Take off your safety goggles, put down your lab coats, throw caution to the wind, because it's just me and TT for this episode.
Are y'all ready for that?
I don't know if y'all are ready for that. We did this one time before and it seemed like y'all wasn't ready, But we're jumping right back into it, so I hope you are prepared. Hold on to your seats. We're talking about the science behind the latest news and what we're seeing on our feed. So from torrential downpours to raging fires, suspicious bruising and swelling, and why food is both political and scientific. We're covering it all.
Yeah, buckle up because today's Lab is a triple maybe quadruple feature.
Got a lot of stuff talk about.
I'm TT and I'm Zukiah and this is Dope Labs. Welcome to Dope Labs, a weekly podcast that mixes hardcore science with pop culture and a healthy dose of friendship. All Right, this week is a which is always fun to meet t T because I love to hear you explain things and we get a little bit more time that just you know, laid back and have a little fun. Yeah, it's a lot more casual, you know than our typical
labs setups. But we go through a lot and it's a lot of topics that we are really interested in, but just you know, either it's not enough to fill a whole episode or we want to talk about it like right now.
Yeah, very impatient, you know.
And also I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like the news cycle is going so fast, like every day, something else, something else, something else, and so it's like, how do you pick what you're gonna talk about if we're going to do a full episode.
But that's why we have these grab bags, because we can put a little bit of everything in there.
You always have like then appetizer sampler, you know, you want to try all the different things.
Yes, I'm like a few a mood boosh, Yes, a mood boosh from the.
Shift here at the end of July. So, like the twenty eighth through the thirtieth, we've seen Detroit grappling with flash floods that have led to washed out roads, delayed flights, and really left thousands of people without power. It's clear that severe weather isn't just local to Detroit, though, it's a national concern. In fact, those recent events in Detroit echo an even more devastating situation that we saw unfolding over the fourth of July weekend when a storm dumped
a ton of rain on Caerra County in Texas. There was over like sixteen inches, so that's more than a foot over sixteen inches of rain in two hours, so a flash flood. There was loss of property and really sadly, the loss of lives. I think one of the big stories I saw was about campers and staff, so kids and staff members at this camp, and I think they claimed like twenty seven people's lives, and then for the entire region, so I think that area is called like
Hill Country. The official death toll rose to one hundred and thirty eight people. It's really off, it is. And when I think of Texas, I don't typically think about floods, but I've been thinking about that more and more ever since I watched this short from Toppy Story. So we know the filmmakers who run Toppy Story. So Samuel and I they did a short called Floodplaines from the Texas Water Federation. We'll have to drop the link in the show notes because it's so good. It talks about this
event that happened many years ago. And I think floods are scary, but flash floods are even scarier.
Because one thing about flash floods is that they happen so fast in like a localized area, so there's almost no time to react. At first, everything's completely dry and it might be raining, but then next thing you know, the water is up to your knees just a few minutes later. So it's really really hard to have a plan and to act, and it can take only a few minutes to hours, And it's really like in the name flash flood.
You know, like always you have this sideline commentators. I saw a lot of people on the internet like I would have done this, and I would have done that. Baby, you don't know what you would do. You don't know, you know, you don't know. So there's been a lot of controversy about the emergency notification system in Kerr County, and family said that the warnings came way too late,
so they didn't have time to react. And now we know from some recent hearings that the county's own emergency management director admitted that he was home, sick and asleep while the flash flood waters were rising, so by the time he got the call and then woke up, the worst of it had already happened. Now, I think that's a tragedy, and it's also got people asking some really tough questions about accountability and backup plans and if we're honest,
this thing isn't just a Texas problem. Flash floods and gaps and emergency responses have hit communities all over the country, and it's a reminder that disasters are not waiting for you to be ready.
Yeah.
I mean right where I live in the DMV area, we just had flooding here in mid July, and different areas were underwater.
