Summer is here, but climate change has extended the tick season year-round, increasing the risk of various tick-borne diseases.

Meet HEALTH Yeah!, a podcast from Stony Brook Medicine. Dr. Andrew Handel, Dr. Sandeep Gandhi, and physician assistant Jerry Simons discuss tick prevention, recognizing symptoms of Lyme disease and other infections, and effective treatments. They also offer valuable advice on tick removal, the importance of tick identification, and addressing concerns about post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome and Alpha-Gal syndrome.

Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:

• 00:00 Climate Change Fuel Tick-borne Diseases 
• 01:27 Meet the HEALTH Yeah!
• 02:58 Understanding Tick Bites and Prevention
• 05:18 Identifying and Removing Ticks
• 06:19 Types of Ticks and Their Diseases
• 10:51 Symptoms and Treatment of Lyme Disease
• 20:03 Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome
• 24:02 Other Tick-Borne Infections
• 28:22 Alpha-Gal Syndrome: The Red Meat Allergy
• 32:05 Conclusion and Health Resources

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For more information about the podcast HEALTH Yeah!, visit https://health.stonybrookmedicine.edu/podcasts/

Find out more practical prevention tips and information from the Stony Brook Southampton Regional Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center, including the Tick-Borne Disease Reference Handbook⁠.

C4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.

Host: Heather Lynch

Editor: J.D. Allen

Program manager: Jennifer Gilday

Timothy Mousseau explores the effects of radiation from the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear incidents on local wildlife. Host Heather Lynch and Mousseau, a professor at the University of South Carolina, discuss the current state of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the biological impacts on various species, particularly birds and feral dogs, and how these findings can inform our understanding of the risks associated with nuclear energy and radiation. 

Mousseau spoke at Stony Brook University in February 2025 to celebrate International Darwin Day.

Learn more with:

• “Genomic reconstruction reveals impact of population management strategies on modern Galápagos dogs” by Timothy Mousseau, Elaine A Ostrander, et al.
• “Is increased mutation driving genetic diversity in dogs within the Chornobyl exclusion zone?” by Timothy Mousseau, et al.
• “The Evolution of Nuclear Landscapes: A Darwin Day Discussion” (SBU News)

Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:

• 00:00 Chernobyl's Legacy
• 00:47 Welcome and Introduction of Guest
• 01:57 Setting the Scene: Chernobyl Today
• 02:58 Wildlife in the Exclusion Zone
• 05:20 Impact of War and COVID on Research
• 06:01 Debunking the Biological Paradise Myth
• 08:34 Birds and Biodiversity in Chernobyl
• 11:40 Nematodes and Unexpected Findings
• 14:26 Radiation and Cancer in Wildlife
• 15:51 The Dogs of Chernobyl
• 26:17 Conclusion and Further Research

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You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.

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For all things Stony Brook on social media: https://bit.ly/m/sbu

C4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.

Host: Heather Lynch

Editor: J.D. Allen

Program manager: Jennifer Gilday

Sara Hamideh looks at the challenges faced by residents in the wake of climate disasters. Host Heather Lynch and Hamideh, associate professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, discuss the unique vulnerabilities of public housing, the legal and social complexities involved, and how these factors intersect to heighten residents' risk during disasters. Hamideh provides insights into how pre-disaster planning can expedite recovery and reduce long-term vulnerabilities, emphasizing the importance of leveraging social capital and understanding federal assistance programs.

Learn more with:

• “A Decision Framework for Equitable Use of Federal Funds for Voluntary Buyout Programs” by F. Motlagh, S. Hamideh
• “Opportunities for Implementation of Disaster Risk Management Strategies among Public Housing Authorities” by A.S. Khan, A. Aurand, S. Hamideh, J. Vickery, R.J. Walter, N.A. Errett
• “Post-disaster recovery challenges of public housing residents: Lumberton, North Carolina after Hurricane Matthew” by S. Khajehei, S. Hamideh

Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:

• 00:00 The Impact of Storms on Housing
• 01:54 Public Housing Challenges in Disasters
• 05:34 The Role of Insurance and Government in Housing Recovery
• 09:38 California's Response to Wildfires and Housing Crisis
• 14:50 Advanced Recovery Planning and Community Resilience
• 20:46 The Role of FEMA and Federal Policies in Disaster Recovery
• 31:59 Balancing Equity, Environmental Justice, and Insurance Markets
• 36:24 Informal Recovery and Social Capital
• 42:45 Conclusion and Future Discussions

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You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.

Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.php

For all things Stony Brook on social media: https://bit.ly/m/sbu

C4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.

Host: Heather Lynch

Editor: J.D. Allen

Program manager: Jennifer Gilday

Richard McCormick believes the role of university president is essential to advocate for higher education and climate research. Host Heather Lynch and McCormick, interim president of Stony Brook University and a scholar of American political history, discuss the challenge of addressing climate effects amidst federal funding cuts for climate research, the significant role that public research universities like Stony Brook play, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. 

Learn more with: 

• Why SBU Dares to Be an Environmental Steward | SBU News
• Weathering the Storm: How SBU’s Climate Research Is Shaping Long Island’s Future | SBU News
• Seeking Solutions: Stony Brook’s Role in Collaborative Climate Action  | SBU News
• SBU’s Climate Innovation: From Local Solutions to Global Impact | SBU News

Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:

• 00:00 Heard of The New York Climate Exchange?
• 01:13 Challenges Facing Universities in Climate Leadership
• 02:30 Stony Brook's Strengths and Federal Funding Issues
• 07:49 The Collaborative for the Earth Initiative
• 10:43 Interdisciplinary Collaboration at Stony Brook
• 14:14 The Role of Universities in Climate and Health Research
• 16:40 Communicating the Value of Research Universities
• 19:59 Protecting Campus from Climate Threats
• 20:17 A Stormy Night and Its Aftermath
• 21:06 Stony Brook's Resilient Community
• 21:49 Addressing Climate Challenges
• 24:40 Sustainable Growth at Stony Brook
• 27:41 The Exchange
• 34:00 Evolving Role of University Presidents
• 37:21 Conclusion and Future Outlook

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You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.

Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.php

For all things Stony Brook on social media: https://bit.ly/m/sbu

C4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.

Host: Heather Lynch

Editor: J.D. Allen

Program manager: Jennifer Gilday

Guanyu Huang explains the complex relationship between climate change and air pollution, and how tracking pollutants can influence environmental justice areas. Host Heather Lynch and Huang, assistant professor in the Program in Public Health and the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, delve into the hidden dangers of pollutants like nitrous oxides and ozone, the effects of New York City’s congestion pricing plan on pollution, and the role of air quality monitoring—using both fixed stations and mobile labs. His team's goal is public engagement and education through an initiative that they take on the road.

Learn more with:

• “Unexpected Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on the Air Quality in the Metro Atlanta, USA Using Ground-based and Satellite Observations” by G. Huang, R. Ponder, A. Bond, H. Brim, A. Temeng, AR Naeger, L. Zhu
• “Non-negligible impacts of clean air regulations on the reduction of tropospheric NO2 over East China during the COVID-19 pandemic observed by OMI and TROPOMI” by G. Huang, K. Sun
• “Improvement of OMI ozone profile retrieval in the lower troposphere and boundary layer by using machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques” by G. Huang, X. Liu, C. Chan Miller, K. Chance

Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:

• 00:00 Hidden Dangers of Air Pollution
• 02:39 Exploring Good and Bad Ozone
• 06:14 Impact of Congestion Pricing on Air Quality
• 10:17 The Role of Remote Sensing
• 14:25 Environmental Justice and Air Pollution
• 17:47 AI in Air Quality Prediction
• 19:30 Lessons from the COVID-19 Lockdowns
• 22:54 Future Directions in Air Quality Research
• 26:09 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.

Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.php

For all things Stony Brook on social media: https://bit.ly/m/sbu

C4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.

Host: Heather Lynch

Editor: J.D. Allen

Program manager: Jennifer Gilday

Mary Collins analyzes air pollution and how it affects certain communities more than others. Host Heather Lynch and Collins, an associate professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, discuss this disproportionality and the economically-driven reasoning that justifies it. Collins also discusses cadmium and other heavy metals as airborne pollutants and how researchers in the applied sciences should take the time to build relationships within the population they are studying to create better solutions.

Learn more with:

• “Characterizing disproportionality in facility-level toxic releases in US manufacturing, 1998–2012” by Mary B. Collins, Simone Pulver, Dustin Hill, & Benjamin Manski
• Governor Newsom’s Permit Suspensions
• “Linking metal (Pb, Hg, Cd) industrial air pollution risk to blood metal levels and cardiovascular functioning and structure among children in Syracuse, NY” by Dustin Hill, Michael Petroni, David A. Larsen, Kestutis Bendinska, Kevin Heffernan, Nader Atallah-Yunes, Patrick J. Parsons, Christopher D. Palmer, James A. MacKenzie, Mary B. Collins, & Brooks B. Gump 

Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:

• 00:00 Introduction to Pollution
• 01:58 The Disproportionality Perspective
• 06:03 The Role of Social Capital in Disproportionality
• 13:27 Solutions for Disproportionality
• 18:51 Cadmium as an Air Pollutant
• 24:35 The Relationship between Employment and Pollution
• 27:05 Collaborative Problem Solving
• 29:59 Conclusion and Preview for Next Episode

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You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.

Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.php

For all things Stony Brook on social media: https://bit.ly/m/sbu

C4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.

Host: Heather Lynch

Editor: J.D. Allen

Producer: Rachel Lea 

Program manager: Jennifer Gilday

Sharon Pochron studies earthworms and how they react to various stressors, including the weedkiller Roundup. Host Heather Lynch and Pochron, an assistant professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, discuss how this weedkiller and others affects the health of both humans and the organisms that dwell within the soil. Pochron also discusses the current concerns that undergraduate students have about the environment and how the water fern Azolla may be the key to mitigating greenhouse gases.

Learn more with:

• “Current and future glyphosate use in European Agriculture”

• “Effects of glyphosate exposure on intestinal microbiota, metabolism and microstructure”

• “Exposure to aged crumb rubber reduces survival time during a stress test in earthworms (Eisenia fetida)” by Sharon Pochron, Jacqueline Nikakis, Kyra Illuzzi, Andrea Baatz, Loriana Demirciyan, Amritjot Dhillon, Thomas Gaylor, Alexa Manganaro, Nicholas Maritato, Michael Moawad, Rajwinder Singh, Clara Tucker, & Daniel Vaughan

• The Farm Bill

• The 4/1000 Initiative

Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:

• 00:00 Introduction to Roundup

• 03:16 Roundup’s Effects on Soil and Human Health

• 06:42 The Wheat Farmer’s Use of Roundup

• 09:16 Fast vs. Slow Microbial Turnover

• 10:21 The Benefits of Using Roundup

• 12:32 Roundup’s Effects on Earthworms

• 14:20 Earthworms and Their Impacts on Soil Health

• 19:14 Undergraduate Concerns for the Environment

• 25:11 Additional Concerns

• 27:02 Azolla as a Sequestration System  

• 33:02 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.

Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.php

For all things Stony Brook on social media: https://bit.ly/m/sbu

C4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.

Host: Heather Lynch

Editor: J.D. Allen

Producer: Rachel Lea 

Program manager: Jennifer Gilday

Liliana Dávalos explores the multifaceted environmental challenges facing the Amazon region. Host Heather Lynch and Dávalos, a professor in ecology & evolution at Stony Brook University,  discuss the interplay between climate change, deforestation, illegal activities such as gold mining and drug trafficking, and the role of extractivist and Indigenous communities. Juan Pablo Iñamagua, a professor of agricultural sciences at Universidad de Cuenca, and Ane Alencar, IPAM Amazonia’s director of science, join the conversation to delve into the complexity of conservation efforts, the impact of global economic systems, and the vital importance of transboundary cooperation to protect the Amazon.

Learn more with:

• “Weather Disasters and Their Underreported Impacts on Amazonian Communities” by Rayane Pacheco, Juan Pablo Iñamagua, Liliana M. Dávalos, Galia Selaya, Sabina C. Ribeiro, Ane Alencar“
• Strengthening Climate Disaster Policy in the Amazon through Data Standardization and Transboundary Collaboration” by Ane Alencar, Liliana M. Dávalos, Rayane Pacheco, Juan Pablo Iñamagua, Galia Selaya, Sabina C. Ribeiro
• Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) 
• "The Falling Sky", by Davi Kopenawa

Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:

• 00:00 Do you know about The New York Climate Exchange?

• 00:31 Introduction to the Amazon’s Importance

• 01:20 Podcast Overview and Guest Introductions

• 02:16 Organizing the Symposium: Goals and Experiences

• 03:34 Understanding Extractivist Communities

• 06:38 Conservation with Economic Growth

• 07:54 Indigenous Rights and Environmental Protection

• 11:31 Impact of Capitalism on Indigenous Societies

• 19:22 Criminal Activity and Environmental Impact

• 31:16 Future of the Amazon: Solutions and Policies

• 35:27 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.

Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.php

For all things Stony Brook on social media: https://bit.ly/m/sbu

C4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.

Host: Heather Lynch

Editor: J.D. Allen

Program manager: Jennifer Gilday

Wenbo Li examines how fear impacts science communication and the role of social media. Host Heather Lynch and Li, an assistant professor in the School of Communication and Journalism at Stony Brook University, discuss risk communication and its challenges, particularly in the context of climate change and social media. Li explains how cultural factors influence risk perception and the importance of building trust between scientists and the public, including young people who are engaging with misinformation on social media. 

Learn more with:

• “Dynamic Fear in Fear Appeals: Applying Fear Appeals to Environmental Communication in China” by Ruobing Li, Wenbo Li, Christine Gilbert, Xia Zheng, Laura Lindenfeld Sher

• “Bridging the Knowledge Gap in Artificial Intelligence: The Roles of Social Media Exposure and Information Elaboration” by Wenbo Li, Xia Zheng, et al.

• “The good, the bad, and the self on social media: how self-awareness and self-esteem influence selective exposure to social comparisons” by Wenbo Li, et al.
• Media literacy interventions: meta-analytic review of 40 years of research by Hyunyi Cho, Christopher Carpenter, and Wenbo Li
• Social Media Literacy: A Conceptual Framework by Hyunyi Cho, Julie Cannon, Rachel Lopez, and Wenbo Li

Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:

• 00:00 Introduction to Risk Communication

• 01:53 Exploring the Knowledge Gap Hypothesis

• 05:49 Fear Appeals in Climate Communication

• 10:48 The Role of Fatalism in Public Health

• 17:22 Social Media and Adolescent Well-being

• 20:56 Scientists Building Trust on Social Media

• 28:07 Trust in AI and Emerging Technologies

• 32:54 Conclusion and Future Research Directions

Tell a friend and share a link to this episode.

You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.

Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.php

For all things Stony Brook on social media: https://bit.ly/m/sbu

C4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.

Host: Heather Lynch

Editor: J.D. Allen

Producer: Rachel Lea 

Program manager: Jennifer Gilday

Gary Halada wants to find innovative approaches to recycling and repurposing the clothes Americans throw away. Host Heather Lynch and Halada, associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, discuss the growing problem of textile waste globally. Halada shares his research on maintaining the valuable cotton fibers during recycling, creating sustainable building materials from recycled textiles, and the concept of circular economy. They also explore additive manufacturing (3D printing) as a more sustainable alternative to traditional manufacturing techniques.

Learn more with:

• Textiles: Material-Specific Data (EPA)

• Surface Analysis and Corrosion Science Laboratory at Stony Brook University

• Additive Manufacturing Materials, Prototyping and Applications Center (AMPAC) at Stony Brook University

• Nanotechnology Studies at Stony Brook University

• “Learning from Engineering Disasters” blog

• Muslin Composting Project at SUNY FIT

Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:

• 00:00 Textile waste in America

• 01:13 About C4E Presents podcast 

• 02:03 Explaining the circular economy concept

• 04:08 Recycling textile waste

• 05:58 Cotton recyclability

• 08:30 Cotton-poly blends 

• 09:15 Consumer guidance 

• 11:56 Chemical treatments and microfiber pollution

• 14:14 Additive manufacturing (3D printing)

• 23:44 Incorporating humanitarian values

• 25:08 Ethical obligations 

• 29:00 Energy needs, AI development, and climate uncertainty

• 32:58 Conclusion and about the next episode

Tell a friend and share a link to this episode.

You can find all our episodes at www.stonybrook.edu/c4e or wherever you stream audio.

Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/c4e/newsletters.php

For all things Stony Brook on social media: https://bit.ly/m/sbu

C4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.

Host: Heather Lynch

Editor: J.D. Allen

Producer: Rachel Lea 

Program manager: Jennifer Gilday