meanwhile…
ROBERT: Back to the peaches.
SEAN: So George Soper’s like, “I’ve got to find this woman.” And when he finds her…
JUDY LEVITT: She’s in New York City working for another family.
[ARCHIVE CLIP: The laundress had recently been taken to the Presbyterian Hospital with typhoid fever.]
SEAN: This is from an article Soper wrote called The Curious Case of Typhoid Mary.
[ARCHIVE CLIP: And the only child of a family, a lovely daughter was dying of it.]
SEAN: So he goes to the house, walks into the kitchen. Sees this woman, 5’6”, blond hair, blue eyes.
[ARCHIVE CLIP: Had a good figure, and might have been called athletic had she not been a little too heavy.]
SEAN: Irish immigrant, 36 years old.
[ARCHIVE CLIP: Not particularly clean.]
JUDY LEVITT: And he says, “Mary Mallon, I think you are causing disease in people and I want samples of your urine, feces and blood.” [laughs]
SEAN: [laughs] Good afternoon!
SEAN: And she says…
DAVID ROSNER: What are you accusing me of being sick?
SEAN: Playing the role of Mary is Columbia Public Health Professor David Rosner.
DAVID ROSNER: How dare you? I’m not a sick person.
JAD: What does she do?
DAVID ROSNER: She chases him out of the building.
JUDY LEVITT: With a fork in her hand.
SEAN: A serving fork.
JAD: A serving fork?
SEAN: Yeah.
[ARCHIVE CLIP: I felt rather lucky to escape.]
JAD: But did she have typhoid? I mean, did she outwardly have typhoid?
SEAN: Well, that’s the thing.
DAVID ROSNER: She never had any symptoms. She felt perfectly healthy.
SEAN: She was actually the first documented case in North America of a healthy carrier, which is to say someone who has the disease and is contagious, but never actually feels…
ROBERT: The symptoms?
SEAN: The symptoms. So in one weird way, Soper’s thrilled. Like, he’s only read about this. And then here she is in front of him. But think of how all of this must have sounded to Mary. I mean, some guy from outer space comes into your kitchen and says, “You’re diseased and you’re hurting people.” She must have thought…
DAVID ROSNER: What? I feel fine. I’m living a moral life. I’m not a vagrant. I’m employed. I’m a good, solid citizen. You know, you would be crazed too, wouldn’t you? Even today.
JAD: You’d—you’d probably grab your knife, yeah.
DAVID ROSNER: Yeah, you’d grab your knife.
ROBERT: Well, does he have any evidence though, that she is spreading the disease?
SEAN: Not yet. That’s why he needs her poop.
ROBERT: Ah.
SEAN: So he goes back, finds her at a rooming house. She kicks him out, swears at him.
JUDY LEVITT: She apparently had quite a temper.
SEAN: And then the health department sends in this female doctor…
JUDY LEVITT: By the name of S. Josephine Baker. Maybe she could ask for blood, feces and urine a little more gently than…
SEAN: I just don’t know how you ask for that gently.
SEAN: But she tries. And when it doesn’t work, she comes back a little bit later with cops.
JUDY LEVITT: And they come to the house and Mary Mallon, when she realizes what’s happening disappears.
SEAN: What do you mean, disappears? She just vanishes?
JUDY LEVITT: Just completely vanishes. They end up searching the entire place, and they can’t find her. Finally, I think they’re about to leave when one of them spots…
DAVID ROSNER: … her skirt coming outside of a door.
JUDY LEVITT: It’s a little piece of calico kind of stuck in a doorway.
DAVID ROSNER: They open the door and there she is.
JUDY LEVITT: And so they drag her out and she comes out kicking and screaming and…
DAVID ROSNER: … screaming and kicking.
JUDY LEVITT: It takes all of them to drag her out.
DAVID ROSNER: Protesting.
JUDY LEVITT: They get her in the ambulance and Josephine Baker sits on her. According to her, sits on her.
SEAN: And Baker later said…
JUDY LEVITT: Something like it was like being in a cage with an angry lion.
SEAN: So they take her down to the hospital.
JUDY LEVITT: They tested her feces and urine, and they found that yes, she was in fact a carrier of live typhoid bacilli.
MAN: It’s a weird island. I spent a while on here.
JUDY LEVITT: So they isolate her, and they ultimately move her from Manhattan to North Brother Island.
DAVID ROSNER: And there she is.
SEAN: We went there to just to try to get our heads around what she must have thought.
JAD: What was the island like?
SEAN: Man, everything is completely overgrown.
SEAN: It was really creepy.
ROBERT: Creepy because it was in such dissolution?
SEAN: Yeah. Yeah.
SEAN: Just be careful where you step.
SEAN: On one end, there are all of these medical—former medical buildings, including a giant hospital where they isolated tuberculosis patients. So big, brick, stately building. And then on the other side of the island, there’s smaller wooden buildings that are crushed.
SEAN: This may be where her cottage is.
SEAN: Where her cottage would be if it was still standing, but it’s not standing anymore.
JUDY LEVITT: Well, it was one room. One room. It had a kitchen. It had a, I guess a sleeping area and a sitting area. It probably wasn’t so bad if you didn’t have to stay there. You know, any place is—that you’re not free to leave becomes like a prison.
SEAN: So we’re marching around and then Lynn says to me, “Hey, look at the view.” And…
SEAN: Holy moly! It’s right there.
SEAN: That’s when it really hit me.
SEAN: If this is where her cabin was, then one window of it looked exactly onto Manhattan.
LYNN: She could have seen where she used to live.
SEAN: You can see the traffic on the streets.
SEAN: This was like the most horrible seaside vacation.
JUDY LEVITT: Almost the whole time they had her incarcerated, they took feces three times a week, which is — you know, it’s not pleasant to have to do that. And sometimes she was negative and sometimes she was positive.
JAD: Wait, what?
SEAN: So that’s—that’s another thing that they were figuring out at the time. So she was probably an intermittent carrier.
JAD: What does that mean?
SEAN: The disease is always in her, but sometimes she excretes it and sometimes she doesn’t.
JAD: Oh, that must have been confusing for her.
LYNN: “When I first came here, I was so nervous and almost prostrated with grief and trouble. My eyes began to twitch.”
SEAN: This is from a letter that Mary wrote from the island.
LYNN: “I have, in fact, been a peep show for everybody.”
SEAN: But if you keep reading it, and in fact, it’s addressed to a lawyer, it’s clear that she was fighting this. And she had been sending her own feces samples herself to a private lab in Manhattan. And each one of those was negative.
JAD: Really?
LYNN: “The tuberculosis man would say, ‘There she is, the kidnapped woman.’”
SEAN: Yeah, that is poison ivy.
SEAN: She sues the city and loses. Still, there are all of these questions as to whether any of this is legal. I mean, even George Soper, the guy who hunted her down said it was contrary to the Constitution of the United States to hold her under the circumstance.
JAD: And how long was she on this island for?
SEAN: Three years.
JAD: Wow!
SEAN: And then what changed was a new health commissioner took over.
JUDY LEVITT: And so he says it’s just not right that we keep a healthy woman locked up like this. She was not dangerous to anybody if she didn’t cook.
SEAN: He lets her go.
ROBERT: He lets her go?
SEAN: Yeah, back to Manhattan. But he makes her promise.
JUDY LEVITT: She did promise. She signed an affidavit…
SEAN: Saying she’ll never cook again. And she was released. They gave—they set her up with a job as a laundress and they went, “Here you go, Mary.” And then, you know, they kept track of her for a while.
JAD: Hmm.
SEAN: And then at a certain point they kind of stopped keeping track of her.
JAD: [laughs]
SEAN: [laughs]
ROBERT: Dun dun dun dun! So how many years will go by?
SEAN: Five.
ROBERT: Five.
JAD: What happens next?
SEAN: There’s an outbreak of typhoid.
ROBERT: Oh, boy.
JAD: Where?
ROBERT: Where?
SEAN: At a maternity hospital.
ROBERT: Oh, you’re kidding!
JAD: Oh, wow!
SEAN: Josephine Baker who sat on her in the ambulance before, she says that she goes and pays a visit and walks into the kitchen. And she says the first person that she encountered was Typhoid Mary Mallon. George Soper did some legwork on where Mary had been, and it turned out she had worked at a restaurant, two hotels, an inn and a sanatorium, as well as the hospital. And at least according to his account, two of the people that she made sick during those couple years were children.
[ARCHIVE CLIP: She was now a woman who could not claim innocence. She was known willfully and deliberately to have taken desperate chances with human life. She had abused her privilege. She had broken her parole.]
JUDY LEVITT: So then they put her back on North Brother Island, back in her bungalow. And there she sits.
[ARCHIVE CLIP: She was a dangerous character and must be treated accordingly.]
ROBERT: Absolutely. She’s broke—broke her promise.
JAD: Yeah, I totally agree.
ROBERT: She made a deal and she didn’t keep the deal.
SEAN: But the thing is is that at the time she was sent back to the island, there were hundreds of other healthy carriers identified all over New York, and some of them were cooks.
JAD: What?
ROBERT: Really?
SEAN: Mostly men, by the way. And…
JAD: And they were cooking?
SEAN: Well, they were barred from cooking, but not all of them always listened. And yet Mary was the only one who they isolated in this way.
JAD: Why? Why only her?
SEAN: I think it was more about making people feel safe than actually making them safe.
SEAN: Oh look out for this stair. It’s all crumbled.
SEAN: She was what we needed at the time.
SEAN: We’re in the hospital where the tuberculosis patients were quarantined.
SEAN: This was towards the end of Lynn and my visit to the island.
SEAN: Yeah, these must be the wards.
LYNN: Definitely.
SEAN: Yeah.
LYNN: So when was she here?
SEAN: This is where they brought her after she had a stroke. And this is where she was for the last six years of her life.
LYNN: Did she die in here?
SEAN: Yeah. Yeah.
JAD: Hey, I’m Jad Abumrad.
ROBERT: I’m Robert. Krulwich.
JAD: This is Radiolab. And today…
ROBERT: It’s patient zero. That’s our subject.
JAD: Yeah, and this next story, whew!
ROBERT: It’s so huge.
JAD: It’s the ultimate patient zero story, really.
ROBERT: Many of us have lived through this. It was—it’s as recent an event—it’s such a recent event that it still hurts and it still bleeds.
JAD: Yeah.
ROBERT: And in it somewhere is a—literally, the—the patient that is called Zero. So this is…
JAD: Yeah. A lot of people are gonna help us tell the story, but starting us off is science writer, Radiolab regular Carl Zimmer.
CARL ZIMMER: So in 1981, doctors for the first time described…
[NEWS CLIP: A mysterious newly-discovered disease…]
CARL ZIMMER: A syndrome.
[NEWS CLIP: … which affects mostly homosexual men.]
CARL ZIMMER: The young men in Los Angeles…
JAD: Were dying.
[NEWS CLIP: The number of cases has been growing faster and faster.]
[NEWS CLIP: So far, more than 80 Americans have died.]
[NEWS CLIP: 258 people have died.]
[NEWS CLIP: 625 people have died.]
JAD: Of course, this is the part we all know. How, from those first few cases in LA, AIDS became one of the deadliest pandemics the world has ever seen.
[NEWS CLIP: More dangerous than the plague of the Middle Ages.]
JAD: But back at the beginning, there was a story that I’ve not been able to shake for the last 30 years. And it’s a story that I want to re-imagine right now.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Right after news of this syndrome started to break…
JAD: That’s science writer David Quammen, who along with Carl will be one of our guides.
CARL ZIMMER: Epidemiologists were trying to figure out where…
[NEWS CLIP: Where did it come from?]
CARL ZIMMER: And they were thinking, like, “Well, maybe it’s a sexually-transmitted disease.”
JAD: So the CDC launches a study.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Of a group of about 30 patients.
JAD: Gay men.
DAVID QUAMMEN: In New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, to see who had had sexual contact with whom.
JAD: How do you—is that just a series of interviews with people?
CARL ZIMMER: Yeah. Please name all the people that you—that you’ve slept with.
JAD: The CDC eventually releases the results of this survey in the form of a diagram.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Like a network drawing with circles representing patients, and then lines representing sexual contact.
JAD: And each patient, each little circle was numbered.
DAVID QUAMMEN: New York, seven. Los Angeles, twelve.
JAD: So you didn’t know who was who, but you could tell immediately when you look at this thing, that of all the 30 or so circles, there was one circle that was special. It had lines coming out in every direction.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Seven or eight emanating from him.
JAD: Like the hub of a wheel, except all the spokes on this wheel connected to other wheels which then shot out and connected to other wheels, fanning outward. And at the center of it all was that one little circle, numbered…
DAVID QUAMMEN: Zero. Number zero.
JAD: As far as we know, that was the first time that you ever get the term ‘patient zero.’
[60 MINUTES CLIP: Patient zero was a man, the central victim and victimizer.]
JAD: This is from a 60 Minutes special in 1988. That year a reporter named Randy Shilts had written a book called And The Band Played On that for the first time revealed the identity of patient zero.
[ARCHIVE CLIP, 60 Minutes: He was a French-Canadian.]
[ARCHIVE CLIP, 60 Minutes: A very handsome airline steward.]
[ARCHIVE CLIP, 60 Minutes: Named Gaëtan Dugas.]
DAVID QUAMMEN: Gaëtan Dugas.
[ARCHIVE CLIP, 60 Minutes: Patient zero.]
JAD: A few minutes later in the report, Shilts comes on to describe a guy…
[ARCHIVE CLIP, 60 Minutes: A guy who has got unlimited sexual stamina.]
JAD: This sexual athlete who would fly from one hot spot to the next because of his job, having sex with literally thousands of men.
DAVID QUAMMEN: And as he knew he was dying, at least according to Randy Shilts, he became somewhat sinister and malicious. He would sleep with a male partner at a bathhouse in San Francisco or somewhere else. And then when the light came up, according to Randy Shilts, he would say, “I’ve got gay cancer.”
[ARCHIVE CLIP, 60 Minutes: “Now you’re gonna get it too.”]
[ARCHIVE CLIP, 60 Minutes: You talked to him?]
[ARCHIVE CLIP, 60 Minutes: I talked to him, yeah.]
JAD: This is Dr. Selma Dritz. She was part of that CDC study.
[ARCHIVE CLIP, 60 Minutes: I told him that he was getting other people sick with it. And he said, “It’s my right to do whatever I want. My civil rights. I do as I please. I’ve got it, why shouldn’t they have it?” I said, “You can kill yourself if you want but you got no right to take somebody else along with you.” And he said, “Screw you,” and walked out.]
DAVID QUAMMEN: Really, a chilling moment.
JAD: And pretty much from that moment on, Gaëtan Dugas…
CARL ZIMMER: He just took on this—this aura as single-handedly causing an epidemic in the United States.
JAD: Now I don’t know about you, but I first bumped into this story in the movie version of And The Band Played On.
[ARCHIVE CLIP, And the Band Played On: My friend, we’re talking about thousands of men whose faces I cannot even remember and you want names.]
JAD: That’s an actor playing Gaëtan Dugas in the movie. Now when I first saw that, AIDS had already infected two and a half million people. And to think that it could all go back to this one guy just seemed unreal.
CARL ZIMMER: It was a—it was a very potent story. There’s no doubt. And—and he gave HIV to a lot of people, there’s no question about that. But what we do know is that he was not patient zero.
JAD: He was not patient zero.
CARL ZIMMER: No.
DAVID QUAMMEN: He was not the beginning point.
CARL ZIMMER: He wasn’t.
JAD: Not even close.
ROBERT: Huh.
JAD: So here’s the question that got me started on this story. Okay, so the gay steward, that was the movie stuck in my head. But what’s the real movie? What movie can we make about the beginning of the AIDS epidemic? Because when you’ve got something so vast that, according to some estimates, will have killed 60 million people by the end of the decade, you need a beginning. You need some way of explaining how this disaster happened—and how it might happen again.
ROBERT: And how exactly do we know that Gaëtan Dugas wasn’t patient zero?
CARL ZIMMER: Well, there are a couple reasons we know it. So—so one thing that people started to do…
JAD: Scientists.
CARL ZIMMER: … was to—they went, started going back and looking at people who had died.
DAVID QUAMMEN: People who died mysteriously…
CARL ZIMMER: … of AIDS-like things.
JAD: In the past.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Might some of them have been early cases?
CARL ZIMMER: And they started finding a lot.
[NEWS CLIP: Robert Rayford had AIDS 12 years before it was recognized in this country in 1981.]
[NEWS CLIP: In 1959, a sailor in Britain died of pneumocystis pneumonia.]
JAD: And so for a while, you had all these new patient zeros.
[NEWS CLIP: In 1961, a nurse in Chicago died of Kaposi’s sarcoma.]
CARL ZIMMER: But the real definitive blow to this whole patient zero nonsense came by actually looking at the virus itself.
JAD: In 1984, same year that Gaëtan Dugas died, scientists isolate the virus.
CARL ZIMMER: HIV.
JAD: Which is really just a little string of genetic code that gets into your body and into your cells and uses your cells to make copies of itself. But here’s the thing.
DAVID QUAMMEN: When it replicates within a single patient, it copies itself imprecisely. It mutates quickly. It changes a lot.
JAD: As the virus duplicates itself inside a person, the dupes often have little copying errors in them, little mutations. And it turns out, those errors? They happen at a predictable rate. You can kind of almost predict how many you’re gonna see in a year or five years. And so the amount of changes that you see out there, the diversity, really, of the viruses in the AIDS population, well that becomes really good information. And so a group of scientists began to look at…
DAVID QUAMMEN: The amount of diversity among HIV patients in the US.
CARL ZIMMER: And other parts of the world.
ROBERT: And the more diversity, the longer the virus has been around.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Right. Right.
CARL ZIMMER: And they could use that kind of like a clock. If you have a virus here and a virus there…
JAD: You could measure how different they are, and you would know that it would take a certain amount of time for them to get that different. And to make a long story short…
CARL ZIMMER: The picture they get is…
JAD: That AIDS entered the United States…
CARL ZIMMER: Around 1966.
DAVID QUAMMEN: At a time when Gaëtan Dugas was still a virginal adolescent.
JAD: From there, scientists were able to trace the virus back to Haiti and from Haiti back to Africa.
CARL ZIMMER: It’s been there the longest. It’s had the longest time to become diverse, to mutate, to evolve. So if you want to really—if you want to get to the real patient zero as it were, the most interesting stuff come—actually comes from Africa. So one way to try to figure out its origins there is to go looking for the virus.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Yep. And that takes us back to ZR 59 and DRC 60. Can we talk about them?
ROBERT: Sure.
JAD: What?
DAVID QUAMMEN: These are the two earliest known HIV-positive human specimens.
JAD: And this is where for me at least, the story gets way bigger than I imagined. Now, the first sample…
DAVID QUAMMEN: ZR 59.
JAD: Came to light in the late-’90s. Somehow, scientists unearthed a very old tube of blood from a hospital in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And when they tested it…
DAVID QUAMMEN: It had HIV. This had been taken from a Bantu man in 1959.
ROBERT: 1959!
DAVID QUAMMEN: Yeah. Nobody knows his name. Nobody even knows, I think, what he died of. And that was the only one for a number of years.
MICHAEL WOROBEY: That was our one glimpse into the kind of deep history of HIV.
JAD: But then along comes that guy, Michael Worobey. He’s an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona. And a few years ago, Michael went back to Kinshasa and found a second HIV sample. He actually found the virus lurking in a tiny bit of human tissue that was preserved in paraffin wax.
MICHAEL WOROBEY: It’s kind of like Han Solo in the Star Wars movie when he’s kind of frozen in that carbonite or whatever that stuff is.
JAD: In this new sample, it was from the same town, Kinshasa, as the first. And also more importantly, from the same time.
MICHAEL WOROBEY: 1960. And with the two of them, then you can kind of go back in time.
JAD: Like we described before, you can measure the differences between the samples, calculate how long it would take for those samples to get that different. And in the end, you can use these two samples to wind the clock all the way back to the virus that started it all. And it turned out…
DAVID QUAMMEN: The most recent common ancestor of those two specimens…
JAD: Goes back to…
DAVID QUAMMEN: … to about 1908.
JAD: 1908. That is when it started in human beings.
ROBERT: What? 1908? Is that what he said?
JAD: Well, roughly.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Give or take a margin of error.
CARL ZIMMER: Early 1900s.
JAD: So around 1908, give or take, something happened.
DAVID QUAMMEN: That’s right. That moment is the spillover.
ROBERT: Spillover.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Spillover’s the term that scientists use to describe the moment when a virus in one species passes into another species.
CARL ZIMMER: You know, new diseases in humans tend to pop up from animals. So people said, “Okay, flu comes from birds. Where does HIV come from?” To get at that answer, you have to look beyond human beings. You have to look at other viruses that are like HIV.
DAVID QUAMMEN: So the search was on.
[NEWS CLIP: The inability to find a similar disease in research animals.]
JAD: Turns out, right about the time that the HIV virus was discovered…
[NEWS CLIP: Scientists at the New England Primate Research Center…]
JAD: Some researchers found a virus like it in macaque monkeys.
[NEWS CLIP: Macaque monkey.]
JAD: In fact, it was so similar that they called it…
CARL ZIMMER: SIV.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Simian immunodeficiency virus.
BEATRICE HAHN: Yes, and that’s where the origin quest started.
JAD: This is Beatrice Hahn.
BEATRICE HAHN: I’m a professor of medicine and microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania.
JAD: And so after they found it in macaques, what happened?
BEATRICE HAHN: It took a couple of years…
JAD: But eventually, she says, they found SIV…
BEATRICE HAHN: In still another primate species, the sooty mangabey.
JAD: And then in a few more.
BEATRICE HAHN: The African green monkeys, mandrills.
JAD: Pretty soon, it was all over the place.
BEATRICE HAHN: There are now I think 40 different species of African monkeys known to have their own version of SIV.
JAD: So then the question was, which one of these monkeys or primates passed it to us?
BEATRICE HAHN: Then, unexpectedly…
JAD: A researcher named Martine…
BEATRICE HAHN: Martine Peters.
DAVID QUAMMEN: At the center in Gabon.
JAD: Decided to test her chimps.
BEATRICE HAHN: Two orphan chimpanzees.
DAVID QUAMMEN: And bingo. She found a very, very close match.
BEATRICE HAHN: A virus that was the closest relative of HIV-1.
JAD: So…
BEATRICE HAHN: Everybody said, “Well, you know…”
DAVID QUAMMEN: It was a chimp.
ROBERT: It was a chimp. Okay.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Yeah, it came from a chimp.
BEATRICE HAHN: Yes.
JAD: But then the question was well, which chimps, or rather where?
DAVID QUAMMEN: Where, exactly?
JAD: So…
DAVID QUAMMEN: Beatrice Hahn and her colleagues started looking at chimps that came from different parts of Western Central Africa.
JAD: Now getting blood samples from chimps in the wild is pretty much…
BEATRICE HAHN: It just isn’t feasible.
JAD: You know, because in the wild they hide the moment they see us.
BEATRICE HAHN: So you get stuck with fecal samples.
CARL ZIMMER: Poop.
BEATRICE HAHN: Yes, poop.
CARL ZIMMER: There’s lots of DNA in there.
JAD: And viruses.
CARL ZIMMER: So they would just go to where the chimpanzees would sleep at night, and they would just, you know, collect some poop.
JAD: Bring it back to the lab, and Beatrice would analyze all the viruses.
BEATRICE HAHN: Over 90 different wild communities.
JAD: From every part of central Africa.
