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Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode

EWG

Join Founder and President of Environmental Working Group Ken Cook as he helps folks connect with their inner environmentalist. Through conversations with diverse innovators and disruptors, Ken delves into the challenges we face and the solutions available to address them.

Everyone on Earth has an intrinsic desire to breathe clean air, drink clean water and eat clean food. So in reality, everyone already is an environmentalist, but not all of us are aware of it…yet.

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

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21 episodes
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Avg 43 min
English

Episodes 21

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#70
September 1 · 40 min
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 regulatory affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, about the cyclospora outbreak sweeping the U.S. The outbreak is a direct symptom of years of underinvestment and recent cuts to public health infrastructure by the Trump administration. From the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions’ shrinking FoodNet s
#69
August 18 · 58 min
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 report that first proved, with data, what Black communities had always known: Hazardous waste sites are not randomly distributed; they're concentrated in communities of color. She has spent decades building the environmental justice movement, co-founding WE ACT for Environmental Justice, leading environmental justice grantma
#68
August 4 · 37 min
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. And he’s Ken’s guest today. At the beginning of 2025, Benjamin made an appearance on Ken’s livestream during Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 's Senate confirmation hearing to be health secretary. At the time, Benjamin warned what could happen with RFK Jr. as the national head of public health. Fast forward to today, America faces its wors
#67
July 21 · 34 min
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 get more ethical and more accurate answers and avoid animal testing altogether? In today’s episode, Ken is joined by Dr. Thomas Hartung, Ph.D, a professor at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whose work spans the fields of environmental health, engineering, molecular microbiology, and immunology. Hartung’s team are
#66
July 7 · 37 min
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, Ken is joined by Dr. Lauren Petrick, an environmental health scientist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she leads the Petrick Lab. She recently published a study, “Impact of Environmental Exposures on Menopausal Symptoms,” that synthesizes evidence from studies linking everyday chemical exposures – like ph
#65
June 16 · 30 min
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 adequately account for the health threats of mixtures, when two or more chemicals combine inside us. In today’s episode, Ken talks about chemical mixtures with Dr. Jabeen Taiba, who recently published a study called, “Exploring the Joint Association Between Agrichemical Mixtures and Pediatric Cancer.” From the study: “We observed
#64
June 2 · 50 min
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 designed to shift blame away from the industries driving the problem.In today’s episode Ken talks with award-winning environmental journalist and author Beth Gardiner. Her new book, “Plastic Inc. The Secret History and Shocking Future of Big Oil’s Biggest Bet,” reveals why Big Oil is responsible for the global plastic pollution prob
#63
May 19 · 37 min
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 policy changes is Ken’s guest today. Richard H Hughes VI is a professor at George Washington University Law School as well as a partner at Epstein Becker Green. In addition to the American Academy of Pediatrics, Hughes’ law firm also represents the American College of Physicians and the American Public Health Association. Richa
#62
May 5 · 1 hr 23 min
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 pesticide harms beyond what federal law requires, or will that authority be stripped away? These are the urgent questions that a pending Supreme Court case and a fight over the farm bill could play major roles in answering. The chemical at the center of all of this? Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and the keystone produc
#61
April 21 · 39 min
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 landmark article in the New England Journal of Medicine that breaks down how the Trump administration’s sweeping environmental rollbacks are threatening the health of every American. Dr. Landrigan is no stranger to these fights. As a young Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doctor in the 1970s, his groundbreaking researc
#60
April 7 · 48 min
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 strategist, geopolitical risk advisor and one of the most recognized Republican voices on national television. As a former senior Capitol Hill advisor and two-time presidential campaign chief spokesperson, Shah spent years appearing on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and nearly every major network covering politics and global affairs. Bu
#59
March 24 · 39 min
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 farmer, and the first woman ever elected to Congress from Maine's first district. Since taking office in 2009, she has relentlessly fought pesticide preemption, championed SNAP benefits and school nutrition programs, and pioneered legislation on food waste and organic agriculture. She’s been fighting for healthier lives long before
#58
March 10 · 35 min
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 book explaining the sweeping conservative policy blueprint. In today’s episode, David speaks with Ken on how what seemed like a Republican policy wishlist was actually a meticulously engineered, four-part plan for seizing control of the federal government. They discuss how DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) helped acc
#55
March 4 · 1 hr 4 min
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 establishes safety guidelines to help people (including children) minimize their exposure to toxic crop chemicals. In the second half of today’s episode Ken is joined by renowned pediatrician Dr. Phillip Landrigan whose decades of research and advocacy is integral for understanding the effects of pesticides in children. We see
#54
February 24 · 32 min
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 plastics and petrochemical industry claims that concerns are overblown. A growing group of scientists and researchers disagrees. Multiple interdisciplinary studies are beginning to discover the impacts micro and nanoplastics may have on cardiovascular and brain health. Ken is joined by Matthew Campen, PhD, MSPH, the Director o
#53
February 10 · 24 min
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.) believes we have an opportunity to fight back. McGovern joins Ken in today’s episode to break down what's really happening with America's food assistance programs, why new work requirements are kicking struggling families off benefits, and how farm subsidies enrich corporations while small farmers go bankrupt. Whose interests
#52
January 27 · 31 min
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 episode, Ken sits down with the two-time Academy Award-winning actress and film producer to discuss how becoming a mom transformed her understanding of just how toxic our world is for the most vulnerable among us. Last year, Hillary joined Ken at the California State Capitol to fight for passage of SB 646, a crucial prenatal vitamin sa
#51
January 13 · 48 min
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 the deregulatory charge with policy actions that will lead to more pollution. To help understand the full scope of the damage, Ken in this episode speaks to environmental law expert Joe Goffman. He served as assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation during the Biden administration. Goffman also played a
#50
Dec 30, 2025 · 53 min
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, metabolism and weight loss. Julia is an award-winning health journalist, contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, and former senior health correspondent at Vox. She's a Knight Science Journalism Fellow from MIT and currently lives in Paris, France. Julia explains why our struggles with food aren't personal failures.
#49
Dec 16, 2025 · 44 min
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 vaccination for most babies. The vote overturns a 30-year policy that led to a massive decline in infant infections. In today’s episode, Ken talks with former CDC Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Dr. Demetre Daskalakis. Daskalakis spent decades fighting on the front lines of America's tou

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