1440 Explores

Plastic is in our clothes, our homes, our food packaging, and even our bodies. But just over a century ago, most of it didn’t exist.

Host Sony Kassam traces plastic's surprising rise from an accidental discovery to one of the most ubiquitous materials on Earth. We explore how a substitute for ivory helped launch a new class of materials, why World War II supercharged plastic production, and how an industry built around reuse gave way to a culture of disposability.

Plus: Why is so little plastic actually recycled? How did microplastics end up inside our bodies? And is replacing plastic always better for the environment?

GUESTS

Beth Gardiner, journalist and author of "Plastic Inc.," which traces the history of plastic and the industry behind it.

Judith Enck, former regional administrator at the US Environmental Protection Agency and founder and president of Beyond Plastics.

DIVE DEEPER

How billiard balls helped kick-start the plastic revolution: join1440.com/r/947

Why plastic is so hard to replace: join1440.com/r/9235

How long plastic actually lasts: https://join1440.com/r/27184

The uncomfortable truth about plastic recycling: join1440.com/r/19369

CREDITS

Host and Producer: Sony Kassam
Editor: Dan Bobkoff
Fact-Checker: Alice Jones
Sound Designer: Jay Cowit
Executive Producer, Rhyme Media: Dan Bobkoff
Executive Producers, 1440: Sony Kassam and Drew Steigerwald

MORE ABOUT US

1440 Explores is a show by the people behind 1440 Media. 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed, helping curious people stay informed and inspired daily.

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Coffee was once put on trial. In 1511, the governor of Mecca brought it before the city's religious scholars to settle a single question: Is this drink dangerous?

Additional resources: https://join1440.com/t/coffee

About 1440:

Strength training prevents frailty as we age. Wards off cognitive decline. Improves glucose control, and more. But what is actually happening inside our bodies when we lift weights? And why is everyone suddenly talking about getting strong?

In this episode, 1440 Health & Medicine Editor Dina Fine Maron digs into the science and surprising history of getting strong. She explores how resistance training complements aerobic exercises like running, its role in the era of GLP-1s, and how attitudes toward lifting have evolved–from ancient Olympian might to circus spectacle to fears that big muscles make athletes stiff and slow.

Guests:

Daniel Lieberman, a human evolutionary biologist at Harvard University.

Amanda Paluch, a kinesiologist who studies physical fitness at UMass Amherst.

Additional resources:

https://join1440.com/t/resistance-training

https://join1440.com/t/exercise

Daniel Lieberman's books: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2324321/daniel-e-lieberman/

Credits:

One of host Sony Kassam's earliest memories is witnessing an armed robbery at her family's convenience store. For nearly 30 years, she believed she knew exactly what happened—until she asked her mother to tell the story.

In this episode of "1440 Explores," we unravel the surprising science of memory. Why do our brains preserve some moments while erasing others? And if memory isn't built to perfectly preserve the past, what is it actually for?

Guest: Daniel Schacter, professor of psychology at Harvard University and author of "The Seven Sins of Memory."

Additional resources:

https://join1440.com/t/memory

Credits:

Congress is the first branch of the US government. The Constitution gives it the power to write laws, control federal spending, and declare war. So how did it become one of America's least trusted institutions, and why do presidents increasingly govern without it?

In this episode, we trace the century-long transformation of Congress, from the expansion of federal power and the rise of campaign fundraising to omnibus bills and executive orders. Along the way, we ask whether a system designed to move slowly can still function in a world that expects instant action.

Guest: Craig Volden, professor of public policy and politics at the University of Virginia and co-author of "Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress."

Additional resources:

https://join1440.com/t/us-congress

https://join1440.com/t/us-constitution

Credits:

About 1440: 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed that helps curious people stay informed and inspired every day. We live in an age of limitless information but limited understanding. Algorithms decide what we see. Misinformation spreads faster than truth. And the tools meant to expand knowledge now distort it.

Flatulence is one of the body's most universal and least discussed functions. But behind every burst of gas lies a complex ecosystem of trillions of microbes working around the clock inside your digestive tract. In this episode, we explore why flatulence happens, why it smells, and how new "smart underwear" may help researchers better understand digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome.

We'll unpack:

How and why the body converts food into flatulence. 

The surprising history of flatulence in art and entertainment. 

Why scientists study intestinal gas alongside other digestive signals.

What “smart underwear” is and how it works.

Guest: Brantley Hall, microbiologist at the University of Maryland and leader of the Human Flatus Atlas project.

Additional resources: https://join1440.com/t/gut-microbiome

About 1440: 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed that helps curious people stay informed and inspired every day. We live in an age of limitless information but limited understanding. Algorithms decide what we see. Misinformation spreads faster than truth. And the tools meant to expand knowledge now distort it.

FIFA started as a handful of Europeans who wanted to play soccer across borders. It became one of the most powerful and corrupt organizations in sports history, controlled by 22 men voting behind closed doors.

For nearly two decades, one man sat at the center of it all: Sepp Blatter. He wasn't the richest official in the room. He didn't need to be. He had something better: the votes. And he knew exactly how to keep them.