BEATRICE HAHN: Over 7,000 different fecal samples.
JAD: And slowly, they were able to piece together…
BEATRICE HAHN: Which communities were infected and which ones had the closest to HIV-1. That’s when it hit us for the first time.
JAD: What exactly hit you?
BEATRICE HAHN: The geographic origin of these chimps.
JAD: In 2006, her and her colleagues published that the human AIDS virus comes from a group of chimps, a very specific group that live in a very specific place.
DAVID QUAMMEN: This little corner of southeastern Cameroon.
BEATRICE HAHN: Between the Boumba River, the Ngoko River and the Sangha River.
JAD: These chimps were essentially penned in between these three rivers.
DAVID QUAMMEN: It’s an area probably only of a hundred square miles. Not much more than that.
ROBERT: So when we’re looking at what humans have and we’re looking at what all of those chimps in Africa have, the most perfect match is this little territory up there in Cameroon?
DAVID QUAMMEN: Yeah.
BEATRICE HAHN: There is no other virus that is any closer. So that’s that.
JAD: So can you reconstruct the spillover and the who that it spilled over into, as best—you know, as best as we understand it?
DAVID QUAMMEN: You can hypothesize. And the best hypothesis is the cut hunter hypothesis.
JAD: The cut hunter?
ROBERT: The C-U-T hunter?
DAVID QUAMMEN: That’s right. A hunter who gets cut.
JAD: And what can we say about this guy? I mean, is he—what do we know about him?
DAVID QUAMMEN: If we had to guess? If we had to guess, that human was probably a Bantu man living very near the forest or in the forest in southeastern Cameroon. He was hunting. Maybe he had a bow and arrow, maybe he had a spear, and he kills a chimpanzee. Bingo, here’s a big pile of meat. And he starts to butcher it. He’s cutting open the chest cavity. He’s pulling out organs and he cuts himself. And he gets blood-to-blood contact. Chimpanzee blood against his blood. What happens is that the virus in the chimpanzee blood found itself in an environment that was unexpected, that was alien to it, but was not too much different from the biochemical environment it had been in, chimpanzee blood. It could function. And that’s the moment. That’s the moment it begins. That human is patient zero.
JAD: But why then? Why 1908? I mean presumably, people have been hunting chimps for a really long time. Why wouldn’t this guy be patient seven million?
DAVID QUAMMEN: That’s another of the big questions. People certainly in central Africa have been eating monkeys for thousands of years.
JAD: I mean, David says there’s really no way to know, but this could have just been the right virus.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Maybe this particular virus evolved in a way that made it more transmissible in humans.
JAD: Or maybe it just got lucky to come along at precisely the right time.
CARL ZIMMER: What you’re looking at…
JAD: This is Carl again.
CARL ZIMMER: … is a time when this part of Africa was being heavily colonized. The French and the Belgians were building train systems. And populations were on the move. Kinshasa, which was then Leopoldville, it was exploding. It was huge.
DAVID QUAMMEN: The cities were attracting people from the boonies in those days…
JAD: So by 1908, all the virus has to do is get from that tiny village where the cut hunter lived to one of the new cities.
DAVID QUAMMEN: That happens almost certainly by river. I was stirred by the work of Beatrice Hahn and Mike Worobey to see what this scenario looked like on the ground. So I went to southeastern Cameroon and I chartered a little boat, about a 30-foot wooden boat with an outboard motor.
JAD: And he traced the path of the virus.
DAVID QUAMMEN: We went down the Ngoko River, and we stopped at a few villages. There are a couple little villages there, one of which has a market where you can buy monkey meat and crocodile meat.
JAD: And he says it wasn’t hard to imagine how it all might have went down. Perhaps the cut hunter gave the virus to a woman who then passed it on to a fisherman.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Fellow that I called the voyager.
JAD: Who then got in the boat as David did and carried it down the river.
DAVID QUAMMEN: The Sangha River, which is—the Ngoko is a tributary of the Sangha. The Sangha becomes a bigger river 200 meters wide, which then flows to the Congo River, the big river.
JAD: And into the city.
DAVID QUAMMEN: And I imagined him sliding into Brazzaville around 1920. The first HIV-positive man to arrive in an urban center, where there’s a much greater density of humans, where there are prostitutes, a greater fluidity of social and sexual interactions. And that seems to have been the place from which the disease went global.
ROBERT: So that’s how it happened?
DAVID QUAMMEN: Let me add another parentheses. There are essentially 12 major groups of the HIV virus.
JAD: What David means is that 12 different kinds of HIV viruses have spilled over 12 different times.
DAVID QUAMMEN: Eight of them came from monkeys, three of them came from chimps and one came from gorillas.
JAD: Wow.
DAVID QUAMMEN: And of those 12, only one of them is responsible for the global pandemic.
JAD: There are 12 kinds!
DAVID QUAMMEN: Twelve kinds that we know about. It’s probably happened dozens and dozens more times that we don’t know about. So the spillover is not a highly improbable event. In most cases, those spillovers have not resulted in extended chains of disease in humans, let alone global pandemic. In a few cases they’ve resulted in localized disease. And in one case, the sweepstakes-winning strain, HIV-1 group M, has infected 60 million humans around the world and killed 30 million.
JAD: A lot of people to thank for this segment. Thanks to David Quammen, who’s got a book called Spillover, which is all about diseases crossing over from animals to us.
ROBERT: Also, thank you to Carl Zimmer, whose book on viruses is called A Planet of Viruses. And thank you also to him and to Michael Worobey. Their interview was recorded on a podcast from Meet the Scientists. And also to Beatrice Hahn at the University of Pennsylvania.
JAD: And to Katie Slocum from the University of York for letting us use her recordings of chimpanzees.
JAD: Hey, you want to know about my—one of my proudest moments of being a dad?
ROBERT: Yeah.
JAD: Happened this morning.
ROBERT: Yeah?
JAD: So you know how Emil’s a little bit of an introvert, right?
ROBERT: Mm-hmm.
JAD: And we’re sort of worried whether he socializes enough. Well, we were taking him to daycare and we’re—he’s taking his shoes off, and there’s this little boy who’s only there two days a week and he’s not adjusting well. And every time his mother drops him off, she has to literally pry him off her and he’s wailing and you know? So Emil sits down on this little seat to take his shoes off. The mother of this kid puts this little boy next to Emil and he is just crying. Wah! He’s distraught. So then what happens is Emil turns to this little boy, looks at him, sticks out his hand and says, “High-five.”
ROBERT: [laughs]
JAD: “High-five.” Out of nowhere.
JON MOOALLEM: That is amazing. Yeah, because it’s like, they’re out in their own society, you know?
JAD: Okay, so let’s do the introductions. I’m Jad.
ROBERT: I’m Robert.
JAD: This is Radiolab. We’re calling this show…
ROBERT: Patient Zero.
JAD: Yeah. And for this next segment, no more patients.
ROBERT: No more diseases.
JAD: Exactly.
ROBERT: Let’s focus instead on invention. On the people who bring new ideas into the world.
JAD: Yeah, the zeros behind the ideas. That doesn’t quite sound right. You know what I mean.
ROBERT: Yeah.
JAD: And that guy you just heard?
JON MOOALLEM: Hi. My name is Jon Mooallem. I’m a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine.
JAD: He’s got his own high-five story to tell, though it’s not about his daughter.
JON MOOALLEM: We have—I think we have kids around the same age.
JAD: Or her first high-five. It’s actually about the first high-five ever.
JON MOOALLEM: Yeah.
JAD: Ever?
JON MOOALLEM: Yeah.
JAD: See, one morning a few years ago…
JON MOOALLEM: 2007 or 2008.
JAD: Jon turned on his computer, opened up his email and found…
JON MOOALLEM: A press release about the—the true undisputed inventor of the high-five coming, you know, out finally.
JAD: Who was the press release from?
JON MOOALLEM: National High-Five Day, which is a kind of a joke holiday that was invented by a group of high school friends, I think.
ROBERT: And they told the story?
JON MOOALLEM: They told the story of Lamont Sleets. College basketball player at Murray State in Kentucky.
ROBERT: And the story in the press release went something like this. Sleets’s father fought in…
JON MOOALLEM: Vietnam. as part of the 1st Battalion 5th Infantry, which was nicknamed The Five. And they used to greet each other by holding up their hand and saying, “Five” as a kind of prideful thing. And when Lamont was younger, they would all sort of hang out at the house in Kentucky, and he couldn’t keep all their names straight. So when they’d walk in the door and they’d go “Five,” he would just sort of smack their hand and he’d go, “Hi, Five.”
JAD: Oh, like “Hi” like, “Hello, five.”
JON MOOALLEM: Hello, Five. Yeah. Hi comma Five. You know, he has small hands, he liked to put them up against the big hands of the Five guys. And it was years later that he started playing college basketball at Murray State and started high-fiving all his teammates. He really never stopped high-fiving, it was just something he did. But when he went around playing away games, other teams picked it up and it sort of spread out. So he was sort of both the inventor of the high-five and the kind of Johnny Appleseed of the high-five at the same time.
JAD: And within a few weeks of Jon getting this press release…
ROBERT: The story was everywhere.
JAD: Went kind of viral.
JON MOOALLEM: It wound up sort of all over the internet. There were some local newspapers who, you know, picked it up. You know, Murray State suddenly became very proud of the fact that they were the home of the high-five. It became sort of part of the institutional lore in the athletic department there.
JAD: And then you read this and you thought what?
JON MOOALLEM: I thought, how sad.
JAD: How sad? Why how sad?
JON MOOALLEM: Because I knew the story of Glenn Burke.
JAD: Turns out Jon had already been poking around into this question of who invented the high-five, and he had stumbled on this photograph.
JON MOOALLEM: You know, maybe I don’t have it.
JAD: Black and white picture.
JON MOOALLEM: Oh, yeah. Here we go.
JAD: Two baseball players facing each other. Afros, huge smiles, and their hands are in the air right about to connect.
JAD: Which one of these is Glenn Burke?
JON MOOALLEM: So Burke’s—Burke’s the guy in the warm-up jacket. I think he’s even got his hat on backwards.
JAD: Glenn Burke was a center fielder for the LA Dodgers in the ’70s. Big guy.
JON MOOALLEM: He says he had 17-inch biceps. So I’ll take his—I’ll take his word for that.
JAD: The other guy in the picture is Dusty Baker. He’s an outfielder. But you can tell in the picture just from the way that Glenn is sort of throwing his whole body forward that he’s the one initiating the gesture.
JON MOOALLEM: I mean, this is a guy who was, you know, the soul of the Dodgers clubhouse.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: He just had that type of charisma.
ROBERT: This is Lutha Burke Davis, Glenn’s sister.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: With Glenn it was like he would always be on the stage. I often said he should have been a comedian.
JON MOOALLEM: He was always dancing around in the—in the clubhouse. He used to do Richard Pryor stand-up routines just from memory.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: He just genuinely loved people.
ROBERT: So much so she says, that in the year that picture was taken, the Dodgers made him their sort of public face of the team.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: He was their Ambassador of Goodwill.
ROBERT: He’s the guy they’d send out to all the press events.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: You know, like meet the youngsters, or…
ROBERT: That sort of thing.
JON MOOALLEM: Here’s the story about this picture.
JAD: What was the date?
JON MOOALLEM: October 5, poetically enough, 1977.
JAD: It’s the playoffs. Dodgers versus the Phillies. Game four. Bases are loaded.
JON MOOALLEM: Dusty Baker…
ROBERT: Steps to the plate…
JON MOOALLEM: And grand slam.
JAD: Crowd goes nuts.
ROBERT: Baker does his victory lap.
JAD: And just as he’s…
JON MOOALLEM: You know, rounding third, coming to the plate.
ROBERT: Burke comes racing out of the dugout…
JON MOOALLEM: And he’s got his arm really high up, and Baker…
JAD: Sees him, instinctively raises his arm, and before you know it…
JON MOOALLEM: Burke and Baker smack hands.
JAD: Bam! There it was.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: The sportscasters that were, you know, announcing the game, said they had never seen that done in sports before.
JON MOOALLEM: And from there on, the Dodgers started high-fiving and everyone else started high-fiving.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: The high-five…
JAD: Became a thing.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: Mm-hmm.
JAD: And it all began with that one moment.
JON MOOALLEM: The platonic high-five right there.
ROBERT: Unfortunately, that moment…
JON MOOALLEM: That was actually both the beginning and also almost the end of Burke’s career.
JAD: It’s not that he wasn’t good. He was actually really good, even in his rookie season.
JON MOOALLEM: He was being talked about as the next Willie Mays by the Dodgers organization.
ROBERT: But…
JON MOOALLEM: He was gay. And he tried to keep that a secret while he was playing. Dusty Baker actually had kept trying to set him up with his wife’s cousins, and Burke never want—never liked any of them. And Baker’s completely confused because he knew, you know, these were these were really good-looking women, apparently. So there were rumors circulating, and the rumors reached the front office of the LA Dodgers. And—and one day, Burke was called in by management and they offered him $75,000 to get married.
JAD: What?
ROBERT: $75,000.
JAD: To get married?
ROBERT: Huh.
JAD: What is this, like the mob or something?
JON MOOALLEM: Well, exactly. I mean, they didn’t regularly offer their players money to get—to get married. And Burke’s response apparently was—he said, “I suppose you mean to a woman.”
ROBERT: [laughs]
JON MOOALLEM: Shortly after that, the Dodgers traded him to the Oakland A’s for a player who everyone acknowledged was completely inferior.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: That was confusing for us, and I know it had to be confusing for him.
JON MOOALLEM: It was shocking to everyone. No one understood why he was traded.
JAD: And you think it was because he was gay?
JON MOOALLEM: Yeah. Yeah.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: You know, baseball is the all-American sport.
JAD: Yeah.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: But, you know, at least he was still gonna be able to play ball. Or at least he thought.
JON MOOALLEM: He ends up in Oakland. Doesn’t get very much playing time.
ROBERT: And when he did get on the field, it wasn’t very pleasant.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: He used to get heckled a lot, you know, from people in the bleachers and…
ROBERT: And even worse, according to a couple of different people his coach…
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: Billy Martin.
ROBERT: Would often introduce Glenn Burke this way.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: This is Glenn Burke, the faggot.
JAD: Really?
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: Yeah.
JON MOOALLEM: And so Glenn Burke retires.
JAD: Wow, and he was only, like, 26 or something, right?
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: Yes. He was young.
JON MOOALLEM: Within a year of his rookie season. Just walks away.
JAD: God, that’s like a aborted career.
JON MOOALLEM: Exactly. From there, he ends up in the Castro District in San Francisco, which is the big gay neighborhood.
JAD: And things go okay for a while.
ROBERT: But then one day when he’s crossing the street…
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: Three teenaged girls in their mother’s car…
JAD: Come barreling down the road.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: And they hit him and broke his leg in three places.
JAD: Oh, man.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: And that kind of ended everything when that happened.
ROBERT: He starts taking painkillers. One thing leads to another.
JON MOOALLEM: He gets hooked on crack. Can’t hold a job. He goes broke.
JAD: Ends up living…
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: On the street.
JON MOOALLEM: And in 1994, Burke is diagnosed with—with HIV or AIDS. I guess AIDS at that point.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: He ended up coming to live with me. A lot of times he didn’t sleep well at night, and we would sit up and talk. Put on music. And I danced, and he’d move his arms around because he was in the bed. He was bedridden.
JAD: And so you took care of him ’til he died?
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: Yeah.
JAD: And Glenn Burke died in 1995.
ROBERT: But what he’s left with at this point is he’s left with the original high-five, right? That’s his claim.
JON MOOALLEM: Yes. Yes. That defined him, to some people at least at the end. And he—and he believed it. A reporter had asked him, you know, if it was true about the high-five and he said, “Yeah, think about the feeling you get when you give someone the high-five. I had that feeling before everybody else did.”
JAD: Huh. So what did you do when you got this press release?
JON MOOALLEM: So I called National High-Five Day, because I wanted to talk to Lamont Sleets. Even though I was sad, it seemed like okay, here’s another person’s prideful accomplishment. Let’s get his story.
GREG HARRELL-EDGE: Hello? Hello?
JAD: Eventually…
GREG HARRELL-EDGE: Hey, there we go.
JAD: He gets this guy on the phone.
GREG HARRELL-EDGE: My name is Greg Harrell-Edge.
JAD: Greg is one of the founders, and he and Jon gets talking. And Jon asks him the sensible first question.
JON MOOALLEM: Is the Lamont Sleets story true?
ROBERT: He figured it was, but he thought he should at least ask. He’s a reporter.
JON MOOALLEM: And there was a pause, and he said, “No.”
GREG HARRELL-EDGE: Frankly, we’ve been waiting for someone to ask. We thought no one would ever ask.
JON MOOALLEM: It’s not true.
GREG HARRELL-EDGE: This is something that we had made up. We wanted to see if the media would—would run with it.
ROBERT: They made the whole thing up.
JON MOOALLEM: They made the whole thing up, and then they just went to go cast their protagonist.
GREG HARRELL-EDGE: So we sat down. We picked Murray State. That’s just kind of a great-sounding school. It pops up in the NCAA tournament every few years.
JON MOOALLEM: And they came across this guy Lamont Sleets.
JAD: Why him?
GREG HARRELL-EDGE: Well, it was pretty close to random.
JON MOOALLEM: They then told me they had received an email from Lamont Sleets’s wife.
GREG HARRELL-EDGE: Absolutely. His wife emailed us and said some of the details that you have are flat out wrong.
JAD: That implies that some of the things you’ve said are right, though.
JON MOOALLEM: But Lamont thinks he probably did invent the high-five.
JAD: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What about Glenn?
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: I was kind of like, hmm, kind of a bit blown away, you know?
JON MOOALLEM: Yeah, you know, here was this guy who is proud of this, and these guys just kind of stripped it away from him?
JAD: Do you feel a little guilty? That I mean like, okay, it’s a high-five. It’s kind of a silly thing. On the other hand, this guy’s life, the way he died. Do you feel like you robbed him?
GREG HARRELL-EDGE: We do feel—we do feel—we wish that we had done things slightly differently in—in putting together this sort of collegiate prank. But we didn’t really know of Glenn Burke at that time.
JAD: Greg says they hadn’t heard of the Glenn Burke story when they pulled this prank, and now that they know it, they really feel bad. In fact, they’re now organizing a charity event they’re calling…
GREG HARRELL-EDGE: The National High-Five-Athon.
JAD: Which will raise money for charity, including one chosen by Glenn Burke’s sister Lutha.
LUTHA BURKE DAVIS: I’m very proud. Any time I see somebody do a high-five, it just really makes me happy.
JAD: And that seemed like a good end to the story.
JON MOOALLEM: But…
ROBERT: No. Because then Jon told us that…
JAD: If you really honestly want to get to the bottom of who invented the high-five? I mean, we didn’t think we wanted to but now there were in it, what the hell. Well, you’ve got to go beyond Glenn Burke’s story.
JON MOOALLEM: I’ve wanted you to believe that he was a hero at this point, right? So maybe I should tell you a little bit about Derek Smith, right?
ROBERT: Even though Glenn Burke died believing that the high-five was his legacy, at more or less the same moment that he invented it, a guy named Derek Smith, a basketball player for the Louisville Cardinals was at practice…
JON MOOALLEM: And a guy named Wiley Brown went up to Derek Smith and was going to give him just a ordinary low-five, and Derek Smith looked him in the eye. This is what Wiley Brown told me. Derek Smith looked him in the eye and said, “No. Up high.” That year’s Louisville team, they were—they were known as the Doctors of Dunk. You know, they’re a high-flying team. They played above the rim.
JAD: And Jon says when Louisville played in the 1980 NCAA finals…
JON MOOALLEM: I haven’t seen it, but apparently the broadcaster referred actually to the high-five handshake.
[ARCHIVE CLIP: Giving the high-five handshake. High-fives!]
JON MOOALLEM: He felt compelled to explain it to America.
JAD: Wow, and did—at the moment that Derek Smith did it—did an asteroid fall on his head or something?
JON MOOALLEM: Well in 1996, I believe. In the ’90s, he had an undiagnosed heart condition and he just died all of a sudden on a cruise ship.
JAD: What?
JON MOOALLEM: Yes, and he said explicitly to Wiley Brown, “This is something I’m gonna be remembered for. You know, our kids and our grandkids are gonna talk about this.” And in fact, their kids and grandkids do talk about it.
JAD: And they’re probably very proud. But…
KATHY GREGORY: Hello, it’s Kathy.
ROBERT: Then we ran into this woman.
KATHY GREGORY: Fire away.
JAD: This is Kathy Gregory. She coached women’s volleyball in the 1960s, years before Glenn Burke and Derek Smith. And she says with her girls…
KATHY GREGORY: Everyone did it. All the time. So I do believe that it was volleyball that first started it.
JAD: And interestingly, she says they would high-five more when a player screwed up.
KATHY GREGORY: Yes. No, no, it isn’t just about celebration.
JAD: Because really, when do you need a high-five?
KATHY GREGORY: Of course, it’s more when you’re down.
JON MOOALLEM: Yeah, it makes people so happy.
JAD: So women’s volleyball. There you go.
[ARCHIVE CLIP, Breathless: Non, ce n’est pas fini.]
ROBERT: Non, ce n’est pas fini! Because then our producer Lynn Levy also discovered that in the movie Breathless in 1955, at exactly one hour, 18 minutes into the film, you will see two Frenchmen do a very distinct haute cinq.
[ARCHIVE CLIP, Breathless: Amigo!]
ROBERT: Right there!
JAD: [laughs] Isn’t this all, like, an indication to you that it—it’s maybe—it’s one of those things that probably was there at the dawn of man?
JON MOOALLEM: Because it, like, gives pleasure?
JAD: Yeah, it’s just like a…
JON MOOALLEM: Like, from an evolutionary point of view?
ROBERT: No, I don’t think so. I think—I think this has the feeling of something that was born. I mean, who in this room wants Glenn Burke to be the original guy?
JAD: Just raise your hand. Me.
JON MOOALLEM: Me.
ROBERT: Me.
JAD: It’s a better story!
ROBERT: So look at what’s happening here. Every time we look for the original of anything, be it a disease, a contagion, a gesture, we find more than one. So what do you do in this situation?
JAD: I think, you know what you do is you just choose. You say which one is the better story. Let’s just go with the best high-five. Forget the first. The best.
ROBERT: And I think we can do that. Lets just call it Glenn Burke.
JAD: Glenn Burke invented the high-five.
ROBERT: Done.
JAD: All right. High-five. Hive-five.
[high-five slap]
ROBERT: [laughs]
[LISTENER: Hi, I’m Josh, and I’m from Plainfield, New Jersey, and here are the staff credits. Radiolab is hosted by Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser. Soren Wheeler is our executive editor. Sarah Sandbach is our executive director. Our managing editor is Pat Walters. Dylan Keefe is our director of sound design. Our staff includes: Jeremy Bloom, W. Harry Fortuna, David Gebel, Maria Paz Gutiérrez, Sindhu Gnanasambandan, Matt Kielty, Mona Madgavkar, Annie McEwen, Alex Neason, Sarah Qari, Natalia Ramirez, Joanna Strogatz, Anisa Vietze, Arianne Wack, Molly Webster and Jessica Yung, with help from Gabby Santas and Maia Appleby Melamed. Our fact-checkers are Nora Belblidia, Hilary Elkins, Rachel Gross, Diane Kelly, Emily Krieger, Natalie Middleton and Sophie Samiee.]
[LISTENER: Hi. I’m Maddie and I’m from Frederick, Maryland. Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.]
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Preventing Future Pandemics
Duration: 00:59:55
Released: 2026
Series: Big Picture Science
We may not want to think about another pandemic, but, as epidemiologists say, it is once again a “when,” not “if,” scenario. For his latest book, journalist Jon Cohen, who has written extensively about infectious disease for the magazine Science, interviewed top epidemiologists around the world and followed virus hunters into damp and daunting bat caves to assess our pandemic preparedness readiness. Jon and Molly sit down before an audience in Los Angeles to talk about worrisome cuts to science funding and our ability (or inability) to be vigilant and respond quickly to emerging disease. There is good news: we know how to stop outbreaks. The question is, will we put our tools and vast knowledge to use? Guest: Jon Cohen – senior correspondent with Science Magazine, author of “Planning Miracles: How to Prevent Future Pandemics” Reading: The Trump Administration is Dismantling Efforts to Fight the Next Pandemic Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science. You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Redlining’s Ripple Effects Go Beyond Humans
Duration: 00:13:58
Released: 2023
Series: Short Wave
When Dr. Chloé Schmidt was a PhD student in Winnepeg, Canada, she was studying wildlife in urban areas. She and her advisor Dr. Colin Garroway came across a 2020 paper that posed a hypothesis: If the echos of systemic racism affect the human residents of neighborhoods and cities, then it should affect the wildlife as well. Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber talks to Chloé and Colin about their findings of how redlining and biodiversity are intertwined.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Return of Alpha Gal
Duration: 01:00:00
Released: 2021
Series: Radiolab
Tuck your napkin under your chin. We’re about to serve up a tale of love, loss, and lamb chops - with a side of genetic modification. Several years ago we told a story about Amy Pearl. For as long as she could remember, Amy loved meat in all its glorious cuts and marbled flavors. And then one day, for seemingly no reason, her body wouldn’t tolerate it. No steaks. No brisket. No weenies. It made no sense: why couldn’t she eat something that she had routinely enjoyed for decades? It turned out Amy was not alone. And the answer to her mysterious allergy involved maps, a dancing lone star tick, and a very particular sugar called Alpha Gal. In this update, we discover that our troubles with Alpha Gal go way beyond food. We go to NYU Langone Health hospital to see the second ever transplant of a kidney from a pig into a human, talk to some people at Revivicor, the company that bred the pig in question, and go back to Amy to find out what she thinks about this brave new world. The original episode was reported by Latif Nasser, and produced by Annie McEwen and Matt Kielty. Sound design and scoring from Dylan Keefe, Annie McEwen, and Matt Kielty. Mix by Dylan Keefe with Arianne Wack. The update was reported and produced by Sarah Qari. It was sound designed, scored, and mixed by Jeremy Bloom. Support Radiolab by becoming a member today at Radiolab.org/donate. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Rift Valley Fever - Ruminating on ruminants
Duration: 01:15:26
Released: 2025
Series: This Podcast Will Kill You
Hemorrhagic virus? Check. Deadly disease? Check. Mosquito-borne? Check. Affected by animal movement, human activity, and environmental change? Check. Rift Valley Fever has all the markings of a classic TPWKY episode. This week, we’re doing a deep dive on this deadly virus, taking a One Health approach to explore the intricate relationships between animals, humans, and the environment to understand how this virus moves across the landscape. We trace the various paths this virus takes: through the organisms it infects, across the globe as it spreads, and over time as it appears to be evolving to be deadlier. Tune in to learn more about Rift Valley fever and what we might see with this pathogen in the years to come.Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Should we reengineer the world’s deadliest animal?
Duration: 00:11:59
Released: 2026
Series: Short Wave
The most ferocious predator for us humans is actually quite small: the mosquito. They are hungry for blood, spreading diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue – and picking up new ones all the time. But what if we could wipe out the mosquito? Gene-editing technology could do it, potentially saving millions of lives. But it comes with serious potential for risk. Which begs the question: Should we get to decide when humanity rewrites nature? Here to discuss that is Ben Bradford, the host of a new podcast distributed by the NPR Network: Are We Doomed?Interested in more science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
SPEAKER: You’re listening to Short Wave from NPR.
EMILY KWONG: The most ferocious predator for us humans is actually quite small.
[BUZZING]
KWONG: It’s the mosquito. They are hungry for blood and spreading diseases all the time, including serious ones, like malaria, yellow fever, and dengue. But what if we could wipe out the mosquito, We have the technology to do it. But should we? Here to discuss that is Ben Bradford, the host of a new podcast distributed by the NPR Network. It’s called Are We Doomed?
BEN BRADFORD: It is. Hi, Emily.
KWONG: So, Ben, your podcast Are We Doomed? covers a lot, from killer AI to nuclear weapons and, of course, the bloodthirsty micropredators I want to talk about today. How do you feel about mosquitoes, by the way?
BRADFORD: I think they’re gross, and I think they’re rude. And you mentioned, Emily, new gene-editing techniques could allow us to eradicate our little insect nemesis, potentially saving millions of lives.
KWONG: Yes. I learned that from you, from your show.
BRADFORD: Yeah, thank you.
KWONG: The tech is here.
BRADFORD: Yeah. Thank you. And it would be amazing. But also, in that technology is something inherently more dangerous. I talked to Kevin Esvelt, who is a biologist now at the MIT Media Lab.
KEVIN ESVELT: And if you can engineer a mosquito so it can’t spread disease, you could engineer a mosquito so it always spreads disease.
[CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC]
KWONG: Today on the show, the technology that allows us to kill the mosquito comes with all kinds of complications.
BRADFORD: So what does it mean to try to change an entire species? Who gets to decide? What might the ripple effects be? How do you test it? How do you protect it?
KWONG: Easy questions, you know. You’re listening to Short Wave, the science podcast from NPR.
[CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC]
KWONG: OK, Short Wavers. I’m here with Ben Bradford, who’s just done all this reporting on have to save millions of people from malaria by wiping out the mosquito. Ben, how does that even work?
BRADFORD: Yeah. So let’s go back to early last decade. Scientists developed a new form of gene editing, which you may know as CRISPR. It’s this way of scalpelling out a tiny strand of DNA. And you kind of like suture in a new trait. It doesn’t quite look like that, but that’s essentially what’s happening. And so with CRISPR, you can cure a genetic disease or engineer a cow to grow without horns, both things that they have done in labs.
KWONG: Wow.
BRADFORD: But Kevin Esvelt, this biologist now at the MIT Media Lab, had his own realization.
ESVELT: Turns out, it doesn’t just let you engineer organisms in the lab. It lets you let them go, and the engineered trait will spread to most of the ones in the wild. That’s incredibly exciting.
BRADFORD: Kevin is the person who figured out you could CRISPR a creature, do this little DNA surgery, so it always passes along the gene that you put into it. And so with CRISPR, the idea is you can create a mosquito that, for instance, always has males, and then its offspring will always have males. And so you put it into an area, and it extinguishes all these species carrying malaria in that area.
KWONG: Because there aren’t females to mate with.
BRADFORD: Yeah. And so to do this, you, of course, have to engineer a mosquito from hell. In the show, we called him Jerry.
JERRY: Hi.
[MACHINERY WHIRRING]
[SPLAT]
BRADFORD: To clarify, Jerry’s mission is actually not to murder all mosquitoes, because they’re just trying to target in an area with malaria. And that’s because mosquitoes are ecologically important.
KWONG: They are important to the environment. It’s true.
BRADFORD: I didn’t know that, but they are. And it was disappointing. They’re pollinators and birds–
KWONG: Wow.
BRADFORD: –and spiders, yeah, all kinds of critters eat them.
KWONG: Yeah. It would be reckless to wipe out mosquitoes entirely. But when it comes to Jerry, the mosquito from hell, he’s just meant to wipe out the mosquitoes that carry malaria in a certain region. But then the question becomes, how do you do that without affecting birds and spiders?
BRADFORD: So the idea is to offer birds and spiders a different kind of mosquito to snack on, one that doesn’t transmit malaria, because there’s a whole bunch of different types of mosquito species. And even better or worse, Kevin says, we don’t need to take out the malaria-carrying mosquitoes forever, even.
KWONG: Right. You say in the show, they just need to, quote, \“go on a sabbatical.\”
BRADFORD: Yeah. That’s right. We just need them to, like, disappear for a little while.
ESVELT: Malaria transmission requires humans, and it requires mosquitoes. So this is a back-and-forth transmission chain.
BRADFORD: So if the mosquitoes go on sabbatical for long enough, for the malaria to die out in the humans that the mosquitoes pick up the malaria from and transmit it between, then when the mosquitoes come back, the malaria is gone, and there’s just nothing for them to transmit.
KWONG: This plan is bold. It’s like, use CRISPR, make mosquito. Mosquito Jerry, though, only makes sons. And then the malaria mosquitoes will be wiped out, but not for too long, because that would be bad.
BRADFORD: Just enough.
KWONG: Just a sabbatical.
BRADFORD: Yeah. And so it turns out that there’s a whole bunch of steps that you kind of have to follow if you’re going to do this in a way where you, one, test that the thing actually is going to work, and two, test that it’s not going to work too well and go around the world and create a whole bunch of problems.
KWONG: So how do you even go about testing this?
BRADFORD: Well, you need an area where you’re going to put out your mosquitoes into the wild, kind of a cordoned-off area where they’re going to be on their own. And basically, what we’re describing is a mosquito Jurassic Park. And then that leads to other questions, which is, how do you stop what happens in every Jurassic Park movie?
KWONG: Uh, the dinosaurs get out.
BRADFORD: And so, of course, this is the challenge. And we know what we’re trying to avoid, because we’ve seen it in history.
KWONG: Let’s listen to a section of the episode that talks about how this can all go wrong.
[AUDIO PLAYBACK]
BRADFORD: Take a tangent with me to the shores of Australia and New Zealand in the late 1800s. European ships landed, bringing sailors and soldiers and felons and rabbits. Europeans brought rabbits over for food and hunting, snacks and sport. Of course, the rabbits quickly escaped and bred all over both islands and became a scourge on an environment totally unprepared for them. They eat everything. New Zealanders looked to fight back. They brought over ferrets and weasels to sic on the rabbits. And when that failed, ferrets and weasels became more invasive species. Skip to the 1990s. Neighboring Australia, largely by accident, unleashed an only partially tested biological weapon against its rabbits.
SPEAKER: This nasty virus that wiped out, like, 2/3 of all rabbits or more.
BRADFORD: New Zealand had been considering using this virus as well, but it wanted more testing first.
SPEAKER 1: New Zealand government said, we’re not sure of safety and so forth. So for now, you’re forbidden to import this virus into New Zealand.
BRADFORD: So what do you think happened at this point? New Zealand farmers, losing millions of dollars as rabbits destroyed their crops, began taking little vacations to Australia to go hunting for infected rabbits.
SPEAKER 1: And they smuggled in diced up, infected rabbit parts from Australia illegally.
BRADFORD: They liquefied the body parts into virus-laden smoothies, which they spread on their fields. Bam. New Zealand had the rabbit virus.
SPEAKER 1: And what’s the government going to do?
SPEAKER 2: When it’s out, it’s out.
BRADFORD: This is Kevin’s fear. If we do create a mosquito Jurassic Park to test Jerry, which we have to do to make sure he works and doesn’t cause a ripple effect of unknown ecological destruction, Kevin says some New Zealand farmers are going to steal one of our mosquitoes.
ESVELT: Of course someone would do that, and they would tell themselves a perfect story in which they’re the hero, right?
BRADFORD: If Jerry gets out, we don’t know what harm he would cause because we haven’t field tested. Consider the possibilities. Jerry and his descendants could travel around the world. These mosquitoes would spawn only males wherever they go, leading to globally extinguishing all of his species. Worse, what if it turns out Jerry can mate with another type of mosquito and he passes along his all-boys gene to one of them? What if that one can mate with another species, and so on? Maybe that gene travels throughout all types of mosquito and does eradicate them entirely. What if birds and spiders and flowers can’t adapt to that loss, and it creates a domino effect of environmental destruction? Then we’ve got a problem.
[RELAXING MUSIC]
[END PLAYBACK]
KWONG: This approach, you know, clearly comes with so many unintended consequences. You say on the show, the point is to insert a trait that spreads like wildfire, and wildfire is hard to stop.
BRADFORD: Yeah. And so that is the main argument against doing this thing, this technology, which is basically called an engineered gene drive. And so there are people who think we should, you know, pack this up, seal it away, never do it.
KWONG: And a gene drive in nature is when, like, a trait kind of naturally evolves to get passed on.
BRADFORD: It gets really good at being passed through its offspring.
KWONG: But here, humans are interfering to make that happen.
BRADFORD: Here, we’re making it happen. Yeah. That’s sort of the debate. But, of course, the stakes are, do you get rid of malaria? Do you get rid of dengue fever? And so when I talked to Kevin, the person who kind of figured out, hey, we could do this, his biggest concern is that an accidental, untested release of, let’s say, Jerry, poisons the whole discourse around this and any attempt to do it.
ESVELT: We know what happens when there’s a backlash to technology. We’re seeing it right now for vaccines and other things. And we saw it even in biomedicine with something like gene therapy, where a single death in a poorly planned clinical trial that led to tragedy set back the entire field by more than a decade. More than a decade is more than 5 million dead children.
KWONG: That’s a lot of pressure. Because, you know, mosquito-borne diseases cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year. But on the other hand, you don’t want to roll out a gene drive project too quickly because something could go terribly wrong.
BRADFORD: And you can hear, in our episode, that pressure that Kevin feels because of that. And so it does. It creates all of these hurdles, all of these kind of like little puzzles that you need to solve to be able to do that. You know, we need to test our mosquitoes, like Jerry, to make sure he doesn’t cause unintended consequences. You have to do this sort of like field test your Jurassic Park. But how do you do the Jurassic Park without risking those consequences, where someone’s going to steal him or he’s going to get out? I mean, they fly, for God’s sakes. So, like, what are you going to do?
KWONG: It is such a puzzle. And in your episode, you talk about some ways to work the puzzle, to actually, like, take what’s theoretical and make it happen in the real world.
BRADFORD: These guys are so smart. They’re so smart.
KWONG: What is your takeaway from all this when it comes to the ethics of a gene drive for mosquitoes, but really, also for any species?
BRADFORD: Yeah. I think that the possibilities here are really exciting. I mean, malaria is terrible. And the mosquito has killed more people than any other creature on the Earth. And so you start thinking about how we can solve that for our species. That’s amazing. But, you know, I will say, you know someone else on our team, our animator, who was watching this episode and doing our animation for it– and he heard it and was like, this is insane. We should never do this.
KWONG: Mm. Ben Bradford, your podcast Are We Doomed? is out now. Thank you so much for coming into Short Wave.
BRADFORD: Thank you for having me.
KWONG: Check out the show. It’s really good. You can find it all the places you typically get your podcasts. And also, if you haven’t already, download the NPR app. My bosses really want you to do it, and you will honestly get great journalism from it. Thank you. This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson and edited by our showrunner Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Kwesi Lee was the audio engineer. I’m Emily Kwong. Thank you for listening to Short Wave from NPR.
Some Chemicals are Forever
Duration: 00:58:05
Released: 2025
Series: Big Picture Science
As their name suggests, “forever chemicals” have extraordinary staying power. When these nearly indestructible compounds find their way into our soil and water, they don’t break down for hundreds or thousands of years. PFAS – the name for these synthetic chemicals – isn’t just in our natural environment. Scientists have found it everywhere, including in the blood of nearly every living being. In this episode, we talk to the reporter who broke open the story about a decades-long corporate coverup regarding forever chemicals, look at what we know about their health effects, and consider how a kneecapping of the EPA’s regulatory power may weaken the best tool we have for protecting ourselves from PFAS contamination. Guests: Nathaniel Rich – Author of “Second Nature: Scenes from a World Remade,” and the New York Times Magazine article, “The Lawyer Who Became Dupont’s Worst Nightmare” Rachel Frazin – Energy and Environment Policy reporter for The Hill, co-author of “Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America” Janet McCabe – visiting professor at the Robert McKinney School of Law at Indiana University, former deputy administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun Miyake You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support! Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Path Ahead - Remediation and Clean-Up
Duration: 00:35:17
Released: 2024
Series: Forever Chemicals
Throughout this ten-part series, scientists, lawyers, advocates, and product producers all weighed in on our worldwide PFAS problem. While, yes, we have come a long way in understanding the scope of the issue and began moving away from PFAS, at least in the outdoor industry, many questions still remain. One of the primary questions is, what should we do with all the old PFAS already in the environment? Guests featured in this episode: - Scott Wilson, Regenesis - Philippe Grandjean, Environmental Epidemiologist - Matthew Eshed, Research Fellow - Stefan Posner, Polymer and Textile Chemist - Kevin Myette, Bluesign - Greg Breitmaier, Mystery Ranch - Alex Lauver, Outdoor Research - Regina Goller, Jack Wolfskin - Ammi Borenstein, Snaplinc Consulting - Mike Schade, Toxic Free Future If you want to learn more about what PFAS are, where they are found, the proven health effects, how you can limit your exposure, up to date news on PFAS, and how to get involved in PFAS regulatory efforts visit Toxicfreefuture.org Foodandwaterwatch.org Or Pfascentral.org INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/outdoor.minimalist.book/ WEBSITE: https://www.theoutdoorminimalist.com/ YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@theoutdoorminimalist Fund the Forever Chemicals 10-Part Podcast: https://gofund.me/77aac225 — Snaplinc Consulting provided expert fact checking and guidance for the creation of this podcast. Snaplinc Consulting provides corporate sustainability strategies and ESG support across a broad range of industries including apparel, footwear, home furnishings, software, cosmetics, professional services and more. Head to snaplincconsulting.com to learn more and contact the experts to guide you through complex topics like CSRD, PFAS, greenhouse gas assessments, SBTi, CDP, EcoVadis, B Corp and many more compliance and certification frameworks. — Episode Resources Safer States: https://www.saferstates.org/priorities/pfas/ EPA Drinking Water Standards: https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas CERCLA: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-04/pfas-enforcement-discretion-settlement-policy-cercla.pdf
The Race for a Bundibugyo Ebolavirus Vaccine
Duration: 00:16:02
Released: 2026
Series: Public Health On Call
About this episode: Vaccines for the Zaire ebolavirus have been licensed since 2019, but no such treatment exists for the current outbreak of Bundibugyo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this episode: Anna Durbin, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Immunization Research, introduces listeners to three candidate vaccines and discusses the hurdles to deploying new treatments. Guest: Dr. Anna Durbin is a professor of International Health and the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Immunization Research. Host: Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. Show links and related content: Three Ebola vaccines in development amid growing outbreak fears—BBC USAID’s closure led to ‘entirely preventable’ deaths, latest Ebola outbreak: House Dem report—The Hill HHS confirms Americans with high-risk Ebola exposures will have access to experimental therapy—STAT Regeneron’s Ebola Antibody Recommended by World Health Organization for Investigational Use in Response to Current Bundibugyo Ebolavirus Outbreak—Regeneron What Will It Take to Contain the Central Africa Ebola Outbreak?—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The Use of Investigational Drugs in an Outbreak: Separating Science and Politics With Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19—Public Health On Call (May 2020) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @PublicHealthPod on Instagram @JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here’s our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
The Weed Killer
Duration: 00:33:38
Released: 2025
Series: The Poison Detectives
For more than thirty years, scientists, regulators, and one of the world’s most powerful chemical companies have been locked in a battle over the active ingredient in Roundup – a chemical called glyphosate.A battle fought over the soil itself – and over what we believe keeps us safe.Episode eight tells that story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Up in Smoke
Duration: 00:29:57
Released: 2024
Series: Radiolab
Two scenes. In the first, a doctor gets a call — the hospital she works at is having an outbreak of unknown origin, in the middle of the worst wildfire season on record. In the second, an ecologist stands in a forest, watching it burn. Through very different circumstances, they both find themselves asking the same question: is there something in the smoke? This question will bring them together, and reveal – to all of us – a world we never saw before. This is the first episode in an ongoing series hosted by Molly Webster, in conversation with scientists and science-y people, doing work at the furthest edges of what we know. More to come! Special thanks to Leda Kobziar, at the University of Idaho, and Naomi Hauser, at the University of California, Davis. Plus, James and Shelby Kaemmerer, and Paula and John Troche.We have some exciting news! In the “Zoozve” episode, Radiolab named its first-ever quasi-moon, and now it’s your turn! Radiolab has teamed up with The International Astronomical Union to launch a global naming contest for one of Earth’s quasi-moons. This is your chance to make your mark on the heavens. Submit your name ideas now through September, or vote on your favorites starting in November: https://radiolab.org/moonEPISODE CREDITS: Hosted and Reported by - Molly WebsterProduced by - Sindhu GnanasambandanFact-checking by - Diane A. Kellyand Edited by - Pat WaltersEPISODE CITATIONS:Articles - And lastly, wanna learn more about bacteria in snow-making machines – check out this New York Times article (https://zpr.io/t6HKi7HMuHMZ), or this science-explainer (https://zpr.io/VygRVBb5vspq)! Scientific Papers - Read Leda’s paper on microbes in smoke (https://zpr.io/d3JVm7gEf2dc)!For more details on the outbreak at Naomi’s hospital, you can check out this abstract of her findings (https://zpr.io/DGgS9UCFicpJ). Leda was inspired to stick petri dishes into smoke after reading a science research paper written by a father-daughter team, as part of a high school science project in Texas. Go read it (https://zpr.io/D3LVMy2raLr9)! Audio - For further fungal listening, Radiolab and Molly have covered fungus and hospital outbreaks (https://radiolab.org/podcast/fungus-amungus) before (plus: dinosuars!), in our episode Fungus Amungus.You can also listen to Super Cool (https://radiolab.org/podcast/super-cool-2017), a Radiolab episode about wild horses, microbes, and things freezing instantaneously. (It’s seriously one of Molly’s favorite Radiolab episodes and it has a moment of such SPONTANEOUS joy, she re-plays it at least once a year to smile.)Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
We’re better off when we stop pandemics before they start
Duration: 00:20:43
Released: 2021
Series: Better Off
When Aaron (Ari) Bernstein met his first pediatric patient infected with COVID-19, he realized that this little girl’s health was connected to an infected bat on the other side of the world. Climate change and deforestation have made it easier for new pathogens to spread across the globe. On this episode of Better Off, Ari Bernstein explains how protecting the environment could also secure the future of our own species.Guest: Aaron (Ari) Bernstein, Interim Director of The Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment (Harvard Chan C-CHANGE).More about climate and healthHarvard Chan C-CHANGEClimate Optimist newsletter
We’re better off with health equity
Duration: 00:17:46
Released: 2021
Series: Better Off
This spring, public health officials have been laser-focused on getting more Americans vaccinated against COVID-19. So why do racial disparities persist around vaccination? And once more Americans are vaccinated, how do we ensure that Black and Latino families aren’t left vulnerable to future public health crises? In the latest episode of Better Off, Mary Bassett talks about the historical roots of health inequities, and the big changes needed to close those gaps.Guest: Mary T. Bassett, director of the François Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University.For a full transcript of this episode, visit our website. Subscribe to get new episodes of Better Off in your podcast feed every other Wednesday.Read more about Mary Bassett’s work, as well as the latest news from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at hsph.harvard.edu/news. Music in this episode:Ketsa – SabreBlue Dot Sessions – LupiBlue Dot Sessions – The Caspian SeaBlue Dot Session – An Oddly Formal DanceKetsa – Onwards Upwards
We’re better off with mRNA vaccines
Duration: 00:21:47
Released: 2021
Series: Better Off
The technology that is helping us combat COVID-19 is also poised to help us tackle tough infectious and non-infectious diseases. Immunologist Sarah Fortune explains how these vaccines work, and how the mRNA platform could transform the prevention and treatment of deadly diseases.In this episode of “Better Off,” Harvard Chan School immunologist Sarah Fortune takes on common misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines, and discusses the ways that mRNA technology could be used to create vaccines for diseases like TB and cancer.Guest: Sarah Fortune, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Chair, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthFor a full transcript of this episode, visit our website. Subscribe to get new episodes of Better Off in your podcast feed every other Wednesday.Read more about Sarah Fortune’s work, as well as the latest news from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at hsph.harvard.edu/news. Music in this episode:Ketsa – SabreBlue Dot Sessions – St. Augustine RedBlue Dot Sessions – Solear InterludeBlue Dot Sessions – Ewa Valley
What we lose if the Great Salt Lake dries up
Duration: 00:12:31
Released: 2023
Series: Short Wave
Dotted across the Great Basin of the American West are salty, smelly lakes. The largest of these, by far, is the Great Salt Lake in Utah.But a recent report found that water diversions for farming, climate change and population growth could mean the lake essentially disappears within five years. Less water going in means higher concentrations of salt and minerals, which threatens the crucial ecological role saline lakes play across the West, as well as the health of the people who live nearby. On today’s episode, Kirk takes Short Wave co-host Aaron Scott on an audio field trip to the endangered Great Salt Lake, and explains why losing the lake could be devastating for everyone from brine flies to the humans that live next door. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
EMILY KWONG, BYLINE: You’re listening to SHORT WAVE from NPR.
AARON SCOTT, HOST:
Hey, SHORT WAVErs. Time to slip on those rubber boots because we’re off for a field trip with NPR correspondent Kirk Siegler. Hey, Kirk.
KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Hey, Aaron.
SCOTT: So where are you taking us today?
SIEGLER: Well, we’re going to the Great Salt Lake in Utah. I trekked out there earlier this winter with Carly Biedul. She’s a biologist with the Great Salt Lake Institute.
CARLY BIEDUL: These might even be my footprints from last week.
SIEGLER: Carly is bundled up in an orange, puffy jacket, gloves and hat. And most importantly, she’s wearing thick, sturdy, rubber boots ’cause the mud with the frozen slick layer of ice on top is treacherous.
BIEDUL: Probably not fully, fully fresh, but…
SIEGLER: But the only thing we’re not prepared for is the stench.
This is pungent right here.
BIEDUL: Yeah.
SIEGLER: Smells like dead fish, almost.
SCOTT: Oh, yes. I’ve been on similar salty lakes here in Oregon. Whew. That smell is intense and immense.
SIEGLER: It is. And the stink is actually a good thing because it’s a sign of a biologically healthy saline lake.
BIEDUL: People have been saying that they miss the lake stink ’cause it just makes it feel like home, and it’s just not here anymore. So you’re lucky that it gets to smell so bad.
SCOTT: Oh, so the smell is disappearing?
SIEGLER: It is. Because, Aaron, the Great Salt Lake is drying and dying. Biedul hikes out here weekly. She’s trying to collect samples of tiny brine fly larva, which are getting harder and harder to find.
BIEDUL: I’m going to get my jar out.
SIEGLER: So think of it, the brine flies she’s looking for are at the bottom of the food chain. They’re feed for the migrating birds and so on. And most of the water that’s left out there is too salty now.
BIEDUL: The threshold is - we’re kind of at the threshold. So if things get any saltier, we’re super, super worried.
SIEGLER: And they may have good reason. A recent report says climate change, farming and population growth in Utah may dry up the lake in five years.
SCOTT: So today on the show - the future of the Great Salt Lake and similar lakes across the West. Why are they drying up? And what’ll we lose if they do? I’m Aaron Scott, and you’re listening to SHORT WAVE, the daily science podcast from NPR.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SCOTT: OK, Kirk. So to begin, I’d love it if you would just paint us a picture of the Great Salt Lake, for those who’ve never had the pleasure of seeing it. What does it look like, and how did a big, salty lake end up so far from the ocean?
SIEGLER: Well, it - I can’t even overstate how large it is. It’s huge. And especially in the winter, it’s quite eerie. When we were out there, it was foggy and otherworldly and very, very shallow. In fact, we - you know, you heard there, trekking out in the mud where there should have been water because the lake is receding. So to answer your question, these saline lakes occur at the bottom of basins where there’s no way for the water to flow out to the sea. So basically, in Utah, when all the snow off the Wasatch Mountains right by Salt Lake City melts, it pools into the rivers, into these lakes in the spring and then they evaporate over the summer, leaving all sorts of particles behind and minerals, including saline.
SCOTT: And as you said, I mean, these saline lakes occur all across the Great Basin in the West. And they - they’re actually essential ecosystems, right?
SIEGLER: Exactly. They’re very important for migrating birds at the top of the food chain. And so when Carly Biedul is out there looking for larva at the bottom of the food chain, that’s an indicator of a potential ecological collapse. And I’m not being dramatic. These lakes occur in the Great Basin from Utah to Nevada, across to eastern California, even in parts of Oregon, as you say. There’s this huge geological anomaly. And a lot of these lakes have dried up over time. Some naturally, but a lot due to water diversions. Utah’s Wasatch Front, where the majority of the state’s population lives along Salt Lake City, is one of the fastest-growing places in the country. So water is in high demand. But also, just like across the West, most of the water being diverted out of the rivers that would be going to the Great Salt Lake are being diverted for farming and, in particular in Northern Utah, alfalfa farming in the high desert.
SCOTT: So water diversions is playing a huge role in why they’re disappearing. I’m guessing climate change also plays a role?
SIEGLER: Yes, because we’re in the West and - I don’t have to tell you - we’re in the midst of a 23-year megadrought. So drought and climate change are a big factor.
SCOTT: And so if these lakes are essential stopovers for birds as they migrate from Alaska and Canada down to South America, I mean, just millions of birds kind of stopping here, like this rest stop all-you-can-eat buffet, what’s it going to mean for them if these lakes dry up?
SIEGLER: Well, it’s another species that we know will be in peril. This is an essential flyover spot for migratory birds, and the effects could be devastating.
SCOTT: And it’s not just the birds, of course. I mean, there’s a lot of creatures around the lakes that depend on them, including us humans. What’s it going to mean for us?
SIEGLER: Well, one of the most immediate impacts may be pollution. This is a dried-up lake bed. And we’ve seen this in other parts of the West. Dust storms off of a dried-up lake bed that has toxins in it - naturally occurring toxins - blowing into a large population base will have untold impacts on health. And the Salt Lake City area, particularly in the winter, already has some of the dirtiest air in the nation as a result of natural inversions that occur in that basin, but also a lot of cars and a lot of other industries. So that’s the most immediate impact. But then there are also trickle-down effects, as well. There’s tourism. There’s mining that depends on the lake, and Utah’s famous ski resorts actually benefit from getting more snow from lake effect storms. So the impacts are countless, to be honest.
SCOTT: I mean, given all of that, Kirk, I’m guessing there’s probably a lot of outcry and activism and such going on by people living near the lake, right?
SIEGLER: There is. This is a huge topic that’s all over the news these days.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR #1: Utah still remains in a drought.
UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR #2: Now to what some tonight are calling a looming environmental nuclear bomb in Utah. The mighty Great Salt Lake is drying up and…
UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR #3: As the Great Salt Lake continues to shrink, a…
SIEGLER: Some of the neighborhoods that are closest to the lake, it’s a huge concern. I met Turner Bitton. He’s a community activist and neighborhood council leader in Salt Lake City’s West Valley.
TURNER BITTON: If the lake bed dries up and we’re having winds blowing dust storms into our neighborhood, the heavy metals are going to land right on top of this neighborhood.
SCOTT: Nobody wants giant clouds of toxic dust blanketing their backyard.
SIEGLER: They don’t. And he’s particularly concerned there because these neighborhoods in the West Valley - they’re more working class. They’re already hemmed in by two busy freeways. There’s a planned freeway expansion. Salt Lake City International Airport is right there and Utah’s largest oil refinery.
BITTON: I mean, we’re talking about something that could potentially make these neighborhoods - I don’t want to say uninhabitable - but for those that are vulnerable, for those that have lung issues, uninhabitable.
SCOTT: Is he being a little dramatic there, Kirk?
SIEGLER: He really isn’t. You know, researchers have found higher rates of asthma and cardiovascular disease in neighborhoods like these. And one University of Utah study even showed that students in schools around there scored lower on tests during bad air days. Dr. Brian Moench is president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. He says the state should have declared an emergency years ago.
BRIAN MOENCH: A lot of people think that dust is pretty benign because it’s, quote, \“natural.\” Well, that’s not the case. And in the case of dust from the Great Salt Lake, it is particularly toxic because we know that it’s laced with high concentrations of heavy metals.
SIEGLER: And most of Utah’s 3 million or so residents live just east of the lake along the Wasatch Mountains. Now, the lake is about 9 feet lower than normal right now, despite a good winter. And locals are already complaining of these dust storms.
SCOTT: OK, Kirk, so a lot of people upset about this. What’s being done about it? Is there any sort of movement in, like, the state legislature?
SIEGLER: There is. And there are a lot of promises so far, but it’s been remarkable in this, you know, politically divided time in a Republican-controlled state, how - in particular, how there’s bipartisan agreement over trying to fix the lake. There was a lot of pressure on lawmakers to do that. Some ideas floated, I have to say, sounded a bit like sci-fi - cloud seeding, even a pipeline to pump Pacific Ocean water in. Not exactly the same thing…
SCOTT: Wow.
SIEGLER: …But everything seems to be on the table. Lawmakers this past session debated setting a target elevation for the lake and also a half-billion-dollar package that would do things like pay farmers and cities to use less water. Here’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox in his recent State of the State address.
(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)
SPENCER COX: Earlier this month, a report predicted that in just five short years, the Great Salt Lake will completely disappear. Let me be absolutely clear - we are not going to let that happen.
SCOTT: Wow. Strong words. So did they pass any of those measures?
SIEGLER: Sort of? You know, they didn’t pass any big water use regulations or major targets for the lake. Now, they did include money in the budget for more water conservation, but they took out language from a bill that would have required the conserved water actually make it to the lake. The federal government, though, is also a player here, and they’re clearly paying attention. In the final days of last year, you had President Biden signing a bipartisan bill called the Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Program Act. Yeah.
SCOTT: That is a mouthful.
SIEGLER: Right. Well, but what you need to know - it allocates $25 million for the U.S. Geological Survey to work with other agencies - local land managers, scientists and nonprofits - to study and monitor these saline lakes in the Great Basin and come up with a conservation plan. But, you know, there’s a real sense of urgency here with the Great Salt Lake if, in fact, it could dry up in five years.
SCOTT: So the idea is we need more information before we can come up with a plan.
SIEGLER: Yeah. But, you know, in large part, I think it’s going to come down to the states because they manage the water rights. Last year, the Utah legislature did approve some money to try to buy up water rights. But pointing to the Salt Lake Tribune, they’ve been reporting that no farmers have actually taken them up on it. And this is a thing across the West right now, although we did get news just this week that one powerful player in Utah who you might have heard of - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - they’re getting involved. They’ve announced that they will permanently donate 20,000 acre feet of their water rights to the lake. So it’s something.
SCOTT: I think I hear those little brine fly larvae rejoicing just a little bit.
SIEGLER: You can. Wow. That’s good. So we don’t have to end on such a doom and gloom note. And I have to tell you, down at the lake, trekking out there with Carly Biedul, the biologist - she’s privy to all these negative headlines, and she goes out there every week. But she is just trying to stay positive herself.
BIEDUL: And that’s kind of what we’ve been trying to do - is find these moments to see the beauty when it’s so sad.
SIEGLER: It is beautiful out there. But Biedul says it’s sad because there’s not much time left to save the Great Salt Lake.
SCOTT: Thank you, as always, for bringing this to us, Kirk.
SIEGLER: You’re welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SCOTT: This episode was produced by Margaret Cirino and Liz Metzger, edited by Gabriel Spitzer and fact-checked by Anil Oza. Our audio engineer was Jay Czys. Brendan Crump is our podcast coordinator. Beth Donovan is the senior director of programming. And Anya Grundmann is the senior vice president of programming. I’m Aaron Scott. Thanks for listening to SHORT WAVE from NPR.
What’s Next for a New Lyme Vaccine
Duration: 00:15:55
Released: 2026
Series: Public Health On Call
About this episode: A new vaccine shows 70% efficacy in preventing Lyme disease, but limitations to the clinical trials put the fate of this intervention in limbo. In this episode: Anna Durbin, an expert in experimental vaccines, explains where this vaccine shows promise, where it falls short, and what could happen next for licensing and regulation. Guest: Dr. Anna Durbin is a professor of International Health and the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Immunization Research. Host: Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. Show links and related content: Pfizer and Valneva Announce Lyme Disease Vaccine Candidate Demonstrates Strong Efficacy in Phase 3 VALOR Trial—Pfizer Tickborne Diseases Are on the Rise—Here’s What To Know—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health F.D.A. Reverses Decision and Agrees to Review Moderna’s Flu Vaccine—New York Times It’s Tick Season!—Public Health On Call (April 2025) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @PublicHealthPod on Instagram @JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here’s our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
Where Will The Next Pandemic Come From?
Duration: 00:02:23
Released: 2025
Series: MinuteEarth
To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Zoonosis: A disease that can be transmitted to humans by animals Hyper reservoirs: Animals that naturally are home to multiple infectious agents. Spillover: Transmission of a zoonosis from an animal reservoir to a human. Life history strategy: An evolutionary strategy that involves tradeoffs among growth, survival, and reproduction. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info If you like what we do, you can help us! - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Buy our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Buy our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Where’s the Beef? Lab-Grown Meat is Finally on the Menu
Duration: 00:56:05
Released: 2023
Series: Gastropod
Can we really have our burger, eat it—and never need to kill a cow? Growing meat outside of animals—in a lab or, these days, in shiny steel bioreactors—promises to deliver a future in which we can enjoy sausages and sushi without guilt, and maybe even without sending our planet up in smoke. For years, it’s seemed like science fiction, but it’s finally a reality: this month, Americans will get their first chance to buy cultivated meat in a restaurant. But how exactly do you get chicken nuggets, BLTs, and bluefin sashimi from a bunch of cells growing in large metal vats? Does this new cultivated meat taste any good? Can enough be grown to replace industrial meat? And, if so, is this new technology actually an improvement on industrial animal agriculture and fishing? Gastropod is on the case! Join us this episode as we sink our teeth into a whole lot of lab-grown lunches, uncover the science behind the sci-fi, and investigate whether the companies making cultivated meat can actually fulfill the lofty promises they make. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Why Does Everyone Have Food Allergies These Days?
Duration: 00:53:45
Released: 2024
Series: Gastropod
It’s not your imagination, food allergies are really on the rise. One recent study found that severe allergic reactions to food have increased by more than 300 percent over the past decade. And they don’t just affect Americans or kids—they’re on the rise in adults around the world. Even pets are getting food allergies. So what’s going on? Why would your body decide that food—something that’s actually essential to keeping you alive—needs to be attacked like a dangerous invader? And why would we evolve a defense mechanism that can end up killing us? This episode, we’ve got the history and the latest scientist on food allergies: what they are, what causes them, how they’re different from food intolerance and sensitivity, and what we can do about them. Join us on a wild journey from ancient Pharoahs to the future of medicine, via jellyfish, Calvin Coolidge, and “rose fever,” as we figure this all out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Why We Should Care About Viruses Jumping From Animals To People
Duration: 00:14:24
Released: 2023
Series: Short Wave
The phenomenon of zoonotic spillover — of viruses jumping from animals to people — is incredibly common. The question is: which one will start the next pandemic? NPR science desk correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff brings us her reporting on Influenza D, an emerging virus spreading among cows and other livestock in the United States. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Video Clips
‘Nutty’ situation in Lincoln Park WGN Investigates
WGN News, 09 29, 2026
Video (4:23)
Description
The piles of nuts first began appearing outside a Lincoln Park home a few years ago, attracting a swarm of squirrels. Since then, workers carrying matching shoulder bags have been spotted dumping piles of nuts a few blocks away in the park, and no one can figure out why. WGN’s Ben Bradley has the full story.
Transcript
0:07 · MICAH MATERRE: WGN INVESTIGATES SOMETHING IS HAPPENING IN LINCOLN PARK. RESIDENTS REACH OUT TO INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER BEN BRADLEY FOR HELP AFTER CITY FINDS FAILED TO SOLVE A SQUIRRELLY SITUATION.
0:22 · I WAS WALKING AROUND THE PARK AND I KNOW DOZENS OF POLLS AROUND TREES AND THEN I STARTED SEEING MORE AND MORE HOLES AROUND DIFFERENT TREES.
0:28 · WHEN HERE THERE’S A DOZEN HOLES AROUND THE STREET HERE.
0:31 · AND THEN A FEW MONTHS AGO, I WENT FOR A WALK AT DUSK AND WITHIN 15 MINUTES I COUNTED 42 RATS RUNNING AROUND.
0:41 · YEAH, AS YOU CAN SEE, I MEAN, THERE’S A TON OF RAT BURROWS HERE THAT EVEN PIKE WAS SO STUNNED BY THE SWARM OF RATS IN LINCOLN PARK. HE TOOK THIS VIDEO. OTHER NEIGHBORS NOTICED YOU KNOW, YOU SEE SOME RATS IN THE ALLEY AND STUFF RIGHT NEAR THE TRASH. AND THAT’S AGAIN, COME TO BE EXPECTED. BUT THIS WAS DIFFERENT. CAN SEE HERE IS A RAT TRAIL. IT WASN’T UNTIL RECENTLY THAT THEY REALIZED HOW DIFFERENT THIS ALI IS.
1:07 · BUT I JUST GRABBED THE PEOPLE OF THIS GETS INTO THE STRANGER THAN FICTION ASPECT OF IT. IT’S LIKE A A LOT OF NICE KNOTS. I’M TALKING BRAZIL, NOT AND I WAS LOOKING AND I KNOW, YOU KNOW, ARBORIST, BUT THESE DO NOT COME FROM THE STREET. THESE ARE NOT ACORNS. YOU CAN SEE ALL THE SCATTERED KNOTS AROUND.
1:28 · YOU SEE THOSE NUTS AREN’T FALLING FROM TREES. THEY APPEAR TO BE IMPORTED.
1:34 · JI SUK YI: AND WHILE THEIR PILES BIZARRE, EXPENSIVE, NOT EVERYWHERE IN OUR PARK.
1:39 · NO ONE COULD CRACK THE NUT OF AN EXPLANATION UNTIL ONE MORNING THIS YEAR WHEN CAROLINE NOVAK WAS OUT FOR A WALK.
1:45 · AND I ACTUALLY SAW A HANDFUL OF THEM. I THINK IT WAS 5 WALKING EARLY IN THE MORNING OF THE SAME SHOULDER BAG. AND SO I JUST SAID, HEY, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?
1:52 · BECAUSE THEY WERE THROWING THE KNOT.
1:53 · SHE’S NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO WITNESSED IT. I NOTICE SOMEONE WITH A SATCHEL AND JUST THOUGHT IT WAS SOMEONE OUT THERE FEEDING SQUIRRELS.
2:04 · JI SUK YI: SO I WALKED UP AND I, YOU KNOW, JUST HAD HAND. I WAS JUST CURIOUS WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING WIRE 3 AND HE’S NOT GOING TO THESE TREES. AND SHE SAID WERE ALLOWED TO DO THIS. AND I SAID, OH, YEAH, I WAS JUST CURIOUS WHY YOU WERE DOING IT. SHE SAID WE’RE NOT FEELING THE WRATH UNPROMPTED. I DIDN’T EVEN BRING UP. SHE SAID WE’RE NOT PAYING HULL, OK? WELL. I THINK YOU INADVERTENTLY ARE.
2:26 · THEY AND OTHER NEIGHBORS COMPLAINED TO THE CITY WHICH DETERMINE TO A NEARBY HOMEOWNER WAS LEAVING NOTTS OUTSIDE THEIR OWN HOUSE ATTRACTING NOT ONLY SQUIRRELS, BUT THEY’RE RODENT COUSINS, RATS. THE NEIGHBORS SUSPECTED THE CREW LEAVING THE NUTS A FEW BLOCKS AWAY IN THE PARK ARE DOING SO AT THE DIRECTION OF THE HOMEOWNER.
2:45 · JOSH FRYDMAN: EVEN DOUBT WITH IT. BUT WE’VE NEVER DEALT WITH A SITUATION WHERE IT’S LIKE FEED FOR HIRE FOR BETTER OR LACK OF THE TERM WHERE SOMEONE’S PAYING SEVERAL EMPLOYEES TO FEED THE ANIMALS IN THE SURROUNDING AREA.
2:59 · BEN BRADLEY: THE ALDERMAN SAID THE CITY CONTACTED THE HOMEOWNER AND EVEN ISSUED MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS, WHICH HE SAYS HAVE BEEN PAID AND NOT CONTESTED.
3:06 · TYPICALLY WHEN YOU TICKET SOMEBODY, IT STOPS THEIR BAD BEHAVIOR. THIS IS NOT STOPPED IT. IF ANYTHING, THE BEHAVIOR IS INCREASE, THE FEEDING INCREASED SINCE WE’VE TICKETING THAT.
3:20 · LAST MONTH THE ALDERMAN’S OFFICE SENT THIS LETTER WARNING THAT MORE FINES COULD BE COMING IF THEY DON’T KNOCK IT OFF WITH A KNOTS. WE DON’T WANT TO THROW ANYONE UNDER THE BUS. WE JUST WANT TO STOP THIS FEEDING THAT’S CAUSING PROBLEMS IN A DENSE NEIGHBORHOOD.
3:34 · BEN BRADLEY: ALDERMAN KNUDTSON SAID HE ISN’T SURE HOW THIS WILL END OR EVEN WHY IT STARTED. WE WANTED TO KNOW OURSELVES. SO WE PAID THE HOME OF VISIT AND ENCOUNTERED A WOMAN WHO WOULD NOT GIVE HER NAME.
3:45 · I’M JUST TRYING BETTER UNDERSTAND LIKE WHY ARE ALL THESE KNOTS BEEN GATHERED UP?
3:47 · WHY ARE THEY BEING DISTRIBUTED IN LINCOLN PARK? I REALLY HAVE NO COMMENT FOR HIM. SORRY.
3:50 · I’D SAY MY GOAL IS TO GET RID OF THE RATS. I MEAN, I WANT TO FEEL COMFORTABLE HAVING MY KIDS PLAY IN THE PARK TOGETHER RIGHT NOW. IT’S AN ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET FOR THE RATS AND SQUIRRELS. MY BEN BRADLEY: NEIGHBORS SAY THEY HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THE PROVERBIAL OLD MAN FEEDS PIGEONS IN THE PARK. BUT THEY SAY THIS. HE’S GOTTEN SO STRANGE.
4:10 · THEY’D LAUGH IF IT WEREN’T FOR ALL THE RATS AND DAMAGE IN THE PARK AFTER THE CITY ISSUED A FINAL WARNING LATE LAST MONTH, WE DID SEE A WORKER’S SWEEPING UP OUTSIDE THE PA RK THE HOU
A Mother’s Asthma-friendly Housing Story
American Lung Association, 12 11, 2014
Video (1:06)
Description
Smoking in multi-unit housing poses serious health threats to children and adults even if no one smokes in their home. In multi-unit housing like apartment buildings and condominiums, secondhand smoke from one unit can move into other units. Smoking in multi-unit housing can also lead to fires, which can have deadly consequences. The videos below feature stories from residents, firemen, and public health advocates who have worked to make multi-unit housing properties smokefree.
Transcript
America Made Its Most Toxic Lake. Now We Need What’s Inside
PBS Terra, 04 16, 2026
Video (15:56)
Description
Watch the latest episode of @NinePBS ’s What Do I Do with This? here: https://youtu.be/jnBuX8LFTqM?si=YBuv9BOUgkVP4KGj
PBS Earth Month playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnNZYWyBGJ1F8ofFm4H9UTrHxqU8zngK4
America’s most toxic lake may also be one of its most overlooked resources. At the Berkeley Pit Superfund Site, scientists are extracting clean energy materials from a century of mining waste.
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Transcript
The toxic Berkeley Pit
0:00 · This might be one of the most beautiful lakes in Montana. (bright music) (cannon booming) (birds squawking) So this is one of the propane cannons, that loud noise that birds don’t like and scare ’em away.
0:18 · So why go to so much trouble to keep birds from enjoying it?
0:23 · Because this is one of the most toxic lakes in America. The water here is acidic enough to dissolve metal and could spell certain death for any bird that lands on it. Well, if I was a bird, I’d be outta here, man. Nature didn’t build this place. We did.
0:44 · For nearly a century, miners dug away a mountain in search of valuable minerals here, but when the mining stopped, the pumps were turned off and this mile-wide scar in the earth filled with water. Today, the Berkeley Pit is filled with nearly 50 billion gallons of toxic, highly acidic water polluted with the remnants of all of that extraction.
1:10 · So why would scientists want to dive into this?
1:14 · What could possibly be worth searching for in a place like that?
1:19 · (bright music) Well, there’s treasure in these waters. The Berkeley Pit sits above Butte, Montana, situated near the headwaters of the Clark Fork River. This area has been shaped by more than a century of mining. Diving into a lake this toxic seems like the last thing you want to do.
Industrial legacy in Butte
1:44 · All right.
1:45 · [Joe] So why are scientists doing just that?
1:47 · Let’s go see some fun stuff.
1:49 · [Joe] Because the acidic waters that make this place dangerous are doing something unusual. In the 1860s, Butte was little more than a mining camp. By the early 1900s, Butte had become one of the busiest industrial mining regions on earth. At its peak, 25% of the world’s copper came from these mines, helping to electrify America. Telegraphs, telephones, power grids. And then in 1955, the Anaconda Mining Company pivoted to a radical strategy.
2:23 · Instead of tunneling underground, they began removing the mountain itself. Eventually, the Berkeley mine stretched a mile long and more than 1,700 feet deep. That’s deep enough to swallow the Empire State Building. But when you dig a hole this big, rain and groundwater want back in. When mining stopped in 1982, the massive pumps that had kept the pit dry were shut off.
2:52 · Today this water is about 900 feet deep, but if you’re tempted to take a dip, consider that in 2016, thousands of migrating snow geese, forced to land here thanks to a storm, died after drinking from these poisonous waters. Hydrogeologist Jackson Quarles studies what makes this lake so toxic. He has deep ties to Butte.
3:16 · [Jackson] It is the place to be.
3:17 · I came out as a kid every summer, and the day that we would leave, I’d always be crying in the backseat, asking to stay. And now here we are. I made it happen.
3:27 · [Joe] Jackson is sampling this mining waste on the hunt for rare earth elements, valuable and critical minerals that may be hiding in these waters. The rocks here contain sulfide minerals, and when exposed to air and water, they react and form sulfuric acid. That acid dissolves metals trapped in the surrounding rock, a process called acid mine drainage.
Seeking rare minerals
3:54 · The Berkeley Pit is now a giant chemical reactor, highly acidic water loaded with dissolved metals, some at concentrations more than 5,000% above drinking water standards. Jackson and other scientists are hoping that those valuable rare earths are lurking here in this chemical soup. Because the Berkeley Pit is so polluted, in 1987, the Environmental Protection Agency designated it as a superfund site.
4:21 · They were established by law so that, whenever possible, the parties responsible for the mess must help pay for its cleanup, and they must be carefully managed to protect human health and the environment. Jackson and his colleagues have a creative idea for how to clean up part of this environmental disaster.
4:39 · So we’ve got the submersible here.
4:42 · So we’ve got a 4K camera, got four lights here on the front that allow us to see what we’re doing. Vertical rotors here, horizontal propellers here. And then we also have our sediment sampler, kind of just jammer it in. - Controlled collision.
4:56 · And we’ll hopefully get back to the surface with a full one of these.
5:01 · [Joe] Take this puppy down to the water. Exploring the pit is like a new frontier, one that very few people have ever seen. Each journey down is like traveling through a foreign world.
5:16 · It’s kinda like we’re going to Mars.
5:18 · It’s a place that nobody’s seen, nobody’s been to in, oh, since ’82 when they shut down the pumps. (water creaking) And we’ll turn on our headlights here so we can see what’s going on. And touch down, whoa.
5:37 · (earth booming) [Joe] What kind of samples are you looking for?
5:43 · What’s it doing down there?
5:45 · [Jackson] We’re trying to find where these critical minerals or rare earths might be.
Extracting resources
5:49 · [Joe] These rare earth elements include a group of 17 metals that are critical to modern technology. Among them are elements like neodymium and praseodymium, used to make the powerful magnets that spin inside wind turbines and electric vehicle motors. Others, like dysprosium, help those magnets survive extreme heat. Without them, turbines would be heavier, electric cars less efficient. Global demand for these elements is expected to surge as countries build more renewable energy and buy more electric vehicles.
6:23 · Today, mining these rare earths often means digging new holes. They’re usually difficult to extract and mining and refining them often comes with its own environmental cost.
6:37 · So what if we could find these valuable minerals in places that we’ve already dug?
6:44 · Shockingly enough, the Berkeley is home to more than we’ve really ever found anywhere else. There’s a lot of sites, and most places in the US even, they’ll be very heavy in one specific rare earth or even just the light rare earth. Whereas what we found in the pit was kind of something we’ve never seen and it had that full array of, that full distribution of those rare earths.
7:07 · These elements aren’t actually rare.
7:10 · They’re just rarely found in high concentrations. But here, the pit’s chemistry has already done part of the work. Acidic water has leached those metals out of the rock, ready to be filtered out. So there might be hotspots here where there’s just really rich deposits that you wanna focus your attention on.
7:29 · Yes, and, you know, kind of now is that hot point because we know the rare earths are still in the water and they haven’t precipitated into the sediment yet. And so processing them is immensely easier now. All right, well, let’s go see what we can find here.
7:46 · Hey, we got a lot of sludge out of that pit.
7:49 · And we got what we were looking for.
7:51 · [Joe] Extracting them isn’t simple.
7:53 · So, yeah, I don’t know what you would call that.
7:56 · [Joe] That is forbidden gravy.
7:58 · Forbidden gravy.
Environmental restoration
8:01 · All right, well, I got my science helper, Joe.
8:03 · [Joe] In order to extract rare earth elements from the Berkeley Pit, researchers are testing new chemical techniques that could bind specifically to rare earth elements.
8:11 · I don’t necessarily wanna know, is it in the mud?
8:14 · I wanna know, is it in the sediment that is making the mud or is it in the water that’s making the mud?
8:20 · And so this will just help narrow that channel down a little bit. So now we got our sludge. (bright music) [Joe] Oh, boy.
8:31 · And then what we do is we’ll seal her up, we’ll write on it, we’ll let the lab know where it came from, the date we took it, what analysis we’re looking for. Rare earths are not truly all that rare, but finding them in mineable quantities, that’s when they become very rare. We have to get an idea of where the rarest and critical minerals are coming from before we do a deeper dive into that said mine.
8:54 · We do the preliminary search, throw darts all over the board, and then whichever one lands on the bullseye, that’s where we’re gonna go back to and do a lot of darts at that spot and see kind of, yeah, what we can find.
9:06 · [Joe] You get a little bit of like a warm spot or something.
9:09 · Exactly. - And then you do a bunch more there and you’re like, “Oh, warmer, warmer, warmer.”
9:12 · And you just keep working your way closer and closer and closer until you find what you’re looking for.
9:17 · [Joe] And then you just might find that one pile of magic sediment. And another benefit to this work is that the process of extracting rare earths and other critical minerals actually helps undo the damage caused by mining.
9:32 · That environmental benefit doesn’t just pertain to the pit, but pertains to every other form of waste that we find, and they’ve already been exhumed. So we’re no longer digging a new hole to process new rare earths. We’re cleaning up our mess.
9:46 · [Joe] This idea is still in its infancy and it’s too early to say whether it will prove to be viable. But extracting rare earth elements and other minerals from existing waste may let places like the pit inch closer to a more natural state with less long-term contamination.
10:05 · The Anaconda slag pile, those are an enormous scar on the environment. And for one day that those might just be gone because we’ve found an economic way to remove it and not just put it in a hole in the ground somewhere else, but to actually reprocess, make money, and get rid of it, I mean, yeah, it’s a no brainer.
10:26 · [Joe] It won’t replace mining tomorrow, but it could reduce the need to dig new holes. If the Berkeley Pit represents how badly an environmental disaster can scar the earth, downstream, there’s a place that shows us what’s possible when it comes to cleaning up nature. Milltown Park, at the meeting of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers, was once home to a dam that trapped tons of contaminated sediment from mines upstream.
Lessons from Miltown Park
10:57 · This is Michael Kustudia, Milltown State Park manager, whose family ties to the area go back generations.
11:06 · Here at Milltown, they built the Milltown Dam, which was right over there, and that was finished in January in 1908. In June of 1908, we saw the biggest flood in recorded history. It was that 1908 flood that washed in a lot of mine waste from the upper watershed and that kind of kicked off this whole superfund issue. Milltown was the first superfund site in Montana.
11:29 · [Joe] After years of hard work, the dam, along with over three million tons of contaminated sediment, was removed from this site. Two and a half miles of the river channel had to be re-engineered back to the river’s natural flow, and tens of thousands of trees were planted as part of the restoration efforts.
11:49 · A project like this is enormous and complex. We had, you know, multiple state agencies involved, from the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and the Montana Natural Resource Damage Program, the Department of Environmental Equality. Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes were very much involved. They were a trustee in all of this because of their treaty rights.
12:09 · We talk about it being a confluence of people almost because a lot of people came together to make this happen over a long, sustained period of time. It did not happen quickly.
12:21 · [Joe] In 2018, the gates opened to Milltown State Park. If it weren’t for a few signs, visitors may not be able to tell that they’re fishing, boating, hiking, and viewing wildlife in what was once home to piles of toxic waste. It will never be exactly the same as it was before the dam, but it has returned to a living, breathing ecosystem.
12:47 · And so we had our grand opening.
12:48 · It was in June of 2018. Parents were here, which was really exciting, especially having my mom out here ’cause she, you know, grew up here and she had all kinds of stories. It was a very emotional day for some of us. And, yeah, for me, you know, I’ve been really fortunate. It’s a labor of love.
13:08 · [Joe] So we can’t reverse all the damage of the past, but we can transform it into something better. At the Berkeley Pit, scientists focus not on erasing scars, but on asking what the damage can become.
Looking toward the future
13:25 · Butte has always been home and hopefully always will be. My great-grandfather started here as an underground miner. All my family worked underground all the way up until my grandfather, and to be able to work in the environment that he did is just the family legacy to me. It, yeah, puts a smile on my face. They call it the richest hill on earth, but I think it’s my favorite place on earth.
13:45 · (bright music) For a century, we treated this place as evidence of what we destroyed, but chemistry kept working. The same reactions that made this water toxic are now concentrating elements that the modern world will depend on. Rare earths that help spin wind turbines and power electric vehicles. Right now, extracting those rare earths from mining waste cannot meet global demand. This will not replace mining tomorrow.
14:17 · But it’s an opportunity to look at our relationship with earth’s resources in a new way. The Berkeley Pit will never be restored to exactly what it was before mining. The Clark Fork will always bear the marks of what happened there. But maybe the point isn’t to erase those scars or ignore them, pretend they don’t exist.
14:40 · It’s to take an honest look at them and ask, what could they become next?
14:45 · We’re dreaming for a better Butte.
14:47 · One day the pit may be clean enough that we don’t have to chase the birds off of it. It might be my grandkids that see it happen, but to know that my name was a part of it and, yeah, I’m here to help.
15:02 · Happy Earth Month.
15:04 · PBS is celebrating by releasing a ton of great new episodes across all of our channels, diving deep into our amazing planet, like the latest episode of Nine PBS’s “What Do I Do with This?”, “Disc Junkies.” This video explores how we consume media today. A super fun topic after a superfund video. You know, insert rim shot. All right, links to that video and the full Earth Month playlist are down in the description. (gentle music)
City Hall’s plans to put out new trash bins may impact street parking
Eyewitness News ABC7NY, 04 17, 2026
Video (2:52)
Description
Darla Miles has the latest on the new trash bins in New York City.
https://abc7ny.com/post/containerized-trash-expand-6-new-districts-york-city/18905826/
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Transcript
0:06 · BEANS WILL SOON BE HITTING THE STREETS OF NEW YORK CITY AS PART OF THE ADMINISTRATION’S PUSH TO KEEP BAGS OF TRASH OFF THE SIDEWALKS.
0:13 · BUT THESE BINS TAKE UP SPACE, ESPECIALLY PARKING SPOTS IN A CITY WHERE PARKING SPOTS ARE ALREADY HARD TO COME BY. EYEWITNESS NEWS REPORTER DARLA MILES IS LIVE THIS AFTERNOON IN CROWN HEIGHTS, WHERE THE MAYOR SPOKE JUST A SHORT TIME AGO.
0:26 · DARLA.
0:28 · THAT’S THAT’S RIGHT. SANDRA AND DAVID, WE KNOW THAT THERE IS A DIRECT CORRELATION TO TRASH TRASH CONTAINERIZATION, NOT JUST WITH THE REDUCTION OF PARKING SPACES, BUT THE BIG THING HERE IS ITS IMPACT ON THE RAT POPULATION. AND THE NUMBERS DO NOT LIE. THERE WAS A 25% DECREASE IN 311 RAT SIGHTINGS WHEN THIS PROGRAM WAS IMPLEMENTED IN WEST HARLEM.
0:50 · NOW, THIS MORNING HERE IN CROWN HEIGHTS, MAYOR MAMDANI AND NEW SANITATION COMMISSIONER GREGORY ANDERSON ANNOUNCED NEW FUNDING AND A PLAN TO CONTINUE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CITYWIDE TRASH CONTAINERIZATION THAT STARTED BACK IN 2023. THIS IS A LOOK AT WHAT THEY CALL EMPIRE BINS THAT ARE BEING PHASED IN AT LOW DENSITY APARTMENT BUILDINGS. NOW, UNLIKE THE PHASE WHERE FOOD RELATED BUSINESSES, THESE ARE BEING PROVIDED TO PROPERTY OWNERS BY THE CITY AT NO COST TO THEM.
1:22 · AND MAYOR MAMDANI THIS MORNING SAYS HE HAS ALLOCATED $15 MILLION TO LEASE THESE BINS AND STAFFING RELATED COSTS, AS WELL AS ANOTHER $35 MILLION IN CAPITAL IN THE CAPITAL GAINS BUDGET, IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET. RATHER, TO PURCHASE THOSE SANITATION TRUCKS THAT ARE SPECIALLY DESIGNED TO LIFT THESE BINS.
1:47 · WE HAVE ABOUT. YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG HERE, 70% OF TRASH IN NEW YORK CITY IS CONTAINERIZED AT THIS POINT. THIS IS ADDRESSING THE REMAINING 30%. THESE ARE THE LARGER SCALE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS THAT RIGHT NOW ARE PUTTING THEIR TRASH OUT IN BAGS.
2:04 · AND AS GROWING UP IN NEW YORK CITY, WE’VE BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO THIS. BUT I THINK, FRANKLY, THERE’S TOO MUCH IN OUR POLITICS THAT WE EXCEPTIONAL SAYING THAT THIS IS JUST HOW IT IS IN NEW YORK CITY. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. WE LOOK AT CITIES ACROSS THE WORLD. THIS IS NOT HOW THEY LIVE.
2:19 · NOW LET’S ■TAKE A LOOK AT WHERE THESE EMPIRE BINS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED. FIRST, THEY’RE GOING TO BE THREE NEIGHBORHOODS IN BROOKLYN. YOU SEE HERE, THE SIX NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE BRONX.
2:29 · THERE ARE FIVE NEIGHBORHOODS IN MANHATTAN, THREE IN QUEENS AND THE NORTH SHORE OF STATEN ISLAND. NOW, AGAIN, THIS APPLIES TO LOW DENSITY APARTMENT BUILDINGS WITH 30 OR MORE UNITS AND MAY IMPACT SOME APARTMENT BUILDINGS WITH 10 TO 30 UNITS. BUT THE PLAN, THE GOAL HERE IS TO KICK THIS TRASH BAGS OFF THE CURB AND ALL RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS BY 2031.
Creating Climate-Resilient Communities through Vacant Lot Restoration
National Wildlife, 06 29, 2021
Video (5:36)
Description
Over the last two years, National Wildlife Federation piloted a project with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia LandCare program to transform a network of vacant lots into climate-resilient wildlife habitat. We wanted to explore how cities with vacant lots can restore these sites to provide pollinator habitat, green stormwater infrastructure, equitable access to nearby nature, and create economic/job training opportunities.
Learn more: 1) https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2021/April-May/Conservation/Lot-Revival 2) https://blog.nwf.org/2021/02/vacant-lots-to-pollinator-habitat-in-philadelphia-pa/
Transcript
Transforming communities
0:00 · I mean, for me, it’s inspirational and it gives me hope in seeing investment from the city, from nonprofits, from community members transforming lots that are public health hazards and eyesores, and dangerous, and turning them into usable, safe, beautiful green spaces.
0:25 · Yeah, I love it.
0:27 · It It’s making a difference. It’s making an impact in people’s lives.
The land care program
0:34 · The city of Philadelphia is a post-industrial city, and so we have a lot of vacant lots in the city. And unfortunately, most of them, whether they’re privately owned or city-owned, don’t have the capacity to maintain them.
0:47 · And so they grow heavy weeds, and, you know, people dump their trash on there, and there’s debris, and it’s just It’s an eyesore. It’s not something that people deserve to live by.
0:58 · So that’s where we at PHS come in. We have our Philadelphia Land Care program, where we completely clean and green these vacant lots, so that you know, what was formerly a terrible eyesore is now a community asset, which people can use, and people can enjoy, and they feel safer around.
1:17 · Through this project, we’re trying to change the narrative behind vacant lots, and switching it from a detriment and a negative to a community asset, and realizing that we have all this open, accessible land, and that it could serve as easy and equitable access to nature and to green space in urban environments, but it can also provide ecological habitat as well.
Greening and infrastructure
1:42 · We’ve noticed the soil quality has improved, which helps with drainage. And we In Philadelphia, have a lot of of stormwater management issues when it rains heavily.
1:52 · PHS, their Land Care program, they’ll stabilize a lot, and they’ll bring in sod, and they’ll plant some trees, but we are taking this awesome program to the next level, and we’re installing pollinator gardens, um which serve as habitat for birds, bees, and butterflies, and all sorts of critters. These gardens are able to absorb more runoff and stormwater, preventing overflows in sewers. So we’re really hoping that not only can we provide habitat, but we can provide water quality benefits as well.
2:21 · Some of our our lots, we collaborate with the Mural Arts program, which they paint these beautiful murals. And then, the National Wildlife Federation, in collaboration with the a local university, they found that it has a positive impact on the climate, as well.
Art and wildlife impact
2:36 · So when we have the the clean lawn, the mural, and then the added texture and and beauty from the gardens, it really creates such a beautiful space for the community.
Local economic impact
2:49 · We’re also working with 12,000 lots, which is a lot. You can’t manage that much through a volunteer basis. So we found it actually to be much more sustainable by hiring local contractors or working with community organizations to maintain the lot itself. And what’s great is that we actively search to work with local landscape contractors to help build their capacity. And they hire community members from the neighborhoods that we’re that we’re working in.
3:18 · And so really, you know, we’re investing a lot of dollars to clean these lots, but that money’s going right back into the neighborhoods, helping to create jobs, and then it it helps kind of build ownership, as well.
Personal perspective
3:32 · When you get up in the morning, you know, just taking your kids to daycare, school, you want your community to look right. You don’t want to come out, see trash everywhere, or just a mess. I’m only like 30 days, if that, in, but it’s giving me a different perspective on like everything, far as beautifying your neighborhood. Even though it’s a job, when you go back home and you see like a lot on your block when you’re not at work, you’re going to probably want to do something to it, like, why we can’t just make every block and every street in the city look good? Landscaping gave me a a different outlook about life.
4:06 · What landscaping really is not just like weed whacking, cleaning, it’s a whole lot of other aspects that go into it to try to help brighten and raise awareness in different communities. I wanted a contractor to really give me like an opportunity that I never had. I’m here to just get the experience, you know, listen, observe, pay attention to details.
4:27 · You know, there’s a lot of lots that need work, and if you can get a lot of positive people and people to work with you, clean the lots up, it’s a mess in the beginning, but when you step back and look at it with, you know, all the heart for the community, um it’ll weigh much more nice for the neighborhood.
Future expansion goals
4:45 · We would really love to see vacant lot restoration at scale throughout the Mid-Atlantic, and so we are really using this project and this opportunity to learn as much as we can about what has worked and what hasn’t, so that we can really bring this to other cities and make it a stronger priority.
Housing and Health
Northern California Public Media, 07 31, 2017
Video (2:04)
Description
KRCB North Bay Public Media and the Sonoma County Department of Health Services have partnered to raise awareness about the ways in which the social determinants of health affect our community. This Health Connections video explores the direct impact homelessness and inadequate housing have on public health and how better housing can lead to better health for all.
Transcript
0:03 · in our local area our most recent homeless census told us that over 63 percent of the people living on the streets here in Greenville were residents of Western Sonoma County before becoming homeless another 20% were permanent residents of Sonoma County these are our local residents who have been priced out of housing homelessness and lack of adequate housing have a detrimental impact on health access to adequate food to
0:31 · shelter to transportation these are all things that greatly impact somebody’s overall help section 8 subsidized housing aims to make rent more affordable for qualifying low income residents however it can often be challenging finding a landlord willing to accept the section 8 voucher you’re stressed out about not having a place to live than here that’s going to be your primary focus it’s a great stressor when
0:59 · you’re homeless you don’t have a cook stove you don’t have a way to heat food you tend to want to eat pre-prepared meals and you tend to want to do that in the most affordable way possible and in America that means fast food you’re eating sugary stuff because that’s what’s available a lot of processed foods not so much of the fresh vegetables and fruits because you have no refrigeration you have no way to keep it many who are homeless must resort to using the emergency room to address their basic health needs when somebody
1:26 · is using the emergency room as their primary care home we have a real problem and the cost-saving measure is for the health care system to invest in housing because when we have somebody we know that within the first 90 days their dependence on the emergency rooms decreases by over 50% there is a clear relationship between good housing and good health housing along with all the
1:50 · stability that provides greatly impacts somebody’s ability to live a long productive healthy life you
How FIVE BILLION Pounds of Las Vegas Garbage Powers a City
PBS Terra, 04 20, 2021
Video (9:14)
Description
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Most of the 600 billion pounds of waste that Americans produce every year ends up in landfills. All that trash can have huge impacts on the environment. But modern landfills have found a new use for all that trash — they’re turning it into energy. In spite of their reputation as “dumps,” these landfills are feats of engineering, more akin to construction sites.
One of North America’s biggest landfills lies on the outskirts of Las Vegas. The Apex Landfill is not only one of the country’s largest, it’s also one of the busiest. Because it serves a non-stop city, the landfill must operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It receives upwards of 16 million pounds of trash per day or 5 billion pounds per year.
Landfills like Apex are required to deal with the toxic chemicals they produce, like methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide. At Apex, they capture that methane and turn it into energy that powers 11,000 homes in southern Nevada.
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Hosted by Joe Hanson from It’s Okay to be Smart, Overview uses incredible 4k drone footage to reveal the natural phenomena shaping our planet from a 10,000-foot view—literally.
Transcript
Intro
0:02 · [Host Joe Hanson] Americans produce 4.9 pounds of waste per person per day. That’s nearly 600 billion pounds per year.
0:11 · Where does it all go?
0:13 · It goes to places like this. The mountains of trash we throw away can have huge impacts on our environment and climate.
0:23 · But what if I told you that all of this waste could one day power a city?
0:29 · [synth music] ♪ [Joe] Welcome to Las Vegas, the place for glitz, glam, gambling and garbage. Three main categories of waste are solid waste, recyclables, and food waste. And here in the neon city, we’re going to explore the ways they’re turning each of these trash types into treasure. Las Vegas produces more than five billion pounds of waste per year, and all that trash ends up here. The Apex Landfill lies in the mountains beyond the city.
Apex Landfill
1:12 · At 1900 acres, it’s one of the largest landfills in North America, and also one of the busiest. Apex is one of the only landfills in North America that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. As many as 250 trucks enter the landfill each day and deliver up to 16 million pounds of waste. It used to be a place like this was called a dump, and that’s exactly what they were.
1:46 · trash dumped in piles with little regard for sanitation. As trash decays, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. The dumps of yesteryear all but ignored this, as well as other environmental problems. But today’s landfills are feats of engineering. They are long-term storehouses for society’s garbage and places where we manage its potential hazards.
2:14 · [David Vossmer]: It would be comparable to a construction site, where you’re building homes in a neighborhood. We would envision an entire city being built basically as a landfill.
2:26 · [Joe]: David Vossmer has been working in the solid waste industry for 42 years and oversees operations at Apex.
Working Phase
2:33 · [David]: The working face is the active area of the landfill, usually anywhere from two to three acres in size.
2:41 · [Joe]: Each truck that dumps its load carries about 30 tons of garbage. Compactors then take that trash, spread it across the working face, and mash it down.
2:57 · [David]: Each one of those machines is about 120 to 130,000 pounds. There’s a lot of weight that will smash all the cardboard boxes or trash or any other material that comes in. It’ll lay it down in a nice, even layer. That’s what the landfill business is trying to do, get as much compacted waste into that area or that acre that we can. That’s what extends the life of the landfill.
3:24 · [Joe]: As more and more trash comes in, the landfill grows in height.
3:29 · [David]: It’s just like building a pyramid. The wider the base, the higher we can go with the trash here in the landfill.
3:36 · [Joe]: In some areas, the local landfill is the highest point in the region. Here in Vegas, this mountain of trash is 500 feet high and rising taller by the day. In spite of the enormous volume of garbage coming in, the landfill will be able to take in trash for another 300 plus years.
3:57 · How is that possible?
4:01 · Not only is the site large, but it’s also growing. A mining company on site digs out the surrounding mountains. In the process, it expands the landfill’s footprint and the space it has to operate. But the best way to keep a landfill from filling up is to waste less. Las Vegas boasts the largest residential recycling center in North America. The state-of-the-art facility takes in up to 1.8 million pounds of recyclables per day.
Recycling
4:32 · Because Las Vegas uses single stream recycling, all the sorting happens here. These recyclables will get conveyed through a complex system of sorting machines.
4:45 · [Jeremy Walters]: We have some very unique pieces of equipment, things that do just simple mechanical separation through disks and screens, but we also have computerized machines that are physically reading the material based on its color and density. It’s very smart, and it’s very quick. After a machine initially separates material, people quality control what the machine did.
5:10 · They’re physically looking at the material to ensure that the machine sorted correctly and there are no contaminants within that final product.
5:19 · [Joe]: A new challenge confronting recycling centers like this is the Amazon effect. Facilities around the country are being inundated with cardboard from online retailers. Here at this facility, they’ve had to recalibrate their machines and processes just to handle the deluge. While 1.8 million pounds of daily recyclables might sound like a lot, it’s still just a fraction of the overall waste that gets created each day.
5:49 · Food is another thing that inundates the waste stream and doesn’t belong in a landfill. Las Vegas is renowned buffets produce a lot of it. But here in Sin City, they’ve found an innovative solution. It’s not just people who pig out on buffets. The residents of the Las Vegas Livestock Farm enjoy it too. The farm sits on Apex property, but is family-owned.
6:17 · [Hank Combs]: Hog farming in Nevada is not very popular, because of the access to feed. We’ve circumvented that by doing the food scrap route, which is a very sustainable way to raise our hogs.
6:28 · [Joe]: They take in up to 40,000 pounds per day of the casinos’ food waste. Everything from lobster to ice cream gets processed in giant cookers to make it safe for the hogs to eat. This fragrant stew won’t make the menu in any casino, but it’s irresistible to these hogs.
Food Waste
6:48 · I mean, yummy.
6:50 · [Hank]: They’re a lot like a human, so they love their sweets and their meat and the potatoes. They’re not too big on salads. They won’t eat anything. They’re picky.
7:00 · [Joe]: It’s not just food waste that’s finding a second life in Vegas. The garbage is too. In the U.S., landfills like this account for nearly 20% of the human-caused methane emissions. Some landfills capture and burn it. But here at Apex, and at a growing number of landfills around the country, they’re turning it into energy. 160 wells have been drilled into this mountain of trash, some as deep as 200 feet.
7:31 · The wells siphon off the gas coming from landfill. After it’s purified, it’s sent to an onsite power plant where it’s burned to spin turbines, which create energy. That energy is fed back into the electric grid and powers 11,000 homes here in Southern Nevada. The total amount of energy produced annually by U.S. landfills powers the equivalent of more than 1 million homes.
7:56 · [Jeremy]: We’re actually able to take something that is always going to exist in a landfill, and turn it into something that the community can benefit from. Most people go day to day without thinking about the trash or the recyclables that they make. It’s just a simple toss it in the bin and forget about it.
8:10 · And there’s so much involved behind the scenes to make sure that we are handling all those materials in the most environmentally responsible way.
8:20 · [David]: Not everything in our world is recyclable. And as long as society throws things away, we’re one of the things that take care of making sure it’s done the right way.
8:33 · [Joe]: Hey guys, our PBS friends across YouTube are celebrating Earth Day with us. Follow me over to Reactions to find out why catalytic converters are being stolen from cars worldwide, and what this weird mystery has to do with the health of our environment. Tell them Joe sent you.
8:51 · And one more thing, for those of you in the U.S., you should check out “Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World,” a new three-hour Earth Day broadcast event on your local PBS station. The special is going to premiere on Thursday, April 22nd at 8:00 pm, 7:00 pm Central, and will then repeat starting Wednesday, April 28th at 8:00 pm, 7:00 pm Central.
9:10 · See you then.
How is Taiwan beating everyone at plastics recycling
DW Planet A, 12 26, 2025
Video (10:20)
Description
Taiwan used to be flooded with trash – but the country is now one of the top plastics recyclers in the world. How did they do it?
Planet A reycling taiwan
Credits:
Reporter: Beina Xu
Camera: Kaley Emerson, Shaundie Hsu, Norman Pan
Video Editor: Frederik Willmann
Supervising Editor: Adam Baheej Adada
Fact Check: Kirsten Funck
Thumbnail: Em Chabridon
Read more:
Supporting a circular economy: Insights from Taiwan’s plastic waste sector and lessons for developing countries
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235255092031349X
Taiwan’s Transition – from Garbage Island to Recycling Leader
https://rapidtransition.org/stories/taiwans-transition-from-garbage-island-to-recycling-leader/
Analysis of plastic waste reduction and recycling in Taiwan
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0734242X21996821
Management strategy of plastic wastes in Taiwan
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42834-022-00123-0
Time series analysis of the effects of refuse collection on recycling: Taiwan’s “Keep Trash Off the Ground” measure
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956053X07000694
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:43 Trash in Taipei
02:09 On the recycling fleet
03:12 What about AI arms?
07:24 Pellet magic
08:32 The bigger picture
We’re destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn’t need to be this way. Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. We’ll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.
Follow Planet A on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dw_planeta
Transcript
Intro
0:00 · How did a country that used to look like this – now have one of the best recycling systems in the world?
0:06 · If you want a glimpse of what the future of plastic recycling looks like, this might be it.
0:12 · Each little robot is sifting through 55 pieces of garbage per minute – and it’s not humans running the machine here.
0:18 · It’s AI.
0:20 · But Taiwan is also a huge plastics consumer and manufacturer – just head to a night market, or walk around…
0:27 · anywhere.
0:28 · “We’re a poster child of that plastic pollution.”
0:32 · The country is no longer swamped with trash like it was in the 90s, so it’s obviously doing some things right.
0:38 · We went to Taipei to see for ourselves just how it’s done.
0:42 · And within hours of being there, I discovered that something pretty important was missing.
Trash in Taipei
0:47 · “So I just had my little snack, and look how much waste I already produced.”
0:51 · But I couldn’t find any public trash bins to put it in.”
0:54 · “There aren’t any trash bins on the street?”
0:57 · Turns out the city removed thousands of them about a decade ago.
1:00 · Why?
1:01 · Because in Taiwan, you have to pay for any waste that can’t be recycled.
1:05 · The whole point is to make people responsible for minimizing the amount of trash that goes into incinerators.
1:10 · Everyone holds on to their own garbage, and these iconic cars come around to pick it up five days a week.
1:15 · It’s a whole Taipei ritual.
1:17 · This way, people can’t cheat and throw their private waste in public bins to avoid the fees.
1:22 · And they’re not shy about getting shame involved.
1:37 · It’s a pretty intense recycling culture that places a lot of the burden on individuals.
1:42 · But it’s part of the policy structure that has gotten Taiwan in the top ranking in Asia for its waste recovery rate in last year’s Environmental Performance Index.
1:50 · Although…
1:51 · it also has its flaws.
2:01 · But I wondered what happens after this supposedly recyclable trash gets picked up…
2:06 · so what did I do?
2:07 · Got on one of these myself, of course.
On the recycling fleet
2:09 · “Ready, go!”
2:11 · These trucks belong to a private company, Da Fon, just one of the many businesses the government works with to collect, sort, and regenerate waste.
2:21 · “Not a lot of traffic, weather’s really nice.”
2:24 · These companies get subsidies from a centralized Recycling Management Fund.
2:28 · Their pay is guaranteed, so even if global plastic prices drop, recyclers are protected.
2:35 · “Smelling…
2:36 · It’s starting to smell a little bit.
2:38 · So this is the stuff we’re going to pick up, this is all residential plastic waste.”
2:43 · This centralized, national fund that directly subsidizes recycling is what sets Taiwan apart from other countries.
2:49 · Who pays into this recycling fund?
2:51 · Producers and importers, so the policy also keeps manufacturers responsible for their plastic footprint from the get-go.
2:57 · “Oh my god it stinks.
2:59 · So much milk!”
3:01 · And it makes it easy and profitable for businesses to get into the recycling game.
3:05 · “Recycling is great, but I am getting heat stroke!”
What about AI arms?
3:12 · To cool off, we went to another plant to hang out with some special robots, who have one of the most important jobs in the industry.
3:21 · “Hello!”
3:22 · “Hi!”
3:23 · “Welcome!”
3:23 · “Beina. Nice to meet you.”
3:25 · ” I’m Sandy!
3:26 · Welcome to our AI sorting robotic center!”
3:34 · “What are these toys here, what’s going on?”
3:36 · “This is kind of like a little trinket they do ’cause toys cannot be recycled, actually.”
3:40 · “Wait why can’t they be recycled?”
3:42 · “So for example this, there’s cushion inside, it’s cotton, you cannot recycle cotton.”
3:48 · “Okay, good to know.
3:49 · Toys.”
3:49 · “And it’s just cute, too!”
3:53 · “Save me!”
3:55 · The plant processes 40-50 tons of household recyclables every day.
4:00 · The AI sorting arms identify 17 types, from plastics and metals to paper.
4:26 · “Alright.”
4:31 · “Okay, wow, hello arm.”
5:11 · This facility handles recyclables from five cities around Taipei.
5:15 · And while AI improves sorting efficiency, one of its biggest flaws is that robot arms aren’t as agile as human hands.
5:23 · So, we still need real people, in the end.
5:45 · …which is exactly what happened next.
6:02 · “Don’t stuff your trash bags too tight, guys.
6:06 · Jams the machine.”
6:13 · “Okay I’ve been holding onto all of my trash.
6:16 · Can I just throw this out here?”
6:18 · “Let me see the trash first.”
6:20 · “I have onigiri, destroyed…
6:27 · doujiang (soy) bottle…”
6:29 · “PET, all good. This one is good, but all these flexible little ones, these are going to be treated as trash.
6:38 · “You can just throw it overboard.”
6:40 · “Bye.”
6:43 · Roughly 95% of what’s here is able to be recycled, so relatively little has to go to incinerators.
6:49 · “So basically this is the plastic that’s been sorted.
6:52 · And then this will go into another sorting facility that sorts out specifically milk bottle for HDPE, and PP will be lunch boxes.”
7:02 · “There’s a flyaway wok…”
7:04 · “Wait what, where?”
7:07 · “This wok is just like…”
7:09 · “It just fell, I think.”
7:11 · “Random casualties.”
7:14 · “These are all woks!
7:16 · “These are all woks!”
7:17 · “Oh my god.”
7:18 · You guys want a free wok?”
7:20 · “Yeah. Let’s take a free wok.
7:21 · I’m taking a free wok.”
Pellet magic
7:24 · The effort to AI upgrade everything isn’t just for the sorting facility – Da Fon also wants to bring it to its regeneration plant, which is where all the good plastic goes to get a chance at a second chance at life: this time as pellets.
7:37 · And it’s a family affair.
7:39 · This is Da Fon’s CEO, Matt Lin, who is…
7:41 · Sandy’s dad.
7:45 · This is where the bales of sorted plastic are cut, washed and dried.
7:52 · In recycling, purity of material is the most important factor, so this stage is crucial.
7:57 · Then, they’re molded into pellets.
8:00 · This plant employs only 50 or so people, but the AI takeover isn’t far in the future.
The bigger picture
8:32 · So how good is Taiwan at plastics recycling?
8:35 · A study showed that roughly 80% of imported and recycled plastic were used to make either finished products or pellets for export.
8:41 · Its recycling industry is larger than its domestic waste supply, so it actually imports plastic to be processed.
8:48 · But some say the metrics and good PR can be misleading.
8:53 · “Recycling means the material is being collected responsibly somehow, and then it’s responsibly…
9:00 · burned.”
9:02 · Arthur Huang is the CEO of Miniwiz, a Taiwanese company that converts waste materials into architectural fixtures.
9:08 · “Most people call that downcycling.
9:09 · And I call that actually just putting the particle into smaller particles into the air.”
9:15 · Taiwan actually has one of the highest densities of waste incinerators in the world.
9:20 · And that’s where most of the flimsier plastics like bags and straw wrappers have to be burned, since their quality is too low for recycling.
9:27 · Even if cities nail plastics recycling, there’s another big pile to deal with.
9:41 · Good news is industrial waste is also cleaner and there is a lot of it.
9:45 · Taiwan has a lot of big industry, in particular semiconductors and petrochemicals.
9:50 · So there is big potential for reuse there.
9:53 · That industry is exactly what makes its recycling infrastructure work – the country already has the industrial base to handle the manufacturing processes needed in recycling, at scale.
10:04 · “What’s the recycling system like where you live?
10:07 · Tell us in the comments below.
10:08 · And don’t forget to click like, and subscribe.
10:10 · See you next time.”
Nonprofit turns vacant lots into urban farms
WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore, 09 30, 2026
Video (2:42)
Description
A Baltimore nonprofit founded by military veterans is revitalizing vacant lots into green spaces and urban farms, transforming communities and addressing food access challenges. The 6th Branch, established in 2010, has converted more than 23 acres of vacant lots into thriving green spaces and urban farms. The 6th Branch continues to bring hope to Baltimore neighborhoods, one seed at a time.
WBAL-TV is your home for Baltimore breaking news and weather. For your latest Baltimore news and weather visit: https://www.wbaltv.com/
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Transcript
0:00 · HOW THE SIXTH BRANCH IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
0:05 · FROM FLOWERS TO TREES, VEGETABLES AND HONEY AND MORE, THESE URBAN FARMS ARE TRANSFORMING AREAS ACROSS THE CITY.
0:13 · I THINK IT’S REALLY HARD TO GIVE PE HOPE WHENHERE’S TRASH ALL AROUND YOU.
0:19 · THE SIXTH BRANCH IS CHANGING THAT.
0:22 · SO FAR, THEY’VE TRANSFORMED MORE THAN 23 ACRES VACANT LOTS GREEN SPACES AND URBAN FARMS.
0:27 · WE DON’T GO INTO A SPACE UNLESS RE INVITED AND ASKED TO, AND THEN WE’RE SITTING AND LISTENING SO TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS.
0:37 · THEN WE HELP MAKE THAT VISION A REALITY WITH THE COMMUNITY.
0:41 · THE NONPROFIT, FOUNDED I 2010 BY RETURNING VETERANS, HAS A MISSION TO BUILD TRUST WITHIN COMMUNITIES IN JOHNSTON SQUARE, BLOCKS OF HOMES WERE DEMOLISHED.
0:53 · NOW IT’S BRIMMING WFE.
0:55 · EVERY THURSDAY, YOU CAN GET A BAG OF, YOU KNOW, COLLARDS AND SQUASH AND G PEPPERS AND RED PEPPERS AND HOT PEPPERS, WHICH ARE MY FAVORITE.
1:05 · AND THEY’RE STR RIGHT FROM THE GROUND.
1:08 · GRACE CHAMPION MANAGES THE T URBAN FARMS,HICH ALLOWS THEM TO DISTRIBUTE THOUSANDS OF POUNDS OF FRESH PRODUCE PER YEAR.
1:15 · IN ADDITION TO LIKE KALE COLLARDS, WE DO SWISS CHARD.
1:20 · WE ALSO DO A LOT OF R VEGETABLES, TOMATOES, EGGPLANT, REALLY KIND OF LNG TO THE CLIMATE AND DOING WHAT WILL WANT TO PERFORM HERE.
1:30 · SO WE’RE GONNA PLANT SOME PURPLE TOP TURNIPS.
1:33 · SHE SAYS THEY REA FOCUS ON WHAT CAN BE HARVESTED WEEKLY AND SHARED WITH THE 100 OR SO FAMILIES THEY S EVERY WEEK IN THIS FOOD DESERT.
1:42 · I THINK IT’S REALLY POWERFUL TO INTERACT AND BE CLOSE TO GREEN SPACES AND BE MORE CONNECTED TO THE FOOD.
1:49 · IF YOU CAN, YOU NOTICE YOU’RE NOT SEEING A LOT OF AVAILABLE FRESH PRODUCE IN THESE AREAS.
1:55 · THEY ALSO SELL COMPOST AND HONEY IN ADDITION TO TILLING, FERTILIZING, AND PLANTING.
2:00 · T6B HAS SEVERAL PROGRAMS, INCLUDING FOOD ACCESS, CANOPY AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
2:04 · DOCTOR TERRELL WILLIAMS IS A MARINE CORPS VET AND BOARD MEMBER AND SAYS ORGANIZATIONS LIKE T-6B ARE NEECAUSE THEY HELP ACTIVATE COMMUNITIES AND BRING HOPE.
2:14 · IF YOU G OVER TO THE.
2:16 · HENRIETTA LACKS EDUCATIONAL PARK, IT’S AN INCREDIBLE SPA AND IT GIVES ME JOY BECAUSEA EVERY TIME I DRIVE BY AND I DRIVE BY DAILY, THERE ARE FAMILIES IN TRK, AND I NEVER FAMILIES IN THE PARK BEFORE.
2:29 · HOPE PLANTED ONE SEED AT TIME
Poor home air quality can increase risk of heart disease and cancer Study
ABC News, 01 13, 2023
Video (3:32)
Description
ABC News business reporter Alexis Christoforous provides tips to keep your indoor air clean as you bump up the heat this winter.
Transcript
0:00 · welcome back winter is in full swing across the country and chilly temperatures outside mean more cozy days inside but poor air quality at home can impact your health sometimes even increasing your risk of heart disease cancer and more ABC News business reporter Alexis christopherus has some steps you can take to keep your indoor air clean this winter the weather outside is frightful but the fire inside could be problematic too according to the American Lung Association exposure to burning wood can
0:29 · cause respiratory problems and increase your cancer risk and that’s not the only air pollutant in your home that can adversely affect your health as you spend more days inside this winter consider taking steps to improve the air quality in your home you can start with your fireplace try not to use it too much if you’re going to use a fireplace make sure that you have the flu cleaned
0:52 · that there is a screen across your fireplace if you can afford it consider getting an EPA certified insert for your fireplace right now there is a federal tax break of 30 percent on the purchase and installation of the units gas stoves can also release pollutants such as nitrogen oxides so use your vent use an
1:12 · exhaust fan or just open a window and block that kitchen or living room smoke from entering your bedroom where you can spend hours every night by keeping bedroom doors closed if you can deal with it you can keep your pets out and so whatever is on their fur won’t get on your bedding and won’t be in the air in addition to dusting and vacuuming once a week to combat allergens and dust use an air purifier look for vacuums and air purifiers that have an effective HEPA filter Consumer Reports has ratings on
1:43 · air purifiers and what studies have found is that the effective ones can take out as much as half of all the bad particulates in the air which can affect people’s health and to prevent mold growth that can cause Asthma and Allergy flare-ups clean bathrooms kitchens and basements regularly
2:04 · and Alexis christopherus joins me now for more on this Alexis what about mold because that can be a big issue when it comes to home air quality so how do you combat that yeah there are a few ways and and definitely if you see mold don’t ignore it because it’s only going to grow so what you want to do is keep the humidity levels in your home as low as you can so you can use a dehumidifier to do that in places that usually collect moisture naturally like your basement make sure that you fix any leaks in the house a roof that’s leaking uh Plumbing walls where there are leaks and then you
2:37 · can use your own solution if you see mold on the wall and it’s a small enough space you can use a solution of five percent bleach and water you don’t want to combine bleach with other chemicals that can get dangerous but if you have a larger area say more than 10 square feet of mold in your home you should probably bring in a professional do want to make a note though on humidifiers because
2:58 · this time of year A lot of people are using those yes I was going to ask about that because it’s dry outside right but humidifiers themselves can cause mold problems if you don’t clean them correctly you really have to be on top of your humidifier they can be great but try to clean them thoroughly at least once a week all right Alexis Christopher’s thank you you bet hi
3:17 · everyone George stephanopolis here thanks for checking out the ABC News YouTube channel if you’d like to get more videos show highlights and watch live event coverage click on the right over here to subscribe to our Channel and don’t forget to download the ABC News app for breaking news alerts thanks for watching
The Most Dangerous Wildfires All Have ONE THING in Common
PBS Terra, 10 30, 2024
Video (12:08)
Description
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Fires are getting bigger and more homes are burning each year. In January 2025, 14 out of control wildfires tore through parts of Los Angeles and burnt over 18,000 structures and left at least 29 people dead. Firefighters are having to change tactics when it comes to the most destructive fires, but why? Jennifer Blach, Ph.D., just released a new study in the journal, Science, and her findings point to a new type of fire that is the culprit for all this destruction.
In this episode, we dive into this groundbreaking new study to learn why fires are getting more dangerous to humans and what we can do about it. Plus we have never-before-seen animations from NASA that show us exactly how these new fires behave. So tune in to learn about the future of fires and how to protect yourself and your home as fires change.
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Transcript
The new wildfire reality
0:00 · 80% of wildfire destruction is caused by one type of fire that until recently was rare. Scientists just figured out what these destructive fires have in common, and it’s not what you might guess to understand what’s going on. We talked to Battalion Chief, Mike McClintock, who fought this type of fire during the summer of 2024.
0:21 · And our conventional methods with fire engines and personnel were really ineffective. We had to get ahead of the fire and worry about life safety To understand why wildfire destruction has increased. We focus on the most obvious change in fires: they’re getting bigger, but researcher Jennifer Balch says that might be a distraction. According to her new study, We’ve been focused on the wrong metric.
0:43 · The number of homes burned each year is going up. The Rim fire in California was massive at over 257,000 acres, but it only destroyed 11 homes and no one died. When you compare that to the Lahaina fire in Maui, which was a hundred times smaller, burned 2200 homes and buildings and was the deadliest fire in modern U.S. history, it’s obvious that we’re missing something.
Revisiting fire research
1:09 · In this episode, we’re going to look at new research that could fundamentally change how we think about wildfire risk, what to expect in the future and what we can do to prevent losses. With entire towns being wiped off the map like Paradise, California, Jennifer and her team wanted to understand why.
1:32 · To figure out solutions, he knew that the first step was properly defining the problem, so rather than thinking about size, she approached fire from a new angle.
1:42 · What do the most destructive fires have in common?
1:45 · And until recently she didn’t have the tools to answer this question.
1:49 · We’ve had really good data on how big they are, but we’re only getting to the point where the satellites are getting good enough to give us information on a much finer temporal scale on an hour by hour basis.
1:59 · We have new high resolution data because NASA is doing a lot more than putting astronauts in space these days.
2:06 · NASA’s done a lot over the years with studying the earth. We develop technology. We eventually launch into space on satellites, and we can see processes unfold across really large scales that we often can’t see from a ground-based or human perspective.
2:17 · Jennifer looked at the time-based images of 60,000 fire events in the U.S. to analyze the way they spread and suddenly it made sense.
2:26 · This is a new discovery that we have made by putting together all of these different data sources and looking at fire from space.
Speed dictates destruction
2:33 · Today, so many science discoveries don’t happen in the field, but in simulations powered by enormous supercomputers that perform quadrillions of calculations each second to model our climate. I got to visit one of these supercomputers in my new show, Weathered: Earth’s Extremes, where I traveled the world to find out where we are and where we’re going in this moment of climate change. You can watch right now on the PBS app, but back to fire.
2:58 · The results of Jennifer’s investigation were striking. What almost all destructive fires have in common between 2001 and 2020 is speed. And this finding fundamentally changes how we approach fire management.
3:12 · Fires that move that fast.
3:13 · More than 4,000 acres a day account for 88% of the fire related damages that we see across the U.S. They are only 3% of the fires on record during that time. A very small number of fire events have huge consequences.
3:28 · And fast fires themselves changed in a worrying way during the study window. We’ll get to that in a bit, but first, why are fast fires so destructive?
Firefighting in fast fires
3:37 · And why are they so destructive in a place like Southern California with some of the most experienced firefighters in the world, backed by impressive air support?
3:46 · The Bridge Fire was a great example, the fire activity was so significant, our conventional methods with fire engines and personnel were really ineffective.
3:54 · When fires are moving this fast, it’s virtually impossible to put them out. When Mike’s crew deployed to the Mountain High Ski Resort, wind was blowing embers miles ahead of the flaming front. Smoke reduced visibility and grounded aircrafts.
4:08 · Winds were significant at more than 50 miles an hour, we realized that the fire suppression, putting this fire out, on our side is not gonna happen and we’re gonna have to move and shift our priorities.
4:19 · The fire was spreading quickly towards the town of Wrightwood just three miles away.
4:24 · There’s a lot of similarities between the community of Paradise and the community of Wrightwood. We knew that going up there, we were gonna have a heck of a firefight.
4:33 · The comparison to Paradise, California is significant.
4:36 · In 2018, another fast fire burned over 18,000 structures and homes and killed almost 90 people. So the crew raced in an attempt to reach Wrightwood before the fire did.
4:48 · We had, you know, upwards of 50 engines on their way or there. We still had over 3000 structures immediately threatened.
4:56 · If you were to ask me at 30 minutes into this incident, where was our structure loss gonna be?
5:01 · I would say probably in upwards of one to 200.
5:04 · So they fought from house to house and help residents evacuate. By the end of September 10th, the Bridge Fire had exploded from 4,000 acres to over 34,000. This fire is part of a growing trend. During Jennifer’s 20 year study period, fires got 249% faster across the West and 400% faster in California.
Drivers of rapid spread
5:26 · But what’s making them faster?
5:29 · Forest management is often regarded as a primary driver of fire behavior. But according to Jennifer, it isn’t a significant factor in fast fires.
5:38 · The fastest fires are actually in grasslands.
5:40 · They’re very flammable fuels. They’re very thin, they’re easy to catch on fire. They host fires that move really fast.
5:46 · In fact, 80% of fast fires in Jennifer’s study occurred primarily in grass and shrublands, not forests. It turns out that there are three elements needed for fast fire. One: ignition, two: dry, receptive fuel, and three: wind. Wind and ignition are difficult to change and control, but there’s a piece of the fast fire puzzle that’s a key force in their rise: dry, receptive fuel.
6:14 · We’ve had fuels that have been drying out all summer long and then we just throw in a little weather and a fire. And those are mixtures and that recipe for extreme fire behavior.
6:23 · And firefighters even have a term for this fire weather. In Canada, they call it crossover because it occurs when the temperature in Celsius reaches and crosses over the relative humidity level and it’s explosive. At that point, fire can rip through dry fuels and spread extremely fast. In the U.S. we use the more general term red flag conditions.
6:46 · So what does that mean for the future of fast fires?
Climate change and risk
6:50 · With increasing temperatures, we know that we’re essentially pulling more moisture out of fuels, we’re making them drier. And that’s the big impact of climate change on fire is making fuels more available and more available throughout the year.
7:05 · We’re seeing extreme weather patterns change and and intensify across the globe. We’re getting all sorts of situations in which weather patterns are driving extreme fire behavior.
7:13 · Models predict that the number of extreme fire spread events will more than double with two degrees Celsius of global warming, plus a doubling of acres burned. And that’s not far from our current level of warming. We can’t have a fast fire without strong wind. But the type of wind that causes many destructive fires has a special characteristic that makes it particularly dangerous.
The danger of wind events
7:35 · We worked with NASA to create scientifically accurate animations of the wind and fire progressions during a handful of fast, destructive fires to illustrate what’s going on.
7:45 · I’m hard pressed to think of an event that destroyed more than a hundred homes that didn’t have wind involved.
7:51 · And the common denominator for us to make it hard to control wildfires is wind.
7:55 · When strong winds meet or start a wildfire, they throw embers miles ahead of the flaming front, starting new fires and spreading the wildfire outward. These conditions supercharged the East Troublesome Fire. The fire was so fast, moving at 18 miles in a single day, that it jumped The Continental Divide, an area with very little fuel for fire. In the Marshall Fire, we can see a type of wind that’s particularly dangerous: down slope winds.
8:23 · As wind drops in elevation, atmospheric pressure increases, which dries and warms the air. Temperatures can increase by as much as 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit for every 1000 feet of lost elevation, drying vegetation, and eliminating the need for high temperatures with wildfire. The fire started on December 30th, just outside of Boulder, Colorado.
8:46 · Wind gusts of up to 115 miles per hour flowed off the front range of the Rocky Mountains, sucking any remaining moisture out of the vegetation to create the most destructive fire in state history. Destroying over a thousand homes in six hours. In Lahaina, wind blew down the mountain, drying vegetation, warming the air, and knocking down power lines that ignited grasses, then houses, destroying much of the town.
9:13 · During the Labor Day fires, river canyons turned into wind tunnels with speeds reaching 100 miles per hour. Wind blew over power lines and ignited fires in and around small communities, fanning existing fires to create one of the most destructive fire seasons in state history. These aren’t just regular wildfires, they’re wind events with fire in them.
Preparing for future fires
9:36 · In those situations where you have an extreme wind event, basically the fire becomes uncontrollable. You know, fire suppression efforts are extremely ineffective in that situation. ’cause basically, for safety reasons, the firefighters just have to get out of the way. And so there’s, there’s really no stopping it.
9:50 · And that’s probably the most important lesson about fast fires. Once they’ve started, there’s no stopping them until the wind dies down. Firefighters can only evacuate people and wait. And as we face a hotter, drier, future fire prone places are going to become far more challenging places to live.
10:08 · So how do we reduce the destruction?
10:11 · We prepare ahead of time. Let’s go back to the Bridge Fire, where Mike expected hundreds of houses to be lost.
10:19 · I feel like the Bridge Fire in Wrightwood is a success story.
10:21 · The Wrightwood community did everything right to prepare their homes for fire. The result? Only about 10 homes burned rather than one to 200 that Mike expected.
10:31 · So how do we prepare our homes for fire?
10:34 · To answer this question, I ask the Chief of all fire chiefs.
10:37 · Understanding how to live with the fire that’s inevitable is absolutely key to our survival of the communities across the Nation.
10:45 · The research shows that we can significantly reduce the chance that homes will ignite in fast fires by taking simple steps focused on our home and its immediate surroundings.
10:56 · So it is incumbent on community planners, on individuals who purchase the properties on builders that they also build to code. Codes that are based on science: fire resistant materials, proper roofing materials, proper windows, not having wood fences. These are key pieces of the puzzle here.
11:16 · If we’re going to continue to build communities in the path of fire, then we must build them according to the science and the codes to make people saveable in their own homes, in their own communities.
11:28 · If you wanna learn more about the ways you can prepare your home for fire, tornadoes, or even hurricanes, check out our new series Weathered: Earth’s Extremes by downloading the PBS app today.
11:38 · And we’d love to hear from you in the comments: Do you live in fire country?
11:43 · Have you survived a fire yourself?
11:45 · What are you doing to prepare your home?
11:47 · Let us know and we’ll see you next time on Weathered.
The traffic solution most cities haven’t tried
Vox, 05 03, 2019
Video (5:33)
Description
Congestion pricing works – just look at London.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced a plan to bring congestion pricing to New York City. The goal is to raise money for the city’s crumbling public transit system and reclaim the dangerously busy city streets. But what is congestion pricing, and can it actually solve all our transit woes?
We took a look at London, a city that enacted a congestion charge in 2003, to see some of the benefits. Check out the video above to learn more.
For further reading look to our sister site, Curbed: https://www.curbed.com/
https://www.curbed.com/search?q=congestion+pricing
For information on New York’s potential earnings and benefits:
http://www.hntb.com/HNTB/media/HNTBMediaLibrary/Home/Fix-NYC-Panel-Report.pdf
And a closer look at how much money is wasted sitting in traffic:
http://pfnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018-01-Congestion-Pricing.pdf
Finally – Check out this article by Nicole Badstuber on how London congestion pricing has started to level out and the plans the city has in place to bring revenue back up:
https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/04/londons-congestion-charge-needs-updating/557699/
Note: The headline for this video has been updated since publishing.
Previous headline: How London is fighting its nightmare traffic
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Transcript
The problem with urban traffic
0:00 · So, it’s 5 o’clock in New York City and I’m about to catch a cab about 5 miles uptown.
0:07 · Let’s see how this goes.
0:24 · So it just took me 40 minutes to go about 4.5 miles which is pretty typical for New York City rush hour.
0:32 · Despite a speed limit of 25 miles per hour, the average car moving through NYC is driving at just 7.1 MPH, down from 9.1 MPH in 2010.
0:42 · And if you’re in midtown it’s even worse, with cars moving around 5 MPH.
0:47 · But it’s not just New York City – traffic in cities like LA is so bad drivers could be locked in gridlock for hours.
0:54 · Of course this sucks for drivers, but it also makes activities like biking or walking less safe because cyclists and pedestrians have to weave through an obstacle course of cars.
1:04 · Not to mention the estimated 20 billion dollars in lost revenue due to wasted time sitting in traffic.
1:10 · Now, there might be a solution, but if you commute by car, you are probably not gonna like it.
Introducing congestion pricing
1:17 · It’s called congestion pricing. And it means charging drivers for using the roads.
1:21 · “Congestion pricing is an idea whose time has come. And I believe this is the year to actually get it done.”
1:31 · New York’s plan is still in the works, and it probably won’t be enacted until 2020.
1:36 · But the end game is to reduce congestion by discouraging people from driving if they have other options like biking, or taking a train, or walking.
1:44 · And to fund public transit at the same time.
1:48 · It’s not a groundbreaking idea: congestion pricing is already old news in cities around the world.
The London model
1:53 · London enacted a similar policy in 2003.
1:56 · This is a necessary step for us to reclaim some of the space that is currently given to a motorized vehicles without ending up with gridlock.
2:04 · Nicole Badstuber researches urban infrastructure and policy at the University of Cambridge and according to her, the system’s pretty simple.
2:12 · When drivers enter the Central London congestion zone between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., they’re charged 11 pounds 50 pence – about 15 US dollars.
2:21 · New York City’s plan will be similar.
2:22 · When drivers enter Midtown or Lower Manhattan, they’ll face a fee.
2:26 · There’s cameras all around the roads at the edges of the congestion charging area.
2:31 · They automatically recognize the name plate of the car or the vehicle entering the zone.
2:36 · London has a few exemptions in place, like for people who live inside the congestion zone or vehicles with 9 or more seats and New York City will likely do that, too. And the system works.
2:47 · So since it was introduced, we’ve seen that private vehicles entering the zone have gone down by 40 percent.
2:54 · Overall vehicle traffic has gone down by 25 percent.
Results and public space
2:57 · Cycling overall has increased 66% since the charge was instituted and bus ridership reached a 50-year high in 2011.
3:04 · And wait times for buses decreased 25%, due to increased service both on buses and on the London Underground.
3:10 · So we now, in comparison, still have much higher frequencies of London Underground services.
3:15 · We can get more people, more capacity, more people into our trains because we have newer trains.
3:20 · And like Nicole said, congestion pricing isn’t just about removing cars from specific zones, it’s about reclaiming a space for the public.
3:28 · Picture Trafalgar Square, but designed for cars – an idea that was very much a reality before congestion pricing.
3:35 · You would basically have a bus driving right past your nose as you come out of the National Gallery Reclaiming that section of road made the square safer and opened it to more public events.
3:44 · No one could imagine going back to what it was before, and having these cars and buses zoom past you.
Resistance and future goals
3:52 · London’s plan is widely embraced today, but it was met with resistance at first, with opponents arguing that congestion pricing could cut people off from health care, shopping, and schools.
4:02 · Plus, people had to trust that the government would work efficiently and make significant improvements to their public transit system.
4:09 · But within a year, London’s congestion charging had majority support.
4:13 · As New York’s plan is being finalized, some similar resistance is cropping up, which isn’t too surprising.
4:19 · After all, it’s the first US city to implement this type of congestion pricing and no one wants to pay for something they’ve gotten for free for so long.
4:27 · But the plan could generate up to a billion dollars for public transit, a system that most agree desperately needs repair.
4:33 · And the city estimates it will reduce congestion by 8 to 13 percent and increase speeds by up to 9 percent, making a ride through midtown a lot easier.
4:43 · So, like other cities where congestion pricing has been successful, it’s likely that people will end up accepting it.
Reimagining public roads
4:49 · When we think of our roads, in particular in cities, as a sort of public good, as a public space, then if you’re taking up more of it you should probably be paying for that privilege.
5:01 · If you start to think about how everyone gets around the city, charging cars begins to make a lot more sense: You pay for parking, pay for the subway, pay to take a train or a bus, so why wouldn’t we pay for a city road?
5:16 · Thanks for watching. If you haven’t already heard, we’ve launched a paid membership program called the Vox Video Lab, right here on YouTube.
5:22 · For a monthly fee, subscribers get access to tons of exclusive content and becoming a member is the best way to support our journalism.
5:29 · So if you want to join, head over to vox.com/join and we’ll see you there.
There’s Something Living in Wildfire Smoke
NOVA PBS Official, 01 13, 2025
Video (1:58)
Description
Wildfire smoke can carry thousands of living microorganisms, like bacteria and fungi, across long distances. Some of them could potentially infect humans. With wildfires on the rise, experts are studying the risk this poses to our health.
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Transcript
0:01 · [Narrator] Wildfire smoke is loaded with harmful particles like charred plant matter, incinerated materials, and noxious gases. But it’s also carrying stuff that’s alive, thousands of teeny-tiny microorganisms like bacteria and fungi.
0:15 · But why doesn’t the heat from a wildfire kill all these microorganisms?
0:19 · Well, not all parts of a wildfire are hot.
0:23 · When we look at fire on the scale of a microorganism, there are likely pockets of cold air, areas that are not being burned at all.
0:32 · [Narrator] In those tiny pockets of cooler air, microorganisms can catch rides on bits of carbon, or water vapor, rise high into the atmosphere and travel long distances. And some could potentially infect humans. Some health experts are already noticing a concerning relationship between wildfire smoke exposure and rates of infection. One study in California found an uptick in fungal infections after wildfires within a 200-mile radius of hospitals. And climate change is making wildfires more intense and more impactful.
1:08 · Compared to the yearly average in the 1970s, the average wildfire season in the US is now 105 days longer, burns six times the number of acres and has three times as many large fires.
1:21 · Fires are affected by dry conditions and warmer conditions. Climate change is causing more of those extremes. More extreme conditions, more extreme wildfires. They go together, hand by hand.
1:34 · [Narrator] Though there are still many unknowns, risk is growing for more people.
1:40 · We would expect that we’re all just gonna become exposed on a regular basis. We’d have to look out for that in places that we wouldn’t normally be on the lookout. (gentle music)
Trash containers making a difference in NYC’s war on rats
CBS New York, 08 06, 2026
Video (1:56)
Description
There have been fewer complaints about rats to 311, which appears to show trash container efforts are working. CBS News New York’s Dave Carlin reports.
For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com
Transcript
0:04 · CALL IT A TRASHY TRIUMPH FOR CITY LEADERS IN THEIR WAR AGAINST RATS. AS DAVE CARLIN REPORTS, FEWER COMPLAINTS ABOUT RATS TO 311 APPEAR TO SHOW THOSE CONTAINER EFFORTS ARE WORKING.
0:17 · HIS EAST VILLAGE APARTMENT IS ON A STREET WHERE RATS SEEM TO HIDE DURING THE DAY. BUT AFTER THE SUN GOES DOWN, THEY’RE OUT FOR BUFFET TIME, SAYS JOHN HENNIGAN.
0:26 · AT NIGHT, THEY’RE VERY ACTIVE.
0:30 · ACTIVE ALSO DESCRIBES CITY SANITATION WORKERS DEPLOYING EMPIRE BINS. THE JOB IS DESCRIBED AS DONE IN PARTS OF HARLEM AND MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, WHERE WE SEE THE NEW BINS FOR BUILDINGS, NEW RAT RESISTANT CORNER LITTER BASKETS AND APPROVED SECURE BINS FOR BUSINESSES. FELIX MOLINA SITS IN A PARK HE ONCE AVOIDED FOR BEING RAT INFESTED.
0:50 · NOW IT’S NO PROBLEM AT ALL.
0:51 · MY WIFE ACTUALLY HAD A A FLOWER BED IN OUR FRONT WINDOW THAT WE COULDN’T KEEP FLOWERS IN BECAUSE THE RATS WOULD JUST COME IN AND DIG IT ALL UP AND TEAR IT ALL TO PIECES.
1:02 · AND WHAT ABOUT NOW?
1:04 · NOT NOT A PROBLEM.
1:06 · GREGORY ANDERSON IS COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SANITATION, AND WE ASKED HIM WHAT’S GOING ON WITH RAT SIGHTINGS CITYWIDE.
1:14 · AND YOU HAVE SUCCESS.
1:14 · SO IT’S ROUGHLY 22% DECLINE IN RAT COMPLAINTS IN THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR COMPARED TO THE SAME TIME LAST YEAR. CONTAINERIZATION IS THE REASON.
1:24 · HELP WITH RATS ROLLING.
1:25 · OUT NEIGHBORHOOD BY NEIGHBORHOOD. AND IT’S GOING TO TAKE TIME. ACCORDING TO THE CITY, THE CITY MUST BUY HUNDREDS MORE OF THESE AUTOMATED SIDE LOADING COLLECTION TRUCKS TO GO WITH THE EMPIRE BINS.
1:35 · EVEN THOUGH WE’VE TAKEN TWO 3% OF PARKING SPACES, IT’S REALLY MADE A BIG IMPACT ON JUST HOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD LOOKS AND FEELS.
1:45 · THE FOCUS NOW PARTS OF BROOKLYN, INCLUDING DUMBO, THAN THE REST OF THE CITY.
1:48 · WE WILL BE CITYWIDE BY 2031.
1:50 · SO WE’RE ESTIMATING AROUND 60,000 BINS.
1:53 · LOOK FOR THE PARTS OF BROOKLYN TO BE COMPLETELY CONTAINE
What we know about toxic ‘forever chemicals’ and how to reduce our exposure
PBS NewsHour, 03 26, 2023
Video (6:21)
Description
A class of toxic chemicals known as PFAS has made its way into food, soil, water and even most people’s blood in America. In March, the EPA proposed the first regulatory standard limiting the quantity of PFAS in drinking water. Erin Bell, an environmental epidemiologist at the State University of New York at Albany, joins Ali Rogin to discuss these “forever chemicals” and our exposure to them.
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Transcript
Intro
0:01 · home of the pbs newshour, weeknights on pbs.
0:04 · John: There’s a class of toxic chemicals so pervasive that they are found in food, soil, water, and in the blood of most people in America.
0:13 · Earlier this month, the EPA proposed the first-ever regulatory standard to limit the quantity allowed in drinking water.
What are Forever Chemicals
0:20 · Ali rogin looks at the growing health concerns about these chemicals.
0:27 · Ali: Pfas, sometimes called forever chemicals, repel fire, water, oil and stains and have been used since the 1940s in a wide variety of everyday products.
0:35 · You can find them in nonstick cookware, fast food wrappers, clothes, and cosmetics.
0:42 · But these man made chemicals don’t break down easily, and a number of them have been linked to serious health problems.
0:47 · For more on their impact, we turn to Erin bell.
0:49 · She’s an environmental epidemiologist at the state university of New York at Albany who studies human exposure to these toxins.
0:55 · Erin, thank you so much for joining us.
0:57 · Just how widespread are these chemicals?
1:03 · Erin: These chemicals have been detected in the drinking water and soil in every state of the United States, and it is also being detected in many countries across the world.
