Can deregulation make America healthy again?

Explicit content warning

03/11/25 • 46 min

Ken’s having another episode, one that quite a lot of people are having lately, all about the federal job layoffs. This is a little bit tricky, as Ken and EWG have at times been critical of the very agencies that are in the Trump administration’s crosshairs.

To help Ken unpack this, he’s joined by his friend and environmental hero, Peter Galvin. Peter is one of the founders and the director of programs for the Center for Biological Diversity. They talk about policy, strategies for the next four years, and how their organizations will rise to the occasion to ensure all Americans have a cleaner, safer, non-toxic future.
For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:
The Center for Biological Diversity

Frequent Questions and Answers: Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for PFOA and PFOS (EPA)

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to Unleash American Greatness as Head of EPA

ICYMI: Administrator Zeldin on Record-Breaking Response: How EPA Tackled California’s Wildfire Crisis

PFAS in sludge spread on farmland poses health risks, EPA report says
OPM-OMB Memo Guidance on Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans Requested by Implementing The President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative 2-26-2025
She Lobbied for a Carcinogen. Now She’s at the E.P.A., Approving New Chemicals (NYTimes)

PFAS Rule Withdrawn

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

Frequent Questions and Answers: Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for PFOA and PFOS (EPA)

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to Unleash American Greatness as Head of EPA

ICYMI: Administrator Zeldin on Record-Breaking Response: How EPA Tackled California’s Wildfire Crisis

PFAS Rule Withdrawn

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

Previous Episode

The future of meat

The meat industry has been consolidating rapidly for decades, concentrating its power in a way that creates problems not only for the environment but also for farming communities in the U.S. and around the world.

In today’s episode, Ken is joined by Chloe Sorvino, a journalist at Forbes and author of the new book “Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed, and the Fight for the Future of Meat.” Chloe unravels a tangled web of bribery, deceit, and international corporate intrigue as she explores the dark side of the modern industrialized meat industry.
For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Chloe's website

Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed, and the Fight for the Future of Meat.

EWG Food Scores: Meat

Decoding Meat And Dairy Product Labels

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

Next Episode

Trump’s environmental impact on the South

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:

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

EPA shuts down 10 environmental justice offices, axes EJ division

EPA eliminating environmental justice jobs

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup