The Most Important Question

250 years after a group of slaveowners wrote that "all men are created equal", we're done letting hypocrites own the language of life.Introducing Actually Pro Life: a reframe, a research platform, and a direct challenge to anyone willing to be held accountable to what they claim to believe. This is the foundation that unites everyone you actually gives a sh*t: No life is worth more than another.That foundation comes with eight non-negotiable Principles, six Guardrails, and 160+ measurable Positions because opinions are cheap and receipts matter.Together or nothing.--------------------------Get more:Take action at www.whatcanido.earthGet more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.comSupport our work and become a Member at importantnotimportant.com/upgradeGet our merch https://shop.importantnotimportant.com/Got feedback? Email us at [email protected] us on Twitter at @importantnotimpFollow us on Threads: www.threads.net/@importantnotimportantSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: on Twitter - twitter.com/quinnemmett; Bluesky - bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social; Threads - www.threads.net/@quinnemmettProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comTake a nap you deserve itAdvertise with us: importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

Last Christmas we teamed up with about 40 other big podcasts to support our dear friends at Give Directly with a very special campaign called Pods Fight Poverty. The goal was to raise $1 million to send to families in extreme poverty in Bwakira, Rwanda. Today, I want to share some of those results with you, and some of those stories from the folks you helped. But first, a reminder, some context in Bwakira, most people are farmers, but they don't own large enough plots to grow enough food, and many struggle to eat more than one meal a day. Water supply is inconsistent. People often rely on nearby natural streams to collect water when their wells are dry, and there are very few jobs for young people. Families don't have the capital to start small businesses to create their own jobs. Here's the good news. 500-plus rigorous academic studies show how effective cash can be for local economies, for infant mortality, food security, and more. And that's at least in part because when you give cash directly to people in poverty, it means they can choose how best to improve their own lives. You're also giving them dignity and flexibility. So how did our big campaign go? Well, you and me and the 40 other pods we worked with raised $386,000, reaching 250 families in need. Pretty incredible stuff. I'm extremely grateful to all of you. Families told us they spent the cash on urgently needed livestock, household items, food, housing, land, education, healthcare, and more. Listen for some of their firsthand stories about how much your generosity affected their lives directly. You did this, and you can keep doing this. Consider setting up a new monthly donation at givedirectly.org. Let's go hear from those families. ----------- Have feedback? Tweet us, or send a message to [email protected] New here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com. Find every action recommended in The Most Important Question here: www.whatcanido.earth ----------- INI Book Club: Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club Follow us: Subscribe to our newsletters at importantnotimportant.com Join us at importantnotimportant.com/upgrade Get our merch! Follow us on Threads: www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant Subscribe to our YouTube channel Follow Quinn: on Twitter - twitter.com/quinnemmett; Bluesky - bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social; Threads - www.threads.net/@quinnemmett Produced by Willow Beck Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Advertise with us: importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

Your kids are hearing about the news whether you are ready or they're ready or not. One study said two-thirds of kids aged 8 to 14 are absorbing current events at least every few days, and almost none of it was made for them. They're getting the fear without the context, the headlines without any nuance, and the algorithms without any sort of filter, and in a country arguing over whether to teach history or ban books. The question of who helps kids make sense of the world has never been more necessary and urgent. So what can I do to help the next generation build a healthy, lasting relationship with news and information? Today's guest is Andrea Barbalich. Andrea is the editorial director of The Week Jr., the only weekly news magazine reporting current affairs directly to children, ages 8 to 14. Under Andrea's leadership, it has grown to over 155,000 subscribers. Andrea's got 25 plus years in editorial leadership at places like Child Magazine. She's also the editor of a book called Feeling Safe: Talking to Children About War and Terrorism. We talk about how you explain wars and elections and climate change to an 8-year-old without either terrifying them or talking down to them, why a physical magazine is thriving in a world of 8 second attention spans, and what every parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, and more can do this week to help the kids in their lives become informed, curious, and resilient. ----------- Have feedback? Tweet us, or send a message to [email protected] New here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com. Find every action recommended in The Most Important Question here: www.whatcanido.earth ----------- INI Book Club: The Golden Rock by Theo Varlet Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club Links: Subscribe to The Week Jr Follow us: Subscribe to our newsletters at importantnotimportant.com Join us at importantnotimportant.com/upgrade Get our merch! Follow us on Threads: www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant Subscribe to our YouTube channel Follow Quinn: on Twitter - twitter.com/quinnemmett; Bluesky - bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social; Threads - www.threads.net/@quinnemmett Produced by Willow Beck Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Advertise with us: importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

Whoever said this country can't come together about anything anymore in the year of our Lord twenty twenty-six was wrong because PFAS, or forever chemicals, are in the blood of ninety-seven percent of Americans right now. They're in our water, our cookware, our food packaging, children, pets. The companies that made them knew they were toxic as early as the 1960s, and the federal government is trying to roll back the drinking water protections we've had for them for about a year, but they're not even in effect yet. But here's the thing: people are fighting back. Awareness is growing. Communities that were poisoned are building a national coalition right from their kitchen tables. Scientists are literally breaking apart molecules that were designed to last forever, and states are stepping in where the feds will not. So what can I do about a chemical contamination that's already inside me? My guest today is Rachel Frazin. Rachel is an energy and environmental reporter at The Hill and co-author of Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America, a new book built on years of original on-the-ground reporting in four contaminated communities across Alabama, Colorado, North Carolina, and Maine. We're gonna talk about what PFAS are and how they got into virtually all of us, what the companies and the military knew and when they knew it, where regulation stands right now, and what you can actually do to protect your family and to join the people who are demanding that this gets fixed for us and our kids and for later generations. ----------- Have feedback? Tweet us, or send a message to [email protected] New here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com. Find every action recommended in The Most Important Question here: www.whatcanido.earth ----------- INI Book Club: The Radium Girls by Kate Moore Exposure by Rob Bilott Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club Links: Read Rachel's book Poisoning The Well Follow Rachel's reporting at The Hill Find the Best Reverse Osmosis System for your home Find the best Water Filter Pitchers for PFAS Compare PFAS Water Filter Options Use EWG's tool to find our What's In Your Tap Water Follow us: Subscribe to our newsletters at importantnotimportant.com Join us at importantnotimportant.com/upgrade Get our merch! Follow us on Threads: www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant Subscribe to our YouTube channel Follow Quinn: on Twitter - twitter.com/quinnemmett; Bluesky - bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social; Threads - www.threads.net/@quinnemmett Produced by Willow Beck Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Advertise with us: importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

Since the dawn of recorded history, our living earth has been changed by everyone who spends time on it or in it from the smallest bacteria to the largest animals. But like the brain-gut axis inside of us that we still barely understand, we've really never had the ability to see and document and even begin to ask questions about the smallest among us out in the world. In the soil, in the air, in the mud, and, of course, all the different kinds of water on this very, very watery planet. Until recently. Thankfully, there are scientists and documentarians among us who can see and share and spark joy in a simple tablespoon of water. Who can help so many more of us who don't have access to those things, see and understand what's around us every day. And as the world has changed so much faster than ever before, it is vital we support as much of this work as possible. Just when it is most possible.  My returning guest today is the great Ariel Waldman. Ariel is a National Geographic Explorer, a documentary filmmaker, an Antarctic researcher, a TED main stage speaker, NASA advisor, YouTube host, producer, and an author. Her solo expeditions in science exploration work have earned her global recognition for bridging adventure, storytelling and cutting edge science. I'm so thankful for making all this for coming back on the show today to share news about her wonderful new six part series, Life Unearthed with Ariel Waldman, premiering in April on PBS. ----------- Have feedback? Tweet us, or send a message to [email protected] New here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com. Find every action recommended in The Most Important Question here: www.whatcanido.earth ----------- INI Book Club: Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club Links: Watch LIFE UNEARTHED with Ariel Waldman on PBS https://www.pbs.org/show/life-unearthed-with-ariel-waldman/ Check out lifeundertheice.org Volunteer for a citizen science project near you https://www.whatcanido.earth/results/?verbs=volunteer&nouns=clean-water,conservation&nounsExclusive=true Donate to The Nature Conservancy https://www.whatcanido.earth/action/the-nature-conservancy/ Find native plants to plant in your yard using Native Plant Finder https://www.whatcanido.earth/action/native-plant-finder/ Follow us: Subscribe to our newsletters at importantnotimportant.com Join us at importantnotimportant.com/upgrade Get our merch! Follow us on Threads: www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant Subscribe to our YouTube channel Follow Quinn: on Twitter - twitter.com/quinnemmett; Bluesky - bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social; Threads - www.threads.net/@quinnemmett Produced by Willow Beck Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Advertise with us: importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors