Episodes
June 22, 2021
Best of the Best: Do We Really Know What’s in that Moisturizer (& Where the Hell Did it Come From?)
In light of new research on toxic ingredients, it looks like America might finally start regulating cosmetic products, so it’s a great moment to re-run one of our most popular episodes with Beautycounter CEO Gregg Renfrew. In...
June 14, 2021
Best of the Best: Legalizing the Other Weed
In celebration of New York state passing Bill S6532A, permitting underwater kelp cultivation, we’re re-playing one of our coolest (and most entertaining) episodes. Kelp could be THE crop of the 21st century. But why? Listen i...
June 11, 2021
Issue #234: Tripping Over Our Bootstraps, Cover My Crops, AI is as Bad as Us
This week: “Do not come”; The pandemic is not over for everyone; We can do better, can’t we? Cover crops; Language barriers in AI. Visit ImportantJobs.com to find your next role working on the frontlines of the future. Find l...
June 7, 2021
115: Fossil Fuel Propaganda
In Episode 115 , Quinn & Brian discuss: How to stop fossil fuel advertising. Our guests are JaRel Clay and Jamie Henn. JaRel Clay is the Digital Director of Hip Hop Caucus, a national nonprofit focused on ending the climate c...
June 4, 2021
Issue #233: Big Renewable Energy, AI Isn’t All That (Yet), Hot Vax Summer
This week: bigger doesn’t mean better; COVAX has got next, finally; a brand new day… and vaccine; AI and medicine – so close, and yet so far. Visit ImportantJobs.com to find your next role working on the frontlines of the fut...
May 31, 2021
114. Carbon Offsets: Not A Get Out of Jail Free Card, TBH
In Episode 114 , Quinn asks: What are carbon offsets, and do they even work? Our returning guest is Akshat Rathi , a reporter at Bloomberg Green. Carbon offsets -- like our planet -- are so hot right now. And like our planet ...
May 28, 2021
Issue #232: These Shrooms Aren’t Fungi, Climate Change Is Costly, Keep the Vaccines Rolling
This week: a brutal day for oil; fungi on the move (not great); wastewater: so hot right now; paying for climate protection; vaccine inequities; and facial recognition on the way out (for now). Find links from this newsletter...
May 26, 2021
Do Better Better #18: Back to the Future
Synopsis: We can time travel to the past to understand how we got to where we are today. But the past doesn’t dictate the future - not anymore. So we have to look forward. The decisions we make today will guarantee that the w...
May 24, 2021
113: Lessons from Plants
In Episode 113 , Quinn asks: What can we learn from plants? The answer, it turns out, is: A whole heck of a lot. Our guest is the wonderful and way overqualified Dr. Beronda Montgomery -- PhD, writer, researcher, scholar, and...
May 21, 2021
Issue #231: Electric Truck Boogaloo, Get Your Colon Checked, What’s Your Beef
This week: An electric truck for the masses; India’s vaccine production stays home; Better cancer screening; Beef emissions. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email...
May 19, 2021
112. The Next Pandemic
Oh, when we were young and so naive. In Episode #9 (!), Quinn and Brian got to know Dr. Nahid Bhadelia , an infectious diseases physician, Associate Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, and the Medical Direc...
May 10, 2021
111: When Your Government Runs on Windows 95
In Episode 111 , Quinn & Brian discuss the past, present, and future of government IT infrastructure. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED??? Our guest is Aneesh Chopra , the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States. Twelve yea...
May 7, 2021
Issue #229: Fossil Fuel Funding, MDMA Magic, Leaky Legislation
This week: fossil fuel financing under the microscope, India’s COVID summer, MDMA to the rescue, how to fix our water pipes. Psychedelics 101: Books, Documentaries, Podcasts, Science, and More – The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss...
May 3, 2021
110. The End of the Universe
In Episode 110 , Quinn’s talking about the end of the universe. His guest is Sarafina Nance , Ph.D. candidate at Berkeley, astrophysicist, author, and women’s health advocate. She also hosts Constellation , a TV show by Seeke...
April 30, 2021
Issue #228: Carbon Offset Upset, the COVID Baby Bust, Man vs. Mosquito
This week: AI is going backwards; carbon offsets are a mirage; falling birthrates and COVID; the end of malaria?; Jordan’s out of water. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got fee...
April 26, 2021
109. Introducing “What Can I Do?”
In Episode 109 , Quinn & Brian try to help answer the eternal question: What can I do? Our guest is Frank Buncom IV , Head of Product Management at AIRx Health, a ground-breaking digital health and remote monitoring service f...
April 23, 2021
Issue #227: Building a Better Battery, It’s Covid Crunch Time, I Was Promised Waterworld Wouldn’t Suck
This week: Batteries 101; too many vaccines, not enough takers; new antibiotics, but are they the right ones?; water disputes grow; AI gets the crack down Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/...
April 19, 2021
108. Data for Progress
In Episode 108 , Quinn & Brian discuss: Data for progress. Our guest is Julian Brave NoiseCat , the Vice President of Policy & Strategy at Data for Progress, a progressive think tank that uses data science, public opinion res...
April 16, 2021
Issue #226: Show Me Receipts, I Like Those Odds, The Next Frontier in Your Fleshbag
This week: Biden’s climate disclosures; Johnson & Johnson on pause; Odds of being infected post-vaccination; Biotech’s next decade; The EU draws up AI rules… and just in time Find links from this newsletter and more at import...
April 12, 2021
107. Start a Sustainable Fashion Revolution
In Episode 107 , Quinn & Brian discuss: How to buy clothing that lasts while not polluting the oceans or exploiting low-income workers. Our guest is Orsola de Castro , a fashion icon and the founder of Fashion Revolution , a ...
April 9, 2021
Issue #225: The Cost of Climate Change, Skeptical Evangelists, Algorithms for the Win
This week: Climate finance remains unregulated; God vs Vaccines; AI antibiotics are coming; New data on food waste since the 1960s Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback?...
April 7, 2021
Do Better Better #17: Start Over
Synopsis: Starting over sucks. But, like in Contra, maybe starting over is just the thing that’ll save the world. Do Better Better essays help you build mental models and ask questions about our changing world — for yourself,...
April 5, 2021
#106: Black Moms Matter
In Episode 106 , Quinn & Brian ask: Why is it so dangerous to have Black babies in America? Our guest is Congresswoman Lauren Underwood , the millenial Black nurse and former senior adviser to President Obama. Her “Momnibus ...
April 2, 2021
Issue #224: Biden Steps Up, The Take-Home Test You Hope to Fail, Why Green is Good
This week: Biden’s plan, explained; financial climate risk, uncovered; at-home COVID tests, approved; pesticide poisonings, revealed Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedbac...