Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode

Brain drain: The Trump administration’s war on scientists Jul 15, 2025

Show notes

Under the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other key federal departments are shedding thousands of experienced scientists. This assault on federal scientists will have a lasting effect for generations, eliminating much-needed expertise that has historically played a central role in developing rules that protect human health and the environment.

Two leaders in the science community – Dr. Linda Birnbaum and Dr. Micah Niemeier-Walsh – talk with Ken about the widespread damage this brain drain is causing. Birnbaum worked at the EPA and as the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Niemeier-Walsh is an industrial hygienist in the Firefighter Health Program and the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer at the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health.

Federal rules that safeguard the environment and public health need scientific research – without it, backsliding to weaker rules and more pollution is the only likely outcome.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Linda S. Birnbaum, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., A.T.S.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)
Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

Mike Grunwald: We are eating the Earth Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

Food production is responsible for a third of the climate crisis, yet it’s the part of the problem we talk about the least. With agricultural land making up forty percent of our planet, we are literally eating the Earth. The first step is acknowledging the mess and the second is addressing it. In today’s episode, Ken is joined by investigative reporter Mike Grunwald. They discuss Mike’s exploration of our broken food system in his new book, “We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate”.

Both Ken and Mike acknowledge that industrial agriculture has many problems: it mistreats workers and animals, pollutes air and water, and relies too heavily on toxic chemicals and antibiotics. But they also share a conviction that reform is possible — and essential — if we want to feed a growing population without destroying the planet.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:
We Are Eating the Earth The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate
Monsanto Hid Decades Of Pollution (The Washington Post, 2002)
Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

Work Requirements and Work Supports for Recipients of Means-Tested Benefits (CBO)

Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”: Steal from the poor, give to the rich Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

The Republican-led Congress is considering a “Big Beautiful” reconciliation bill that might include new hurdles for crucial assistance programs like Medicaid and SNAP, such as adding work requirements and increasing paperwork. GOP lawmakers claim the changes aim to tackle fraud, waste and abuse in the programs.

In today’s episode, Ken talks with Bob Greenstein, founder and president emeritus of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank that for more than 40 years has been the gold standard for analyzing the impact of federal and state government budget policies.

Ken and Bob highlight the millions of Americans who will lose access to health care and food assistance if the bill becomes law. A core EWG belief is that you can’t help people make healthier choices if they don’t have access to food. Creating barriers to, and reducing, benefits, doesn’t mean healthier kids – it only leads to hungrier kids.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Brookings Institution

Paul Krugman's Substack

The Recession of 2007–2009 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Medicaid Work Requirements In Arkansas: Two-Year Impacts On Coverage, Employment, And Affordability Of Care (NIH)

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

Marion Nestle’s Newsletter Food Politics

The politics of food with Marion Nestle Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

While there are positive aspects of having top government officials talking about chronic disease prevention and diet, the food industry's primary goal remains profit – not public health. In today’s episode, Ken is joined by Marion Nestle, one of America's most respected voices on nutrition and food politics.

Marion believes that truly addressing human health and equality in food requires getting politics out of the discussion. She has dedicated her career to advocating for public health and food policy, is a professor at NYU, author of several books and writes the daily newsletter Food Politics.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Marion Nestle’s Books

Awareness of the MyPlate Plan: United States, 2017–March 2020

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Food Research & Action Center

Food security among SNAP participants 2019 to 2021: a cross-sectional analysis of current population survey food security supplement data (Journal of Nutritional Science)

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

We’re Not Broken Changing the Autism Conversation

Changing the autism conversation May 20, 2025

Show notes

Eric Garcia is a journalist and author who challenges the misconceptions about autism spectrum disorder through his own experience living with autism. In Eric’s book, “We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation,” he explores how society can improve support for people on the spectrum through policy, education and healthcare.

In today’s episode Ken is joined by Eric to refute Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 's harmful and scientifically discredited claims linking autism to vaccines. But more importantly, this episode is about changing the conversation around autism to focus on the importance of self-advocacy, inclusion, progress and respect.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Sen. Maggie Hassan questions RFK Jr. in confirmation hearing
In a Different Key: The Story of Autism
Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
The Closing of Willowbrook (DisabilityJustice.org )

Robert Kennedy Visiting Institutions in NY

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

DETOXIFY: The Everyday Toxins Harming Your Immune System and How to Defend Against Them

Detoxify your life with Dr. Aly Cohen May 06, 2025

Show notes

There are times when society needs to act, the government needs to act, and today we’re going to focus on how you can act for your health. It’s rare for physicians to help you live a healthier life by integrating the whole notion of environment health. But in today’s episode Ken is joined by one of the country’s leading medical and legal experts in environmental health, Dr. Aly Cohen – a triple board-certified physician in rheumatology, internal medicine, and integrative medicine.

Dr. Aly Cohen has a new book out today, “Detoxify, The Everyday Toxins Harming Your Immune System and How to Defend Against Them.”

We’re excited to share this episode May 6 – the day her book comes out – because there are many great tips that you can follow to make a positive impact on your life.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Dr. Aly Cohen Instagram

Dr. Aly Cohen Website

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

Michael P Koster, Professor of Pediatrics, Clinician Educator

Understanding measles and vaccine misinformation Apr 29, 2025

Show notes

The U.S. faces a growing measles outbreak. At the time of this recording, there are more than 800 confirmed cases and at least three deaths, including two young children who were unvaccinated. These tragic losses were almost certainly preventable with the MMR vaccine, which is safe, highly effective and widely available.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases on earth, and it spreads quickly in communities with low vaccination rates. Once nearly eliminated in the U.S., a rise in vaccine hesitancy has opened the door for its return, fueled by misinformation, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The danger isn’t just measles. Falling vaccination rates threaten to bring back other serious, preventable diseases once under control.

In today’s episode, Ken talks with two leading experts on why it’s critical that parents and caregivers stay informed and make sure children are fully vaccinated — not just for their own safety, but for the health of our communities. The first segment is with Dr. Mike Koster, Pediatric Infectious Disease Professor at Brown University. The second segment features Jessica Malaty Rivera, MS, an infectious disease epidemiologist and award-winning science communicator.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:
Jessica Malaty Rivera, MS

Kennedy, in His Own Words: Flu, Diabetes, Autism and More (NYTimes, January 2025)

Thimerosal and Vaccines (FDA.gov)

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education Center

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

Administrator William K. Reilly, 1989-1993 (EPA Archives)

EPA was a success story - and that was a problem for polluters Apr 08, 2025

Show notes

Unraveling decades of environmental progress, the Trump administration is systematically dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s dismantling critical statutes that have protected public health and the environment for years.

In today’s episode, Ken is joined by his old boss and mentor, former EPA Administrator Bill Reilly, who served in various roles under four U.S. presidents — Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. As EPA chief from 1989 to 1993, Reilly championed landmark policies like the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments. He also played a key role in responding to major environmental disasters, including the Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spills.

The Trump administration claims to be defunding the EPA for “economic reasons.” Bill and Ken, however, highlight how environmental regulations have historically driven economic growth rather than hindered it as the agency’s critics claim.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:
Three Former E.P.A. Leaders: You’ll Miss It When It’s Gone

The Cuyahoga River Caught Fire at Least a Dozen Times, but No One Cared Until 1969 (Smithsonian Magazine)

Lee Zeldin "Power the Great American Comeback"

Clean Air Act Revisions (C-SPAN)

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling (C-SPAN)

Alaskan Oil Spill Update (C-SPAN)

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

Southern Environmental Law Center
E.P.A. Plans to Close All Environmental Justice Offices
Lee Zeldin "Power the Great American Comeback"

Trump’s environmental impact on the South Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

Ken is continuing his cook's tour of the who’s-who at public interest organizations. He’s joined by DJ Gerken, the president and executive director of the Southern Environmental Law Center.

SELC is the largest environmental nonprofit organization in the southeastern United States. It fights daily to protect our right to clean water, clean air, and a liveable climate. Ken and DJ discuss the latest coming from Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency that has unleashed a wave of controversial moves, from deep budget and staff cuts, office closures and unprecedented rollbacks of critical environmental and public health protections. They debate the current playing field, and how both EWG and SELC are rising to protect American health.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

EPA shuts down 10 environmental justice offices, axes EJ division

EPA eliminating environmental justice jobs

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.