It was very, very scary, and it happened very quickly, and so it feels like it's more frequent. And that's not just my fields, because the National Weather Service backs this up too, and they say they've issued more than three thousand flash flood warnings so far this year, and so that's the highest number on records since they've been tracking, and they started tracking back in nineteen eighty six.
F rand wow.
And so it's high in twenty twenty five, but it was also high in twenty twenty four. Too, and so this is all part of a bigger trend.
Yes, and the trend it's shifting with the client our climate change issue. So part of climate change is that it's warmer. So with the warmer climate, you have warmer air, and with every extra degree celsius, the air holds seven percent more water. What makes this soul mind bending for me is that we're talking about climate change and that's what's driving like that heat engine. Not only is it causing flooding in places like Texas, but it's also drying
up other places that don't get rained. So Texas is underwater, but California is getting baked.
And you know, you know.
What happens when it's a drought, right you stretching that WaterCycle at both ends. It's bucket loads of water on one side, bone dry in other places. I'm like, how do you make sense of that?
Canada is in its fourth worst fire season one record. They've had thirteen point eight million acres scorched so far, and the smoke keeps drifting south. We have the same thing I remember I was in when was that That was probably twenty twenty three, where the smoke from Canada made its way down here and everything was orange.
Do you remember those pictures from like New York?
I do remember the DC. Oh my gosh, it was wild and on the heels of those Canadian fires. Minneapolis then clocked in as the fourth most polluted major city on Earth, and then Michigan and wiscon and also lit up as unhealthy on the air Quality Index maps, and even New York. The State of New York issued advisories as a result. They're right up there border in Canada.
So even though fires are happening in another country, the wind pushes that smoke straight into the US's lungs.
And we are feeling it.
And that's because borders are social constructs. But I'm gonna say I'm gonna step off my soapbox because we're talking about that in another episode.
I think it's important to let people know what they should be doing. If you think you're in a flood zone, sign up for the NAA text alerts. You know, make sure you have little I like these things. Ntt you got me one digelt pill cases? Right? If you have Mason that you take stock up a backup one, because when it floods, you also don't have power. You can't find things, have stuff that you need readily available, especially as we move into hurricane season. Just be ready with these kind of things.
Yeah, having a go back, I mean, that's the key to that was something you put me on too. When the pandemic can have a go bag if you live in a flood area, I think is really really wise, having you know, some cash if you need it, having a portable charger for your phone that's already charged up, and other necessities that if something terrible were to happen, that you would be able to just reach for that bag and have some resources.
And I think similarly, if you are in smoke zones, particularly our border states, downloading apps like air now or iq air before outdoor plans like so knowing even just knowing the smoke exposure or the air quality so you can wear a mask or avoid being outside right for your own health.
Yeah.
And also I think you know, we got into the habit of wearing mask back at twenty twenty twenty twenty one, and now we're kind of laying off the mask. But I think that when it comes to air quality, break out that mask because it will be very very good in the long run. Also, having an air purifier, or you can do a DIY box fan afire and someone who has asthma and struggles when the air quality is bad, having an air per of fire really just saves me.
I like the ones that have an app where you can monitor, and like, even when you're cooking, you can see right quality changes. And we should know this because we have a friend who did some work on this in grad school or maybe in his post doc. But I'm like, cooking is bad for you. Well, I don't want to say bad for you.
My cooking is bad for you. Godspeed to everyone in my household. There was a picture that showed up on my timeline and I was like, I don't know whose legs those are, but that is not correct. And it turns out that it was actually Trump's feet and they were very puffy and swollen. And I was like, I don't know what's going on with him. But it turns out he was diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency.
Yes, let me tell you something that speaks to all of my fears. I will get on that now. I'll save that for later.
But I was leaning in. I was like, let me hear you know how I.
Feel about compression socks and all that stuff. First of all, the human body is just miraculous. Thinking about like valves that push blood, like our circulatory system, our vasculatory, Like, that's a closed system, which is why although I give blood to the Red Cross, I always feel very nervous. I'm like, that's a closed system. Don't be putting stuff
in there. Don't puncture these veins. Right, we have valves that push blood to different places, and they're supposed to snap shut and not let blood pool in our lower extremities. But over time those doors don't make a firm they start becoming loose, like a saloon door to start swinging back and forth, and then that gravity is going to do his thing, you know, and so you get blood pooling, and that's what leads to that type of swelling in the legs and ankles like we saw.
So is this an inevitable thing for folks or is it like lifestyle?
Well, I think some of it is a little bit of both. Part of it is aging, but that has to do with how we age, you know, So if you're walking more, if you're having more water, if you're wearing compression socks, like so even when you travel. You know you've been on long trip with me. You know I'm putting those compression socks on the same and I think there are different more I would say, more invasive or more complex treatments, but this is something that's happening often.
This is no different than what your cardiologists would give your grandma, like the information they would give your grandma or appearance, you know, just about aging. So I think it is important. And so some of y'all might be thinking, you know, why is this news? Why do we care that his legs are well? Transparency? You know, we act candidates for their tax returns, so vascular ultrasounds should not be off limits. But we saw that physical. Now the physical was off limits.
Yeah, he tells us that he like lives off McDonald's. I'm just like, listen, I'm partial to a mc chicken, yes, and I can't live and a coke coke no ice large, thank you. But the ultrasounds aren't off limits, just like we know, you know, when any president or former president, when they get sick and we know what's going on with their health. A lot of us sit at desks
for our work, and this should be a lesson to us. All, get up, stand up, stand up for your rights and get that bod bump so that you know that blood doesn't start pulling and exercising those veins.
And so if you're listening to this, stand up right now, walk the rest of this episode, okay, because also this is something because T T and I, you know, we work sitting down. We are at our unless we're out, you know, for a special event or something. And that's been our recent I think just last week we committed. We said we were going to do two fifteen minute sessions a day to just break up that seated position.
Hold us accountable.
If you're listening to this right now, put a comment on Instagram and say, hey, have y'all done?
Y'all fifteen minute walk?
Because one thing about me and my friend, we can come up with an excuse to not.
I'm gonna go ahead and be really transparent. Now I'm not the president, so they don't need full transparency for me. But just tonight I told T t U huh, I said, hey, tomorrow, I don't know about our walk because I'm getting my hair done.
I know that's not right.
I know because Cecily, doctor Schulinferd told us what to do to keep that hair intact. I have no reason, but the.
Thing is, y'all.
When she said that to me, you know what, my response was good because I just washed my hair today. Birds of a feather Yup. We're gonna get it together. No check in on us, hold us account.
Yes, yes, And I think while our media has been looking at ankles and looking at bruises on hands, the rest of the world has their eyes on something else. The United Nations twenty twenty five Global Report on Food Crises landed with a thud. It said two hundred and ninety five million people are at crisis hunger levels. And I know that there are a lot of people who make up that number that are in Gaza right now, experiencing absolutely horrible circumstances. And my heart just breaks every
time I see any updates on the news. It's something we really need to draw attention to and need to be talking about more absolutely. The UN report specifically highlights Gaza, South Sudan, Haiti and Molly Right. Yes, we have extreme weather events like droughts and floods, but conflict and economic shocks, those are the primary factors. Those three things for the rising hoss for the rising hunger levels, Oh my god. And this is the sixth consecutive year of increasing food insecurity.
We're gonna put some links in the show notes if you're looking for something that you can do to help with this hunger crisis.
Absolutely, we have a global lens. And then I think here in the US, what we're also seeing is legislation that's being proposed to cut our Supplemental Nutrition Access Program or SNAP by roughly thirty dollars a month per in roly So, groceries are only going up. And now we're saying, Okay, if you need assistance, we're gonna give you less assistance.
Right.
Think that thirty dollars, that's four gallons of milk or a week's worth of school lunches just disappearing from a family's budget.
