Across the front of our website, in big bold letters, is our calling card: “Science for people who give a shit.” You may have seen it and immediately thought “That’s me!” or “You sir, are a child.” Either reaction is well and great. We’re not for everybody. You’re here, though, so let's assume you’re on board with the whole idea. However you identified with that tagline, you may have also asked yourself what it means, in practice. And that’s a good question because while the mantra isn’t changin...
Jan 13, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re taking giving a shit quite literally this week! Our guest is Newsha Ghaeli , the president and co-founder at Biobot Analytics . If you read our newsletter, you’ll have heard me go on and on about Biobot , whose mission is to transform wastewater infrastructure into public health observatories. As an architect turned urban studies researcher, Newsha met her co-founder, Dr. Mariana Matus, at MIT almost a decade ago. Their work on the MIT Underworlds Project led to a dissertation, scien...
Dec 19, 2022•54 min•Ep 151•Transcript available on Metacast What’s one big change we can make that can make our food healthier, make farming more lucrative, draw down carbon in the atmosphere, and reduce climate emigration? That’s today’s big question, and my guest is Sasankh Munukutla, another fellow in our series with the 776 Foundation . Sasankh is the Co-Founder of Terradot , a satellite and AI-based gigaton-scale, soil-carbon sequestration verification system. Sasankh originally hails from Singapore and grew up across countries as a third-cult...
Nov 28, 2022•1 hr•Ep 150•Transcript available on Metacast Aluminum. It’s everywhere! And we’re going to need a hell of a lot more of it in the future. Aluminum is a primary ingredient in solar, wind, hydro, concentrated solar, bioenergy, the grid, batteries, hydrogen, and more. And that’s just electricity generation and distribution, to say nothing of consumer goods, from EVs to baseball bats. Great news: we already collect and recycle a hell of a lot of it. Compared to, say, plastic, this is a huge win! But…the bit we haven’t been able to ...
Nov 21, 2022•57 min•Ep 149•Transcript available on Metacast This week: Global climate news roundup beyond COP27 The human cost of vaccine inequity Water runs dry Chatbots aren't your friends Caveats to exciting AI developments Here's What You Can Do: More Democratic Senators means a greater chance the US can stand by it's climate commitments. Donate to Senator Warnock's December runoff campaign here , and the invaluable "Georgia Safe and Strong" alliance of local organizers here . Check out Biobot's wastewater monitoring program for local governments and...
Nov 18, 2022•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast There’s nothing quite like breaking bread with family and friends, old or new. By mid-2020, we’d have all taken the opportunity to break bread with just about anyone. Why are recipes, and the stories behind them, some of the most enduring parts of each of our cultures? How can we be more intentional about cooking food more often, food that makes us feel good, that tastes good, that’s good for the planet, food that nourishes others, and that allows us to let our guards down for a moment, and shar...
Nov 14, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep 148•Transcript available on Metacast It’s always worth revisiting the inarguable fact that our country was designed to be inequitable . And while much progress has been made over time, the powers that be continued to imagine and design new ways of marginalizing, at best, Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous people throughout our society and economy. But who will tell their story? And who should? Local news has all but disappeared. Meanwhile, the communities most marginalized and least covered by mainstream publishers continue to str...
Nov 07, 2022•56 min•Ep 147•Transcript available on Metacast This week: Climate change in the curriculum Increasingly divergent subvariants Cell-cultured meat RSV vaccines are coming Generative AI (...didn't write this, but it might one day) Here's What You Can Do: Teachers can't teach without understanding the material. Check out ClimeTime and the CLEAN project for free, vetted resources for educators K-12. Bring everyone you know to get their bivalent boosters, bring masks back (they can help defend against the flu and RSV too), and improve your air qua...
Nov 04, 2022•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Climate change is a touchy topic in farm country. But one third of greenhouse gas emissions come from food and agriculture , so it’s crucial that the industry becomes part of the climate change solution. For years almost all the action on climate change centered on energy – solar and wind and electric vehicles taking on coal and gas and oil. But now Washington is suddenly buzzing about “ climate-smart agriculture ,” and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is in the middle of the action. H...
Oct 31, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week: $1 billion for electric school buses A potential "tripledemic" sandwich (not as delicious as it sounds!) One person's (treated) wastewater is another person's drinking water Most pregnancy-related deaths in America are preventable Bumble goes public with their "Private Detector" code Here's What You Can Do (usually more varied, but until November 8th, it's all hands on deck): Join our friends at Pod Save America or the Environmental Voter Project to call/text/donate and vote for peopl...
Oct 28, 2022•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Throughout history, kings, queens, governments, churches, and donors have funded contests and awarded prizes for solving the most difficult problems of the day. Today, as we stand on the precipice of huge problems and opportunity , with everyone looking around going “What can I do?” the utility and relative inclusivity of prizes like these remains compelling. And there’s one group that’s driving them more than anyone – XPRIZE . My guest today is Dr. Marcius Extavour . Marcius is the Chief Scient...
Oct 24, 2022•59 min•Ep 146•Transcript available on Metacast This week: Plant-based meat stocks Another COVID winter is coming A long-term plan for the baby formula shortage The uncertain future of telehealth Willfully shunning data privacy Here's What You Can Do: Help elect progressive state and federal candidates who will shift our diets and land use toward healthier, more sustainable food systems Check your wastewater data here or here If you've got extra, unopened, not-expired formula, donate it through the Free Formula Exchange . You can also get scr...
Oct 21, 2022•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let's talk robots. But first: There’s a very particular bottleneck where groundbreaking science is more applicable than ever but inaccessible to many. The tools are unaffordable to the schools and groups who could use them to hook kids right when they’re most excited, kids with a huge variety of lived experienced, who have grown up in the climate era, and in the COVID era, who see and want to solve problems they can touch and feel – but because of costs and access, they never get to try . ...
Oct 17, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep 145•Transcript available on Metacast How lucky are we? How lucky are we that we live in a time of such great opportunity – when, yes, we’re teetering on the edge of a global climate calamity, still reeling from a pandemic, knowing that our problems and challenges are not only enormous, but systemic, all-encompassing, and often linked together. How lucky are we to be able to say – look at all of this opportunity, look at all of the ways I could have an impact, need to have an impact, right now? How lucky are we that so many people, ...
Oct 10, 2022•54 min•Ep 144•Transcript available on Metacast This week: What climate change means for insurance Pregnancy and the COVID vaccine Food insecurity in America What wildfire smoke means for air quality Internet blackout in Iran What we can do Understand your flood risk with Flood Factor , a free tool to learn if your property has flooded in the past, is currently at risk, and how that risk changes over time. Stock up on masks, get your boosters , and bring your parents, your kids, and your friends with you Feed people tonight (and every ...
Oct 07, 2022•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week: It's hurricane season Viral levels in wastewater spiking What the world might look like in 2050 Results from the biggest-ever Alzheimer's study Asking better questions about our apps Action Steps Send disaster recovery supplies to Florida, donate or volunteer with World Central Kitchen to feed people in Florida and/or Puerto Rico , help the Footprint Project spin up microgrids Tell your city council about BioBot wastewater monitoring Check out Vox's explainer video on how the remainin...
Sep 30, 2022•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast For decades Americans have relied on wood, oil, and gas to power, heat, and cool our homes, and the water we use to drink, cool, and bathe in. But these things have helped fuel our climate crisis – by some estimates, residential energy use accounts for about 20% of US greenhouse gas emissions. That’s a lot. Not to mention, burning wood inside and using gas stoves and fireplaces, and water heaters are just straight-up terrible for our health. Great news though. An electric future awaits us,...
Sep 26, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep 143•Transcript available on Metacast This week: The companies building a new clean economy (and the pretenders) The "I" in COVID Defrauded pandemic funds for hungry kids Preventing overdoses with safer supply programs Increasing surveillance Action Steps Read Protocol's tips to make your company more sustainable If it's been 3-6 month since your last infection or shot, get boosted Feed some families by donating to Feeding America Know someone dealing with opioid addiction? Find a related clinical trial near you Read share, and subs...
Sep 23, 2022•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s say you get sick. Diabetes. Cancer. Heart disease. Long COVID. PTSD. MS. Depression. Alzheimer’s Despite the best efforts of your physician, nothing’s working. They’re out of answers, and you’re out of questions. You might both be increasingly out of time. Where do you turn? There must be someone, somewhere, working on your problem. Working to better understand it, at least, maybe to treat it, maybe cure it, or prevent it for the next person who might be susceptible to getting it. Ho...
Sep 19, 2022•55 min•Ep 142•Transcript available on Metacast This week: What's happening with cars and micro-mobility in America Brain fog A food system rundown The corporations backing a national abortion ban Border agents are taking your phone data Action Steps Watch this short about Statiq, the Indian startup electrifying transportation, then check out Ride Review to find an e-bike or scooter ( here's Quinn's beloved e-bike) Read about the success of the new COVID boosters, then get boosted Donate to or volunteer with World Central Kitchen Read this ar...
Sep 16, 2022•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week: Corporate clean energy purchases go down as temperatures go up The current status of COVID-19 vaccines Moving towards a healthier, climate-friendly diet A promising new malaria vaccine Back to the drawing board for a federal online privacy bill Action Steps Learn how to talk to kids about climate change with Science Moms Get BioBot to get your county's wastewater treatment plant access to free COVID-19 wastewater testing Share your ideas with the White House before the Conference on H...
Sep 09, 2022•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Curious about the climate? Then there’s a show I want to tell you about— A Matter of Degrees , where Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson tell stories about the powerful forces behind climate change — and the tools we have to fix it. You know climate change is a problem. So what can we do about it? The new season of A Matter of Degrees kicks off with a mini-series to answer that question. What can we do personally, professionally, and politically? Episode four is a favorite…it’s ab...
Sep 09, 2022•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week: The cost of electrification The end of free COVID tests The water crisis in Jackson Minimizing cancer treatment side effects The companies selling your location data to the police Action Steps Read Rewiring America's home electrification guide, and then share it with your apartment/HOA/city council Use BioBot to get your county's wastewater treatment plant access to free COVID-10 wastewater and variant testing Donate to Cooperation Jackson, a local cooperative ensuring water access fo...
Sep 02, 2022•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week: Heat in China ramping up a clean economy arms race How to learn more about Long COVID Cleaning up after coal Magic mushrooms and depression Better data for pregnant people Action Steps Check out CTVC's rundown on Ira's impact on capital costs If you or someone you love is suffering from Long COVID, sign up to participate in the RECOVER study Donate to EarthJustice Sign up for a psilocybin mental health study Listen to my conversation with Representative Lauren Underwood about better m...
Aug 26, 2022•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week: What IRA means for cars Centralizing data for the next pandemic A parched Earth Big Pharma is Big Mad about IRA Fingers crossed that Big Tech will protect democracy Action Steps: Listen to a very-Ira episode of "The Coolest Show" podcast Check out this COVID dataset of sequences by variant and country Donate to bring clean drinking water to people in developing countries Call your senators to urge them to support the INSULIN Act Sign up to be paired with a cybersecurity expert Get mor...
Aug 19, 2022•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast “What can I do?” This is the question I get most often. It’s the question that early on pivoted our newsletter and then this podcast towards measurable action steps that help you feel better and drive systemic change. I don’t have anywhere near all the answers to basically anything, so I usually answer people with “What CAN you do?” …to stall for time, but also to open up the conversation. Because the answer to what CAN you do is usually best found at the intersection of your interests or ...
Aug 15, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep 141•Transcript available on Metacast This week: Ira’s here and ready to fund the future It’s back to school and the air’s still not clean Our relationship with water is changing everywhere Monkeypox folks are helping each other Facebook’s liable for a whole lot of data Get more: Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.com Follow us on Twitter at @importantnotimp Get fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/store Take a nap you deserve ...
Aug 12, 2022•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a world where trust in institutions and in news is falling and the role of influencers is growing, finding the connective tissue between you and your audience is key to, well, connecting. To establish a rapport, which can if nourished, lead to trust, which can lead to a genuine connection. And for the creator to go further, to push deeper, to find meaning and bearing in places we as consumers or readers or listeners might not otherwise look or expect, like in local news or video game re...
Aug 01, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep 140•Transcript available on Metacast This week: A surprise for climate development that isn't terrifying? Facebook might relax their COVID misinformation policies Less land, more rice Alzheimer's under a microscope A treasure trove of biological proteins Get more: Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.com Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.com Follow us on Twitter at @importantnotimp Get fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/store Take a nap you deserve it...
Jul 29, 2022•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week: How to beat the heat in your city COVID quackery Introducing "Explainers"! A blockbuster depression study A new federal privacy bill is comin' Get more: Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.com Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.com Follow us on Twitter at @importantnotimp Get fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/store Take a nap you deserve it...
Jul 22, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
