The Most Important Question

This week: It's hurricane seasonViral levels in wastewater spikingWhat the world might look like in 2050Results from the biggest-ever Alzheimer's studyAsking better questions about our appsAction StepsSend disaster recovery supplies to Florida, donate or volunteer with World Central Kitchen to feed people in Florida and/or Puerto Rico, help the Footprint Project spin up microgridsTell your city council about BioBot wastewater monitoringCheck out Vox's explainer video on how the remaining water in the West is distributedProtect your brain and heart with the Blue Zones cookbookRead this piece by WIRED about how to buy ethical and eco-friendly electronics, and this one about how to advocate for tech privacyGet 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 itAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsors

For decades Americans have relied on wood, oil, and gas to power, heat, and cool our homes, and the water we use to drink, cool, and bathe in. But these things have helped fuel our climate crisis – by some estimates, residential energy use accounts for about 20% of US greenhouse gas emissions.That’s a lot.Not to mention, burning wood inside and using gas stoves and fireplaces, and water heaters are just straight-up terrible for our health. Great news though.An electric future awaits us, and now, having passed the IRA, there are a huge variety of rebates to help you electrify your home, to become less dependent on the grid, to save money over time, and breathe cleaner air inside AND outside.But where do you start? It’s a great question, and one I’ve been wrestling with recently.I want to make my home reliable, resilient, and healthier. And together, with you and millions of other Shit Givers, I want to take a huge chunk out of US emissions, to slow the climate crisis. But in order to do so, I needed some help. So I called John Semmelhack.John is co-owner, with Neil Comparetto, of The Comfort Squad LLC, a home performance contracting + consulting firm serving Charlottesville, VA, and Richmond, VA. John is a pioneering practitioner of the "electrify everything” movement and is the self-declared “Minister of Heat Pumps” for the Southeast U.S.And his company, The Comfort Squad, helps clients create healthy, comfortable homes that run on clean electricity. Today we’re going to take you on one of his standard home performance assessments and paint a picture for you of the healthier, all-electric home.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at importantnotimportant.com/podcast.-----------INI Book Club:All We Can Save edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K WilkinsonFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Follow John on TwitterFollow The Comfort Squad on Twitter and check out their websiteCheck out the federal and state financial incentives to electrify your homeRead Rewiring America's guide to electrify your homeGet an Ecobee smart thermostatFind an induction cooktopFind an electric or heat pump water heaterElectrify your apartment building with Bloc PowerSave energy and money with Ohm ConnectBuy a solar powered battery with HumlessPre-order your smart home batteryFind your local solar farmGet solar power for your homeFollow Dr Leah Stokes on TwitterFollow Emily Grubert on TwitterFind out why SoCal Gas sucksFollow 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.comAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsors

This week: The companies building a new clean economy (and the pretenders)The "I" in COVIDDefrauded pandemic funds for hungry kidsPreventing overdoses with safer supply programsIncreasing surveillance Action StepsRead Protocol's tips to make your company more sustainableIf it's been 3-6 month since your last infection or shot, get boostedFeed some families by donating to Feeding AmericaKnow someone dealing with opioid addiction? Find a related clinical trial near youRead share, and subscribe to The MarkupGet 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 itAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsors

Let’s say you get sick. Diabetes. Cancer. Heart disease. Long COVID. PTSD. MS. Depression. Alzheimer’sDespite the best efforts of your physician, nothing’s working. They’re out of answers, and you’re out of questions. You might both be increasingly out of time. Where do you turn?There must be someone, somewhere, working on your problem. Working to better understand it, at least, maybe to treat it, maybe cure it, or prevent it for the next person who might be susceptible to getting it. How do you find out if they exist? And if they do, how do you find them? How could you volunteer for their work, knowing they might not have the answers – but knowing you won’t know and they won’t know – until you try?For almost twenty-five years the best answer has been to visit a government-run website called clinical trials dot gov. I know because I’ve sent tens of thousands of people to it, for help. But even if you are able to sort through a Windows 95-era database and find the trial that’s right for you – what if it’s hundreds of miles away?So many of us could benefit from better awareness and better access to cutting-edge research that could save the lives of people we love. And so many researchers are frustrated by the inability to sign people like you, your daughter, or your dad up for their trial.It’s 2022. We can Do Better Better.My guest today is Brandon Li.Brandon is the co-founder of Power, the new and arguably most patient-friendly platform for clinical trials ever made. Brandon and his team are making it easy for all patients to use Power to discover promising clinical trials and get in touch with the researchers – directly.My mission is outcome-based – to connect you with the most measurable ways to take action, feel better, and drive systemic change. There’s so much we can do to rebuild public health, to do the basic shit we need to do to take care of one another. But simultaneously, by increasing the success of vastly more inclusive clinical trials, we can accomplish all of those goals at the same time.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at importantnotimportant.com/podcast.-----------INI Book Club:Open: An Autobiography by Andres AgassiFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Find a clinical trial near you with PowerFollow Brandon on TwitterAre you a PI, sponsor, or CRO looking to work with Power? Connect with Brandon.Factcheck:The following stat from the episode: "self-directed research into clinical trials has grown 22X in the last seven years" was determined using the web analytics tool, ahrefs.Follow 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: What's happening with cars and micro-mobility in AmericaBrain fogA food system rundownThe corporations backing a national abortion banBorder agents are taking your phone dataAction StepsWatch this short about Statiq, the Indian startup electrifying transportation, then check out Ride Review to find an e-bike or scooter (here's Quinn's beloved e-bike)Read about the success of the new COVID boosters, then get boostedDonate to or volunteer with World Central KitchenRead this article listing the corporations backing a national abortion ban, then share it everywhereCall your senators and insist they support S.2957, Senator Wyden's "Protecting Data at the Border Act"Get 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 itAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsors

This week: Corporate clean energy purchases go down as temperatures go upThe current status of COVID-19 vaccinesMoving towards a healthier, climate-friendly dietA promising new malaria vaccineBack to the drawing board for a federal online privacy billAction StepsLearn how to talk to kids about climate change with Science MomsGet BioBot to get your county's wastewater treatment plant access to free COVID-19 wastewater testingShare your ideas with the White House before the Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, and apply to submit your organization as a stakeholderDonate to Against MalariaRead and contribute to The MarkupGet 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

Curious about the climate? Then there’s a show I want to tell you about—A Matter of Degrees, where Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson tell stories about the powerful forces behind climate change — and the tools we have to fix it.You know climate change is a problem. So what can we do about it? The new season of A Matter of Degrees kicks off with a mini-series to answer that question. What can we do personally, professionally, and politically? Episode four is a favorite…it’s about coping with our emotions about the climate crisis. And there’ll be more expert interviews and compelling narratives that touch on everything from crypto to Indigenous stewardship. Find A Matter of Degrees wherever you listen to podcasts. The new season launches on September 15!-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at importantnotimportant.com/podcast.-----------Links:Listen to A Matter of DegreesFollow 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: 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