And I think, you know, I don't know about you, but I am very fortunate to be in the position that I have not been hungry in a very long time, Okay, And I think it's easy to forget about what happens. Let's say you go a day you haven't eaten and you're like, oh, I feel lightheaded. That's because your blood sugar is tanking, right, your adrenaline is spiking. But when you get past that, we start talking about three days in your body is already pulling from muscle, okay, pulling
from muscle for protein for its regular function. Then we start talking about weeks, your gut lining things, and that leads you to infection, stuff like that, immune cell production, things that keep you healthy, fighting against other things. And when you have severe hunger like that, we know that doesn't happen in isolation. You are properly exposed to the elements. You're exposed to more things that can cause infection, and
now your system is weaker. And so when we move into a month, we're talking about all the way down to your bones, bone marrow. The fat in your bone marrow begins to drain, your red blood cells are not being produced, or those factory stall, and there are MRI studies that show you start to lose brain volume. Wow.
Wow.
The other thing is like you can't just say, Okay, somebody's been starving or they're hungry and been so hungry for a really long time. Now we're just gonna give them all the calories, because if you give feed them too fast, that can be fatal.
And kids feel it the fastest. It leads to stunted growth, delayed cognition, and in the long term you find that kids that struggle with food security make less money. Pregnant folks higher calorie demand plus nutrient deficits means that you will have smaller, less healthy babies. Hunger is an inter generational science experiment no one consented to. I mean, it just puts everyone in a tough predicament and it has
ripple effects. It's not, like you said, happening in a vacuum, and is not just happening to that one generation because there's epigenetics. We know that from old famine studies that we're done. And then you have to think that these people not just sitting in a room being hungry. They a lot of them still have to work and go to school and juggle a lot of other things. So there's a lot of stress that's also wrapped up in that.
It just all of us is just crippling. It feels really terrible, particularly at a time where we think about organizations like USAID being slashed, you know, or completely done away with, because what we know is that conflict blocks the regular transit paths for food and grain you know, and there were USAID programs that were specifically meant to feed hungry populations or people who are living in food crisis areas, and with the dismantling of USAID, all of
those programs were immediately stopped, and so millions of children, millions and millions of children, millions of people are dying because of it.
I think the key thing, you know, I feel like this can feel really overwhelming, and it can be like, oh, I don't want to look at that, but we have to. There's no way you can solve a thing until you look at it or even begin to address it. I think something that's been really interesting and nice for me to know is that just donating a few dollars. Right. I may say like, okay, I have five dollars, and if you have five dollars, what are you going to
do with that at the grocery store. But at your local food bank, because of different deals and wholesale buying, five dollars can be stretched to twenty or twenty five dollars at your food bank. Monetary donations are the way to go.
Now.
There is some uplifting or some positive science on the way. There has been a lot of genetic engineering to create food that can survive different conditions. Lately, there's been a push to kind of tweak the basic machine of plants, so editing the enzymes that are responsible for photosynthesis in wheat, maize, and soybeans so they can keep growing even as we continue to see you heat waves becoming more and more common.
I know we don't have time to talk about it today, but at some point, please y'all google course with so we're not just thinking about genetic engineering being meat grown in a petri dish. Sometimes food innovation is just a hearty or resistant plant, something that can resist what climate change is throwing at it.
And guess what. All of them are chemicals. The stuff you get out the ground, everything is a chemical. So chill chill, chill, chill. So sometimes it takes a whole community to solve a problem, and we need to think of ourselves. We say this all the time on this show. We need to think of ourselves as a global community and do our part to make sure that everybody has a life that they can love and that they are thriving here on this planet Earth. It is so so
important we are all here together. We all share this Earth and I want it to be good for me, good for you, good for everybody.
Amen.
You can find us on X and Instagram at Dope Labs podcast.
Tt is on X and Instagram at d R Underscore T s.
H O, and you can find Zakiya at Z said So.
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