Non-Toxic

<p>Western Europe has been experiencing its hottest temperatures in the history of humanity this week, so it felt like a good time to resurface this episode I recorded way back with my old co-host Andrew Lewis, and our guest Eric Dean Wilson, author of <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/12022/9781982111311"><em>After Cooling: On Freon, Global Warming, and the Terrible Cost of Comfort</em></a>.</p><p>We take a look back at the history of air conditioning (it’s weird and wild), and try to understand how we almost managed to destroy all life on earth in our quest for personal comfort. And don’t miss Eric’s journey into the shady underworld of used refrigerant sales to understand just why dudes are so attached to their Freon.</p><p>This episode is part of the Non-Toxic Performative Male Book Club. It’s a series of all the author interviews I’ve done over the years, featuring some of the smartest writers, journalists, and academics I know. If you’re into Non-Toxic book coverage, click on any episode with the tag “Performative Male Book Club” to find more good books for guys who read, or pretend to.</p><p>To listen to the <a target="_blank" href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/p/after-cooling-with-eric-dean-wilson-da9">second part of this conversation</a>, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid subscription to Non-Toxic.</p><p>Lastly, if your A/C is busted and you need to get rid of it, read the EPA’s<a target="_blank" href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/rad/disposing-appliances-responsibly_.html"> advice on how to safely dispose of it first.</a> Because letting that stuff escape into the atmosphere is not good!</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p> I’m bringing you the first episode of a series I’m doing called “Just Keep Swimming.” It’s a Non-Toxic miniseries about male infertility and chemical exposure, exploring how chemicals in our environment (or chemicals we choose to inject into our bodies) can have an enormous impact on our individual health and even the future of humanity.</p><p>This episode is a conversation that I had with the Dutch looksmaxxer, Felix van der Heiden, when I was visiting the offices of the biotech startup, Sperm Racing. For the full story there, you can read <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/magazine/sperm-racing-silicon-valley.html">my article in </a><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/magazine/sperm-racing-silicon-valley.html"><em>The New York Times Magazine</em></a> about the week I spent with those boys. Felix, I thought, was a super interesting character, and he shows up in the piece, but I didn't really get to go as deep in the article as I wanted to. I had some amazing tape that just was sitting around, and I thought, “People need to really hear his full story.”</p><p>What follows is a selection from the scene when Felix first looked at his sperm under a microscope with his friend Manu, and then a conversation that Felix and I had afterwards, where he talks to me a bit about the different enhancements that he’s using and his thoughts about the effects on his fertility and why he’s decided to pursue chemical enhancement at such a young age. I think you’ll enjoy it.</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>A fifth of the world’s oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a sliver of ocean between Iran and the Gulf States. Since the beginning of the US Israeli war in Iran, that traffic has slowed to a trickle, which has sent the price of oil skyward. Countries around the world are doing everything they can to accelerate the transition because whether they care about the climate crisis or not, they recognize that there is no choke point on the sun.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe</a>

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">nontoxicpodcast.substack.com</a><br/><br/><p>In this episode of Non-Toxic, I’m joined by fitness influencer Colin Davis to explore the intersection of muscle hypertrophy, masculinity, and climate activism. You might remember Colin from <a target="_blank" href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/p/carbon-bros-episode-4-integration?utm_source=publication-search">the </a><a target="_blank" href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/p/carbon-bros-episode-4-integration?utm_source=publication-search"><em>Carbon Bros</em></a><a target="_blank" href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/p/carbon-bros-episode-4-integration?utm_source=publication-search"> finale</a>, but a brief cameo didn’t do him justice—so we’re diving into the full, extended conversation here.</p><p>Colin is breaking the mold by proving bodybuilding isn’t just for the right wing. He argues that to reach men today, the left needs to meet them in their own digital spaces and speak their language. We get into the surprising links between empathy and physical strength, while Colin deconstructs some of my own biases about gym culture. It’s a wide-ranging, candid conversation that feels like a long-overdue hang.</p><p>Non-Toxic Newsletter is supported by listeners like you. Consider <a target="_blank" href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe">becoming a paid subscriber today.</a></p>

<p>Is our “green” future being built on a global sacrifice zone?</p><p>In this episode, I’m joined by my former <em>New Yorker</em> colleague Nicolas Niarchos to discuss his revelatory new book, <em>The Elements of Power</em>. It’s a globe-spanning investigation into the battery supply chain—stretching from the Congo and Indonesia to Israel, China, and the US—revealing how the promise of clean energy is often built on violence, child labor, and systemic corruption.</p><p>With conflict in the Middle East driving up oil prices, many EV owners are feeling a sense of moral (and economic) superiority. But as Nicholas explains, the supply chain powering those batteries is just as ethically fraught as the oil and gas industry, if perhaps a bit more functional at the moment.</p><p>We dive into Nicolas’s firsthand accounts of Congolese mining “crevasses,” where hand-dug pits collapse on workers with terrifying frequency. We also discuss how mineral wealth dictates Congolese politics and why cobalt has become the “new oil” in a high-stakes geopolitical tug-of-war between the US and China.</p><p>Don’t miss the end of our talk: Nicolas shares the harrowing story of his detention by the Congolese secret police while investigating the ties between mining interests, the presidential family, and separatist militias. It is an absolutely insane, must-hear account.</p><p>PS: Nicolas has just launched a brilliant new magazine with another <em>New Yorker</em> alum called <a target="_blank" href="https://nowvoyagermag.com/"><em>Now Voyager</em></a><a target="_blank" href="https://nowvoyagermag.com/">.</a> Their first issue is available now, both online and at newsstands. If you value the kind of deep-dive, boots-on-the-ground reporting we discuss today, you definitely need to check it out.</p><p>This epsiode is sponsored by <a target="_blank" href="https://bluecorncandles.com/collections/beeswax-candles?em_source=google&#38;em_adid=801202775214&#38;em_campaign=15010890142&#38;em_keyword=bluecorn+candles&#38;utm_term=em%3Agoogle%3A801202775214%3A15010890142%3Abluecorn+candles&#38;utm_source=google&#38;utm_medium=paid&#38;utm_campaign=15010890142&#38;utm_content=131639207667&#38;utm_term=bluecorn+candles&#38;gadid=801202775214&#38;gad_source=1&#38;gad_campaignid=15010890142">Bluecorn Candles.</a> Use the code NONTOXIC20 for 20% off your first order.</p><p><p>Non-Toxic Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.</p></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe</a>