So how does a Swiss bureaucrat become the most powerful man in the world's most popular sport?

This is a story about soccer, but also about power, money, and how global systems quietly get built ... and then break under their own weight.

Guest: Simon Kuper, journalist at the Financial Times and author of "World Cup Fever."

Join the knowledge collective: https://www.join1440.com

Check out 1440's video deep-dives: https://youtube.com/@1440explores https://youtube.com/@1440originals

More resources: https://join1440.com/t/the-american-presidency

Credits:

A production of Rhyme Media for 1440 Media

Host: Sony Kassam

Producer: Nicolo Majnoni

Editor: Dan Bobkoff

Fact Checker: Alice Jones

Sound Designer: Jay Cowit

Executive Producers (1440): Sony Kassam and Drew Steigerwald

Executive Producer (Rhyme): Dan Bobkoff

About 1440: 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed that helps curious people stay informed and inspired every day. We live in an age of limitless information but limited understanding. Algorithms decide what we see. Misinformation spreads faster than truth. And the tools meant to expand knowledge now distort it.

Follow us:

https://www.instagram.com/1440daily

https://www.facebook.com/1440Daily/

https://www.tiktok.com/@1440daily

America's founders were so afraid of concentrated power that they spent three months designing Congress, but only three days on the presidency. They thought that was enough. It wasn't.

Today, one office controls 4 million federal employees, the world's most powerful military, and the ability to reshape the lives of every American ... all while the founders are, presumably, spinning in their graves.

So what happened? How does a job description that fits on half a page become the most powerful office on earth? And is there any way back?

Guest: HW Brands, historian and author of "American Patriarch: The Life of George Washington," professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist

Join the knowledge collective: https://www.join1440.com

Check out 1440's video deep-dives: https://youtube.com/@1440explores https://youtube.com/@1440originals

More resources: https://join1440.com/t/the-american-presidency

Credits:

A production of Rhyme Media for 1440 Media

Host: Sony Kassam

Producer: Nicolo Majnoni

Editor: Dan Bobkoff

Fact Checker: Alice Jones

Sound Designer: Jay Cowit

Executive Producers (1440): Sony Kassam and Drew Steigerwald

Executive Producer (Rhyme): Dan Bobkoff

About 1440: 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed that helps curious people stay informed and inspired every day. We live in an age of limitless information but limited understanding. Algorithms decide what we see. Misinformation spreads faster than truth. And the tools meant to expand knowledge now distort it.

Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/1440daily https://www.facebook.com/1440Daily/ https://www.tiktok.com/@1440daily

Silicon Valley wasn’t supposed to happen.

A stretch of California orchard land somehow became the place that built the modern world: chips, PCs, the internet, the smartphone, and now AI. But the real story isn’t the garage myth. It’s a series of contradictions hiding in plain sight. So what actually built Silicon Valley, and what does that tell us about where it’s going next?

We'll unpack:

Guest: Margaret O’Mara, historian, professor at the University of Washington, and author of "The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America."

Join the knowledge collective:
https://www.join1440.com

Check out 1440's video deep-dives:
https://youtube.com/@1440explores
https://youtube.com/@1440originals

Credits:
A production of Rhyme Media for 1440 Media
Host: Sony Kassam
Producer: Nicolo Majnoni
Editor: Dan Bobkoff
Sound Designer: Jay Cowit
Executive Producers (1440): Sony Kassam and Drew Steigerwald
Executive Producer (Rhyme): Dan Bobkoff

About 1440: 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed that helps curious people stay informed and inspired every day. We live in an age of limitless information but limited understanding. Algorithms decide what we see. Misinformation spreads faster than truth. And the tools meant to expand knowledge now distort it.

Follow us:
https://www.instagram.com/1440daily
https://www.facebook.com/1440Daily/
https://www.tiktok.com/@1440daily

It’s Tax Day in the US, and the system behind it isn’t as straightforward as it looks. You earn money. Taxes get taken out. Case closed … right? Not exactly. In this episode of "1440 Explores," we break down how the US tax system actually works, from confusing deductions and misunderstood tax brackets to why the wealthiest Americans often end up paying a very different tax than everyone else.

We'll unpack:

Guest:
Michael Linden, senior policy fellow at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and former executive associate director at the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Join the knowledge collective:
https://www.join1440.com

Check out 1440's video deep-dives:
https://youtube.com/@1440explores
https://youtube.com/@1440originals

Credits:
A production of Rhyme Media for 1440 Media
Host: Sony Kassam
Producer: Nicolo Majnoni
Editor: Dan Bobkoff
Sound Designer: Jay Cowit
Executive Producers (1440): Sony Kassam and Drew Steigerwald
Executive Producer (Rhyme): Dan Bobkoff

About 1440: 1440 is a community for the knowledge-obsessed that helps curious people stay informed and inspired every day. We live in an age of limitless information but limited understanding. Algorithms decide what we see. Misinformation spreads faster than truth. And the tools meant to expand knowledge now distort it.

Follow us:
https://www.instagram.com/1440daily
https://www.facebook.com/1440Daily/
https://www.tiktok.com/@1440daily