Could air pollution make your memory worse?
6/16/202610 min
Summer is here, your windows are open and the smell of…car exhaust and the latest wildfire are wafting in. This air pollution is harmful to almost every organ, including the brain. Today on Short Wave, we talk about one way air pollution may cloud your memory.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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Emily Kwong· Host0:15
[instrumental music] You're listening to Short Wave from NPR. Hey, Short Wavers. Emily Kwong here.
Angela Zhang· Host0:23
And Angela Zhang.
Emily Kwong· Host0:24
With our biweekly science news roundup featuring Mary Louise Kelly from All Things Considered. Hello.
Mary Louise Kelly· Guest0:30
Hello. [laughs] Good to be back with you.
Emily Kwong· Host0:32
Oh, thank you so much for joining us. Um, we are gonna start with something kinda serious today. I know, shocking, 'cause we're such clowns, but, um, we're gonna be talking about air pollution and health, specifically brain health. How are you feeling about your memory these days?
Mary Louise Kelly· Guest0:46
Um, I am great on things that happened years ago. I am not so great on where my car keys were left this morning.
Emily Kwong· Host0:53
[laughs] It is some complex science. [laughs] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Memory's a complex thing, and our brains are fragile instruments in that way, so we're gonna talk about that. And our second and third topics are about critters and what they can teach us about the world around them.
Angela Zhang· Host1:08
We're gonna dive deep to whale graveyards, and then we're gonna zoom in to ancient squirrel droppings, if you can believe that those words can even go together.
Mary Louise Kelly· Guest1:15
[laughs] I will come to believe them after you share, share these two things I definitely did not have on my radar this week.
Emily Kwong· Host1:23
It is, like, it is such show-and-tell. Short Wave Roundup is, is like, "Here's some treasures- [laughs] Yeah ... that we harvested for you."
Unknown speaker1:29
[laughs]