Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode

Outbreak of failure: Cyclospora shows food safety unraveling under RFK Jr.

Tens of thousands of people got sick this summer from a foodborne illness outbreak that was preventable. In today’s episode, Ken speaks with Sarah Sorscher, director of r

Vernice Miller-Travis and the roots of the environmental justice movement

"Ask where the landfill is, and you'll find where the Black people live." That's what Vernice Miller-Travis' grandmother told her. Vernice Miller-Travis helped write the

Dr. Georges Benjamin on our public health crisis

Dr. Georges Benjamin is the CEO of the American Public Health Association, with 25 years at the helm of one of the most respected public health institutions in the U.S. A

How AI could transform chemical testing

Everyday we rely on governmental regulatory systems and animal testing to tell us if the chemicals we’re exposed to will or won’t hurt us. But what if AI could help us ge

Environmental chemicals and menopause

Menopause affects every woman who lives to midlife, and yet it is understudied and undertreated – a research gap that many attribute to medical bias. In today’s episode

Unregulated chemical mixtures are always in our bodies

From the day we’re born, our bodies contain a constant mix of chemicals. But our regulatory system only targets these substances one at a time. Current policies don’t ade

How big oil hooked the world on plastic

Do you ever feel a sense of personal responsibility for plastic pollution? That reaction is no accident - it’s the result of a decades-long public relations strategy desi

The vaccine lawyer suing RFK Jr.

There is an ongoing lawsuit between the American Academy of Pediatrics v. Robert F Kennedy Jr., head of HHS. The lead attorney of the lawsuit challenging the HHS vaccine

Pesticide protections in the crosshairs

Two major battles over pesticide policy are unfolding at the federal level, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.  The dispute: Can states protect their citizens from pesti

Doctor, doctor: How the Trump administration is making America sicker

This Earth Day, we're not celebrating progress; we're sounding the alarm. In today’s episode, Ken sits down with Dr. Phil Landrigan and Dr. Adam Gaffney, co-authors of a

Rina Shah: Principles over power

What does it look like to stand on principle when everyone around you is playing it safe? In today’s episode, Ken sits down with Rina Shah, a political commentator, GOP s

Democrats were MAHA before MAHA — Rep. Chellie Pingree unpacks the contradictions

Long before “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, existed, there was Rep.  Chellie Pingree (D-Maine): A self-described hippie, back-to-the-lander, certified organic farm

David A. Graham on Project 2025's assault on American government

Most people heard about Project 2025 during the 2024 presidential campaign. Far fewer understood what it actually was. The Atlantic’s David Graham wrote the definitive bo

REVISIT: Protecting children from pesticides

Many people find EWG while seeking information  about pesticides. In today’s episode Ken is joined by our in-house Senior Toxicologist, Dr. Alexis Temkin whose research e

The plastics problem

We’ve all seen the headlines about micro and nanoplastics. It’s clear that the public is uneasy with the ubiquity of plastic particles in our food, soil, and water. The p

Rep. Jim McGovern on ending hunger in the richest country in the world

48 million Americans are food insecure, congress just cut $200 billion from SNAP, and the upcoming farm bill could make things even worse. But Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.)

Hilary Swank fights for transparency in baby products

Motherhood was a wake-up call for Hilary Swank, as she learned about the toxic chemicals lurking in everyday products we trust to keep our babies safe.   In today's epi

What happens when the EPA stops protecting the environment?

Just one year into the Trump administration, the onslaught of attacks on the environment and public health is staggering. The Environmental Protection Agency is leading t

Understanding the toxic food environment with Julia Belluz

Julia Belluz, co-author of "Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us," joins Ken to dismantle everything you think you know about nutrition,

Why I left the CDC: Dr. Demetre on vaccine policy changes and public health

Something unprecedented just happened at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A newly reconstituted advisory committee voted to recommend delaying hepatitis B