About this episode
<p>As the Trump administration rolls back environmental regulations, we revisit a 2022 episode that explored the hidden cost of an invisible threat: air pollution.</p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><strong>SOURCES:</strong> <ul> <li><a href="https://angeladuckworth.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Angela Duckworth</a>, psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania.</li> <li><a href="https://michaelgreenstone.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Michael Greenstone</a>, economist at the University of Chicago, director of the Energy Policy Institute, co-director of the Climate Impact Lab.</li> <li><a href="https://sites.google.com/view/stephanheblich/about" rel="noopener noreferrer">Stephan Heblich</a>, economist at the University of Toronto.</li> <li><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/andrealanauze/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Andrea La Nauze</a>, economist at Deakin University.</li> <li><a href="https://freakonomics.com/author/steven-levitt/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Steve Levitt</a>, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago.</li> <li><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/ersevernini/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Edson Severnini</a>, economist at Boston College.</li> </ul></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><strong>RESOURCES:</strong> <ul> <li>"<a href="https://www.lung.org/research/sota/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities" rel="noopener noreferrer">Most Polluted Cities</a>," <i>(American Lung Association,</i> 2026).</li> <li>"<a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/730390" rel="noopener noreferrer">Air Pollution and Adult Cognition: Evidence from Brain Training</a>," by Andrea La Nauze and Edson Severnini <i>(Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists,</i> 2025).</li> <li>"<a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w30061/w30061.pdf?utm_campaign=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&%3Butm_medium=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&%3Butm_source=PANTHEON_STRIPPED" rel="noopener noreferrer">Air Pollution and Student Performance in the U.S.</a>," by Michael Gilraine and Angela Zheng (<i>NBER Working Papers, </i>2022).</li> <li>"<a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/04-04-2022-billions-of-people-still-breathe-unhealthy-air-new-who-data" rel="noopener noreferrer">Billions of people still breathe unhealthy air: new WHO data</a>," <i>(World Health Organization,</i> 2022).</li> <li>"<a href="https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/evolution-clean-air-act" rel="noopener noreferrer">Evolution of the Clean Air Act</a>," by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (2020).</li> <li>"<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/death-uk-coal" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Death of U.K. Coal in Five Charts</a>," by Hannah Ritchie (<i>Our World in Data,</i> 2019).</li> <li>"<a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2014/05/27/the-colour-of-pollution" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Colour of Pollution</a>," (<i>The Economist, </i>2014).</li> </ul></li> </ul><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>