5G, the latest mobile network standard, is coming. As new cell towers sprout around the world, do we know enough to confidently claim that this new technology is safe? After all, older networking standards relied on microwaves, radiation which has wavelengths of inches to a foot or so. 5G operates at much higher frequencies, with millimeter wavelengths.

Some are worried that being subjected to millimeter radiation could cause cancers. But what does science say? 5G: the promise and the perils.

Guests:

Jon Samet – Pulmonary physician, epidemiologist, and dean of the Colorado School of Public Health.

Claire Parkinson – Scientist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Bob Berman – Astronomer, regular contributor to Astronomy Magazine, and author of “Zapped: From Infrared to X-Rays, the Curious History of Invisible Light”

David Ropeik – Retired Harvard instructor and author of several books about the psychology of risk perception.

Originally aired February 28, 2022

Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun Miyake

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