Are we sure about fluoride?

05/21/25 • 31 min

3 Listeners

Florida just became the second state to ban fluoride from its water system, which has made some public health experts pretty angry. Just how risky is fluoride really, and why is it so hard for us to get on the same page?

Guest: Emily Oster, professor of economics at Brown University and CEO of ParentData

For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Guest: Emily Oster, professor of economics at Brown University and CEO of ParentData

For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unexplainable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And please email us! ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

We read every email.

Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/members⁠

Help us plan for the future of Unexplainable by filling out a brief survey: ⁠⁠⁠voxmedia.com/survey⁠⁠⁠. Thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Previous Episode

The man who walked butterflies on a leash

Static electricity plays an invisible role in the natural world, and it may even help insects pollinate plants. To understand this hidden force, scientists have jumped through some pretty weird experimental hoops — and “walked” butterflies through literal hoops.

Guests: Sam England, postdoctoral researcher at Berlin's National History Museum; Benji Jones, Vox's environmental correspondent

To read more about this experiment, Benji recommends this great article from Quanta Magazine, where he first encountered Sam's work.

For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠⁠⁠

For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unexplainable⁠⁠⁠⁠

And please email us! ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

We read every email.

Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/members⁠

Help us plan for the future of Unexplainable by filling out a brief survey: ⁠⁠⁠⁠voxmedia.com/survey⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thank you!

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Next Episode

Is climate change really making hurricanes worse?

The answer isn’t as clear as you might think. And because of drastic cuts to climate science funding, this question might be getting even harder to solve.

Guest: Umair Irfan, Vox climate science correspondent

For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unexplainable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And please email us! ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

We read every email.

Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/members⁠⁠

Help us plan for the future of Unexplainable by filling out a brief survey: ⁠⁠⁠⁠voxmedia.com/survey⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices