Ep. 236: microplastics, major problems

In 1965, AstroTurf was created. This has made a lot of people dead or maimed and been widely regarded as a bad move.

Highlights:

[0:00] Corrigan tells Marko about the happy little forever chemicals in the fake grass that covers our parks and sports facilities
[56:45] We unpack the implications of the cold open, Corrigan explains the Presidential Fitness Test
[01:13:30] What we watched: War of the Worlds, Apollo 13, The Exorcist III, The Fantastic Four, KPop Demon Hunters, Rope, La Haine, 28 Years Later, Cold Skin

Stuff we referenced:

• Turf Wars - Science History Institute



• Safe Healthy Playing Fields



• ARTIFICIAL TURF TRAPS HEAT, DOESN'T HAVE THE COOLING PROPERTIES OF GRASS



• "HIGH TEMPS ON TURF FIELDS SPARK SAFETY CONCERNS"



• Did Artificial Turf Give More Than 200 Soccer Players Cancer?



• Soccer players’ cancers ignite debate over turf safety



• Synthetic Turf and Crumb Rubber - Washington State Department of Health



• Position Statement on the Use of Artificial Turf Surfaces - Mt. Sinai



• Monsanto-Made AstroTurf Linked to Fatal Brain Cancer of Six Former Phillies Players



• The Grounds on Which We Play: The Dangers of Artificial Turf Fields



• As the world heats up, so does the debate around artificial turf



• Artificial Turf Health Risks



• Synthetic Turf is HAZARDOUS



• New Testing Reveals High Levels of Toxic PFAS in Artificial Turf



• Understanding PFAS - What They Are, Their Impact, and What We Can Do



• PFAS - Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances - US Department of Veterans Affairs



• David West is the Sixth Former Phillie Since 2003 to Die From Brain Cancer



• Investigation Links Astroturf to Deaths of Six Former Phillies



• Health impacts of artificial turf: Toxicity studies, challenges, and future directions



• 6 former Phillies have died of brain cancer: ‘It’s a cluster and it needs to be examined,’ doctor says



• Mystery Philadelphia Brain Cancer Baseball Cluster: No Link To Astroturf Say Leading Experts- So What Is the Answer?