Phosphorous rich fertilizer has become an important tool in food production to feed the booming human population, but what happens when so much phosphorous enters our soil and waterways? In his new book, The Devil’s Element, environmental journalist Dan Egan explains how an over-reliance has led to toxic algae blooms and “dead zones” in waterways. He joins sub host Patty Peltekos on A Public Affair to talk about the new book and to lay out the history of phosphorous from discovery to diminishing access.

Dan Egan is the Brico Fund Journalist in Residence at the Center for Water Policy in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences. Egan’s previous book is Death and Life of the Great Lakes. Previously, Egan was a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, covering the Great Lakes from 2002 until 2021.

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