The Most Important Question

This week: The cost of electrificationThe end of free COVID testsThe water crisis in JacksonMinimizing cancer treatment side effectsThe companies selling your location data to the policeAction StepsRead Rewiring America's home electrification guide, and then share it with your apartment/HOA/city councilUse BioBot to get your county's wastewater treatment plant access to free COVID-10 wastewater and variant testingDonate to Cooperation Jackson, a local cooperative ensuring water access for the homeless, elderly, and those with limited access to transportationJoin INI's Team in the "10th Annual Million Mile" from Alex's Lemonade Stand FoundationRead the WIRED coverage of data brokers (5m) and then donate to the EFFGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve it

This week: Heat in China ramping up a clean economy arms raceHow to learn more about Long COVIDCleaning up after coalMagic mushrooms and depressionBetter data for pregnant peopleAction StepsCheck out CTVC's rundown on Ira's impact on capital costsIf you or someone you love is suffering from Long COVID, sign up to participate in the RECOVER studyDonate to EarthJusticeSign up for a psilocybin mental health studyListen to my conversation with Representative Lauren Underwood about better maternal health in AmericaGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve it

This week: What IRA means for carsCentralizing data for the next pandemicA parched EarthBig Pharma is Big Mad about IRAFingers crossed that Big Tech will protect democracyAction Steps:Listen to a very-Ira episode of "The Coolest Show" podcastCheck out this COVID dataset of sequences by variant and countryDonate to bring clean drinking water to people in developing countriesCall your senators to urge them to support the INSULIN ActSign up to be paired with a cybersecurity expertGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve it

“What can I do?” This is the question I get most often. It’s the question that early on pivoted our newsletter and then this podcast towards measurable action steps that help you feel better and drive systemic change.I don’t have anywhere near all the answers to basically anything, so I usually answer people with “What CAN you do?”…to stall for time, but also to open up the conversation.Because the answer to what CAN you do is usually best found at the intersection of your interests or passions or skills, and the eleventy billion problems and opportunities we have before us.And so, almost a hundred and fifty published conversations later and ten times as many offline, some of my favorites remain talking to young people about their lived experiences and how they’re directing it towards a problem and solution, towards a radically better world, however ambitious and however much I am a moron and don’t understand the basic science behind it.But on the other hand, somebody’s gotta support these folks. And so those of us with privilege, with a mic or a checkbook or both have to – at the very least – step up and ask a slightly different version of that question, which is:“How can I help?”My guests today are Lissie Garvin and Laura Stieghorst.Lissie is the Foundation and Fellowship Director at the new 776 Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the venture capital firm with the same name, both founded by Alexis Ohanian.Lissie helped run Reddit, was chief of staff at Initialized Capital, working alongside Alexis.Laura Stieghorst is one of the first 776 Fellows. She is the co-founder and CEO at BASICO2, where they are working to understand how we can safely rebalance ocean chemistry using natural mechanisms to remove CO2 from the ocean and restore coral reefs. No biggie, right?Combined, these two humans are a shining example of humanity’s young people, our most affected, our most ambitious, doing hard things. Because we have to, because they want to, because, in the end, some of these things might be possible, and might change the world. -----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.-----------INI Book Club:The Wild Trees by Richard PrestonClimate: A New Story by Charles EisensteinLessons from Plants by Beronda L. MontgomeryFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Follow Lissie and the 776 Foundation on TwitterFollow Laura and BASICO2 on TwitterDonate to BASICO2Apply to the 776 Fellowship ProgramFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comArtwork by Amrit Pal

This week: Ira’s here and ready to fund the futureIt’s back to school and the air’s still not cleanOur relationship with water is changing everywhereMonkeypox folks are helping each otherFacebook’s liable for a whole lot of dataGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve it

In a world where trust in institutions and in news is falling and the role of influencers is growing, finding the connective tissue between you and your audience is key to, well, connecting. To establish a rapport, which can if nourished, lead to trust, which can lead to a genuine connection. And for the creator to go further, to push deeper, to find meaning and bearing in places we as consumers or readers or listeners might not otherwise look or expect, like in local news or video game reviews or recipes.I think that matters a lot. We’re not only losing trust but feeling that loss. With so much coming at us, we notice and feel a lack of connection, we feel adrift and unmoored. I am moved by people whose work and art I can connect with, whether I’m seeking it out or not.Because connection matters. Who we get our COVID information or our weather forecasts from matters, but also who helps us understand where we can find comfort, and why.My guest today is Swapna Krishna.Swapna is a writer and journalist covering space, science, tech, and pop culture. She writes everywhere from Fast Company to StarWars.com, from StarTrek.com to Business Insider, the LA Times, Bitch Magazine, Bustle, Mental Floss, and more.She’s appeared on a million excellent podcasts, at Comic-Con, and is the co-host of her own show, the Desi Geek Girls podcast, and the new host of PBS’s show Far Out.Swapna often writes some of the most empathetic tech and pop culture commentary on the web. She has this unique ability to say “this is what this big thing means to me” and make you feel like “yes, me too!” or “Wait I didn’t think about that”.We have very different backgrounds and lives but I trust her writing and thoroughly enjoy her new show, and her efforts to try and meet people where they are, on science issues and pop culture fandoms big and small.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.-----------INI Book Club:Sword Stone Table by Swapna Krishna and Jenn NorthingtonStay tuned for Roshani Chokshi's new bookFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Follow Swapna on Twitter and InstagramFollow Swapna on TikTokWatch PBS Terra's Far Out on Youtube or their websiteListen to and follow Desi Geek GirlsCheck out NASA SocialFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comArtwork by Amrit Pal

This week: A surprise for climate development that isn't terrifying?Facebook might relax their COVID misinformation policiesLess land, more riceAlzheimer's under a microscopeA treasure trove of biological proteinsGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve it

This week: How to beat the heat in your cityCOVID quackeryIntroducing "Explainers"!A blockbuster depression studyA new federal privacy bill is comin'Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve it

This week: Manchin fuels more heat wavesCOVID reinforcements on the wayIndia and California fight plasticHow we fight monkeypoxWow Ring doorbells are not greatGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve it

We have ignored vaginas for so long. Hear me out.On the one hand, history and popular culture, from god-kings to love songs to movies to fan fiction, are littered with supposedly straight men with a single pursuit: intercourse with a vagina. But along the way these same men have pigeonholed women and their vaginas into simple vehicles for heterosexual sex or reproduction. They’ve ignored almost everything else in the area, and shamed women for even considering pleasuring themselves, or pleasure at all, for getting sick, for failing to carry a child, and more. This ignorance touches everything – from the law to culture to racism to medicine to psychotherapy.Sex-ed is under attack. Birth control is under attack. Reproductive rights are under attack. Trans rights are under attack.There has simply never been a better or more consequential time to understand how and why the vagina and friends work, every day, not just on "sex day", or during menstruation or menopause, to understand what lies beneath and how incredible the whole thing can be – and how different one person’s setup can be from another.My guest today is Rachel E. Gross.Rachel is an award-winning science journalist based in Brooklyn whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic, WIRED, New Scientist, Slate, Undark, and NPR, among others.Rachel covers the debates and personalities that shape scientific knowledge, most recently as Digital Science Editor for Smithsonian Magazine. She has won the Award for Excellence in Religion Reporting, a Wilbur Award for Best Online Story, and she was a finalist for an Online Journalism Award in digital storytelling.And in 2019 Rachel received a MacDowell Fellowship to complete research and reporting for her new book, Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage.…and that is why we’re here today, to talk about vaginas. To be more inclusive, we’re here to talk about vaginas and friends.Because there’s so much more to the vagina and her friends than you could possibly know. From the microbiome to the clitoris, we’re learning new things every day about a hugely meaningful and ignored part of 50% of our species. -----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.-----------INI Book Club:Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage by Rachel E. GrossAn Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed YongFixing Sex by Katrina KarkazisFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Follow Rachel on TwitterFollow Rachel on InstagramLearn more about Rachel's work on her websiteRead Rachel's article on "pudendum" and shameLearn more about the scientific superpowers of the uterusRead Rachel's opinion piece about thinking about female bodies beyond reproductionListen to Tight LippedLearn more about and donate to InterACTImprove your Cliteracy with Sophia WallaceFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comArtwork by Amrit Pal