Tamer Raccoons, COP30 Recap, New Fluoride Research

Zoya Teirstein, a senior staff writer at Grist, joins host Kendra Pierre-Louis to talk about this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP30, which wrapped up in Brazil last week. Plus, new studies debunk claims that fluoride harms children’s cognitive development and show evidence that urban raccoons may be evolving traits linked to tameness.

Recommended Reading

“At COP30 in Brazil, Countries Plan to Armor Themselves against a Warming World,” by Zoya Teirstein, in Grist. Published online November 19, 2025

“Here Are the 5 Issues to Watch at COP30 in Brazil,” by Zoya Teirstein, Naveena Sadasivam and Anita Hofschneider, in Grist. Published online November 6, 2025

Fluoride in Tap Water Not Linked to Lower Child IQ, Massive Study Finds

Raccoons Are Showing Early Signs of Domestication

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check the show. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices