In June 2026, the EPA approved four new pesticides and expanded the use of two additional chemicals in our food system—most of which qualify under the international definition of “forever chemicals,” as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS have been widely studied and shown to increase risk of serious health problems including various cancers, developmental and reproductive harm, negative metabolic effects, and reduced immune system functioning. Not to mention their negative impacts on wildlife and ecological systems. 

Listen to learn about the recent approvals and how corporate food companies are backsliding on their policies around pesticide use and regulation. 

Sign the Letter to Protect America’s Farms and Food: https://peer.org/take-action-protect-americas-farms-and-food/ 

Resources mentioned: 

2026 Pesticides in the Pantry Report 

PFAS overview: https://sustainability.yale.edu/explainers/yale-experts-explain-pfas-forever-chemicals 

News on New Pesticides: https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/2026/07/epa-quietly-unleashes-three-toxic-forever-chemical-pesticides 

Music: Epidemic Sound

Fresh Pastries by Lofive

There is nothing convenient about being lonely, unhealthy, depressed, and over-stimulated, but that’s what a life of hyper-convenience often gets you. Capitalism tells us that every shiny new technology is going to make our lives easier, give us more time back, and make us happier. The research is proving otherwise. Being part of the resistance means deeply questioning the real value of conveniences first, rather than adopting them on impulse. 

In this episode, we discuss: 

• How hyper-convenience culture has infiltrated nearly every moment of our daily lives

• Why hyper-convenience is disconnecting, dehumanizing, and toxic to our mental and physical health

• Why you might want to join the Neo Luddite movement

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Music:

  Epidemic Sound

  Fresh Pastries by Lofive

Data centers are in the news a lot lately, but what’s the big deal? Data centers themselves aren’t new, but the hyperscale data centers of the last few years and the projects currently in development are nothing like what we’ve seen in the last half century. These are massive facilities that require enormous water and energy resources to function, and are already impacting communities around the US. 

In this episode, we discuss: 

• What’s different about AI data centers 
• Known and anticipated impacts of data centers to human health and wildlife ecosystems
• How to take action against a data center project near you

Take Action with ⁠⁠NAACP's Stop Dirty Data Center Campaign⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Food and Water Watch⁠⁠⁠

Resources mentioned:

• Pew Research data

• Utah Stratos Project

• Data Center Temperature Study

• Culture Machine Essay

• Data Center Rejection Database

  
  

Music:

Epidemic Sound

Fresh Pastries by Lofive

Billionaires are socially depraved criminals who evade paying taxes and exploit the working class. And rather than being punished and held accountable, they continue to be rewarded by policymakers in government.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The antisocial tendencies of the ultra-wealthy, known as the Dark Triad
• Which billionaire has been called "sociopathic" by close colleagues
• Some good news about making billionaires pay into the system they benefit from

Thanks for listening!

Resources mentioned in the show:

• https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/
• https://money.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-70-percent-tax-rate-rich/
• https://www.propublica.org/article/billionaires-net-investment-income-tax
• https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/22/tax-evasion-by-wealthiest-americans-tops-150-billion-a-year-irs.html#:~:text=The%20nation's%20millionaires%20and%20billionaires%20are%20evading,able%20to%20determine%20what's%20owed%2C%22%20he%20said

Music:

Epidemic Sound

Fresh Pastries by Lofive

The second Trump administration is on a highly visible mission to suppress science and public health efforts, through the mass layoffs in scientific departments and agencies, removal of thousands of data sets from federal websites, questioning the safety of life-saving vaccines, and many more extreme authoritarian actions. 

In this episode I’m joined by Spencer Spellman, who holds a Masters in Positive Psychology and is the creator of Fellas Night In, to discuss examples of the disturbing and dystopic ways that the current administration is on a rampage to dismantle our scientific institutions and replace peer-reviewed research with alternative facts.  

Organizations to support mentioned in the episode: 

• Stand Up For Science

• Union of Concerned Scientists

Other media mentions:

• https://michaelmann.net/books/science-under-siege/ 

• https://www.npr.org/2025/08/08/nx-s1-5495338/climate-change-environment-websites-trump  

• https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-evidence-on-tylenol-and-autism 

• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/30/elon-musk-doge-timeline 

Check Out Fellas Night In on Instagram

Music:

Epidemic Sound

Fresh Pastries by Lofive

In this episode we launch into the theme we’ll be referring to as: climate chaos. 

The current administration is on a mission to pour gasoline on the flames that is climate change, removing Biden-era subsidies to green energy and ramping up investments in the coal industry. The depraved decision to rescind the EPA’s endangerment finding is just one example in a slew of moves to accelerate environmental degradation, all for the purpose of propping up polluting corporations and stuffing the pockets of the already unethically wealthy. 

Learn how these events connect to the dystopic themes and circumstances present in Octavia E. Butler’s 1993 novel and speculative fiction, Parable of the Sower. 

Leave a public comment telling the EPA to NOT rescind the endangerment finding. Find information on how to do so at: https://www.lcv.org/blog/how-to-help-the-environment-submit-a-public-comment-to-the-federal-register-in-2-easy-steps/

Music:

Epidemic Sound

Fresh Pastries by Lofive

Introducing Dystopian Discourse, a podcast for anyone who feels like dystopia is not some distant imagined version of the world–but the reality that we find ourselves in today. 

Tune in to hear about the ways in which common dystopian themes are playing out in our everyday lives, and then to discover the people and communities who are actively working to change these dystopic systems for the betterment of humanity and the planet. 

I’m your host, Jac, and I’m so grateful that you’re here.

Music:

Epidemic Sound

Fresh Pastries by Lofive