1:13 · A number of health concerns are related to exposure to these chemicals.
1:18 · They include impact on the immune system.
1:21 · Folks with higher exposures are more likely to have thyroid changes, changes in kidney function, as well as higher cholesterol.
1:30 · We’re also concerned about impacts on children with regards to low birth weight and neurodevelopment in those children.
1:39 · And there are a number of other health outcomes where the literature is more mixed.
1:42 · We sometimes see an association, other times we see less of an association and we have more work to do.
1:49 · These would include infertility factors around ulcerative colitis and other autoimmune diseases.
1:55 · Ali: And are these things that people can determine by taking a blood test?
2:00 · I mean, how how does one test to see where their levels are?
2:05 · Erin: That’s correct.
2:07 · So for each individual, we measure concentrations in their blood, and that is the best way to determine the individual level of exposure for people who have lived in communities or for people in occupations that have these higher exposures.
2:17 · Unfortunately, there’s no consistent guidance or coverage from insurance companies for testing for pfas in your blood.
2:26 · If you contact your local health department, they will let you know if there are programs at the state level sponsored through state health departments, if they have opportunities for you to get tested.
2:37 · But this is a situation that we’re still working on in terms of making sure there’s coverage for people to get tested if they wish to know what their levels are.
EPA Proposal
2:48 · Ali: Now, the EPA, as we mentioned in the introduction, is proposing a new regulation pertaining to pfas in water.
2:54 · Can you explain what exactly this proposal would do?
3:01 · Erin: There are 12,000 chemicals in the family of pfas.
3:03 · The EPA has suggested that for six of these chemicals, there should be a standard federal rule that would require that water utilities test for these six chemicals.
3:16 · And if they were above a certain level, that those levels be monitored for and companies be required to reduce their exposure in the water utility.
Are we missing something
3:29 · Ali: Now six out of 12,000 doesn’t sound like a lot.
3:32 · Are we missing something here?
3:34 · Are these very significant versions of these chemicals?
3:37 · Erin: So that’s an excellent question.
3:38 · And this is one of the challenges we have in the field.
3:40 · Out of the 12,000, we’ve obviously studied very few of them.
3:45 · So these six are particularly of concern because we know the most about them.
3:51 · We also have detected them in higher levels in drinking water across the country.
3:56 · However, it is quite literally a drop in the bucket.
4:02 · It is just a very small number.
4:03 · There is concern in the scientific community that we will never catch up in terms of understanding what the health effects are for the much larger group of pfas’s.
How is it that these companies are able to continue
4:16 · Ali: How is it that these companies are able to continue to manufacture products with these dangerous chemicals in them?
4:25 · Erin: So historically, when we talk about environmental exposures and removing them from production, we focus on their persistence.
4:34 · They stay in the environment and in our bodies for a very long time.
4:38 · The newer versions are not as long lasting in the environment, however, because they are structurally designed to in essence do the same thing that made them good for production and for our consumer products.
4:49 · They’re still related to some of these adverse health outcomes.
4:51 · So they’re still being used because we have not regulated them and we still require them in the manufacturing process.
Reducing our exposure
4:56 · And until those rules and laws change, then that will be allowed to happen.
4:59 · Ali: So my understanding is that this EPA rule, if it is approved, is still going to take a few years before it’s fully operational.
5:05 · So what kind of things can people do if they want to begin reducing their exposure now?
5:08 · Erin: There are a number of things that people can do and communities can do.
5:17 · The first is awareness.
5:19 · Please be sure and keep mindful of what might be going on in your community, especially in the drinking water.
5:22 · If you are not sure what the levels of pfas are in your drinking water, you can contact your local water utility, your state health department, as well as any university or college researchers that are in the area.
5:39 · In terms of reduction, we can use filters on our water systems and in our homes.
5:42 · You also want to be mindful of what you use on an individual basis.
5:47 · Again, minimizing fast food wrappers, the wrappers are lined with these materials as well as microwave popcorn is another example.
5:53 · Pots and pans have these linings .
5:55 · As they become scratched the pfas can leach into the food and cause us more exposure.
6:04 · So again, be mindful of that.
6:07 · And as you replace them with things that are nonstick with that don’t have the nonstick chemicals or have the other types of coatings on them that would potentially have these chemicals.
6:14 · Ali: Erin bell with suny Albany, thank you so much for your time.
When Mold in the Home Is a Problem
California Department of Public Health, 01 06, 2021
Video (1:37)
Description
A first animated video in the 6-part Mold in the Home Video Series. It is an introduction to the series and explains when mold in the home rises to the level of a problem that must be addressed.
The Mold in the Home Video Series is created by the Environmental Health Investigations Branch of the California Department of Public Health. It is designed to answer basic questions about mold in the home using plain language in English and Spanish.
Attn: The web link at 1:26 has expired, please use go.cdph.ca.gov/mold for more information.
To view this story with audio descriptions go to – https://youdescribe.org/video/3umAOe1eSUg?ad=6310fb4773ff460a05c83653
If you need additional information, or are having difficulty accessing this content, please contact askehib@cdph.ca.gov to request this information in an alternate format
Transcript
Intro
0:06 · Mold is in the air everywhere but you can’t see it It is not an issue until mold in your home finds water and starts to grow.
0:15 · Water can come into the home through roofing problems, plumbing leaks, bathroom moisture, and air gaps around windows and doors.
Signs of Mold Problem
0:26 · You have a problem when mold appears near a leak or other dampness in the home.
0:31 · Signs of a mold problem include the smell of mold.
0:35 · Mold has a musty odor.
0:38 · Sometimes you can’t see the mold because it is hidden behind wall paper, dry wall, or paneling, or is on the underside of carpets.
0:48 · The smell lets you know that it is an important problem.
0:52 · If someone cleans or paints over the mold, it will return.
0:56 · This is because the water problem causing mold to grow is not fixed.
Prevention of Mold
1:04 · Mold is common around bathroom tiles, windows, showers, and sinks.
1:09 · It can be hard to keep these damp places completely free of it But you can usually prevent this mold from growing by cleaning it regularly and increasing the air flow.
1:21 · For more information, see the next videos in this series.
1:25 · Visit the CA Department of Public Health’s website cdph.ca.gov/Mold for information about mold in the home.
WHO Preventing disease through healthy environments
World Health Organization (WHO), 04 20, 2016
Video (2:00)
Description
An estimated 12.6 million people died as a result of living or working in an unhealthy environment in 2012 – nearly 1 in 4 of total global deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Environmental risk factors, such as air, water and soil pollution, chemical exposures, climate change, and ultraviolet radiation, contribute to more than 100 diseases and injuries. However, we can take actions to reverse the upward trend of environment-related diseases and improve our environments where we live and work.
For more information visit: http://who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/preventing-disease/en/
Transcript
Environmental health impacts
0:03 · wherever you live your health is impacted by the environment around the world more than 50 million people die every year from disease and nearly one quarter of those deaths are directly caused by environmental factors can you imagine that’s 1,400 deaths every hour
0:23 · of every day from an unhealthy environment the hardest hit are those in low and middle income countries especially in Africa Southeast Asia and the western Pacific and the young and old are most severely affected more than half the world live in urban areas and can face heavy traffic air pollution who are housing and limited access to clean water and sanitation many work in the informal
0:51 · sector under dangerous dirty and demeaning conditions we all face the impact of chemicals and poisons radiation and poor farming practices and climate change means our very uncertain future so now we are at a crossroads
The critical crossroads
1:09 · things can continue getting worse or we can work together to improve our world simple measures can be taken immediately to protect our health and the environment we can reduce our consumption and clean our air by using sustainable fuels and walking or cycling more we can safely store toxic substances in
Call to action for health
1:32 · our homes and workplaces we can protect our water resources by disposing of waste appropriately and introduce clean energy technologies we can bring multiple government sectors together to ensure all policies actively support health let us all work together to improve our health and well-being
Why decades-old, toxic PFAS foam is still contaminating northern Michigan waterways
PBS NewsHour, 11 23, 2024
Video (8:20)
Description
The Defense Department missed a deadline this fall to stop using a toxic firefighting foam that has caused widespread contamination across the country. In the small town of Oscoda, Michigan, a group of citizens has been fighting to hold the Air Force accountable for polluting their waterways. Special correspondent Megan Thompson reports in the first of a two-part series.
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Transcript
Intro
0:00 · home of the pbs news hour weeknights on pbs.
0:07 · Earlier this fall, the defense department missed a deadline to stop using a firefighting foam that caused widespread contamination across the country. While the military continues its transition away from the toxic foam, it is also beginning a massive cleanup which will take decades and billions of dollars. In the small town of Estrada, Michigan a group of citizens has been fighting to hold the air force accountable for contaminating their waterways.
0:34 · In the first of a two part series, special correspondent Megan Thompson brings us their story.
0:39 · Tony and his family have been coming to their vacation home on a van in lake for decades, a relaxing getaway in northern Michigan but in 2016 he received a troubling letter from the estate.
1:02 · From the department of health and human services saying, don’t drink your water.
1:04 · One year later they began to notice something strange on the lake.
1:06 · It was December and my wife woke up and said I think it snowed last night. There was foam piled up all along the shoreline. You could see it for miles.
1:18 · He learned his tapwater, the lake, and the bright, white foam were all contaminated with toxic man-made chemicals.
1:30 · It is sensitive to a different place.
1:32 · It’s shocking.
1:34 · The base is across the lake. You can see the buildings.
1:36 · It turned out the chemicals were coming from the old air force base.
1:41 · It was a training area.
1:44 · Mark Henry is a retired environmental engineer for the state of Michigan that worked at the base after it closed in 1993.
1:50 · There used to be a big concree ball out here with simulated aircraft on it and they would bring the fire trucks in and let people practice.
What is PFAS
2:03 · Practice putting out jet fuel fire is dowsing the burning planes with a special military foam used in the military since the 1970’s made from a chemical called p-fas. Courtney Carrigan is an environmental epidemiologist at Michigan state university who studies human exposure to chemicals.
2:22 · Characterized by a chain of carbons with fluorine bond and a functional group. One and likes water and the other does not, it repels it.
2:31 · The useful properties mean they are contained in all kinds of common products like nonstick pans, stain resistant carpet, and food packaging. There are about 15,000 types of p-fas and increasing the research shows they can cause health problems from liver damage to heart disease and cancer.
2:49 · They are often called forever chemicals because they are so persistent in the environment. They do not break down naturally. They move easily into water and groundwater and end up in fish and drinking water.
The scale of the problem
3:04 · Today about 50% of the nation’s drinking water supply has p-fas in it and nearly every American has some level of p-fas in their blood. The military is one of the biggest p-fas polluters in the U.S. But the problem is only now becoming known. In 2000 a colleague of mark Henry’s made the discovery and it sounded the alarm. Today the Pentagon confirms or suspects pfas concomitant – contamination at almost 700 other sites.
3:40 · There is almost no place you can dig a hole on the base and not find pfas in the groundwater even to this day 50 years after the release.
3:51 · The groundwater does not stay on the base.
3:55 · These plumes are flowing from the former base.
3:57 · Seeping for years into nearby streams, Lakes, and the tapwater of some homeowners like Tony.
4:03 · Right there.
4:04 · A politically connected attorney, he was so alarmed he teamed up to launch “Need our water” and call attention to the environmental Carla – calamity. They gave pbs a tour of the areas most affected by the pfas.
The plume
4:30 · This is a ymca camp owned by Detroit.
4:33 · The water is coming off the base from the storm sewers flowing uninterrupted into the saddle river.
4:39 · Tests found pfas levels more than 50 times higher than allowed by Michigan law. Today we visited dozens were swimming and boating nearby. About one mile away is a wildlife area called Clarks marsh where birds have been found with some of the highest levels of pfas contamination ever documented. There are five health advisory for the area warning to not eat any fish you catch or animals you hunt.
5:08 · This lake is highly contaminated on the surface. When the wind agitates the surface of the water the foam can build up.
5:18 · Tests by the state foundpfas levels in the phone as – in the foam as high as 200,000 parts per trillion. The EPA standards for drinking water allow for four parts per trillion. This lake and the other contaminated streams drain into lake Huron, a source of drinking water for 10 million people in the U.S. And Canada. Contaminated foam has been found on its shores too.
5:45 · We can’t afford to allow this land, this natural resource to be poisonous for years and years and years to come. It has to stop.
5:58 · They spent the last seven years lobbying congress and the Pentagon to clean up the mess. > They can stop the flow of all the plumes of the property now.
Air Force delays
6:12 · Fort Smith is one of the first places and in a country where that pfas of the pollution is treated. At air force recently announced delays in cleaning the rest. Some systems won’t be operating for another four or five years.
6:32 · It is a slow motion.
6:35 · It’s molasses on a cold winter day.
6:38 · A citizens advisory board meets with the air force every three months to provide input. The meetings have become increasingly contentious.
6:47 · We feel abandoned.
6:48 · It is like you are >> Cooking the books. At a meeting in August board members invented frustration about the delays and said the cleanup was mismanaged accusing the military of not conducting enough testing before it started building the latest treatment system this summer.
7:05 · The air force did an extremely minimal amount of work to demonstrate the wells that were planning on putting in are actually in the right place.
7:16 · They are only treating 25% of the known problem. They have no idea, really, what exists beyond.
7:23 · Under pressure, the air force released the results of an independent review at the latest community meeting this week confirming concerns about the new system saying more testing is needed to make sure that all pfas will be captured. Air force official pressure announced a shakeup in the management of the clean up and said new leadership will do better.
7:46 · Argument we will increase transparency.
7:48 · – I commit we will increase transparency and work hard accelerating the timeline.
7:55 · Tony appreciates the new direction but does not plan to let up the pressure. He says Fort Smith needs to set the example for the rest of the nation.
8:06 · Is our government doesn’t do it right what does that say to other communities impacted?
8:13 · It is a critical battle we are fighting here.
8:16 · For pbs news weekend.
Why managing chronic health conditions begins at home
PBS NewsHour, 12 07, 2018
Video (7:26)
Description
The recognition that health care extends beyond the walls of hospitals and doctor’s offices is growing. In Greensboro, North Carolina, advocacy groups, sociologists and medical practitioners are taking a creative approach to uncovering the root causes of disease, with a particular focus on poor housing conditions that can lead to chronic illness. John Yang reports.
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Transcript
0:00 · JUDY WOODRUFF: Let’s take a look now at an innovative approach to health care.
0:04 · John Yang tells us about an effort in North Carolina that tries to treat the housing conditions that contribute to chronic illnesses like asthma before they become health emergencies.
0:15 · KRISHNAVENI BALAKRISHNAN, Greensboro Housing Coalition: You can see mold growth all along the wall here.
0:21 · JOHN YANG: There is so much mold in the Greensboro, North Carolina, rental property that inspectors Krishnaveni Balakrishnan And Ken Cook are examining that the residents moved out after only a few weeks.
0:33 · KRISHNAVENI BALAKRISHNAN: There’s mold on the children’s pillows.
0:36 · The family that lives here, they have five children.
0:38 · One of them is asthmatic, and the mold in the home is causing not only that child, but also the rest of the family to become sick.
0:45 · There’s a lot of moisture issues, a lot of mold on the ceiling, on the family’s belongings.
0:51 · The home is not habitable.
0:52 · JOHN YANG: The residents say the landlord’s suggestions for getting rid of the mold didn’t work.
0:58 · They had to pay for a hotel while still paying rent here.
1:00 · KRISHNAVENI BALAKRISHNAN: You can tell where it’s been wiped.
1:02 · JOHN YANG: Balakrishnan and Cook don’t work for the city.
1:05 · They work for an advocacy group called the Greensboro Housing Coalition.
1:10 · They’re part of an innovative approach aimed at improving the health of low-income residents.
1:14 · KRISHNAVENI BALAKRISHNAN: There’s some mold in the doorsill.
1:17 · JOHN YANG: Doctors, housing advocates, and community activists say taking care of houses like this can be a form of preventive medicine.
1:25 · By getting rid of unhealthy environments, they can keep people out of the emergency room.
1:34 · Researchers say asthma accounts for 93 percent of the respiratory illnesses in Greensboro emergency rooms and clinics.
1:42 · On this day, one of them is Alveno Stanford’s 14-year-old son, Jacob.
1:45 · ALVENO STANFORD, Parent: And I noticed how his chest would like come out more than usual.
1:50 · So, I could tell the chest was just, like, coming out more.
1:53 · JOHN YANG: It’s not the first time Jacob’s made a costly emergency room visit.
1:58 · ALVENO STANFORD: Three times a year.
1:59 · Like, this year, he may come three.
2:02 · Year before that, he may come like two or three.
2:04 · And it’s been at least 10 times with him.
2:08 · JOHN YANG: Greensboro’s efforts are part of a growing interdisciplinary approach, attacking the causes of conditions like asthma to try to improve health and reduce medical costs.
2:20 · Stephen Sills is a University of North Carolina-Greensboro sociologist.
2:29 · He looks for patterns in asthma cases using data from the Cone Health system, the city’s major hospital operator and a partner in the project.
2:37 · Then he uses Google Maps Street View to plot substandard housing.
2:41 · STEPHEN SILLS, University of North Carolina-Greensboro: We map that, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood.
2:45 · Where are more of these respiratory illnesses coming from?
2:49 · And we see that there’s three areas in Greensboro that really are the concentration of poor roofing, absent gutters, broken and cracked foundations, cracked windows, missing shingles and siding.
3:05 · JOHN YANG: And they’re the same areas where asthma cases are concentrated, underscoring the link between poor housing and poor health.
3:13 · All these conditions you just described would exacerbate or trigger asthma?
3:17 · STEPHEN SILLS: Exactly.
3:19 · Exacerbate is a good word there.
3:20 · If I’m living in a house where the roof is leaking, the pipes are leaking, there’s mold and mildew, the carpet hasn’t been replaced in years, all are triggers for someone who has a respiratory condition like asthma.
3:35 · JOHN YANG: Sills’ students use the data to make referrals to the Greensboro Housing Coalition.
3:41 · It turns the traditional approach to delivering health care on its head.
3:44 · STEPHEN SILLS: So often, the physician is thinking about the biology of the individual?
3:49 · What’s wrong with this person?
3:51 · How can I treat that problem that is a biological, medical problem?
3:55 · What drug can I give them, or what behavior can I ask them to change?
4:00 · In this case, the treatment is for the community.
4:04 · The problem isn’t the individual.
4:06 · The problem is the structure around the individual.
4:08 · JOHN YANG: Sills’ research provides hard data to support the coalition’s work at an apartment complex in the impoverished east Greensboro neighborhood of Cottage Grove.
4:18 · JOSIE WILLIAMS, Greensboro Housing Coalition: So, you can see the roofing and all the stuff up here, very old.
4:23 · JOHN YANG: Josie Williams of the Greensboro Housing Coalition documents conditions there.
4:28 · Sewage coming up through the drain.
4:29 · JOSIE WILLIAMS: Yes, sewage was coming up in the drain.
4:32 · That’s why the water is so dark.
4:34 · So, the way they were turning this on and off was by pliers.
4:37 · JOHN YANG: And the people are paying rent for this?
4:39 · JOSIE WILLIAMS: Yes.
4:41 · JOHN YANG: There were 177 apartments, and 100 cases of asthma.
4:45 · JOSIE WILLIAMS: We walked into an apartment one day, and the sewage from the bathroom had come out of the toilet onto the floor, into the living room.
4:54 · And the family had been living like that for three weeks.
4:56 · JOHN YANG: Three weeks?
4:57 · JOSIE WILLIAMS: Mm-hmm.
4:58 · We walked into another apartment complex where the ceiling was leaking, and it was raining, and the mother was catching the water with an inflatable pool in the middle of the floor.
5:09 · JOHN YANG: One of the asthma cases, 7-year-old Shah Mei (ph), whose family immigrated from Myanmar.
5:16 · Dr. Beth Mulberry is her pediatrician.
5:18 · DR.
5:19 · BETH MULBERRY, Mustard Seed Community Health: They were living without heat.
5:20 · It was below 20.
5:21 · They had a huge water problem.
5:25 · Their carpet was soaked.
5:26 · She was needing to be on maintenance medication, allergy medication, oral.
5:33 · And then she was on a rescue inhaler, which she was using fairly regularly at that point.
5:37 · JOHN YANG: The Housing Coalition helped the family find better housing, and Shah Mei quickly improved.
5:45 · DR.
5:46 · BETH MULBERRY: I think it was about two months.
5:47 · So, it’s pretty quick and pretty amazing change.
5:52 · She has not used her rescue inhaler since July.
5:56 · JOHN YANG: The complex has since been sold, and the coalition is working with the new owner to improve it.
6:04 · Led by Josie Williams, the Housing Coalition holds monthly neighborhood meetings to help residents press for other changes in the area.
6:11 · At their most recent session, they discussed a corner store.
6:14 · JOSIE WILLIAMS: Anything healthy in that little store?
6:17 · Alcohol, cigarettes?
6:18 · What else you see in that little store?
6:20 · Snacks?
6:21 · What else?
6:22 · You have the power to create those changes.
6:23 · JOHN YANG: The recognition that health care extends beyond the walls of hospitals and doctors offices is growing.
6:33 · In October, federal officials approved a five-year pilot program allowing North Carolina Medicaid to pay for such services as removing mold, controlling pests and repairing heating and air conditioning.
6:46 · DR.
6:47 · BETH MULBERRY: We really need to start making an investment in what are the root causes of these chronic illnesses.
6:54 · And a lot of this has to do with our people that are living in poverty, the inability to rent a place where they expect changes to be made if it’s an unhealthy environment for them.
7:08 · JOHN YANG: A prescription for good health that cannot be filled at a pharmacy.
7:12 · For the “PBS NewsHour,” I’m John Yang in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Films
A New Inferno
Jonathan Pickett, 09-13-2026
Documentary Film (00:15:42)
Description
Filmed during the hottest days of Phoenix, Arizona’s summer heatwave, A NEW INFERNO follows paramedics as they race to save the lives of heatstroke victims using a radical new treatment: ice immersion therapy. As featured on the NY Times Op Docs — We Are Living in a New Inferno World Premiere SXSW Film Festival, 2026 Featuring Jason Smith, Jake West, Roy Lewis, & Colter Fosdick Directed & Produced by Nita Blum-Reddick & Jonathan Pickett Executive Producers Sam Osborn, Alejandra Vasquez, & Jesse Ray Sheps Cinematographer Ryan Dent Editor Jonathan Pickett Composer Jack Gillette Production Sound Mixer Daniel Reddick Grips Stephane Strande & Brian Osback Sound Design & Mix Hansdale Hsu Colorist Keyhan Bayegan Production Assistant Camden Smith Title & Poster Designer Jason Cryer Weather Consultant Jorge Torres Advisors Dr. Charles Finch, Medical Director, Phoenix Fire Department & Maki Lloyd, Deputy Chief, Phoenix Fire Department For The New York Times Op-Docs: Associate Producers Ingrid Homquist & Rebecca Shaid Producer Yvonne Ashley Kouadjo Senior Producer Andrew Blackwell Executive Producer Alexandra Garcia Please consider supporting the ongoing work of Circle the City: www.circlethecity.org Festivals: • Tribeca x NYT Op-Docs • Mountainfilm • Rooftop Films • Palm Springs International ShortFest • Indy Shorts Film Festival • HollyShorts Film Festival • Nashville Film Festival • Bend Film Festival • Mill Valley Film Festival • Sidewalk Film Festival • deadCenter Film Festival • Ouray International Film Festival • Cinema Columbus • AfterImage Film Festival • Coast Film Festival